The Mandalorian, “The Return”, Part I Review!

 “Chapter 24: The Return” continues the struggle to take back Mandalore, what happened to Din Djarin, and a mystery of the planet! The finale is here, but first a peek back at “The Spies.” Bo-Katan makes her way to The Armorer who reports the weak members on the skiff should be taken back to the fleet. The captain says he can take them to the location of the Great Forge. In the morning, they set out while The Armorer takes the others on the Gauntlet from the planet. Axe Woves and Paz Viszla are playing a chess board-like game of cones, I’m hoping it is the Cones of Dunshire, Axe notes Paz’s move with an Enforcer. He notes that the “flank jump” can only be made by a Wing Guard. The rest of the crew watches them. Axe makes a joke about “primitives” making up rules. Paz stands up with his vibro blade out. Axe does a jet pack assisted knee to Paz. They start to fight and Din Djarin offers to stop them, but Bo-Katan Kryze notes that no one from each side should take part of the fight. Save it for whatever you might encounter at the Great Forge. They are held back by IG-12 controlled by Grogu who mashes the No button repeatedly. Axe and Paz back down. Bo-Katan says, “You taught your apprentice well.” Din says it wasn’t his training. 

The Armorer contacts the fleet, this is an extremely long flight, and brings in the survivors. 

At sundown, a lookout spots some disturbance of rocks on the strboard side. Everyone puts on their helmets. The outcrop is shattered by a kaiju sized trinitaur. Ok, this beastie has a rocky ridge on its back, what exactly does it eat and why don’t the Mandalorians know it? They all jet pack off of the skiff as the trinitaur’s tail bashes it. They take cover in a cave led by the captain. They reach an empty cavernous hall. Axe knows that it is the Great Forge. Paz asks Koska Reeves if she lived there, she replies they all did, and the captain says that they had, but migrated on the surface. Mando hears jet packs. A swarm of troopers flies in, Imperial armored commandoes, the early Boba Fett designs are used here. They fire on the Mandalorians and the return fire is deflected by their beskar armor. Axe wants to try to alert the fleet. Paz Vizsla notes a crack in the ceiling and lays suppressing fire with his heavy blaster cannon. Axe flies away. I find it hard to believe that these commandos are better trained than Mandalorians that have fought for all of their lives. 

Fibercord whips are used on the commandoes, but Bo-Katan doesn’t take out the Darksaber which could be useful especially in a desperate situation. The commandoes start to retreat and Bo-Katan calls for them to advance. This is strange, why not access the situation, fortify position and then take action? They enter an Imperial corridor and take down a few commandoes. The commandoes fly off as we see the rest of the base. TIE Interceptors hang from the ceiling like bats. Blast doors fall on either side, Din says it’s an ambush, as more armored commandoes land. He is trapped on the other side using his flame thrower on the commandoes. Fibercord whips hold his arms and then the commandoes give him the big beat down. A dark, armored figure lands, it is the armor of Gideon! He has used the beskar to make a new Dark Trooper suit! Gideon says he has combined the best of cloners, Jedi, and Mandalorians to form an army! He sends his Interceptors and bombers to take out the fleet. Din is ordered by Gideon to be taken to the debriefing room. 

Bo-Katan gets his attention, Gideon arrogantly wants her to give him the Darksaber, and surrender. Paz Viszla says, “This is the Way” and begins shooting at the door. Bo-Katan uses the Darksaber to cut into the other door. Gideon has the blast door opened so the commandoes can finish off the Mandalorians and flies away. Bo-Katan has cut an opening and calls for a retreat. Paz says he will cover the retreat. More commandoes descend and he cuts them down. Bo-Katan sees that they have escaped and orders Paz to fall back. He closes the blast door saying that there are too many commandoes. He gives another, “This is the Way” as Bo-Katan leaves and his barrel starts to overheat. Then, the whole cannon burns so he throws it! Paz Viszla goes full WWE plowing into commandoes and knocking them down. He staggers as the glowing purple weapons of the Imperial Praetorian Guards appear! This is the red armor of the Emperor’s Royal Guard mixed with the laughably ineffective Elite Praetorian Guard in The Last Jedi (2017). Paz Viszla activates his personal combat shield and vibro knife. They shove their weapons into Paz’s armor and he falls. 

