The Mandalorian: Chapter 11: The Heiress
November 13, 2020 1:52 AM - Season 2, Episode 3 - Subscribe

The Mandalorian braves high seas and meets unexpected allies.
posted by EndsOfInvention (75 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
This was a fun adventure, a short episode but it packed a lot in.

Trivia:
- Both Mon Calamari and Quarren, seen here in the port, originated on the same water planet (Mon Cala).
- Bo-Katan Kryze previously featured in The Clone Wars and Rebels animated shows, where she met several Jedi, and eventually allied her clan with the Rebellion. She was last seen in Rebels as the owner of the Darksaber, claiming leadership of Mandalore. She's played here by the same actor who voiced her in the animated shows: Katee Sackhoff.
- Din Djarin is (unknowingly?) part of the "Children of The Watch", a breakaway sect of Mandalorians (or "religious zealots" according to Bo-Katan) who never reveal their faces and want to "re-establish the ancient way". This is their first mention in Star Wars canon (as far as I can tell).
- Gozanti cruisers were first seen in the background in the prequel films but were only shown more prominently in The Clone Wars and Rebels. They can also be used to carry TIE fighters or AT-STs docked on the underside of the hull. The Gozanti's captain is played by Titus Welliver, known for his roles in Lost, Deadwood, Sons of Anarchy, and Bosch.
- Ahsoka Tano confirmed! Ahsoka was one of the main characters in The Clone Wars animated show, where she was Anakin Skywalker's padawan apprentice. She fought in the Clone Wars conflict alongside Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi, but eventually left the Jedi Order after she was framed for bombing the Jedi temple. She later showed up in Rebels were she assisted the Rebellion forces.
- The mysterious cloaked figure watching Din in the port is played by WWE wrestler Sasha Banks.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:29 AM on November 13, 2020 [3 favorites]


Kind of fun pew pew pew episode.

I liked this series better when it wasn't about all of the other Star Wars series. I had hoped this series would be about things AFTER the original trilogy but nope, we're going back to the prequel stuff.
posted by Fleebnork at 5:37 AM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]


I do like seeing parts of the Star Wars universe not connected to Important People Involved In Important Events, but the Mandalorians and Ahsoka were some of the best things to come out of The Clone Wars and Rebels, so I'm on board for these returning characters.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:09 AM on November 13, 2020 [6 favorites]


Not being familiar at all with Clone Wars, and having only done Season One of Rebels, I never felt that this ep was anywhere close to hammering me over the head with 'this is old important thing!!!'. Definitely a case of if you know the legacy you will get an extra bonus, but for me this was the side quest in a D&D campaign that gave you the next step forward ... go find this mysterious wizard, say I sent you.

Perfectly lightweight use of canon IMO.
posted by ewan at 6:23 AM on November 13, 2020 [10 favorites]


Din Djarin is (unknowingly?) part of the "Children of The Watch"

Bo Katan specifically tells Din, “You are a child of the Watch.” I think she’s just saying that Din was part of Death Watch, which we already knew.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:29 PM on November 13, 2020 [5 favorites]


So much joy at the Bo Katan and Ahsoka reveals!

I am an easily pleased viewer... But I thought this was a really fun episode. I like the episodes directed by Bryce Dallas Howard (she also directed 'Sanctuary' in Season 1) - she does a nice balance of kick-ass action set-pieces juxtaposed against little character beats. Loved the Frog Lady and Frog Man reunion, and the Mandalorian going Full Dad when he leaves the baby with them - "Mind your manners, you know what I'm talking about".

For all that we get to see other Mandalorians and learn a little more about the wider Mandalorian culture, I liked that this is still our Mandalorian's show. Yes, there's something bigger going on that he's learning about for the first time, the fight for control of Mandalore. For him this is a side-quest. This kind of episode lets the universe breathe around him and the baby. You get the sense that there is a lot more going on than he is aware of or cares about. I think that is good world-building and hard to do well without lots of info-dumping or feeling the need to tie in all the strands of one individual's story with everything happening in the world around them.

I'm excited to see what they'll do with Ahsoka.
posted by unicorn chaser at 4:42 PM on November 13, 2020 [9 favorites]


Felt tight - I like "side quest" descriptor. I haven't watched clone wars but have been meaning to do so for some time.

