– Spoiler Review –
The Mandalorian’s “Chapter 21 – The Pirate” takes what was becoming an aimless opening four episodes and coalesces them around an intriguing purpose, wrapped up in an episode with another surprise return and plenty of stellar action.
My hope after the end of “Chapter 20 – The Foundling” was to have something to aim the remaining four episodes of the season towards and, while it almost feels a little late, “Chapter 21 – The Pirate” does exactly that, taking everything that’s happened so far and using it to gain momentum for the remainder of season three. As for where it’s aiming, let’s just say Mandalore and Moff Gideon are all on the table…
The episode starts with High Magistrate Greef Karga paying the price for dealing with pirate captain Gorian Shard’s men in the premiere, as the captain himself comes and begins to lay waste to Nevarro until Karga submits. Despite his independent status, Karga decides to take up an offer by the New Republic and calls Captain Carson Teva for help. Teva’s been a fun character weaving throughout the show (let him be the lead of Rangers of the New Republic, if it would ever exist) and we’ve not seen him in a while, so it was refreshing to have him back. He wants to accept Karga’s call for help, but he’s concerned the New Republic won’t listen to him unless he goes in person. You know who thinks he’s brave but foolish for trying to request help…GARAZEB ORRELIOS!!!! That’s right, Zeb himself from Star Wars Rebels, voiced again by Steve Blum and looking mighty fine in CGI live-action, makes a brief appearance but a lasting impression.
After what we saw of the New Republic in “Chapter 19 – The Convert,” it’s no surprise when Teva arrives on Coruscant things go as he unfortunately expects, but there’s more than one reason for it. Teva meets with Colonel Tuttle (Tim Meadows), requesting provisions and backup to come to Karga’s defense, only for the Colonel to tell him there’s so many other worlds already asking for help. Teva feels like the rumors of Moff Gideon escaping before his trial are true, the Imperial remnant he heard about on Nevarro in season two, and the growing pirate threat are somehow all connected, and while the Colonel isn’t so sure and deflects about Gideon, in steps Amnesty Officer Elia Kane to further cast doubt (with another stellar performance by Katy O’Brian). She’s working from the inside for Gideon, there’s no doubt after this episode, as she digs into the Colonel’s dismissal of Teva’s concerns and gives him more reasons to let Karga’s call for aid be left unanswered, as a way to show independents why they should join the New Republic. Teva has his suspicions about Kane but doesn’t waste anymore time, telling them they’ll be too late to combat the threat when it presents itself, and decides to seek help elsewhere.
Somehow, Teva tracks down Din Djarin and the covert’s Jurassic Beach, and the group isn’t happy to see him since they’ll have to relocate now. How did he track them? His old pal in the Rebellion…R5!! I had a good laugh at the reveal, as it further cements his heroic background story! Din decides to hear Teva out, who tells him about Karga’s troubles and how Din should help a friend in need in case this allows an even bigger set of problems to arise. After Teva leaves, hopefully to drink more with Zeb, Din brings the task to the covert’s attention, seeking a petition for them to go and help, saying while they’ve had bad dealings with Karga in the past (he betrayed Din in season one after all and the covert had to uproot itself to save him), the Magistrate has become a trusted friend and has offered him land to settle, which is where Din believes the group should go next to thrive. Paz Vizsla gets up to talk next, almost sounding like he’s about to throw Din’s proposal into the turtle-crocodile’s infested waters of their current home, but Din and Bo-Katan saving his son is enough to sway him to their cause. Bo helps lead the forces into battle with a plan, reminding them they could be the heroes here, to be given a home, and thrive, like Din said, helping focus the group and put them all behind the mission.
What follows is an excellent action sequence, one in the air as Din and Grogu fly circles around the pirate’s snub fighters and the big, cumbersome command ship, with Bo-Katan later joining in the assault, while on the ground and streets of Nevarro, the Mandalorians invade the pirates’ hold on the city. Paz gets to show off why such a big gun can come in handy, while the Armorer herself shows off some sick hammer-forward moves to rescue the rest of the group from a giant gun emplacement. In the air, Gorian Shard doesn’t make himself seem too fearsome, as he doesn’t cut and run when he could and instead decides to try to take Nevarro down with him, only for Bo and Din to take him down before he can. I wish Shard had managed to stick around more, as he had an excellent design and killing him off so quickly makes the pirate threat feel less dire than originally set up, though his mention of a pirate kingdom certainly leaves open for more like him to become a problem. Both sequences were well-shot and engaging, with plenty of moving parts and lots of forward momentum, though it was hard to imagine it ending any differently. Regardless, it’s less about the action and more what happens after that held my interest.
