A Review of The Mandalorian: Season One

A long time ago, in a place not so far away, . . . 

George Lucas created the “Star Wars Original Trilogy.” These films told the story of a group of Rebels fighting against the Galactic Empire. They were able to defeat the Empire and establish the New Republic.

 

Now, Disney and LucasFilm tell the story of what happened once the New Republic had risen to power in “The Mandalorian (DisneyPlus),” a live-action TV series set about five years after the events of “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.”

 

The show follows a bounty hunter known as the Mandalorian (played by Pedro Pascal). He is a member of the Bounty Hunter Guild led by Greef Karga (played by Carl Weathers) who specializes in bringing in criminals for money. The Guild operates on the lava planet Nevarro, where a few surviving Mandalorians have established a hideout underneath the city.

As audiences, we see that this part of Star Wars is reminiscent of the American Wild West, a time of lawmen and outlaws. Like the United States in the 1800s, the New Republican is far away from its Western territories. As such, the New Republic does not have a strong presence in the outer planet systems. This physical distance has allowed criminals to run freely in the outer reaches of the Galaxy, along with remnants of the Galactic Empire (the Imperials) under the rule of Imperial warlords.

 

As citizens, we expect the leaders of our city, state, country (or planet) to act in our best interests. But too often, we need to be able to take care of ourselves and make our lives better when they fail us.

 

The Mandalorian himself makes that point obvious when his Guild leader, Greef, suggests that he report a group of Imperial forces to the New Republic and let them deal with it.

 

Whether due to a lack of resources, numbers, leadership or decisive action, the New Republic cannot operate effectively in the Outer Rim. After all, the New Republic has only been in power for a couple of years and needs to establish its presence.

The Mandalorian chooses to follow a moral code of honor as he works in this section of space. Over the course of the first season, he learns to compromise to improve himself while keeping his honor intact. In other words, he learns to stick to his way of life and change the way he sees things. 

 

As Season Two of “The Mandalorian” has already been completed, allowing Disney/LucasFilm to move forward with their “Star Wars Cinematic Universe,” it’s time to go back and review the first season of “The Mandalorian.”

 

Episode 1

We first meet the Mandalorian as he collects his bounty on a fugitive. He is a no-nonsense man of action and few words. Yet the Mandalorian is also an honorable man. He takes a job and finishes it. He refuses to accept bribes from his prisoner, even though he would receive more money.

We are told and shown little about who the Mandalorian is, but flashbacks reveal a tragic past when he was a boy.

Through the Mandalorian’s interactions with the people he encounters, it is clear that Mandalorians are a proud race of warriors. They seek to bring honor to their clans, especially for retrieving Beskar metal, which is used to forge Mandalorian armor. A female Mandalorian Armorer tells the Mandalorian that it is a great honor retrieving Beskar taken during the Great Purge, an event that nearly saw the extinction of the Mandalorians.

In exchange for more Beskar, the Mandalorian agrees to take a job from an Imperial Remnant faction, led by “The Client” (played by Werner Herzog), to bring them an asset known only as “The Child,” who is revealed to be a member of the same alien species as Jedi Master Yoda.

 

Arriving on the planet where the Child is located, the Mandalorian encounters an Ugnaught farmer named Kuiil (played by Nick Nolte). Here, the Mandalorian compromises because he needs Kuiil’s guidance. Kuiil helps the Mandalorian locate his target and guide him to the location.  

 

The Mandalorian then encounters a bounty hunter droid named IG-11, who is also after the target. In order to defeat the mercenaries and survive, the Mandalorian agrees to split the bounty with IG-11. He makes a compromise because he knows that they have a better chance to survive by working together.

 

Inside the compound, the Mandalorian discovers that The Child is a baby. IG-11 tries to kill the Child, but the Mandalorian shoots him so that he can bring the Child in alive for a larger reward.

Episode 2

The second episode reveals the Mandalorian’s humanity. He is just a man. After acquiring an asset, the Mandalorian’s ship is stripped by Jawas. He realizes he needs to use his wits and improvise if he is going to get off the planet and return to Nevarro for the reward.