That being said - holy gosh darn it; that was more than pew-pew that was extraordinarily flashy. I had to stop playback, find my glasses and reposition so as to not fill my field of view with the 'ol iPad-on-chest view. Even then I still don't feel good. Extra not great given how dark and gloomy the first half of the episode was so device brightness was high.

No spiders but very flashy.
posted by mce at 6:17 PM on November 13, 2020


Din was orphaned, adopted, and raised. Didn't have a ton of say about his upbringing.

I'm loving the alien diversity. Does anybody know how much of the people were purely CG and how many had a person on set (mocap or physical costume/ both)?

Digging the gritty lived in industrial fishing art design. Also the clean stormtrooper armour contrasting with the more dirty degenerate ones we saw last season.

It didn't seem like the Mandalorians really needed Din's help?
posted by porpoise at 6:20 PM on November 13, 2020


The episode didn't do nearly enough with her which is a shame because I feel like Sasha Banks knows more about physical storytelling than anyone who has ever been featured in a Star Wars property before (yes, I am saying she edges out Ray Park, if only by a hair). She is also, to the best of my knowledge, the only cast member with her own personal song by the Mountain Goats.

This "get everyone from Deadwood a bit part" season of The Mandalorian is making me sad that Powers Boothe is no longer with us; he would have been excellent. Still holding out hope for Garret Dillahunt!
posted by Parasite Unseen at 7:55 PM on November 13, 2020 [8 favorites]


Space knitwear!
posted by jason_steakums at 7:56 PM on November 13, 2020 [7 favorites]


Woo! I’m so happy to see Katie Sacks again, and I love the inclusion of the Clone Wars/Rebels/Dave Filoni-verse lore. I gasped when the dark saber was revealed last season. In this ep I gasped for Bo Katan and Ashoka. Star Wars!
posted by chrchr at 8:49 PM on November 13, 2020 [2 favorites]


I had heard that Katee Sackhoff might be back, but it so lovely to see her! Kickass, if not a lot of characterization. The difference between her & her companions' armor, and Din's, was striking: his house is not even a year old.

Anyway, so we are definitely getting the history of Mandalore fleshed out. Still don't know when the Purge was: could it have been after the fall of Palpatine? When all the various admirals & governors were scrambling for power?

At least this clarifies that there were no intermediate stops for the Darksaber: Moff Gideon took it from Bo-Katan directly, I'm guessing.

Mandalore is (I guess?) still habitable, and maybe even inhabited, or possibly occupied, by Gideon's forces.

Din doesn't get the irony, but I love that when he asks Bo-Katan to put him in touch with the Jedi, she sends him to the one Force user she trusts, who is certainly not a Jedi.

Dude needs to get a better mechanic. But I'm cranky about the slur about Mon Calamari: aren't they supposed to be excellent starship engineers?
posted by suelac at 10:08 PM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]


Well I'm sure the Mon Cal starship engineers are excellent engineers, fishing port ground crew perhaps aren't the best though.

I was thinking I liked the atmospheric re-entry, as it's something you don't see much of in Star Wars, and then it was pointed out on Twitter that the sequence is Bryce Howard taking some pointers from their dad.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:23 AM on November 14, 2020 [15 favorites]


The CGI in the sequence of the Razorcrest getting lifted out of the water and dumped on the deck was insanely good. They’re really sparing no expense.
posted by schoolgirl report at 4:51 AM on November 14, 2020 [10 favorites]


I also enjoyed the at-at crane.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:21 AM on November 14, 2020 [20 favorites]


I just keep thinking about how exciting all this would have been to teenage me at the peak of my Star Wars fandom. Like I really like it now, but it would have loved this so so much then.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:09 AM on November 14, 2020 [4 favorites]


The CGI in the sequence of the Razorcrest getting lifted out of the water and dumped on the deck was insanely good. They’re really sparing no expense.

I normally don't notice things like this, but the integration with the dripping water in the background was really good. I had exactly that thought, "Wow, they're spending some money on this." It was nice to get out of the desert too.

