– Spoiler Review –
The Mandalorian “Chapter 7 – The Reckoning” feels like exactly that for the series, as it needed to make a course correctly quickly from its meandering last three episodes, and “Chapter 7” does so in stunning spades, setting up for what looks to be a must-watch finale.
The last three episodes of The Mandalorian have had their moments, but it felt like the show was heading nowhere fast, as the adventures of a Baby Yoda and the Mando didn’t have the same momentum as the beginning three episodes did due to their concentrated plotline, whereas the last three were waltzing around the galaxy with a very formulaic plot. “Chapter 7” is anything but formulaic, propelling the series forward with much needed momentum, crashing the main story of the season back into viewers’ hearts and minds. Moments before Mando is ready to jump off on another aimless adventure to stay away from the reach of the ex-Imperial looking for Baby Yoda, he gets a call from Greef Karga, the head of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild on Nevarro, asking him to help get the show moving again by returning and dealing with the growing Imperial presence there so he and Baby Yoda can truly live free. Before going on such an endeavor, Mando rallies together a crew of some familiar faces: Cara Dune, still relaxing on Sorgan, if you count getting into fights for money as relaxing; and Kuiil, who has spent his retirement nurturing IG-11 back from the dead, reprogramming the assassin droid to be a gentle guardian warrior, as seen in a funny (but maybe too long) montage. I’m a bit disappointed this didn’t include the return of Omera too, the woman at the village with the potential for an interesting history, as we end up with only a single female character in an episode again. With his crew assembled, they land on Nevarro, approaching silently and from a great distance to keep their ride safe from the growing Imperial threat. Their journey is interrupted by some surprise flying creature in the middle of the night, which reveals a new aspect to Baby Yoda’s abilities, and helps turn Karga to their side. As they go to barter with The Client, things go south in a shocking instant, and the death of one of the characters, and the precarious situation for all those who remain, has me on the edge of my seat for next week’s finale.
I really enjoyed seeing Kuiil, IG-11, and Cara Dune not only interacting with one another, but Mando and Baby Yoda as well. It’s a shame Mando didn’t bring these people together earlier, as what felt like a series of proper cast members has largely been forgotten for awhile after their appearances earlier in the season, while their interactions offer lots of great character moments; Star Wars has always been about ensembles and The Mandalorian finally has its own, making it feel more like SW than ever before. Cara’s dislike of anything or anyone Imperial is rather intense, making me wonder what caused such deep-seeded hatred beyond the usual, like the Death Star destroying Alderaan, so her clashing with the wise and calm Kuiil due to his Imperial past was a little surprising, but interesting, offering Gina Carano a chance to shine more than her impressive fighting skills. We know Kuiil almost more than we know the Mando at this point, but his staunchness regarding how he worked his way out of indentured servitude, and a glimmer of his old life peeking through as he talks Cara down, was a great new side to the character and only endured him to me more. IG-11 being reprogrammed by Kuiil will allow Taika Waititi to let more of his funny side play out, as while it worked in “Chapter 1” for his voice to be for a deadly droid, it feels more natural when he’s able to provide humor instead; Mando’s dislike of the droid causes him to leave it on the ship, after great reluctance in even letting it onboard for the mission, so I’m curious if we’ll see IG-11 play some vital role in unwinding the hellish cluster-nerf Cara, Mando, and Karga find themselves in by episode’s end.
And what an ending it is! The Client’s boss turns out to be Moff Gideon (Ginacarlo Esposito) and he’s no fool: he not only has his troopers mows down The Client in an attempt to get at Mando and his team, but he shows up with a battalion’s worth, if not more, of troopers, including Death troopers, all while making one of the more grandiose entrances in Star Wars history, giving even drama-leaning Darth Vader a run for his money. While we don’t quite know what he wants Baby Yoda for, we know he really, really wants the little bugger, and from the looks of things, he’s going to get what he wants and we should all be very worried for Baby Yoda! Before Mando, Karga, and Cara get caught in Gideon’s trap, their forces dwindle due to Karga revealing the original double-cross plan, which inspires Mando to break from the always silly idea of bringing Baby Yoda with him into danger, instead having Kuiil return the Child to his ship to be safe, having originally figured it was going to be a simple plan so he wasn’t worried about the Child’s safety as much. It’s a good idea, but Gideon already has his troopers ease-dropping comlinks and two scout biker troops take off to intercept Kuiil before he gets to the Razor Crest; As long as he succeeds, that gives Mando a bargaining chip to come out of the whole thing alive. Between my love for Kuiil and Baby Yoda, I was nervous as hell about the Ugnaught’s progress, especially as the overly confident Gideon strutted out of his modified TIE Fighter, claiming he already had the Child. And, in a devastating moment, heightened by the way it was shot, we find out he’s not joking: at first we see Baby Yoda, sprawled out on the ground, curious where Kuiil is…did he abandoned the kid for his own safety, though that doesn’t quite seem like him; then the biker swoops by, picking up Baby Yoda and taking off (and I catch my breath for the first time); followed by the pan out to seeing Kuiil’s smoking body, dead from a blaster shot by one of the bikers. I sat in stunned silence, realizing just how absolutely screwed everyone was, especially poor little Baby Yoda. And at the same time, I was exponentially more excited for this show again than I had been since “Chapter 3,” as “Chapter 7” quickly took its crown for best episode, and one of the biggest unifying factors is how both were directed by Deborah Chow (who cameo-ed int he previous episode)!
Baby Yoda does some rather surprising things this episode, and both are related to his usage of the Force. For starters, as Mando and Cara engage in some arm wrestling (really?), the little green one sees the Mando in trouble again, like he did with the mudhorn, and reaches out to stop Cara…by choking her! Mando quickly figures it out and yells at the little Baby Yoda about how Cara is his friend (arm wrestling and saving villages together are quite the ways to make friends) and how he shouldn’t do that; Kuiil says he’s heard rumors about what Baby Yoda can do, but no one says the “Force” word. His second act with the Force calls back to “Chapter 2,” where he was trying to heal the Mando but he wouldn’t let him, as this time he heals Karga (“He’s trying to eat me” might be the funniest and most dramatic moment for the boisterous Karga and the series as a whole) from a poisonous scratch from the flying creatures; he heals Karga so well, the wound disappears and no scar is left, going beyond what I ever thought was possible by Jedi and using the Force for healing. Both of these moments beg more questions on what all happened with Baby Yoda prior to “Chapter 1″of this series, as how much training did he really get, how did he end up away from his family in the first place, and most importantly right now: what the hell does Moff Gideon want with Baby Yoda? Hopefully we’ll get a few of these answers in the season finale next week.
Here are a few other things:
- At this point, it’s obvious the show won’t be getting any better on the lack of female roles, so I’m resigned to worry about next season instead already.
- There’s a clip from The Rise of Skywalker included in the series’ extras with this episode, but they certainly didn’t need to do anything of this sort as this episode was exciting and worth a watch on its own…though it was really cool to see the quality TROS will look like on small screen when it makes it home/streaming release!
The Mandalorian “Chapter 7 – The Reckoning” is the series best episode yet, as it course-corrects an almost aimless show, offers big thrills, and a cliffhanger that leaves you begging for the next episode, even if it’s only to check on the safety of Baby Yoda.
+ Bringing the show back on course in a big way
+ An ensemble piece finally
+ Helluva cliffhanger ending
+ Baby Yoda’s surprising Force usages
– Gender disparity is a real problem
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
THE MANDALORIAN REVIEWS
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 8 – Redemption