Then, the Imperial Praetorian Guards walk away. “The Return” picks up with Bo-Katan on the run with the Mandalorians. Rick Famuyiwa also directs this episode. She updates Axe on the situation while he is trying to reach the fleet with his jetpack!? Bo-Katan wants an evacuation with the capital ship, the Class 546 Cruiser to distract the incoming Interceptors and bombers. His signal is broken up entering the stormy part of Mandalore’s atmosphere. Bo-Katan holds back to fire on the Imperial armored commandoes and a charge is set to explode when they start to move! Two commandoes are taking Din, we hear his breathing, and then he bashes the guards! One activates his flamethrower and Mando points it to the other to cook him! He snaps his neck and the remaining commando has a fibercord whip around Din’s neck. The commando points his blaster, but is crushed by IG-12 operated by Grogu! The rescue makes sense since we didn’t see Grogu run with the Mandalorians. Pinned by the droid, Din kicks him down. Grogu sprays him with batch and Din says he is already revived, funny, and then cuts his bonds. He tells Grogu to be brave and he has to take out Gideon! 

Bo-Katan makes her way with the others to a rumbling cave. She is contacted by Din who says he escaped. He says he has to take on Gideon, removes a jetpack from a commando, Bo-Katan’s concern is the safety of her troops. Yes, in a way, but they are all fighting for their world. Leaving Din to take on all of the base is a little much. The captain leads them out with jetpacks to a safe area. The TIE Interceptors drop down! The fighters head towards the Mandalorian fleet. Gideon is in a room looking at hologram map projected on a wall. A commando reports about the launch of the ships. Gideon notes the escape of the Mandalorian, seen as dots on the map, he’s tracking both of them? He puts on his helmet on his Dark Trooper armor and goes to a final confrontation. Sneaking around the base, Din contacts R5, redemption for R5 from his malfunctioning cameo? Din has the astrodroid scomp (I think that’s the first time the term was used, it came from the role-playing game, with the link that accesses computers) into the base and find Gideon’s command center. R5 makes a comment, but Din says he doesn’t understand Binary, the droid language is interesting who can and cannot understand it.  

The droid booster rockets down to the base. He hides from a mouse droid and then scomp links  into the base. Din and Grogu are sneaking around trying to avoid commandos and he gets the map projected from his gauntlet. Axe breaks orbit, in a jetpack?, and contacts the Fleet Captain (Travis Parker) to give Bo-Katan’s orders; launch the Gauntlets, land reinforcements, and use the ship as a decoy. Axe runs in the ship cockpit and orders the evacuation. He tells the captain to load the others on dropships. A number of Mandalorians use their jetpacks to reach the Gauntlets. I’m getting a touch of the Hawkmen in Flash Gordon (1980). “Who wants to live forever? (laughs) Dive!” The Gauntlets descend and the TIE fighters ascend. The passing of the two forces is strange. Axe activates the cannons and TIEs strafe the cruiser. Din makes his way until reaching the red forcefield corridor. He contacts R5 to lower the barrier shields. Mando makes brutal work of two commandos with the first shield and arms himself with their weapons. The next barrier, Din has a electrobaton, used in Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (2019), and riot shield, the same used in Force Awakens (2015). It feels like a video game defeating the henchmen and picking up weapons before reaching the boss. 

