I would have done a review of just the first four episodes – to break the season into clean halves – but, well, I got distracted. Being trapped in an oubliette for six days will do that.

Off we go…

Episode 1: The Recap

Oof. This was a rough start to the season. This felt like a recap of the best episodes of Book of Boba Fett (that is, the episodes that Boba Fett wasn’t really in). I get that it was kind of necessary in order to get those who didn’t watch Boba Fett up to speed, but, if that’s the case…I don’t know, fuckin’ plan it differently?

There was, admittedly, one neat moment in this episode – namely, Mando’s demonstration of his quick-draw skills on a group of drunken space pirates. The pirates are rendered even less intimidating later in the episode, when their leader is revealed to be one of Swamp Thing’s grosser shits.

What else is there to say about this episode? Let’s see…Carl Weathers is always a treat – but Greef Karga didn’t do much in this episode besides provide an excuse for Cara Dune not showing up anymore. Not wading into that one.

Oh, yeah: what was up with this episode’s focus on IG-11? He got blown the fuck up in the Season 1 finale. I figure most of that IG-11 statue is made up of cannibalized bits of other droids. Also…why was it so important for Mando to revive him? I get that they’re friends, but his search for a ‘droid qualified for spelunking’ (mentioned, I believe, in Episode 2) rings a bit hollow. There have got to be more options than poor IG-11, who got exploded harder than a Middle Eastern wedding during the Obama administration, and R5-D4, a droid that’s exclusively known for being shitty (and maybe also being Force-sensitive, but that’s a whole other thing).

Side note: I’m still not referring to Baby Yoda as Grogu. His name is Baby Yoda. I shall brook no disagreement on this.

Episode 2: The Plot Development

R5-D4 is back in action, baby! Seems like he’s still got a bad motivator, though. This bit of fan service came across as a little bit of a stretch…but the entire concept of Star Wars is a fucking stretch, so I’ll let it slide.

Anyhoo. It was cool to get a look at the ruins of Mandalore, with both destroyed urban areas and glassed-over plains emitting an aura of loss that hits at least as hard as the heroes’ discovery of the remains of Alderaan in A New Hope.

On top of this instalment’s eerie environments, the creature design was phenomenal, especially the creature in the spider-mech suit. It punk’d Mando pretty easily, but I’ll forgive it because Mando’s captivity led to the best part of the episode: Bo-Katan’s team-up with Baby Yoda. Baby Yo’ has a preternatural ability to melt the hearts of all around him (except maybe Moff Gideon).

Speaking of Bo-Katan…she’s so much better at using the Darksaber than Din is that it almost makes me feel bad for the guy. At least she gave it back after she was done showing off (and dismembering the creep in the spider-mech suit).

I got the ever-loving shit subverted out of my expectations when Mando reached the Living Waters of Mandalore at the end of this episode. I’d assumed the whole season would build up to a climactic visit to the Living Waters – but now that Mando has been redeemed in the eyes of his weird-ass cult, whatever comes next won’t be as predictable as I…uh, predicted.  

Last thing: the underwater Mythosaur was neat, even if it does have a stupid name.

Episode 3: The Side Story

The tempo of this instalment was a bit odd, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The episode was bookended by scenes featuring Mando, Bo-Katan, and an explosive dogfight with a swarm of TIE Interceptors, but the primary focus was on…Dr. Pershing?

The fuck? Really?

Yeah, really. Turns out, he’s pretty interesting! Still the nervous wreck we remember from earlier seasons…but sympathetic. You’d almost forget he was doing (presumably nefarious) experiments on Baby Yo’ way back in Season 1.

This episode gave us a look at how, exactly, the New Republic is dealing with all the ex-Imperials suddenly without an employer. Turns out, there’s a reeducation program for that!

Other than this mildly-dystopic dive into the New Republic’s postwar vibes, we got to check out Coruscant for the first time in a while – including the peak of a mountain poking through a pedestrian plaza, the only visible “land” on the entire planet. Cool touch, that – but I’m not sure they needed to show it again during next episode’s flashback sequence.

My other takeaway from Episode 3 is that the previously-unnamed Imperial comms officer, Elia Kane, is scary as hell. Like, the whole time I knew she was up to something, but I wasn’t certain what it was, and I’m still not. She’s a bad egg, though! The way she ate a biscuit while frying Dr. Pershing’s brain was shudder-inducing. I’ve never seen someone eat a biscuit in a way that made me want to run away screaming, but there’s a first time for everything.

Episode 4: The Dumb-Ass Bird

 Far from the series’ best effort. I’ll cover the positive aspects in a bit of detail, but overall, this episode was kind of…dumb. Din’s main “quest” this week was to save Paz Viszla (the guy with the gatling gun)’s kid from a giant CGI bird (with the aid of more jetpacking Mandalorians than you can shake a gaffi stick at).