I never watched the prequels or animated series, am a Star Wars lightweight, but I like the unfolding mythology about Mandalore. I'm also hoping that they didn't cast Pedro Pascal to be a voice actor forever in this. It would be nice to see his face on occasion. Ideally, Bo-Katan could be a way to this.
posted by gladly at 9:14 AM on November 14, 2020 [6 favorites]


> It didn't seem like the Mandalorians really needed Din's help?
Bringing an extra commando couldn't hurt, but I don't think that was why Bo-Katan brought our Mandalorian along. She likely sized him up as still a babe in the woods socially (the insular Death Watch symbol, the new Clan Mudhorn crest, his as-yet blank beskar). The mission was a good opportunity to assess him as a warrior (his fighting capabilities, how he'd react to her changing the mission's scope and whether he'd still keep to his word) and to plant the seed that there is more than just DW's "The Way" to be a Mandolorian.
> I had heard that Katee Sackhoff might be back, but it so lovely to see her! Kickass, if not a lot of characterization. The difference between her & her companions' armor, and Din's, was striking: his house is not even a year old.
I love Sackhoff and was so impressed by how she embodied Bo-Katan. (She even pulled off that hair!)

I'm hoping that as Din figures out what being a Mandalorian means to him, he also begins to decorate his beskar in his own unique style.
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 9:22 AM on November 14, 2020 [5 favorites]


Baby Yoda watch:
* "Don't play with your food" made me laugh for 5 minutes.
* OMG IT ATE BABY YODA!!!!! ....whew, it did not.
* OMG YOU JUST GAVE HIM TO THE FROG COUPLE AND THE EGGS.... happily, it seems that Baby Yoda behaved himself, I guess?
* What a cute little octopus-eating carnivore.

I love Katee Sackhoff, 'nuff said to that.

I second wanting the helmet off. I KNEW he was in a cult, darn it. Seriously, when does he eat?! That's so excruciatingly inconvenient.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:46 AM on November 14, 2020 [9 favorites]


I liked this episode. I liked the frog people reunion. I liked them babysitting Baby Yoda and even how he was playing so gently with their tadpole (although I was worried he was going to eat it, which I'm sure was the point).

Loved Katee Sackhoff and her character too, I hope we see a lot more of her.

Good action, great effects. And the flight to the planet in the falling-apart Razorcrest was nerve-wracking.
posted by biscotti at 11:52 AM on November 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


IGN has a nice run-down of Bo-Katan's history and her previous appearances here. She's had a wild career, going from a supporter of her sister to a member of Death Watch in opposition to her sister, teaming up with Maul, then opposing Maul, teaming up with Ahsoka to capture Maul just before Empire Day, and then years later teaming up with some of the Rebellion to claim the title of Mandalore herself.

Based on this show, it looks like her tenure as the Mandalore didn't even last five years?
posted by suelac at 1:15 PM on November 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Oooh, this is a nice spot that I completely missed.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:42 PM on November 14, 2020 [15 favorites]


I really wish they had named the CGI Clone Wars something else, because I'm one of the people who think that Tartakovsky's Clone Wars animated shorts were the only good thing to come out of the prequel universe, although as I understand it it's been demoted out of canon. Which is sad, because there were some amazing set pieces Duel on Yavin IV, and Mace Windu vs. the giant Monty Python foot...
posted by mikelieman at 3:21 PM on November 14, 2020 [5 favorites]


This episode was so great! I absolutely adore Katee Sackhoff, she was the person who kept me watching Battlestar Galactica even after it turned into a dumpster fire. I am not familiar with the Clone Wars and Rebels but I guess her character is a big deal? Watching her kick ass is THE BEST. I'm sad she went off on a different mission. Every other episode is going to be NEEDS MORE KATEE SACKHOFF.

I also really like Emmet Asher-Perrin's recaps at tor.com. Here's the one for this episode.
posted by medusa at 7:38 PM on November 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


Particularly these bits:
And if the long arc of that journey just so happens to lead to the restoration of the Mandalorian people on their homeworld with Bo-Katan Kryze in possession of the Darksaber as the Mand’alor? Sign me up. (Also, the Watch could relax their rules again and let poor Din show his face. Then he could maybe go back and make a nice homestead with Omera? Seems like he’d appreciate that option.) He’s so awed by their competence when they storm that ship, it’s fantastic—the realization of what it could be like to really work with his people toward common goals, even if just for a moment. I also adore how Bo uses the Mando mantra against Din to twist his arm into aiding her, because she knows how Death Watch worked and how it gained loyalty and what her people truly value. She knows that Din is one of them, and she wants them all to be on the same side. Give us more of her.