The third shield, Din just has the savageness to take on the increasing number of commandos. A mouse droid finds R5 and activates its alarm. Mando calls for the next shield as R5 zaps the pesty mouse droid. The barrier shield opens and Din slides in knocking down commandos. He has defeated the henchmen and is ready for the big boss! R5 is faced with three of the annoying droids that try to harmlessly ram him. Instead, the astrodroid jets away. Grogu walks into the corridor and then follows Din in IG-12. They enter the room with persons in tubes. Mando goes to a console while Grogu examines the tubes. Din explains that they are the clones of Gideon! He sets explosions to destroy the tanks and they run away. The Mandalorians fly down to a surface cave that they took shelter. It has greenery like the Genesis Cave in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982). The captain, still unnamed, says they have food caches across the planet. The captain says they planted farms from “old species.” Now, I’m thinking this is like the Fremen in Dune. “…we shall change the face of Arrakis (Mandalore).” The underground plant life is also like the Studio Ghibli anime, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984). Bo-Katan is contacted by The Armorer who has brought the reinforcements. She puts on her helmet and says to the others, “Let’s take back our planet.” From Dune (1984), same year!, “Long live the fighters!” Many of the concepts of this part of The Mandalorian finale feel very familiar, but there is some great action!  Part II is coming up! Not only for length, but to save the spoilers!   

Four Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five! 

#TheMandalorian, #TheReturn, #PedroPascal, #Grogu, #R5D4, #SimonKassianides, #KateeSackhoff, #MercedesVarnado, #CharlesParnell, #TravisParker, #EmilySwallow, #GiancarloEsposito

Re:tro Re:view - The Shannara Chronicles, “Chosen”!

The Shannara Chronicles was an adaptation of Terry Brooks’ popular fantasy novels! The Sword of Shannara (1977), the first book, was pre-Lord of the Rings for me, right at the pivotal time of sci fi and fantasy. It also featured artwork from the Brothers Hildebrandt which is stunning. What became known as the Original Shannara Trilogy started with The Sword of Shannara, there were various novels covering the history and future of the Four Lands, and the last series was The Fall of Shannara concluded with The Last Druid (2020).

 The series was created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar who also created Smallville. Executive producers include Brooks and Jon Favreau. It was released on MTV in 2016 and lasted another season on Spike. Season one of The Shannara Chronicles streams for purchase on Amazon Prime. The series is based on the second book, The Elfstones of Shannara (1982). It begins with the two part episode “Chosen.” We see a pastoral hills wiht a river leading to devastation of a city now almost claimed by nature. The twist of Shannara is that it is a post-apocalyptic world that is now turned into a land of fantasy. 

This leads to mist-shrouded mountains and finally a sea where across the way is a city, Arborlon, wrapped around a hill like Minas Tirith. We move across the city to a forested area, now at night, a figure runs through the forest.  She is blindfolded with her hands tied behind her back and knocked into a grassy ditch. This is Amberle Elessendil played by Poppy Drayton. The actress starred as Madeleine Allsopp in “The London Season” (2013) of Downton Abbey. Her uncle, Prince Ander Elessendil (Aaron Jakubenko), checks on her after sending her to the knoll. 

Jakubenko played Commodus in the show, Roman Empire. Both are Elves with the curved ears. He hops down to cut the rope with his knife and tells her she had missed the jump five times. She wants to practice for a race again, but Ander tells her that it will be at dawn. Amberle remind him that only the first seven to cross the finishing line become the Chosen. The palace has silver panneled sides jutting upwards like pyramid-like petals. Below it are the tents of the Chosen race, Amberle is helped by her servant Catania (Brooke Williams), the actress starred in the Spartacus series as Aurelia. They reach the other contestants getting ready below a large, stone statue of a griffin. 

Lorin (Mattias Inwood) says she’s not allowed to be on the Gauntlet grounds. Inwood played Richard Burbage in the historical drama, Will (2017). Amberle takes off her cloak revealing her grey Gauntlet shirt. She tells Lorin that women are commanders in the army and on the High Council. Catania notes that she helped Amberle get past the Home Guard. He says that the Gauntlet. Catania tells her friend that there is “sweaty elf boy hate”, funny! Amberle holds out a red cloth to be blindfolded and hands tied behind her back. 

