The Mandalorian: Chapter 14: The Tragedy
December 4, 2020 2:52 AM - Season 2, Episode 6 - Subscribe

The Mandalorian and the Child travel to an ancient site on Tython.
posted by EndsOfInvention (92 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
ME: Man, the Star Trek people are gonna be pissed that they blew up so much of Vasquez Rocks.

MRS: And that they stole the "gold means Engineer" thing.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:54 AM on December 4, 2020 [3 favorites]


Well, this was definitely better than Grogu going with Ahsoka.

Hurray on Grogo using his powers to mess with the Stormtroopers. But, it was bit like a cat playing with mice, as opposed to pure defense only. Which backs up some of Ashoka's argument about not training him. He's got a lot of anger in him, understandably so.

When someone starts shooting, put your jetpack back on.

Not crazy about Boba Fett being "back," but it's starting to work for me a bit, as the character gets a bit personality and motivation.

The opening scene between Mando and Grogu, was great, particularly as you realize Mando is becoming more open and personable when it's just him and the kid. The way Grogu's ears pop up and his expression changes when he hears his name is priceless.

Seriously people, stop leaving your goddamn spaceship open when you land.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:26 AM on December 4, 2020 [12 favorites]


Also, there's the question of who will respond to Grogu's "call". Might find out next episode or next season, but clearly a lot communication occurred.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:54 AM on December 4, 2020 [5 favorites]


I get that all the callbacks - to the Clone Wars series, to the original films, to the planets we've been to a hundred times already - can get a bit tiresome, but so far I've enjoyed the returning characters. Boba Fett never had much of a personality before, to see him fleshed out a bit is interesting. Plus it's fun to finally see in live-action that he really was a dangerous foe, and not just some idiot who falls into a sarlacc.

Trivia:
- The (as-yet unidentified?) Imperial landing craft look very similar to the First Order's AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transport.
- Dark Troopers are canon again. In Legacy continuity they first appeared in the 1995 video game Dark Forces, as a series of increasingly deadly robotic stormtroopers.
- I'm pretty rusty on my prequel-era lore, but I think the fact that Jango Fett was a Mandalorian foundling was new info. Previously, it was claimed that he wasn't actually Mandalorian and had just stolen the armour.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:16 AM on December 4, 2020 [8 favorites]


I'm delighted that Boba Fett's back, and Fennec too. There's never a bad time to cast Temuera Morrison. (Between him, Ming-Na Wen, and Giancarlo Esposito, this show's worth watching for the guest stars alone, not to mention that Robert Rodriguez directed(!))

In my headcanon, there has always been a post-credit scene from Return of the Jedi where we see the sands of Tatooine, the wreckage of Jabba's barge still smoldering, and the Sarlacc pit, when suddenly there's a huge underground explosion, bits of bloody Sarlacc guts rain down everywhere, and Boba Fett emerges from the blast and flies off.

That said, it was a bit silly that apparently only half of the Stormtroopers came out of the first transport initially, that the two transports didn't land at the same time (and debark all of their troops), that Fennec ran along the crest of a ridge instead of right behind it where she'd have cover and concealment, etc., etc., etc. But then people don't watch Star Wars for sound tactics. OTHO, it was nice to see the Stormtroopers deploying some heavy weapons (have we seen a mortar before?), even if they didn't use them very effectively.

And it looks like the Beskar spear will be significant -- I'm hoping that Din will use it fight Gideon in the season finale.
posted by Zonker at 9:12 AM on December 4, 2020 [4 favorites]


have we seen a mortar before?

There have been plenty of grenade launchers and rocket launchers in the Battlefront games (and a rocket launcher in Rogue One) but I don't recall ever seeing a mortar in Star Wars canon before. It was nice to see Stormtroopers applying slightly more effective tactics than "run towards the good guys". I mean they still did that, but with heavy weapon covering fire.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 9:21 AM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


I definitely got intense Prometheus flashbacks from the guy whose response to the big rock rolling right at him was to stay perfectly still and shoot at it.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:02 AM on December 4, 2020 [10 favorites]


The Boba Fett toy had a rocket launcher... The mythical toy had a firing rocket launcher... So he's gotta fire a rocket in this episode... whee!!!