I’m still not sure what the intention was with the Frog Lady and her partner, and having Baby Yoda around for the birth of her first child. Are we supposed to infer that the kid has learned something about the sanctity of life now that he sees that the egg brought forth another baby? Is this going to lead to him being more sensitive in the future? Did anyone even consider how awkwardly that whole concept is positioned here? Because either way, my issues with how this was handled in the last episode still stand—treating it as a comical aside that he ate a bunch of her potential kids wasn’t great. It also feels particularly off-base when the point is that Din knows he can leave the kid with them because they’re parents… but shouldn’t because he knows what happened last time the kid was around the eggs. The tonal shift of how seriously we’re supposed to take Frog Lady’s motherhood from moment to moment is enough to give you whiplash.
posted by medusa at 7:45 PM on November 14, 2020 [3 favorites]


Honestly, the previous episode sort of ruined this one for me, speaking as the mom of a toddler who eats everything that isn't nailed down. Halfway through the fun Mandalorian action set piece I turned to my husband and said, "I know this is cool and I'm beyond pumped for live action Bo-Katan but I can't pay attention fully cause I'm too busy worrying Yodicito is gonna eat that fucken tadpole." So... that's where I'm at. I wish this show were more of an escapist romp for me and less about the mechanics of having a toddler with you who wants to consume all the things.
posted by potrzebie at 10:52 PM on November 14, 2020 [7 favorites]


I also enjoyed the at-at crane.

Can we all agree that it's a cray-cray?
posted by The Tensor at 12:57 AM on November 15, 2020 [32 favorites]


I don't know much about Star Wars beyond the movies, have seen not a single episode of the animated series, nor read books or comics. Hell, I'm only vaguely aware of who Ahsoka even is, beyond being a fan favorite.

So I'm not getting all the references or meanings of a lot of things and that's fine! As a relative newbie about al this, I'm still enjoying the show, but with different emotional attachments.

This episode was good, a more serious follow-up to the last one. The kid might be learning about life, but this things are rarely learned all at once. So watch him around eggs! 'Cause the kid may not have idea of what being a family means, or even the idea of family. While Din may have messed up notions about it.

Because he was brought up in a religious sect! Did not suspect that, nice touch and leaves him a possible path to regularly take his helmet. To get to that point though, means Din has to rethink who he is, while toting around his very own foundling.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:42 AM on November 15, 2020 [5 favorites]


I watched it again and my conclusion is: I wish I could walk the way Katee Sackhoff walks.
posted by medusa at 6:30 AM on November 15, 2020 [6 favorites]


Also, if they don't get Ian McShane aka Al Swearengen for a guest appearance, I. WILL. RIOT. Or at least write harshly about the creators for 1-3 posts on some backwater dingy spot of the internet.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:41 AM on November 15, 2020 [10 favorites]


Also, if they don't get Ian McShane aka Al Swearengen for a guest appearance

If anyone could make "nerf herder" sound like a real slur, it's him.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 7:16 AM on November 15, 2020 [9 favorites]


Now that we've got Sackhoff on the show, we need to get her friend Trisha Helfer on the show to act with/opposite her. Bonus points if they're on speeder bikes.
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 7:54 AM on November 15, 2020 [3 favorites]


What if that isn't the real Bo-Katan, but a clone?! One of set number of clones, with a plan?!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:51 AM on November 15, 2020 [8 favorites]


So if you’re a Nerd of a Certain Age (gen-X sort), you might recall the arc of geek fandom. In my childhood, there were two massive, towering icons of genre fiction: Star Trek and Star Wars. Everything else was far far below them (Planet of the Apes? Lost in Space? Space:1999? The fuckin’ Starlost? Come on.) The first ambitious grab to get onto the podium with the big two was Battlestar Galactica. Seriously, the novelization I owned as a kid had on the cover, “First there was Star Trek. Then there was Star Wars. Now there is BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.” However, even at its best, it was always RC Cola to the big guys’ Coke and Pepsi.

Twenty-five years later, early in this century, Star Wars was dribbling out underwhelming prequels and Star Trek was treading water with the tiresome Enterprise series. BSG returned with a reboot that showed every indication early on of being terrible but was actually (for a while, anyway) stellar.

Of course, the pendulum eventually swung back again. BSG fizzled out with things like Blood and Chrome. The Mandalorian is generally pretty well regarded, and Star Trek has like five different series going, from animated comedies to moody character studies. Something in there for everyone.