The racers line up, the horn is blown, and already Amberle is kicked to the ground. We see the path through the forest that leads up to a hill where there is a single tree with orange leaves. This gives Amberle flashes of visions. She picks herself up and starts to run. The others are kicking, slamming others into trees and branches, and trying to keep up with the race. Amberle takes care of two of her rivals. She leaps over the ditch and another runner is not so fortunate with branches on the bottom of it. Two runners reach the cheering crowds and banners colliding into guards who are in front of the building called Sanctuary beneath the tree. This is watched by Commander Diana Tilton (Emilia Burns). 

More runners, four, one throws himself into Amberle and then kicks her. Six Chosen. Amberle kicks her rival and then steps on him as she continues to the finish. Tamlin smiles as Amberle reaches a guard. The horn is blown ending the race. The opening has the Earth, then the United States in an x-ray, buildings torn apart by the apocalypse. Fires, a skull that bleeds into the white, where we see Human, leading into the other branches of Gnome, Dwarf, and Troll. The Elves existed before all of them. 

On the griffin statue, stands the silhouetted figure of Amberle as the leaves start falling from the tree.  We see the griffin statues at mountain peaks and the tree, spiraling up and trimmed like a bonsai tree. The Chosen are taken before the king. This is King Eventine played by John Rhys-Davies who of course was Gimli in the Lord of the Rings films. He welcomes them into the Order of the Chosen and recounts the story of the Ellcrys, the name of the special tree. Eventine notes that thousands of years ago, the Elves fought against Demons. The elder Elves learned magic and sealed away the Demons in the Forbidding. The Ellcrys is the guard against the Demons. The Chosen are the protectors of the Ellcrys. 

He asks that they touch the Ellcrys to be accepted by it. Arion Elessedil (Daniel MacPherson), the older brother to Ander, says that Ander let Amberle embarrass their father. The king is abdicating his throne. Arion brings up their brother who died, Aine, and their vow to protect Amberle. It is Amberle’s turn, she touches the Ellcrys, and seized with a vision! She sees her touching the Ellcrys and sees her hand covered with blood, Amberle turns to see bodies covering a wasteland, Arborlon is destroyed. A winged Demon tears into a victim. Amberle screams! 

Her scream suddenly wakens a bearded man in the snow. This is Manu Bennett who plays Allanon, not the alcholohic support group, but a Druid, think Gandalf. He connects many of the Shannara books. Bennett played Azog in The Hobbit trilogy. Mystic symbols cover his back and head. Alannon stands, the baton he carries unfolds into a sword, and says, “It has begun.” Morning, a rider leaves an oil tanker now stranded on a grass hill, and heads towards a house in Shady Vale. This is an early part for Austin Butler, pre-Elvis, as Wil Ohmsford. He is son of Shea Ohmsford, the half-Elven lead of The Sword of Shannara. Wil wears a leather jacket and a cap covering his ears. 

He has brought white willow bark to the bed of his sick mother, Heady (Anthea Hill). His uncle, Flick Ohmsford (Mark Mitchinson), says the medicine is too late and gives him some time with his mother. His mother gives him a pouch with three bright blue stones. Heady tells her son that they are Elfstones that was given by Shea. She repeats to Wil to “Find the Druid” and then she dies. Later, Wil kneels by his mother’s grave under a tree next to his uncle. Wil shows Flick the Elfstones who thinks it caused the death of his father. At Arborlon, Amberle paints her vision, and Catania brings in Lorin (Mattias Inwood). 

Amberle aks if he thinks the Ellcrys is real which is strange since she is its Chosen. He says magic died with the Druids. At his family’s home, Wil contemplates the Elfstones. Then, he packs to leave Shady Vale to go to Storlock and train as a healer. Flick warns him about the Gnomes, Trolls, and Rovers. Wil takes his horse and leaves Shady Vale. Arborlon at night, the celebration is going on, Amberle appears in a red dress that stuns the crowd. Ander escorts her into the main hall and she says that King Eventine, her grandfather, is not talking to her. They bring up Lorin and Amberle notices he is looking at Commander Tilton. She already has a boyfriend and Ander catches up with another woman. 