With the city saved, Karga introduces the surviving citizens to the Mandalorians, calling them their protectors and giving them plenty of land to survive and call home. During this ceremony of sorts, Bo-Katan is taken by Paz to talk with the Armorer, back in their old home on Nevarro in the sewers. After some talk about the big, ornate forge on Mandalore and the one in the sewers being different but the same, the Armorer tells Bo to take off her helmet, who initially bulks, afraid she’ll be cast out from these new allies. The Armorer tells her it’s alright, because she knows Bo has walked a much different path than the covert and wants to focus on that, as like the forges, in the end, they are both the same thing, Mandalorian. As for why, it’s because she can bring in other Mandalorians, those who would be weary of the “Way” aka the Children of the Watch, to let their people thrive all together…and gather their strength as one to take back Mandalore itself for good. The Armorer tells this to the covert, Bo helmetless the whole time, and they see the value in it too. It definitely makes me wonder if Din will find himself helmetless a bit more if they go together to bring other Mandalorians together, while I’m curious if Bo will want the Darksaber back now to lead this charge or she’ll be content to let Din have it and go together.
Before the episode ends, we cut to Carson Teva in his X-wing, encountering a derelict Imperial shuttle which looks like it came under attack. After his astromech unit sends in a probe (the little eye scope can detach and be a probe?! What?! So cool!) and he calls back to his base to confirm what he suspects: it was repurposed for prison transport by the New Republic and it was carrying none other than Moff Gideon, confirming the rumors he never made it to his trial. But who rescued him? According to what the probe sees, beskar embedded in one of the walls…it was Mandalorians?! Which ones? Who?! And why?! Or is this an attempt by Gideon’s rescuers to point the blame elsewhere? Either way, this all amounts to a purpose for the remainder of the season. The Mandalorians, with Din and Bo leading the charge, are trying to reunite and retake Mandalore, while Gideon is out there somewhere, rebuilding his forces or teaming up with whomever rescued him, becoming a much bigger threat. Either way, I’m now eager to see where the remainder of the season will go with these plot threads and how it’ll set up for the rest of the shows in this era…and what they are all leading to as well.
Here are a few other things:
- There’s only one more episode left before Celebration Europe 2023, so with characters like Zeb being shown off and hints we’re going to catch up with Gideon finally, I can only imagine what they’ll show about Ahsoka and beyond which might tie into what comes in the two episodes after the convention.
- Seriously, Zeb looked REALLY good. Like Kallus might be fanning-himself-back-on-Lira San good. So where is Kallus?! And who else from Rebels might make an appearance before the season ends? The Purrgil were just the start, as expected.
- Tim Meadows was a fun and surprising addition to the cast. I hope we’ll see more of him in shows set during this era!
The Mandalorian’s “Chapter 21 – The Pirate” might eradicate an interesting threat too quickly, but it also decimates concerns about its momentum by pointing us towards some big threads to follow for the remainder of this season…and the shows beyond it.
+ Finding focus
+ Return of Teva and his investigations (ZEB!!!!!)
+ Bringing various threads together
– Bye Glup Shitto Pirate, we hardly knew ye
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE MANDALORIAN REVIEWS
Season Three: Chapter 17 – The Apostate | Chapter 18 – The Mines of Mandalore | Chapter 19 – The Convert | Chapter 20 – The Foundling
The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 5 -Return of the Mandalorian | Chapter 6 – From the Desert Comes a Stranger | Chapter 7 – In the Name of Honor
Season Two: Chapter 9 – The Marshal | Chapter 10 – The Passenger | Chapter 11 – The Heiress | Chapter 12 – The Siege | Chapter 13 – The Jedi | Chapter 14 – The Tragedy | Chapter 15 – The Believer | Chapter 16 – The Rescue
Season One: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 – The Child | Chapter 3 – The Sin | Chapter 4 – The Sanctuary | Chapter 5 – The Gunslinger | Chapter 6 – The Prisoner | Chapter 7 – The Reckoning | Chapter 8 – Redemption