The Mandalorian continues to be 11 year old 'Dave and Jon playing Star Wars on their parents carpet'.... and I am totally on board for many more episodes of that.
posted by ewan at 10:15 AM on December 4, 2020 [16 favorites]


My reaction when the Dark Troopers flew away with Grogu.
posted by Pendragon at 10:50 AM on December 4, 2020 [3 favorites]


Previously on BABY IN PERIL!....
posted by guiseroom at 11:15 AM on December 4, 2020 [3 favorites]


Well. THAT was fan service. Possibly the most fan service in any single show ever?

Not a complaint.
posted by biffa at 12:00 PM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


So, at the start of this I was thinking there were three options for baby Yoda.

Become a Jedi, which I guess means Kylo Ren messing him up in the next 15 years.

Say no to the Jedi. Who knows what that means, but a few people have discussed this in these threads in recent weeks.

Be evil Yoda. I guess Moff Gideon is after that. The flicking the stormtroopers around seemed to suggest he is already on the way?
posted by biffa at 12:24 PM on December 4, 2020


It would’ve been way more on-brand for Boba Fett if Mando had just blown him away as soon as he stepped down from the rock, before we learned anything about his motivations or character...
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:55 PM on December 4, 2020 [9 favorites]


OK, 1: Pouring one out for the Razor Crest.
And: 2: Where the hell was Slave 1 sitting, all those years, assuming it took Boba a while to crawl out of the Sarlacc?
Also, 3: Did Mando ever pick his jetpack back up, or was it just left behind in the fracas? I'm assuming that his disintegrator rifle was lost in the Crest. But there went a lot of Mando's toys...
posted by rp at 12:59 PM on December 4, 2020 [5 favorites]


Be evil Yoda. I guess Moff Gideon is after that. The flicking the stormtroopers around seemed to suggest he is already on the way?

He said to tell the evil research guy that he has a "donor" now so it looks like they want Grogu for Force-infused blood (or midichlorian) transfusions along the lines of what Mando & co. saw in the Imperial base a few episodes ago.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:34 PM on December 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


the evil research guy

I wonder if Pershing will turn on his masters when/if asked to harm the baby. I know he was protective of the baby before, in season 1 ep 3.

I find it hard to whole-heartedly enjoy anything that features baby in difficulties because it gives me anxiety. (I know he's a fictional character, but I am very personally invested in his wellbeing! That shot of him looking down at Mando with huge distressed eyes as the Dark Troopers flew away with him. Oh, man.) But I did enjoy seeing him fuck up those Stormtroopers. I get that we're supposed to be like, oooh, baby is going dark etc, but I was just like, Yeah, you show them, Grogu.

Also that opening scene with baby snorting in disgust when dad talks about how they're going to find some nice Jedi to look after him. They are just such a family now, it's great. I've been watching Star Wars Rebels, and really enjoying the found family vibe that recurs throughout the different stories.
posted by unicorn chaser at 2:11 PM on December 4, 2020 [7 favorites]


Not crazy about Boba Fett being "back," but it's starting to work for me a bit, as the character gets a bit personality and motivation.

I can understand folks who want Boba Fett to be a character, but I personally have the opposite reaction. There's a lot to criticize the prequels for, but what will forever stick in my craw is the introduction of Jango and taking away Boba's mystique. I want Boba Fett to be a name, a look, a reputation. Four-year-old me imprinted on that mysterious figure, and anything trying to undo that image just strikes me as not quite right.

Not to say I didn't enjoy this episode. I have a very personal quibble, that's all.

I'm gonna miss the Razor Crest.
posted by xenization at 2:13 PM on December 4, 2020 [5 favorites]


Just when I got the Lego Razor Crest, too. What a bummer.
posted by dominik at 2:17 PM on December 4, 2020 [12 favorites]


Oh man, that sucks - but at least Din found and kept that knob.

How much do personal starships cost, anyway?

Wonder if we'll see a training montage of Din with the spear?

I'm actually ok with Fett coming back as a character; he's aged and grown/ changed from his early bounty hunting days. All in all, decent payoff from the teasing from the first season and previously episode.
posted by porpoise at 2:17 PM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


Oh, and losing his home, Din's helmet thing gets a lot more complicated.
posted by porpoise at 2:22 PM on December 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


I feel so protective of Grogu. What a vulnerable, angry little baby! He just wants to be back with his daddy! (I want him to be back with his daddy, too!)