It’s odd that between Katee Sackhoff here and the sudden appearance of a mysterious melody as plot device over on Star Trek: Discovery, that both franchises should look backwards to BSG fifteen years ago in the same week.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:35 AM on November 15, 2020 [9 favorites]


As a fan of Clone Wars and Rebels, I really enjoyed this episode. I am really hoping, though, that with Ahsoka comes Sabine. (I had it in my head that Din's search for Mandalorians would lead him first to Sabine, who would lead him to Ahsoka.)

Of course, if Din's going to be particular about finding Jedi, he might have trouble with Ahsoka. Alternatively, there might be a nice parallel there between Ahsoka leaving the Jedi cult order and Din's realization that there is more to being the Mandalorian than the Way taught to him by the Watch.
posted by synecdoche at 12:34 PM on November 15, 2020 [6 favorites]


I noticed in the credits that one of the visual effects teams was called Important Looking Pirates, a fun bit of kismet.

Katie Sackhoff has a really engaging YouTube channel. I highly recommend this video about her training regimen for different characters, and how much thought she puts into tailoring her body for each specific person she plays. If, like me, you thought an actor preparing for a role wasn’t more complicated than “get buff,” you’ll find it fascinating.

It’s cool they didn’t recast Bo-Katan. I like Rosario Dawson, but it’s a bummer that Ahsano’s not being played by Ashley Eckstein, her long-time voice actress. She definitely looks the part, if her Ahsano cosplay is any indication...
posted by Ian A.T. at 10:43 PM on November 15, 2020 [2 favorites]


"The tonal shift of how seriously we’re supposed to take Frog Lady’s motherhood from moment to moment is enough to give you whiplash."

That was my issue with the egg-eating plot/joke. The writing had this huge clash between "Eating some frog lady's eggs, so funny" and "be at least somewhat invested in this frog lady's quest". Which could have worked if they *made that the story*, but instead you were just apparently supposed to treat them totally separately.
posted by tavella at 2:50 PM on November 16, 2020 [1 favorite]


Is there any chance they recut this episode at the last minute? what if this episode originally had scenes of baby Yoda eating more eggs, but they saw the backlash last week and hurriedly cut them out at the last moment? I've got no evidence for this, but it would make a lot of sense.

I'm totally lost on all the references y'all are bringing here from the animated shows. was this deathwatch / children of the watch thing in your minds all along? did half of you watching this know all along that our hero is part of some bizarre throwback cult within the Mandalore?
posted by Nelson at 10:28 PM on November 16, 2020 [2 favorites]


I'm totally lost on all the references y'all are bringing here from the animated shows.

Same here, but kinda along for the ride anyway; so far they seem to be doing OK on making it accessible as a standalone for folks that didn't watch that part of the canon.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:56 PM on November 16, 2020


My guess is they're playing up Baby Yoda's amorality on purpose, that the kid's early life and association with Mando has given them a serious attraction to the Dark Side of the Force, that they may end up having to struggle with later in life.
posted by JHarris at 6:12 PM on November 17, 2020


amorality on purpose

I'm not so sure here. But then I hold a strong distinction between "morality" and "ethics."

As for the Dark Side - doesn't that require hate and fear? The Child is acting on biological imperatives (hunger), not malice.

I wonder if communing with the frog couple's tadpole is an enlightenment event where the Child starts learning about consequences, like how some vegetarians choose to do so once they understand where meat comes from?

The Child's fear response has been escape/ protection. Not sure I've ever seen the Child actively hate. Their use of Force against the mudhorn was making it not a threat, rather than to hurt it...?
posted by porpoise at 8:37 PM on November 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


did half of you watching this know all along that our hero is part of some bizarre throwback cult within the Mandalore?

Kind of, yeah. Some sharp-eyed viewers identified the Mandalorians in the flashback to Din's rescue as a child: they had the Death Watch symbol on their armor. And the Death Watch is known as terrorist group who were pretty extreme in their reactionary beliefs that Mandalore should return to its warrior/conquering past.

Anyway, the whole never-remove-helmet thing was certainly not an element of ordinary Mandalorian culture--we have seen many Mandalorians in the other shows/movies take off their helmets and so forth. So the assumption was that Din was (a) raised by a splinter group, probably Death Watch; and (b) this group had gone hard on their cultural beliefs.

What nobody really knew until this episode is whether any other Mandalorians had survived the Great Purge; and apparently Din didn't know, either. Now we know that possibly lots of Mandalorians survived! Which makes sense, anyway, since Mandalorians didn't just live on Mandalore anyway.