For example, the Mandalorian is forced to compromise in order to get his ship’s parts back from the Jawas. This process is made more difficult because the Mandalorian killed a few of the Jawas as they were fleeing with the parts from his ship.

 

The first step is the Mandalorian leaving his weapons (his blaster and rifle) behind before negotiating a trade. This is hard for him because weapons are the “religious” of the Mandalorians, his people. Dropping their weapons is sacrilegious to a Mandalorian because it goes against everything these warriors believe in. Yet the Mandalorian does so because he understands it’s the only way he can leave the planet and complete his bounty.

The Jawas will give the Mandalorian his parts back if he succeeds in killing a mudhorn (a rhino-like creature) and bringing them its egg for them to eat.

 

Here, the Mandalorian’s humanity becomes evident. Even though he is a warrior, he is unable to defeat the mudhorn on his own. After his weapons prove useless against the mudhorn, the Mandalorian takes out his knife and intends to die honorably in battle. But the Child intervenes, using the Force to stop the mudhorn long enough for the Mandalorian to strike the killing blow.

 

In life, we often reach points in our lives where we can’t go on. We realize that our own strength isn’t enough. There is only so much we can do by ourselves. Sometimes we need others to help us succeed, whether it is God, a family member, or a friend.

The Mandalorian grows closer to the Child because he knows he would have died if his target hadn’t saved him with its powers.

Episode 3 – “This is the Way”

In episode three, the Mandalorian succeeds in bringing the Child to the Empire’s forces on Nevarro. However, even after accepting his payment, he feels guilty about handing him over because he developed a bond with the Child. His uneasiness

In the Mandalorian Covert, their enclave, the Mandalorian Armorer woman forges a new set of armor for the Mandalorian out of the Beskar steel he revived from the Imperial Client as payment for delivering the Child. When asked about the damaged suit he was wearing, the Mandalorian reveals his fight with the mudhorn. The Armorer wishes to give the Mandalorian the mudhorn has his Signet, but he refuses. A signet is a symbol of pride and honor, much like a coat of arms for families or the logo of a sporting team. It is a sign that a person belongs to a group — a house, location, or group. There’s a sense of pride and accomplishment that comes from wearing those symbols because they show who you are and where you belong.

Yet the Mandalorian is honorable. He could have said nothing and accepted the Signet, but his moral code of honor and his conscious will not have that. He reveals that killing the mudhorn was not an “honorable kill” because the Child has saved his life, allowing him to kill the mudhorn. At the time, the Mandalorian considered himself the Child’s “enemy” because he was the bounty hunter bringing him in for a reward. It is clear that the Child is weighing heavily on him. He decides to take a job as far away as he can from the Child. He tries to take his mind of the task at hand and not on a past job.

Such is the life for the Mandalorian. His people, his “tribe”, can never stay in one place for long, either by choice or circumstance. They accept that “This is the way” things are for them, and that phrase is used to reinforce their Mandalorian traditions – to remind them who they are. It is the reason why the Mandalorian goes from one job to the next. He is used to that way of life.

We also find out that the Mandalorian’s parents were killed by the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars when he was a boy. This tragedy explains why the Mandalorian hates droids and prefers working with organic beings.

In life, a lot of us tend to run away from our problems. We tell ourselves “I’ll do that later,” but we never get around to it. Or like Simba in “The Lion King,” we run away from our problems until someone knocks some sense into us. Yet there is something that weighs heavily on us and we can’t push it away.

That is the case for the Mandalorian. He discovers that the Imperials intend to kill the Child and he goes back for him.

The Mandalorian knows there is no turning back once he rescues the Child from the Imperials. He sacrifices everything to get back the Child, even fighting against his Guild and going on the run.

The Mandalorians aid his escape, refusing to leave a fellow member behind. They accept that they, too, must go on the run just as the Mandalorian does.

Episode 4

In episode four, the Mandalorian goes into hiding on a primitive planet. He teams up with an ex-Rebel Shock Trooper named Cara Dune (played by Gina Carano) to protect a peaceful village from bandits. With Cara’s help, the Mandalorian trains the villagers how to fight.