I don't really care about Boba Fett but this was really satisfying! The action scenes were great! (I was way more delighted to see the ever-wonderful Ming-Na Wen return as Fennec. As much as people were whining about Boba Fett spoilers earlier -- like that hadn't been set up by the first episode! -- I was glad I didn't know about her.)

Poor Razor Crest. It was finally fixed and then just got exploded.

I know a lot of people complain about how much "myth" you need to know, and while I like Star Wars and know bits and pieces, I think all of this works without it.

I really think Pedro Pascal does a great job with acting just with his voice. I assume that's mostly him in the suit and he does good with body language, too, but it's great to form an emotional connection with a character when we never see his face. I'm still assuming they'll blow that motif up at some point, but for now, it works for me.
posted by edencosmic at 2:30 PM on December 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


It would’ve been way more on-brand for Boba Fett if Mando had just blown him away as soon as he stepped down from the rock, before we learned anything about his motivations or character...

Most on-brand would have been for Fett to be still inside the Razorcrest when Gideon blew it up—only for him to crawl out of the wreckage later.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 2:34 PM on December 4, 2020 [8 favorites]


If Boba Fett talked like Yoda: “When exit Sarlac Pitt on Tatooine, look as good you will not.”
posted by mundo at 3:04 PM on December 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


For just a moment, as Mando walked around the pit-formerly-known-as-Razorquest, I could swear I heard him thinking, "I wonder if I could patch this up and get it flying?"
posted by Mogur at 3:35 PM on December 4, 2020 [15 favorites]


For just a moment, as Mando walked around the pit-formerly-known-as-Razorquest, I could swear I heard him thinking, "I wonder if I could patch this up and get it flying?"
"Y'know I've got the knob, I see a gear thingy, there's these scraps of there and I've got a stirring stick! All we need is some fish-people twine and baby you've got a stew^H^H^H^Hship going!"
posted by mce at 4:13 PM on December 4, 2020 [8 favorites]


Slave I shows up on the screen and suddenly I'm 12 years old, damn.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:23 PM on December 4, 2020 [7 favorites]


Where the hell was Slave 1 sitting, all those years, assuming it took Boba a while to crawl out of the Sarlacc?

Probably still parked on the tarmac a short distance from Jabba's Palace, where he left it before dropping in to pay his respects to the Hutt. Luke and the gang probably booked it off-world pretty quick after blowing up the sail barge without waiting around or talking to any of the local authorities. That probably gave Boba at least a few days to engineer his escape from the Sarlacc and then hoof it and/or thumb a ride back to the deserted palace before the Tatooinian authorities (or the other Hutts) showed up to repo everything left behind.
posted by Strange Interlude at 5:25 PM on December 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


Although now that I think about it: Given that he was carrying Tusken weapons (which he had clearly gotten some practice with) and had been separated from his armor at some point, I wonder if his journey back to Slave-1 might have involved getting captured and/or nursed back to health by the Tuskens and a bunch of other side adventures that kept him busy for a while.
posted by Strange Interlude at 5:30 PM on December 4, 2020 [5 favorites]


And: 2: Where the hell was Slave 1 sitting, all those years, assuming it took Boba a while to crawl out of the Sarlacc?

Well, at least one of them understands the importance of keeping your ship secure when you land.

Personally I imagine Slave 1 was just parked in another one of Amy Sedaris Peli Motto's hangars. She no doubt bitched at Boba about how long he'd left it there when he finally showed back up but the ship was fine. He may still owe her a bunch of money, though. (Also, wow, I had sort of forgotten what a totally weird-looking ship Slave 1 is. Even by the standards of weirdly-shaped Star Wars ships.)

Mando's lucky that apparently Boba Fett's reputation is apparently still enough to spook a unit of Stormtroopers even this many years later.

Definitely feeling sad about the Razor Crest. Feels almost like losing a cast member. Also, if the pen n' paper RPG is anything to go by, ships are pretty darn expensive! I don't expect he's just going to hock the spear to buy a new ship - and even at the outrageous prices Beskar commands I'm not sure even that would cover anything but a junker. (I suppose the Razor Crest was already kind of a junker...)

The kid's definitely showing some serious Dark Side tendencies. Totally understandable, yes, but also very worrisome. It was kind of cute to see even Moff Gideon getting a little bit paternally sucked in by the sheer damn cuteness of the baby, though.