Amberle has another vision. Lorin sees her and there is a vision flash. Amberle walks into the Sanctuary to again see the Ellcrys. She again touches the tree and then shocked to again find herself in a vision. Lorin is on the floor bleeding at his side. Amberle sees a dagger in her hands! She returns and drops only to see Lorin. Amberle tells him of her latest vision. She tells Lorin that she has to leave the city, he tries to pull her back, but she draws his sword and knocks him out with it! It is raining as Wil reaches the end of a broken highway surronded by waterfalls. In the morning, they reachfollow a stream with marked stones. A chain with three metal balls wraps around Wil’s neck and he falls! Wil looks up to see the forest is empty and then a monstrous man with a gas maks raises a club.

 He dies with a knife in the back of his head! Wil sees at a hill, a woman casually holding a knife, she walks over to Wil thinking he is an Elf. This is Eretria (Ivana Baquero) a deadly Rover. Baquero is known for playing Ofelia in Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). She was eleven in that part, but has grown up to a young woman, 22 at the time of Shannara Chronicles. They have an awkward introduction and she notes that she killed the Troll. The duo soon encounters her father, Cephalo (James Remar). These three heroes joined by Alannon to save the Ellcrys and defeat the Demons led by Dagda Mor (Jed Brophy)! Brophy was Sharku in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Recommended if you somehow missed the fantasy series and  like the novels by Terry Brooks! The Shannara Chronicles has compelling characters, romance, magic, a touch of horror, and some beautiful and terrifying visuals!  

Five Elfstones out of Five! 

#TheShannaraChronicles, #PoppyDrayton, #AustinButler, #IvanaBaquero, #ManuBennett, #AaronJakubenko, #JamesRemar, #BrookeWilliams, #EmiliaBurns, #DanielMacPherson, #JohnRhysDavies, #MarkMitchinson, #AntheaHill, #JedBrophy

The Ark, "The Last Thing You Ever Do", Review!

The Ark is in a desperate situation with Angus and Lane on Ark-15, but they are closer to a Klampkins cure and Proxima B! R:cap "Hoping for Forever; Angus Medford, Spencer Lane, and William Trust are taken hostage to Ark-15 led by Evelyn Maddox! Kelly, who has shot Helena Trust, introduces her mother, Maddox to Angus Medford! She in turn asks about Marko who had the DNA sample. Maddox orders the ship to Proxima B. In FTL, the council meets at the conference room, and Alicia Nevins admits that she like Angus! Lt. Sharon Garnet and Felix Strickland check on Cat Brandice confined to her quarters. She mentions the Juno Project and that “the man with the gun said something about DNA.” Garnet, Alicia, and Strickland check the DNA vault and realize that Marko was searching for a venomous spider. On Ark-15, Lane sees that Maddox has taken the masterpiece artwork from Earth as simple decorations, they “belong in a museum!” We see Proxima B, a orangish planet ringed by blue, the first ship to reach the planet is the Ark-15, but it is such a tense situation, its discovery is not important! 

Trust says that Maddox wants to rule the new planet. Lane says they both have a god complex. He realizes that she wanted to destroy Ark-3 to eliminate GSA command. Evelyn says it is a eyeball planet that doesn’t rotate. She explains that Trust has found the way for planetary rotation. Evelyn sent down the devices, super electro magnets, and needs his commands to activate the rotation. Guards take Trust and Lane to confinement. Trust says once he activates them, Maddox will kill him. The Ark-1 continues on the way to Proxima B. Alicia walks in with Dr. Kabir and discovered that the spider venom can cure Klampkins! I love this concept because we think of helpful species or those that are cute like rabbits, but there are dangerous creatures that are all part of the circe of life (you knew that was coming right?). She says that two other elements; potassium aluminum sulfate (used for water purification?) in formaldehyde (added to vaccines) with the venom as a cure. She says it went extinct. Garnet thinks that an important member of the crew has Klampkins, Maddox. Kelly Fowler brings a lunch tray to Angus, she thinks all things will be friendly, even though she’s vicious. Angus says that Lane saved her life, but she says that she was a boarding party to look for the DNA. He realizes that her mother abandoned her on Ark-3.  