The complicating element here is that at one point Bo-Katan was a member of Death Watch, although it should give her some leverage with Din, possibly.

This does make me wonder about the identity of the Armorer, I have to admit. Is she someone we should know maybe?
posted by suelac at 10:25 PM on November 17, 2020 [6 favorites]


Interview with Katee Sackhoff about her role as Bo-Katan.
Her original tweet when she found out she was going to be in the live-action show almost exactly a year ago.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:11 AM on November 18, 2020 [8 favorites]


Thank you, suelac, that was incredibly helpful. I know there's a lot of other story there, I need to read some explainers. Everything You Need To Know About STAR WARS’ Bo-Katan looks like a good start.

So now I'm confused about time. Or rather, lack of cultural transmission of knowledge. The Mandalorian takes place in 9 ABY; that's 9 years after the first Death Star is blown up in the first movie. The the Great Purge apparently occurred in 2 BBY, or 11 years ago.

So how come our hero doesn't know about the Great Purge? How does an immediate mythology spring up that Mandalore is a cursed place, with the nature of the curse mysterious? It's not even half a generation; he was alive when the Purge happened! Most of the people in The Tribe probably fled Mandalore! Do they just not talk about it?

It's kind of the same problem as how apparently all the The Tribe don't know what Jedi are, nor does anyone Mando encounters. Even on Tattooine, the Jedi hiding place! All this doesn't make much sense really across all Star Wars; it only takes 30 years for the Jedi to go from ruling the universe in the Phantom Menace trilogy to being a mostly disbelieved rumor in the original trilogy.

I'm thinking about this too hard. Space Westerns are fun!
posted by Nelson at 9:28 AM on November 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


It's kind of the same problem as how apparently all the The Tribe don't know what Jedi are, nor does anyone Mando encounters. Even on Tattooine, the Jedi hiding place! All this doesn't make much sense really across all Star Wars; it only takes 30 years for the Jedi to go from ruling the universe in the Phantom Menace trilogy to being a mostly disbelieved rumor in the original trilogy.

I see this expressed a lot, but I think people are confusing what we as the audience know about Jedi, vs what the people who live in the Star Wars universe might know.

Tatooine only had 1 Jedi on it, who kept to himself out in the Jundland Wastes for decades. He used his lightsaber once in a bar in Mos Eisley and then left the planet.

At their height, the Jedi were generally regarded as "10,000 strong", so spread out across a galaxy, they were still probably pretty rare to actually see in person, unless you lived near their HQ on Coruscant or witnessed some major event that required a Jedi flashing their lightsaber to solve. The big wars from 30 years ago were fought by clones and droids. Most of the time, Jedi would probably show up and do some talking to diplomats or important people.

They didn't rule the universe, the Galactic Senate did, at least until the Emperor took over. They served as advisors within the government.

Mando not knowing stuff about the Purge or other Mandalorian history I just chalk up to his time spent among religious zealots who didn't tell him the facts, I guess. If he's kicking around the Outer Rim and stuff, he might not know much about it.
posted by Fleebnork at 9:46 AM on November 18, 2020 [5 favorites]


One of the running themes of Star Wars (intentionally or not) is that this galaxy does not seem have any form of mass media: no TV, books, newspapers, magazines, etc. There also doesn't seem to an Internet equivalent, either. There's a library in the Prequels, but it seems to mostly contain holograms. There are sacred texts in The Last Jedi, but these are different from books in wide circulation...and Luke never read them anyway.

I know that the EU had lots of examples that contradict this, but if you judge by what's on screen, it appears that there are very few ways to disseminate information in the Star Wars universe beyond word of mouth.

To me, this was always a central component of how the Empire seized power and maintained it for so long: the people they ruled are nearly completely isolated from communicating with each other in a large-scale organized way.

This also helps me handwave why Mando and others have never heard of the Jedi. Without mass media, the Empire could suppress any knowledge of them within a generation.
posted by Ian A.T. at 10:06 AM on November 18, 2020 [8 favorites]


I'm totally lost on all the references y'all are bringing here from the animated shows.

I was too and I would have stayed that way except for some free time last night.

For all "I'm good without the back ground" people, you would do your Star Wars loving self a favor to watch the last 4 episodes of Clone Wars season 7. The early episodes of season 7 are not particularly good. I had watched the first and wrote this off. The last 4 are basically a movie and I suspect you will like it.
posted by bdc34 at 10:50 AM on November 18, 2020 [8 favorites]


Ok but was it ok for the child to eat all those eggs because only one hatched anyways?? Like, why did only one hatch? Are the other ones going to hatch?