Maybe Grogu is unintentionally functioning as a sort of sin-eater - taking away the Dark Side energy from the people around him and absorbing it into himself. A lot of previously nasty or at least amoral folks sure have taken to behaving better after exposure to him.
posted by mstokes650 at 5:38 PM on December 4, 2020 [6 favorites]


Gideon taking the time to antagonize a baby is a whole look
posted by jason_steakums at 5:55 PM on December 4, 2020 [10 favorites]


carrying Tusken weapons

Totally. He must have at one time "gone native"/ assimilated-cross-cultural-practices and/ or was otherwise resource limited (didn't want to show his face/ presence in broader society?).

Got a real end-of "Mad Max: Thunderdome" vibe seeing Fett, like Max walking into the desert with traditional weapons that the environment can furnish.

The Tusken long gun actually seems like a viable weapon; it's a two-handed club-staff with bastard (as in the sword) properties where you can "choke up" for close-range melee and it seems like a reasonably accurate and powerful long-range blaster.

Really reminds me of gun stock war clubs used by N. American First Nations after contact.
posted by porpoise at 6:15 PM on December 4, 2020 [3 favorites]


If you feel bad about The Razor Crest, imagine how'd you feel if you are one of the 28,000+ backers who dropped a couple hundred bucks or so to preorder one from HasLab and just watched this episode.
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 6:23 PM on December 4, 2020 [5 favorites]


Boba Fett!!!!!!!
posted by ChuraChura at 6:38 PM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


The opening scene was just so cuuuuuuuuuuuuute!

I don't think it's "going evil" if the baby is literally messing with guys who are kidnapping/messing with/hurting him. That's just well deserved.

Moff, I dunno if I'd be so confident if I were you.

I had to run the show back to figure out exactly when it was that Fett/Fennec (how do you spell it?) agreed to defend the baby and when the heck Fett got his armor back. Well, good time to pull that out, I guess.

Poor Razor Crest. What's a bounty hunter without his bounty or ship?

Well, we knew the baby was gonna get kidnapped sometime.

I am curious to see how many Jedi he might have pulled out of the network.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:47 PM on December 4, 2020 [4 favorites]


On rewatch, Mando repeatedly running into the forcefield, despite being so thoroughly repelled the first time, is exactly the sort of thing a parent would do. He knows he doesn't have chance, but if it's the only chance, he'll keep trying.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:53 PM on December 4, 2020 [16 favorites]


That probably gave Boba at least a few days to engineer his escape from the Sarlacc and then hoof it and/or thumb a ride back to the deserted palace before the Tatooinian authorities (or the other Hutts) showed up to repo everything left behind.

Jawas. It would for sure be Jawas.

I laughed and clapped when the bomb landed next to the stormtroopers and when my wife looked at me quizzically I said, "That bomb signals that the gaderffii-fighting portion of the evening has concluded."

I was not disappointed.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 8:30 PM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


How much do personal starships cost, anyway?

Ahem. As I read this, from the depths of my prepubescent brain rose the words, “Ten thousand? We could almost buy our own ship for that!”

Anyway, fan service aplenty, but as a fan, I don’t mind being serviced occasionally. And as ewan remarks above, this is totally young Jon playing with his Star Wars figures forty years ago. You can even tell where the new characters come from, if you squint; Fennec and Gideon are probably Black Hole figures or something , Mando is a spare Boba Fett plus some Testors model paint, and those dark troopers are absolutely Micronauts.

It’s funny to think that I am much of an age with both Favreau and JJ Abrams. A quarter century ago I knew both of them a little bit as actors... but one had written Regarding Henry a couple of years earlier, one was about to make Swingers a year later. Meanwhile the two big sf franchises were hit and miss: Star Trek was doing okay with Deep Space 9 but the unprepossessing Voyager had just started, and TNG was into the biannual movie phase of its existence; meanwhile, Star Wars had been dormant for a decade and was now just a series of books and tabletop RPGs.