Carl Weathers directed this instalment, and did a good job with some material that can’t have been easy to film. The episode was dominated by two combat/chase scenes – one involving the Mandalorians and what I can best describe as a gigantic, featherless vulture, the other, a flashback that follows Baby Yoda’s escape from the Jedi Temple back when Darth Vader still looked like Hayden Christensen. Both scenes were easy to follow and engagingly tense – despite the fact that their conclusions were easily predictable. (That is, the guys with guns, missiles, knives, jetpacks and a starfighter win against the big bird, and Baby Yoda makes his getaway.)

That brings me to the ”Best” part of this episode: Ahmed Best is back, baby – and he gets to do some badass stuff! Although his character is almost certainly doomed, I was extremely happy to see the actor behind the most-maligned Star Wars character have the chance to play someone who isn’t Jar Jar. Action beats aside, his acting was really good – in just a short amount of screentime, he completely sold me on his portrayal of a Jedi who’s freaking out because everyone he knows is being massacred and keeping those emotions tamped down because he’s got a job to do.

Flashback aside, not a lot to write home about here. On to better things.

Episode 5: The Swamp Turd Returneth

My notes from this one are pretty scattershot, but you’ll get the idea:

I know that Greef Karga was never a bad guy, per se, but I feel like he’s softened up a tad too much since Season 1. Still, Carl Weathers is Carl Weathers…and Carl Weathers is Carl Weathers.

Here’s a question: why didn’t the Mandalorians use their jetpacks in battle? I mean, sure, the pirates could have shot them while they were flying around, but I’d take that risk over being shot at from both sides while trapped in an alleyway. Just sayin’.

I enjoyed Captain Teva (the New Republic space cop)’s appearance – but it also served to remind me of Gina Carano’s absence from this season. It seemed like a pretty clear instance of a more minor character being given a different character’s storyline after she was written out. I’m not trying to hate on Captain Teva; he’s a likeable character, who comes across as genuine and relatable. I was just distracted by Cara Dune’s absence during Teva’s trip to the Mandalorian covert.

Seeing more of the New Republic’s bureaucratic gridlock was interesting, and the scene didn’t overstay its welcome. The show is doing a decent job of laying the groundwork for the rise of the First Order (an unenviable task, to be sure).

Elia Kane, the (presumable) Imperial double agent, is still super scary – even in a secretarial role. Yikes. I’d be reporting her to HR one day one. (For what, you ask? I dunno, being a creepy fascist?)

The gatling-toting Mandalorian played by Jon Favreau, Paz Vizsla, had a crowd-pleasing moment this episode where he motivated the Mandalorian covert to fight alongside Din and Bo-Katan…”because [they] are Mandalorians.” Damn, I wish I could win arguments that easily. I can’t deny getting some warm fuzzies when Paz – who had butted heads with Din on multiple previous occasions – backed him up like that. That is to say nothing of the absolute massacre he perpetrated upon a group of hapless baddies later in the episode.

Baby Yoda didn’t have much to do this week – that’s always a fuckin’ bummer. While we’re on the subject of being disappointed by green aliens, it bears mentioning that Gorian Shard (the Swamp Thing’s ambulatory turd from Episode 1) shows back up to twirl his algae moustache and be generally ineffective. He’s just not that engaging of a villain: I’m not saying every Star Wars baddie needs to be on the level of Darth Vader, but this dude comes across as less of a threat to our heroes than a nasty bunion.

This episode spent a good deal of time setting up Bo-Katan as the potential future leader of the Mandalorians. From an overarching, “big picture” plot perspective, I don’t mind this at all – Bo-Katan is a badass, and she’s dealt with a lot of shit, so it’d be cool to see her reunite the scattered remnants of her people and retake their homeland, etc., etc. That said, the way it’s been handled comes across like the setup for a Bo-Katan spinoff show; that’s a show that I would 100% watch, but the importance this season has assigned to Bo-Katan’s journey dilutes its focus on the core duo of Din and Baby Yo’. (Honestly – and keep in mind that I quite enjoy Pedro Pascal’s work – all I really need is more Baby Yo’ in my life. Have him team up with Salacious Crumb; I don’t give a shit. As long as he’s doing flips while looking cute as a button it’s all good.)

One final observation: Moff Gideon’s heavily-teased return is going to be the least surprising thing since the failure of Neville Chamberlain’s bitch-ass foreign policy. It’ll be good to see Giancarlo Esposito again, though.

Rating(s):

Ep. 1: 5/10 (+1/-1)

Ep. 2: 7.75/10 (+.5/-.75)

Ep. 3: 8/10 (+0/-1.5)

Ep. 4: 6.25/10 (+.75/-.5)

Ep. 5: 8/10 (+.5/-.5)

Overall: 7.75/10 (+.75/-.5)