THE ARK -- “The Last Thing You Ever Do” -- RICHARD FLEESHMAN, STACEY READ, PAVLE JERENIC -- Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

Strickland enters the bridge and sees that orbiting Proxima B is Ark-15. Garnet says that they won’t attack since they have the DNA. She contacts the ship about the spider DNA. Garnet wants Angus and Lane back in exchange for the DNA or she will destroy it. Maddox replies and says that she isn’t interested in the DNA. Garnet just brushes past her bluff and says the Klampkins could kill the victim at any time. For the exchange, Garnet flies the shuttle with Stella Cogner (Jelena Moore) who is part of the bridge crew, but is featured in this ep. Boarding Ark-15, Cogner comes out of the hatch with the DNA case, she hands it over to Maddox’s crew member. Maddox won’t turn over the hostages until the DNA is confirmed and sends away the shuttle! It is unusual that it wasn’t Garnet at the negotiation, but she is busy copying the Ark-15’s invasion strategy using a compression suit to access a hatch! “The Last Thing You Will Ever Do”, Garnet is guided by Strickland and Brice via her ear piece, she passes workers, and sees the Weapons Room. Garnet backs up and is questioned by an Ark-15 crew member. She quickly knocks him out. His fellow crew member checks on him and Garnet slams him into the bulkhead. 

She takes the prod to question another one who doesn’t know about how to use the weapon or the aliciainium crystals invented by Maddox. Alicia sees the spiders growing, Dr. Kabir is creeped out, but Alicai says she had a pet spider. She worries about Angus. Brice calls her to the bridge. Garnet sees tubes that take the Aliciainium. Alicia says she can hack into it. She has Garnet turn it on and off, very IT Crowd! Alicia gives her the command code. She finds a screen of folders and then holds up her watch to access it. They found the brig holding Angus. Kelly enters, she still thinks she did him a favor, Angus realizes her mother is Kelly’s weak point. He apologizes and asks about her different accent. Kelly says she was raised by her father in North America. Um, he is trying to seduce her in a turn around. Kelly says there would be only five Arks if not for her mother. She wants them to have dinner with her other. Garnet sneaks around and uses a prod to knock over a man that shatters cases of the spiders that crawl on her Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom-style! Lt. Lane sees Maddox enter with her guards. 

She says Trust is needed to start Proxima B’s rotation. She sends in Vuk (Drasko Andjic), a burly guy, who breaks Trust’s finger. They leave and Lane breaks the finger back! Alicia gave them brown recluse spiders, not the Mediterreanean version. She wants Garnet to find the other elements needed for the cure. Eva look at Brice that they have the cure. The creepy dinner, Kelly notes that Angus is an expert, . Her mother says her boyfriends don’t last. Tasium aluminium sulfate and other elements with the venom is the cure. The crewmember activates the alarm and Garnet shocks him before leaving. Maddox thinks its a trick, but Kelly says she never left Angus. Suddenly, Maddox feels pain, and collapses. Angus sees she has a heart attack and attempts CPR. At the med bay, Kelly and Angus watch her recover. Doctor Marsh (Jadran Malkovich) says she has late stage Klampkins. Kelly didn’t know about it. The doctor says space travel accelerates the Klampkins. Kelly hugs Angus, but Maddox gives him the stare. A guard checks the alarm and held by Garnet with the prod so she can access the brig. Instead she finds Lane and Trust, but she only wants to find Angus.  