I could not have imagined that by the time we were all middle-aged one of these two guys would have been given the keys to both Star Trek and Star Wars and made them both anodyne, while the other would have put Star Wars on TV and made it good again, and also midwifed a lot of second-tier Marvel characters into a massively ambitious and shockingly lucrative new way of making movies.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:03 PM on December 4, 2020 [11 favorites]


I've been worried about introducing characters from the rest of the Star Wars media into the show but holy crap that worked so well to me, almost as good as Ashoka. Redeemed Boba Fett as a character, seeing him actually be bad ass was great. The 12 year old me was cheering the whole time, and maybe the 53 year old me.

There were rumors James Mangold (Logan) was going to direct a Boba Fett movie but it fell through. At the time I was curious but skeptical, but now I would totally watch it.

And yay Robert Rodriguez.
posted by beowulf573 at 9:39 PM on December 4, 2020


Maybe now a Robert Rodriguez directed Boba Fett movie?
posted by Ignorantsavage at 10:18 PM on December 4, 2020


I don't think it's "going evil" if the baby is literally messing with guys who are kidnapping/messing with/hurting him. That's just well deserved.

Two things that I keep coming back to: 1) Grogu is an infant, but an infant from a really, really long-lived species. In calendar years, maybe he's like 53, and a whole lot more mentally and emotionally complex than we see. Which ties into 2) being psychic, maybe Grogu just doesn't like making primitive mouth noises to communicate, and while Mando's talking about finding Jedi, Grogu is trying to have a pretty deep conversation mentally about how the Jedi were not "all that" and I'm not cool with the idea about going with them, but all we see, not being psychic too, is him playing with the ball that I suppose he could force throw fast enough to cause projectile damage like a bullet, and the caption just reads, "coos"
posted by mikelieman at 11:27 PM on December 4, 2020


this is totally young Jon playing with his Star Wars figures forty years ago

There was a scene where a wounded stormtrooper landed with legs akimbo like when you would rotate the legs of the dolls around in the ball joints. *chef's kiss*
posted by mikelieman at 11:32 PM on December 4, 2020 [16 favorites]


Oh, and when Boba Fett was smacking around stormtroopers with his staff, little bits of stormtrooper helmet would break away...

I found the scene I mentioned earlier. The last one that Boba Fett smacked around was the broken stormtrooper action figure I mentioned.
posted by mikelieman at 11:40 PM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


I don't think it's "going evil"

It kinda felt to me like Gideon was hoping Grogu would kill a trooper, like Palpatine cackling at Luke.
posted by Rat Spatula at 11:56 PM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


So, Luke is going to be the guy who turns up in response to the Force beam on Tython, right? Who else is On Search for promising younglings in the chaotic first years of the New Republic? What better "see ya next season" shocker to unveil five seconds before the credits roll for the last episode of the season?

I guess I've been priming myself for it by identifying Grogu so closely with my own child but this episode fucked me UP. I'M SO WORRIED.

Toddlers are impulsive, vindictive little beasts. I'm not concerned Grogu messing with the troopers means some larger Thing; mine smacked her big brother across the face just yesterday. He's frustrated and scared and wants his daddy, it doesn't mean he's turning into Anakin before our eyes. But seeing him in those wee little manacles all asleep and alone broke my maternal heart.
posted by potrzebie at 12:11 AM on December 5, 2020 [10 favorites]


Well, if the show needs a post-RotJ Luke Skywalker, Disney has a doppleganger already under contract.

If Grogu's first word in Galactic Basic is "Dad", I think my heart might grow three sizes and then explode.
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 1:17 AM on December 5, 2020 [4 favorites]


But seeing him in those wee little manacles all asleep and alone broke my maternal heart.

And where did the stormtrooper get these wee little manacles, anyway? Asking for the SDNY.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:31 AM on December 5, 2020 [14 favorites]


So, Luke is going to be the guy who turns up in response to the Force beam on Tython, right? Who else is On Search for promising younglings in the chaotic first years of the New Republic? What better "see ya next season" shocker to unveil five seconds before the credits roll for the last episode of the season?

I think in the finale we're due two cameos: Thrawn, as foreshadowed in the Ahsoka episode, and then a Jedi. Other than Luke, there's probably good odds on Ezra Bridger (from Rebels). I've seen in some circles speculation of another Jedi who is in a video game, but I don't see Filoni going there.

And where did the stormtrooper get these wee little manacles, anyway?