 

In the process, the Mandalorian opens himself up to a village woman named Omera (played by Julia Jones). He tells her that the Mandalorians took him in after his parents were killed when he was a boy. He chose to live the Mandalorian way of life and hasn’t taken off his helmet in front of other people ever since that day.

This is the first time we have heard the Mandalorian speak about his past to someone outside the Mandalorian group.

 

In life, we meet people who we know we can trust. People who we can be open with and relate to – a close friend, a boyfriend/girlfriend (for single people), or a spouse if you are married.

 

The Mandalorian knows he has developed a bond with Omera so that he can reveal details about his personal life.

 

During their few weeks together in hiding, the Mandalorian reveals to Cara that if a Mandalorian ever takes off their helmet in front of anyone, they can never put it back on again. In other words, the life of a Mandalorian warrior is a way of life, and if you choose to take it off, you choose to live another life. A regular life.

In Cara’s case, the Mandalorian shares experiences with her as soldiers and warriors, things he can’t share with a love interest. The experiences he has with Cara are different than the ones he shares with Omera. They are two different relationships he has with two different people. There are certain parts of his life and experiences where he can relate to each of them.

And so the Mandalorian chooses to give up a normal life and leave the planet with the Child, even if he wanted to stay with someone he could love.

Episode 5

In episode five, the Mandalorian stops to repair his ship on Tatooine.

He encounters a young man named Toro Calican (played by Jake Cannavale) aspiring to become a bounty hunter in the Guild. He is cocky and needs the Mandalorian to help him bring in a dangerous fugitive, an elite assassin.

This dynamic quo shows the ongoing battle between youth and experience. You may be younger and more agile than someone, but you can’t let that give you the false sense that you can beat him based on your youth and strength.

As human beings, we want out lives to be better and belong to a group of people. Others look at our age and experience and make observations about us, whether it is a job interview, at work, high school or college.

 

Often, our pride gets in our way. We think we have everything figured out and know what is best, but we need to grow with experience and age.  We need to appreciate what we have and improve ourselves going forward.

 

Toro ends up double-crossing the Mandalorian because he doesn’t just want to join the Bounty Hunters Guild. He wants to become legendary. This leads to a showdown where the Mandalorian proves experience comes in handy, especially when a seasoned warrior goes up against a novice who has bitten off more than he can chew.

 

The Mandalorian earned his reputation from his experience in the Mandalorian lifestyle and as a bounty hunter. He worked hard for what he had without compromising his beliefs.

 

Toro let his pride get the best of him and it cost him his life.

Episode 6

In episode six, the Mandalorian learns to trust his instincts. He goes to his old boss, Ran, leader of a mercenary gang he used to work for.

Another point of Ran and Mayfeld’s deception is that there is one New Republic security guard on board the New Republic prison ship. The Mandalorian only took the job because there were supposed to be facing only droids, not people. He refuses to kill the guard to tries to save his life, but is unsuccessful. This results in the guard setting off a tracking beacon, alerting a New Republic fighter squadrons to their location.

The final straw comes when the gang leave double-crosses the Mandalorian. They find the prisoner they were sent to retrieve, named Qin. Qin and the gang leave the Mandalorian locked in a cell, where they expect him to die from the New Republic squadron. He then escapes and systematically defeats them and takes Qin back for the reward. We later find out the Mandalorian threw Mayfeld and the others in a cell, leaving them for the New Republic. Now that is poetic justice.

The Mandalorian delivers Qin alive to Ran and then flies off with the reward money. Ran plans to kill the Mandalorian, but the Mandalorian is ready for him. He left the tracking beacon on Qin, leading a New Republic squadron to blow up Ran’s space station, killing him and Qin in the process.

At the end of the episode, the Mandalorian tells the Child, “I told you that it was a bad idea.” This dialogue shows that the Mandalorian knew that Ran and his crew would betray him. He was prepared for it. Just like with Toro Calican, the Mandalorian shows audiences that he will carry out vengeance against those who betray him.

