Another excellent episode of The Mandalorian, directed by Carl Weathers, and featuring Grogu learning and remembering and Bo-Katan! Re:cap - “The Convert”, Dr. Pershing was warned about continuing his research, he meets with Elia Kane and says he needs a mobile lab. She says they can find one outside of their perimeter which would result in being sent to the Re-Integration Institute. He notes that perfectly working technology that is Imperial, but his co-worker says it would need authorization with the decommissioning of the Alliance fleet. I think this would take the New Republic in the same problem as the Old Republic. The fleet, especially the Mon Calamari ships, could be used for system defense and also to fight off any new threats. Elia takes Pershing, he is a little nervous, to a hovertrain station. Elia greets a Bufopel in a fur coat, it is a bulky alien seen in The Last Jedi (2017), as Taungsday, the third day of the week. A bit more of the Star Wars world. She tells Pershing that they are head to the Shipyard Depot. Ticket droids start to check the compartment, surprisingly poor CGi, it is like they are floating while walking. They carry tickets and not scan i.d.s to enter trains in Star Wars? Elia has Pershing leap off the hovertrain before the stop. No security is alerted? No cam droids? Nothing to stop anyone from taking anything from a shipyard?
They walk into a decommissioned Star Destroyer and introduce themselves. Elia opens a door to a lab and Dr. Pershing assembles some material in a case. They see some guards and start to run to the bridge, but a spotlight from an airspeeder falls on the duo as NewRebublic guards surround them. Elia takes away Pershing’s case as he is arrested. He wakes the next day attended to by a Mon Calamari med tech (John Ott). His voice doesn’t sound very Mon Calamari. Pershing is told Amnesty Officer G68, Elia, turned in a report. She watches from a window. A Mind Flayer is set placed by him, explained to be at low voltage used for trauma not wiping out his mind. The Mon Calamari says he will return when Pershing is finished. He says he was set up by Elia. A Twi’lek Amnesty Affairs Commissioner (Sunkrish Bala) thanks Elia. She wants to be there for Pershing whom she is a friend. She turns up the dial, if a device is changed from the Empire, why is there a Mind Flyer setting? watches, and chomps on a biscuit. Mando has brought Bo-Katan to the Children of the Watch covert we saw in the first episode. Again, I don’t have a problem with Dr. Pershing, but his middle part of the story feels like filler.
He tells Bo-Katan to keep her helmet on. Paz Vizla sees their ships land from the cave and other Mandalorians follow. He denies them entry since Din is thought to be an apostate. Mando tells him he was at the mines and they were told lies to keep them in exile. Bo-Katan vouches for Din, Paz Vizla doesn’t recognize her, and told that she is apostate like Mando. He shows the vial of the Living Waters, there is some whispers, and they allowed in. They meet with the Armorer and Din gives her the vial. She pours it into her water and says he is redeemed. The Armorer also gives redemption to Bo-Katan Kryze and accepts her into the covert! The other Mandalorians greet them and Bo-Katan looks at the Mythosaur symbol. “Chapter 20: The Foundling” picks right up with the Children of the Watch praticing with weapons outside of the cave, fighting in matches, watched over by judges. Bo-Katan checks on them. A Youngling uses his jetpack, kinda unconvincing like he is pulled up by wires, no jet exhaust, but it continues. She sees Grogu alone by himself almost meditating, but really not part of the group.
It is not really rocks he is levitating, but crustaceans, stone crabs?, and Din takes him to the other foundlings. They are dueling hand to hand and Mando sets down Grogu as to be the challenger. Ragnar, now with his helmet, throws down another foundling. Bo-Katan wonders about Grogu, shin height, taking on a teenage boy. Din calls over a judge. The judge can’t believe the challenge, but Mando tells him he is Grogu’s ward. He tells Bo-Katan that he will move onto to apprentice by the challenge. Ragnar chooses training darts. The boy asks about Grogu’s helmet and Din says he can’t say the Creed. Mando tells Ragnar, “One does not speak, unless one knows”, part of the Creed and notes that Ragnar might learn from the challenge. Bo-Katan straps the wrist dart onto Grogu and says her father was the same way! She has faith in him, Bo-Katan is starting to become my favorite Mandalorian. The judge says there are three darts, Din tells his son to squeee his fist to launch the darts, Ragnar fires instantly. He splatters green paint on Grogu’s robe. Another point is scored. Din tells Grogu that he can use his Force abilities.