I mean, the Empire probably shackles all kinds of non-human species of different sizes. I can imagine them having either small manacles or manacles that adjust in size.
posted by synecdoche at 5:21 AM on December 5, 2020 [2 favorites]


Just when I got the Lego Razor Crest, too. What a bummer.

New Razor Crest instructions: Open box, dump on floor.

To add insult to injury, today’s LEGO Star Wars advent calendar door was a tiny Razor Crest.

This episode was a lot of fun and fan service, but “put jetpack on ground, forget it exists” is one of the dumber ways to depower a hero. Particularly when said jetpack has a “return to owner” button that was demonstrated earlier this season.
posted by Fleebnork at 6:06 AM on December 5, 2020 [15 favorites]


Slave I shows up on the screen and suddenly I'm 12 years old, damn.

I literally said “oh shit!” out loud.
posted by schoolgirl report at 8:25 AM on December 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


And where did the stormtrooper get these wee little manacles, anyway?

My husband and I asked the same question and then were like, of course, silly us. In a galaxy containing Babu Frik's species? Those probably aren't even the smallest size they make!
posted by potrzebie at 8:41 AM on December 5, 2020 [4 favorites]


aw, I'd hoped the Dark Troopers would be Vaderian cyborgs, and not robots (er, droids, I guess). Droid troopers just don't have the same appeal

also, watching Grogu fuck up some stormtroopers reminds me of the baby lightsaber video
posted by BungaDunga at 9:49 AM on December 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


And where did the stormtrooper get these wee little manacles, anyway?

1. It’s been established repeatedly that Grogu was in their custody before.

2. Even if he hadn’t been, getting small manacles made doesn’t seem like a huge stretch for a wealthy organization that has to deal with a multitude of different species. I’d be more surprised if they didn’t have various sizes and shapes as part of standard inventory.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:15 AM on December 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


I just love Space Dad and Magic Son so much.
posted by emjaybee at 12:15 PM on December 5, 2020 [7 favorites]


from a reactor: "Of Course the f*ckin' Space Nazis have handcuffs for toddlers! That's their whole vibe"

Have to say, a guy named Temuera smashing imperial troops with a thing that's a tewhatewha/totokia hybrid...gotta feel good.

Also, does Boba look kinda pale and pruny because he escaped the sarlacc? Or had he also been living the Helmet Never-Nude lifestyle for long enough that he now has that permanent 'just got the plaster leg cast removed' look?

Household bets have been taken on whether or not Space Gus Fring is going to die by metal knob ball, a la that Magneto move with the Nazi's coin.
posted by bartleby at 12:49 PM on December 5, 2020 [7 favorites]


And where did the stormtrooper get these wee little manacles, anyway?

1. It’s been established repeatedly that Grogu was in their custody before.

2. Even if he hadn’t been, getting small manacles made doesn’t seem like a huge stretch for a wealthy organization that has to deal with a multitude of different species. I’d be more surprised if they didn’t have various sizes and shapes as part of standard inventory.


I love having my jokes fact-checked, especially after the punchline has been snipped out.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:59 PM on December 5, 2020 [6 favorites]


This is the way.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:14 PM on December 5, 2020 [7 favorites]


totokia

OMG. Real life totkias have that exact toothbrush knob thing on them!
posted by porpoise at 1:39 PM on December 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


There was a scene where a wounded stormtrooper landed with legs akimbo like when you would rotate the legs of the dolls around in the ball joints. *chef's kiss*

I'm so glad you posted this! I was going to say the same thing earlier, but I thought maybe I was just trying to read too much into it.

I'm not one of those posters who says the effects on this show are rough—I'm blown away by how amazing the effects are for a TV show—but those Droid Troopers looked not-great to me. Very video game cut-scene.
posted by Ian A.T. at 3:17 PM on December 5, 2020 [3 favorites]


Evil ASIMOs
posted by jason_steakums at 5:34 PM on December 5, 2020 [3 favorites]


I really like the line where Fennec says to Din, in his helmet as usual, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

The obvious foreshadowing is that they put Grogu in a prison made of Frog Lady eggs and he eats his way out.

And now we know how/why Din gets to see Bo-Katan again! I'm looking forward to the Reunite the Team to Raid the Big Bad Ship episode.
posted by medusa at 5:35 PM on December 5, 2020 [2 favorites]


My wife teaches US History and Ethnic Studies and let me tell you all I have seen some distressingly small manacles.