Episode 7

In episode seven, the Mandalorian gathers his allies — Kuiil and Cara — after Greef offers to help him take out the Client, the Imperial warlord on Nevarro who is hunting him. It is for their mutual benefit as the Imperials’ presence has made business hard for the Bounty Hunter Guild.

The Mandalorian is being a realist. He knows that the Imperials will keep sending hunters after him and the Child unless he takes out their leader. So he agrees to go back to Nevarro after he gathers his allies. It is when he and Cara go to visit Kuiil that the Mandalorian realizes that Kuiil had salvaged a damaged IG-11 and “reprogrammed” the droid.

 

Despite Kuiil’s reassurances, the Mandalorian is against IG-11 coming along because he knows he’s a hunter droid and programmed to kill. He believes that droids can’t be trusted because Separatist droids were programmed to fight and kill. The Mandalorian only compromises on this issue because Kuiil won’t help him and Cara unless IG-11 goes with them. Despite agreeing to let IG-11 come along, the Mandalorian still doesn’t trust the droid.

The Mandalorian is cautious about trusting Greef, and rightly so. Greef has originally planned with the Imperials to kill the Mandalorian  and take the Child. However, the Guild leader has a change of heart after the Child uses a Force healing ability to save him from a mortal wound.

Greef believes he owes the Mandalorian and the Child because they saved his life, and so he kills his Guild security detail and helps the Mandalorian face off against the Imperial forces. He doesn’t the honorable thing and repay his debt to them.

And so, the Mandalorian, his allies, and Greef plan to kill the Imperial warlord who hired them, leaving Kuiil to head back to the ship with the Child. To their shock, they discover that The Client is a proxy for the real leader of the Imperial forces, Moff Gideon.

While he deals with the Mandalorian, Gideon sent Imperial Scout Troopers to take the Child, who kill Kuiil in the process.

Episode 8

In the eighth episode, the Mandalorian and his allies make their final stand against Moff Gideon and his Imperial forces. They understand that they are dealing with a formidable enemy because Moff Gideon was a former Imperial security officer and he knows who all of them are.

It is Gideon who reveals the Mandalorian’s real name: Din Djarin, a name he hasn’t used since he was a child. The Mandalorian knows that Gideon is who he claims to be because he knows that no one could have known his name unless they were there when the Mandalorian lost his family and joined the Mandalorians. That knowledge explains why the Mandalorian knows Gideon is serious.

The Mandalorian learns another lesson in compromising. Severely wounded during the fighting, he would rather die than reveal his face to a living being, which would break his Mandalorian Code. He refuses to show his face to Cara because of his code and initially does the same for IG-11. But the droid points out matter-of-factly that he isn’t a living being, and so the Mandalorian won’t betray his code by taking off his helmet. His honor is still intact.

Now healed and able to stand on his own again, the Mandalorian and his allies work to escape Nevarro. In the sewers, the Mandalorian learns what happened to the members of his Mandalorian Covert (their hiding place). Most of the Mandalorians were killed after helping the Mandalorian escape. The Armorer survived and stayed behind.

After seeing the Child for herself, the female Mandalorian Armorer tasks the Mandalorian with caring for the Child until it is reunited with its own kind. She understands that the Mandalorian has a special connection to the Child because he was the one who found and rescued him, just as the Mandalorians found the Mandalorian himself when he was a boy.

 

The Mandalorian is hesitant to take the Child as his “foundling,” but he accepts it. He honorably follows the Mandalorian Creed and lifestyle he chose to follow when he came of age after the Mandalorians found and raised him. They rescued him from the Separatists after his village was attacked.

 

While the Mandalorian compromised his Guild Code as a bounty hunter, he didn’t compromise when it came to his Mandalorian Creed and their way of life.

And so the Armorer gives the Mandalorian his signet, designed as a symbol that shows he and the Child belong together and are tied to each other.

While the Mandalorian saved the Child, the Child ended up saving him. It helped him keep his humanity and find his place in life. It gave him a good, meaningful life.

 

In the process, the Mandalorian also learned to trust IG-11 after the droid sacrificed itself to protect them and the Child. He saw that there was more to IG-11 than he thought. He learned to compromise his belief about droids and trusted IG-11.