Ragnar fires, but Grogu does a Force leap over him and then back! Ragnar is surprised and Grogu launches three darts at his chest winning! Bo-Katan asks Din if he taught him the leap, but he says it wasn’t him. We know it was Luke Skywalker. Ragnar walks to the edge of the lake, a reptavian swoops down, and pulls him away! This reminds me of Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) except a condor dragon snatched up Cindel. Great! They brought in blurrgs from that movie, now there is just Teek! It is pursued by Paz Vizla and other Mandalorians on jetpacks! Paz Vizla has also lost jetpack fuel with Din at his side. They see the Gauntlet fighter flown by Bo-Katan follow it in the setting sun. She returns to the covert and asks for a hunting party and found the nest of the reptavian. Bo-Katan tells Paz Vizla and the Armorer that she can climb the peak of the beast. Din volunteers The Armorer assigns Paz Vizla and the Shriek-hawk Training Team to join them. They leave and The Armorer takes Grogu to the Forge. She fashions a new piece of armor for Grogu at the heart of the Mandalorian people. The Armorer shows how The Forge is like the Mandalorians and that it can “show weaknesses.”
Grogu watches as a press repeatedly strikes the armor piece. This brings Grogu back to when clone troopers were breaching the door to the Jedi Temple. A Jedi says to take him to Kelleran. It is breached with a thunderclap sound, a canned sound effect, part of what is used when Stormtroopers entered the Rebel Blockade Runner. A female Jedi Knight tries to hold of the clone troopers as Grogu reaches the elevator, her body falls in it! This maybe a big ask, but SW is usually comprehensive, so I would like to know who were the Jedi who came to Grogu’s defense. The elevator reaches the top floor, and out of the door comes Kelleran Beq (Ahmed Best)! I thought it was cool that Ahmed Best saves Grogu, but not if his character came out of nowhere, and he has not. Ahmed Best from Jar Jar Binks to instant fan favorite! Kelleran appeared in the Star Wars Kids and Youtube game show, Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge (2020)! Kelleran uses a green lightsaber which in the Expanded Universe would make him a Jedi Consular like Yoda! Kelleran picks up the fallen Jedi’s blue lightsaber and uses them in a dual fighting style, Jar’Kai, used by Ahsoka Tano! I really like Kelleran’s use of the lightsabers against the clone troopers!
He fights off a number of clone troopers, but gets in a two-person speeder bike with Grogu and flies from the burning Jedi Temple. A Republic gunship blasts at them, damaging the engine at the rear of the bike!, firing within the Galactic City? I also wonder if this distracts attention away from Senator Organa and Yoda’s escape in Revenge of the Sith (2005)? He takes a gunship into a hovertrain tunnerl and then plows through the plaza with the Umate display from last episode. Kelleran makes a crash landing on a platform next to a H-type Nubian yacht which was flown by Padme! A Naboo captain (Juan Javier Cardenas) checks on him and then a gunship lands with clone troopers. The Naboo security forces try to hold them off as Kelleran and Grogu enter the ship. They are followed by V-Wing starfighters. Kelleran makes the jump to hyperspace while Grogu is stunned by the Armorer’s hammer strikes. She attaches the circular rondel to Grogu’s chest with a Mudhorn symbol. Bo-Katan’s ship lands and the seven Mandalorians walk to the peakof the reptavian. She points out an outcropping where they can make camp. Bo-Katan asks Din how they can eat with helmets on and he explains they find places where they can remove helmets alone.
They leave and Paz Visla tells Bo-Katan as leader she can stay by the fire. A nice moment with Bo-Katan taking off her helmet, it would be a shame to have an episode without seeing Katee Sackhoff’s face! In the morning, Bo-Katan notes that the war party should not use jetpacks to alert the creature. They ascend up the peak with grappling lines. I don’t get why Paz Vizla carries around his heavy blaster cannon which he is really unable to use. They also wear regular boots not with climbing attachements. Din signals to Bo-Katan who also notes to the others that they are reachng the nest. It is a interwoven with large branches. A red Mandalorian helmet lies in the nest. Din locates a heat source with his helmet. Paz Vizla rushes in to find his son! For some reason, I think his mother is The Armorer. Instead, three reptavian chicks snap at him! This is right out of the two-headed Roc scene in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)! Nice nod to Ray Harryhausen! The reptavian mother regurgiates Ragnar to feed her chicks and then bites Paz Visla to take him and Ragnar in her claw to fly away! The others chase after them. Bo-Katan is bashed and starts to fall before ejecting her shoulder pauldrons! Grappling lines are used to attach to the reptavian and the two Mandalorians have to be rescued! A great episode of The Mandalorian, deeply exploring the Mandalorian culture, the rescue of Grogu, Ahmed Best’s return to Star Wars, and the spotlight on Bo-Katan Kryze!
Five Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five!
#TheMandalorian, #TheFoundling, #KateeSackhoff, #PedroPascal, #Grogu, #AhmedBest, #TaitFletcher, #WesleyKimmel, #EmilySwallow
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