Turns out the Empire was us all along.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 5:44 PM on December 5, 2020 [12 favorites]


Evil ASIMOs
I did one of those inadvertent giggles at the evil space robot with red triangular eyes.
-Emperor Zerg voice- We meet again, Buzz Lightyear! Muahahaha!!
posted by bartleby at 8:03 PM on December 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


My wife teaches US History and Ethnic Studies and let me tell you all I have seen some distressingly small manacles.

This would make a good FPP.
posted by medusa at 8:30 PM on December 5, 2020


And now we know how/why Din gets to see Bo-Katan again! I'm looking forward to the Reunite the Team to Raid the Big Bad Ship episode.

I was cross she wasn't his first phone call. I mean, I know you've got more history with Dropsie, but the leader of your own people who is specifically hunting the dude you're after seems a MUCH BETTER person to hit up first.
posted by coriolisdave at 2:09 AM on December 6, 2020 [2 favorites]


Very video game cut-scene.

Video game cut-scene, you say?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:56 AM on December 6, 2020 [3 favorites]


If you feel bad about The Razor Crest, imagine how'd you feel if you are one of the 28,000+ backers who dropped a couple hundred bucks or so to preorder one from HasLab and just watched this episode.

Well, the Death Star got blown up at the end of the original film, but that didn't stop many of us buying the huge Lego set nearly 40 years later.
posted by Major Clanger at 8:58 AM on December 6, 2020 [4 favorites]


Speaking of better loot, I think the destruction of the Razorcrest means a 100% chance that Din inherits Slave 1. (And rechristens it.)
posted by ejs at 9:14 AM on December 6, 2020 [1 favorite]


Mando: Nice shot.
Boba: I was aiming for the other one.

Where is that from???? I know I've seen the exact same gag elsewhere.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:18 AM on December 6, 2020


There's a TV Tropes page for this gag. Not all the examples are quite on point, but a few, like one in the Magnificent Seven are pretty much the same.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 9:28 AM on December 6, 2020 [3 favorites]


I enjoyed it but the whole thing was very video game.

I mean, that's been the entire series. The first episode and the Big Gun, for example. The new Beskar Armor scenes are basically cut scenes.

All that said... I am loving this show the way I wanted to love the final trilogy. I wish I could call 10-year-old me and tell him all about the return of Boba Fett. That was 100% fan service but it was done in a way that's reasonable and was foreshadowed nicely.

I'm just going to pretend that the prequels and new trilogy never happened and the real continuation of Star Wars starts with The Mandalorian.
posted by jzb at 10:27 AM on December 6, 2020 [2 favorites]


I would be perfectly happy to have Original Trilogy, Clone Wars, Rebels, this one and maybe Last Jedi. The Leia comics are also badass, keep those.
posted by emjaybee at 11:10 AM on December 6, 2020


The TV Tropes page lists the one that I immediately recalled, from Blake's 7 'Orac', when Avon has just blown evil henchman Travis' gun-equipped artificial hand off before he can execute Blake with it:

BLAKE: Good shot, Avon.
AVON: I was aiming for his head.
posted by Major Clanger at 1:04 PM on December 6, 2020 [1 favorite]


Jayne Cobb also says it in an episode of Firefly. Speaking of which, the descent of the Razor Crest at the beginning of the episode really reminded me of Firefly, both the ship and the shot. And then they went to Space Weathertop. This was a fun episode. I was leery of the return of Boba Fett (I saw him die in 1983!) but thought he was great.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 2:04 PM on December 6, 2020 [1 favorite]


I predict that a duplicate of the razor crest will be found in a junkyard somewhere and pressed into service.
posted by medusa at 6:56 PM on December 6, 2020


I was leery of the return of Boba Fett

I was just thinking how, when Temuera Morrison appeared on screen for about 2.2 seconds five episodes ago, there was broad recognition and consensus that this was Boba Fett. Strictly speaking, he had never appeared onscreen before as the character and had appeared as his... father? Progenitor? Genomic original? Anyway, he played Jango in a movie 18 years ago, and some other clones three years later, and bit of video game voice work since then.