Frog Lady, I think I know the reason your species is going extinct.
posted by GuyZero at 8:48 PM on November 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


I'm pretty sure the hatched tadpole was just the first of many (the tank in the background had a bunch of eggs still floating in it).

Personally, I had no indication that the other eggs in the jar failed to get fertilized or had gone spoiled in some way (thanks Mr. British-guy-in-5th grade and the tank of fertilized salmon eggs - which decidedly turned gross before we released them (surviving and failed) into a local river).

What would you fine people think about the Child consuming failed-to-fertilize eggs, after a vigorous, earnest, and good faith attempt at fertilization?

Now, what do you think about consuming post-birth human placentas?
posted by porpoise at 9:23 PM on November 18, 2020 [2 favorites]


The Armorer mentioned the Great Purge to Mando back in the first episode, she identified it as the source of the Beskar ingot Mando gave her.
posted by JHarris at 11:28 PM on November 18, 2020


Ok but was it ok for the child to eat all those eggs because only one hatched anyways?? Like, why did only one hatch? Are the other ones going to hatch?

You know how sea turtles lay loads of eggs because so many hatchlings get eaten by sea birds? It's like that except with Yodas.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:07 AM on November 19, 2020 [3 favorites]


True that, Yodas don't get along with seagulls.
posted by Pronoiac at 2:43 AM on November 19, 2020 [1 favorite]


You know how sea turtles lay loads of eggs because so many hatchlings get eaten by sea birds? It's like that except with Yodas.

Yes but all those eggs hatch at the same time for exactly that reason!!11! Having the eggs hatch sequentially over time is just giving predators more time to eat all the delicious babies! Apparently space frog person biology is the hill I'm dying on today!
posted by GuyZero at 9:21 AM on November 19, 2020 [7 favorites]


Metafilter: space frog person biology is the hill I'm dying on today

GuyZero, I think I can say we've all been there.
posted by medusa at 2:44 PM on November 19, 2020 [3 favorites]


Also how has Katee Sackhoff not aged a day since Battlestar Galactica?
posted by medusa at 2:59 PM on November 19, 2020 [2 favorites]


Now, what do you think about consuming post-birth human placentas?

Grilled or deep fried?
posted by Thorzdad at 3:18 PM on November 19, 2020 [1 favorite]


medusa... a steady diet of frog-lady eggs
posted by kokaku at 4:08 PM on November 19, 2020 [2 favorites]


Also how has Katee Sackhoff not aged a day since Battlestar Galactica?

Cloning, duh!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:08 PM on November 19, 2020 [2 favorites]


One of the running themes of Star Wars (intentionally or not) is that this galaxy does not seem have any form of mass media: no TV, books, newspapers, magazines, etc.

Don’t make me defend the most dismal instalment of the big-screen series, but Attack of the Clones has Obi-Wan and Anakin looking for trouble in what we can only read as a sports bar, with dozens of screens of pod races and the like.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:59 PM on November 20, 2020 [2 favorites]


You know, between Amy Sedaris's character and the Frog Lady there is a surprising amount of short notice ad hoc childcare options available in the Post Apocalyptic Empire Worlds.

Kind of gives me hope for 2021.
posted by seasparrow at 8:23 PM on November 20, 2020 [9 favorites]


Given the costuming choices, I was half expecting the imperial officers to start shouting at the crew in German.

This seems like (by far) the most direct visual metaphor/allusion equating the Empire to Nazi Germany that we’ve seen from Star Wars.
posted by schmod at 2:10 PM on November 22, 2020


Really glad that this episode did not follow in the previous one’s footsteps. The egg eating was in many ways a series-ruining moment for me.

I get that they’re living in an extremely rough-and-tumble universe, Mando is no saint, etc.... but that’s clearly not what the writers had in mind for whatever the fuck it was they were trying with that episode.
posted by schmod at 2:13 PM on November 22, 2020 [1 favorite]


Yes but all those eggs hatch at the same time for exactly that reason!!11! Having the eggs hatch sequentially over time is just giving predators more time to eat all the delicious babies! Apparently space frog person biology is the hill I'm dying on today!

OK, I'll join you on that hill.