THE ARK -- “The Last Thing You Ever Do” -- SAMANTHA GLASSNER, JELENA STUPLJANIN --  Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

Then, they are surprised by guards! Now they are all in the brig. Garnet says that Helena died. Lane tries to apologize. Brice asks about Eva’s progress on the weapon. Brice is in charge! Strickland asks about a plan and Brice collapses. Dr. Kabir rushes with her medkit, Strickland says it has been a minute, Brice is not at end stage. Brice revives. At the med bay, Dr. Kabir wants to know about the spiders’ growth since Brice doesn’t have much time. Brice on the bed, he says he wants Strickland to be in charge. Kelly takes Angus to his room, she hugs him, to thank him for saving her mother. She tells him as a warning about betraying her like how she killed Helena! Eva enters the med bay to tell Brice about the “told you so.” He says he is getting worse. They kiss. At Cat’s room, Strickland enters, she tries to bring up his family. Cat feels trapped in the room. Kelly has brought Angus breakfast, Angus asks to see the Ark-1 prisoners, and he tries to convince them to work with his “new crew.” Kelly is a simple child. Maddox sees Dr. Marsh enter the bridge to report that they were fooled by the spider DNA. 

She knows the real spider DNA is on Ark-1 so can’t use the weapon. Maddox leaves to kill the prisoners. She has a different kind of pettiness than her daughter. Alicia has shocked the spider to produce the Klampkins cure. Dr. Kabir says that it needs tests, but Brice wants it immediately. Dr. Kabir injects the cure in a syringe and then into Brice’s arm. Dr. Kabir says there will be a change in his blood. Suddenly, he seizes up!, Dr. Kabir is shocked as Brice’s heart stops, they start using the shock paddles on him. Brice’s heart is still stopped and then the doctor runs. Dr. Kabir wants Strickland who just entered to check is vitals. He then reassures Dr. Kabir. An acting showcase for Richard Fleeshman this episode! Strickland takes Eva to the bridge. Wow, he really is command material! Strickland tells the crew that Brice has put him in command. Kelly takes the food tray to the guard and plays the mom card. He hugs Angus. Kelly holds out the prod. Angus suddenly slams Kelly with the tray and then hits her with the prod. Garnet then hits the guard with the prod! We are nearly at the season finale of The Ark!; our heroes have to find a way to escape Ark-15, find a cure to Klampkins and save Brice, and complete the mission to Proxima B!  

Five Compression Suits out of Five! 

#TheArk, #TheLastThingYouEverDo, #ChristieBurke, #RichardFleeshman, #PavleJerinic, #StaceyRead, #ShaliniPeiris, #TianaUpcheva, #RyanAdams, #ReeceRitchie, #PaulLeonardWolfe, #ChristinaWolfe, #StellaCogner, #JelenaStupljanin, #JadranMalkovich 

The Mandalorian, “The Spies”, Review!

The penultimate episode of The Mandalorian season three is packed with developments of the Imperials, Bo-Katan, and the unified Mandalorians!  Night, on Coruscant, here with the neon signs and flying speeders, looks very Blade Runner (1982)! Music plays in a foggy alleyway, walking them is Elia Kane, suspicious. An Imperial probe droid descends with a red eye. It scans her and she gives it a code. The probe droid raises up to project a hologram of - Moff Gideon! She reports to him about Nevarro that it didn’t have New Republic support, but saved by Mandalorians. Elia says the report had Bo-Katan, Din Djarin, and his covert, the Children of the Watch. Very thorough report, secret Mandalorians are not too secret. He is surprised that the two worked together, he says they were “sworn enemies.” He walks past a rocky wall, a triangular corridor, like the Vader’s castle? Red wall beams retract like the force fields in The Phantom Menace (1999). There are Imperial armored commandos on either side, with white, almost motorcross armor. Gideon passes the caskets of preserved Force wielders and then enters a council of people in holograms, the Shadow Council. They first appeared in the novel, Aftermath: Life Debt (2016). 