What a world.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:36 PM on December 6, 2020 [1 favorite]


I love seeing all the guest stars dig enthusiastically into their roles. Giancarlo Esposito really knows how to swirl a cape.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:20 PM on December 6, 2020 [11 favorites]


mumblemumble FUCK Billy Dee Williams mumblemumble show him how it's DONE mumblemumble
posted by bartleby at 9:32 PM on December 6, 2020 [2 favorites]


I predict that a duplicate of the razor crest will be found in a junkyard somewhere and pressed into service.
As a reward for returning the Darksaber to Mandalore, and bringing peace to the age-old conflict between us and the Jedi, we present you with...
the Mudhorn!
(pulls curtain on a refit razorcrest type- now plated in Beskar)
posted by bartleby at 9:45 PM on December 6, 2020 [1 favorite]


(pulls curtain on a refit razorcrest type- now plated in Beskar)

...and, one hopes, an automatically-closing door.
posted by Mogur at 2:51 AM on December 7, 2020 [16 favorites]


My wife and I rewatched the series together thus far and in the climax of Season 1, Mando relays to Kuiil to get back to the ship and seal himself inside, and if he activates the security system "nothing on this planet will be able to get inside."

So it's not just that he doesn't lock up his stuff, it's that he repeatedly ignored the potent security system he had in place.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 1:20 PM on December 7, 2020 [6 favorites]


So it's not just that he doesn't lock up his stuff, it's that he repeatedly ignored the potent security system he had in place.

His remote is dodgy. Only works on plot-contrivance. Has to be a big bad threat for the stupid thing to engage, and even then half the time he has to reseat the batteries just to get back in the ship. Swears it was made from recycled droid brains.
posted by daq at 2:10 PM on December 7, 2020 [3 favorites]


How many of us have locked up their horse(s) (from theft - aside from securing them just walking off on their own) before sauntering into town?

Yeah if starship = home, one would expect a lot better security measure to be put into place (especially for a bounty hunter).

But how many of us would lock up a RV/ car, having parked it somewhere outside of town (or in a campground somewhere)?

I still remember being in college in '96-00 and having a basement off campus in a town of 1000 townies and 1000 students. With a rental basement full of (underaged) booze and (soft) drugs, I'd wander out to return a pony keg or whatever and leave the door unlocked (so visiting friends could let themselves in and start putting a dent in the beers in my fridge - or warm up my table-top, multi-stage water pipe with what they brought with them).

=)

But, yeah, storytelling.
posted by porpoise at 8:51 PM on December 7, 2020


One of the main ways nerds show affection towards their favorite media is by nitpicking it mercilessly.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:26 PM on December 8, 2020 [8 favorites]


I'd wander out to return a pony keg or whatever and leave the door unlocked

Sure, but if you’re a seasoned bounty hunter, I hope folks would behave differently with their spaceship/home.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:56 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]


What makes you think porpoise wasn't a seasoned bounty hunter?
posted by medusa at 7:23 PM on December 9, 2020 [5 favorites]


Haven’t seen him at the weekly brunch!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:26 PM on December 9, 2020 [4 favorites]


If you look around the brunch table, and you can't spot which one of you is the seasoned bounty hunter, then the ... no wait, that doesn't work.
posted by bartleby at 8:39 PM on December 9, 2020 [4 favorites]


If you look around the brunch table, and you can't spot which one of you is the seasoned bounty hunter...

...check your armor for curry powder.
posted by The Tensor at 10:50 PM on December 9, 2020 [5 favorites]


Haven’t seen him at the weekly brunch!

No wonder Mando never takes off his mask. Those brunch bottomless mimosas are dangerous.
posted by mundo at 5:16 PM on December 10, 2020 [2 favorites]


The description of the level of fanservice in this episode thread amused me because in our household it is the fifth grader that’s the superfan, which means that Clone Wars and Rebels are really “his” Star Wars. In the last episode, seeing Ahsoka got a literal squee out of him. We enjoyed the fights in this one, but Boba Fett doesn’t have anywhere near the emotional resonance for the younger generation of fans. It’s interesting how that plays out.

(Kid is *extremely* excited about the new show. I think Disney knows which side of their bread is buttered.)
posted by tchemgrrl at 5:02 PM on December 11, 2020 [3 favorites]


"my boat..."
posted by chortly at 10:51 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


Maybe now a Robert Rodriguez directed Boba Fett movie?

Would you sete for a largely Rodriguez-directed season of Boba Fett TV show?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:12 AM on November 2, 2021


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