My impression is that the Frog People are an r-selected low-K species like actual frogs: they have lots of eggs, not all eggs hatch, not all hatchlings are expected to survive.

BUT they've evolved sentience and have some kind of high-tech incubator. So they may be able to control the rate of hatching (say, by manipulating the temperature of the water as an obvious example) and deal with their tadpoles one at a time, or possibly even save some for future years if the technology can do that.

Also, I breed aquarium fish sometimes, and while they're also r-selected, a batch of eggs might take 5-6 days between the first hatch and the last. So they don't really hatch "all at the same time." In fact, there may be an evolutionary benefit to eggs not hatching at the same time, since a predator ready to eat the hatchlings today may not be there tomorrow.

I didn't hate the egg-eating bits in the last episode -- they've shown us over and over that Baby Yoda is desperately hungry, and since Mando is Too Cool to take off his helmet and eat, he sometimes fends for himself. I even found it a bit awkwardly funny.

I was worried that he'd eat more eggs this time, and Mando would come back to find that the Frog People were at war with him for destroying the last of their species. Fortunately they didn't do that. And Yodito seemed to learn a lesson about where babies come from and why some eggs shouldn't be eaten... I think. Maybe there's a message there that the Child isn't really getting the life training he needs from the Mandalorian, and needs to spend more time with actual parents.

Oh, one more thing about breeding aquarium fish. If they have a batch of eggs I isolate the eggs in a separate tank, and I always put some pond snails in with them. The snails will eat the infected / rotting eggs (because their shells are softer) and leave the healthy ones alone. This increases the chance of survival for the rest because the infection can't spread.

Am I saying Baby Yoda ate only bad eggs and saved the rest of their offspring? Probably not, but it makes me feel a bit better.

{Bad news about this show's writers: at 36 minutes this has the shortest run length of the S2 episodes so far. So there's a good chance they edited out 5 minutes of egg-eating scenes at the last minute.}
posted by mmoncur at 10:03 PM on November 24, 2020 [10 favorites]


> So there's a good chance they edited out 5 minutes of egg-eating scenes at the last minute.

Simply making a Production out of it: juggling eggs, dribbling them on the floor, rolling them along their arms, popping them into the air with their elbows, catching them in their mouth
posted by Pronoiac at 11:02 PM on November 24, 2020 [2 favorites]


I’d have preferred that, truly. And/or a stinger at the end where the frog lady gives Baby Yoda an egg to eat as a treat, to help undercut the idea that each and every one is viable/sacred.
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:10 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]


Just for the hell of it, I tried taking pictures of my (Target) Baby Yoda with a large egg carton, and hard boiled an egg for photos to try to pose him with it. Sadly that was hard to do, as his little claw hands are a bit inadequate for that.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:44 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]


Did I miss a scene where we learned the protagonist’s true name? I thought people were calling him Mando because nobody knew his actual name but all of a sudden in this thread everyone is referring to him as Din. What gives?
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:29 PM on November 29, 2020


Atom Eyes, it was in the last episode of season 1, revealed by Moff Gideon during the standoff. Din Djarin.
posted by medusa at 1:53 PM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]


Thank you!
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:54 PM on November 29, 2020


Baby Yoda with eggs and alcohol.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:21 PM on November 29, 2020 [5 favorites]


Is Baby Yoda getting wasted and downing a flat of eggs again? Kid, I told you not to do that!
posted by medusa at 2:33 PM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]


jenfullmoon: "Baby Yoda with eggs and alcohol."

Are we sure the Mandalorian's true name isn't Gin Dozen?
posted by chavenet at 2:29 PM on December 2, 2020 [2 favorites]


This seems like (by far) the most direct visual metaphor/allusion equating the Empire to Nazi Germany that we’ve seen from Star Wars

??????

The entire series from the very first film has been nothing but overtly equating the Empire with Nazi Germany, not least of which would be calling the soldiers "stormtroopers" and those Nazi-like officer costumes, which have also been around since 1977.
posted by soundguy99 at 1:52 PM on December 6, 2020 [8 favorites]


Not to mention the destruction of Alderaan, collective punishment and genocide.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 2:16 PM on December 6, 2020 [4 favorites]


Digging the gritty lived in industrial fishing art design

Between the Mon Cal in the knit sweater under the waterproof gear and the makeshift repair job, the script must have read “EXT: MAINE, BUT IN SPACE”
posted by mikepop at 7:09 PM on December 19, 2020 [4 favorites]


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