They argue about not showing their strength to the New Republic, one of them is Captain Pellaeon (Xander Berkeley), he was an ally to Grand Admiral Thrawn and made his debut in Heir to the Empire (1991). Pellaeon was so recognizable from illustrations and comic books that he was instantly recognizable. He mentions the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn! Then, Pellaeon notes Commandant Hux (Brian Gleeson) and Project Necromancer. Gideon, Pellaeon, Hux and the others number nine. One of the most interesting book lapsing into forgotten canon (like all other Sequel-type material) was Servants of the Empire: The Secret Academy (2015) by Jason Fry. Hux’s debut. It followed Zare Leonis trying to find his Force sensitive sister, Dhara. He first appeared in the Servants of the Empire young readers series, but was seen in the Star Wars: Rebels episode, “Breaking Ranks” (2014). Hux’s plan was that clone troopers training to be soldiers at birth, but wanted the advantages of Jedi training combining them to be the next stormtrooper. Gideon notes Pellaeon’s loyalty to Thrawn, but his network has no word of Thrawn. He says resources are taken by Hux and Pellaeon. 

Hux notes that he requested three Praetorian guards. These are the elite guards seen “protecting” Snoke, a very poor action sequence. Hux thinks Gideon needs protection from assassination. Also, TIE Interceptors, Gideon adds bombers. He brings up the Mandalorians and their plan to retake Mandalore. The rest of the Shadow Council agrees and Hux gives Gideon his requests. Gideon vows to destroy them and gives a cheer, “Long live the Empire!” They of course are putting him in position to be Emperor. Nevarro, the citizens are helping to rebuild the damage from the pirate attack. Overhead, the looming form of the Class 546 Cruiser! Greef Karga sees it and his Copper Droid notes a shuttle, the Nevarro skies are filled with Bo-Katan’s fleet! By the way, who exactly is protecting Plazir-15? He points out the Mandalorian symbol on the launch bay of the ship. Again, there is no planetary warning, no communication with ships.  Greef says they are guests. Out of a tent, The Armorer sees the fleet, and the other Children of the Watch see the landing of the ships. In her Gauntlet fighter, Bo-Katan worries about the meeting of the two groups. Paz Viszla meets them with his Mandalorians. The new group is led by Bo-Katan and Din Djarin. 

Axe Woves, Koska Reeves, and finally Bo-Katan take off their helmets. The Armorer clangs her two tools. She greets them and has a feast prepared as they make camp. Then, Mando is welcomed by Greef and the droid. He is given a bottle from Coruscant and also at his office, IG-11 awkwardly walks, piloted by an Anzellan in his chest. Greef says he is now IG-12. Grogu is amused. The Anzellan climbs down, his feet don’t really touch the table, and says, “Bad baby!” to Grogu. Greef puts Grogu into the IG-12 control. Kinda cool like a mecha. In the Han Solo Adventures novels by Brian Daley, there was a labor droid who had a computer interface unit named Blue Max. By the way, very simliar to Major Domo and Minor Domo in Captain EO (1986). Din thinks Grogu is too young, but Baby Yoda hits the “No” speech button! Mando wants him out, but the bad baby starts stumbling IG-12 around the office! Too funny! This is going to be sold as a remote control or other toy. Grogu smashes the “Yes” button, he is too happy. Later, they walk the Nevarro City streets, Grogu snatches up a snack box and then a fruit that he squeezes the juice as Din tries to get it back. Bad baby! 

Night, at the camp, some large beast is turning on a spit, Roast-Beast?  It is still tense when Bo-Katan tells them that they have to take back Mandalore. She mentions the dangers, the creatures awakened by the bombs, “magnetic interference” that stops scans, so she wants to move the fleet in Mandalore’s orbit. Then, a recon group to search the area for the Great Forge and a perimeter. The rest can follow. Good plan without Gideon interference. Bo-Katan calls on both tribes to have volunteers. Reluctance. Din Djarin of course steps up and adds Grogu. Koska Reeves volunteers and then Axe Woves. Next, Paz Viszla, and others. Finally, The Armorer. Morning, Bo-Katan’s fleet launches, then drops out of hyperspace above Mandalore! She notifies that the recon party is headed down on her Gauntlet fighter. The Mandalorian drop troops are ready when the hatches open. Paz sees that the planet is damaged more than he expected. Axe says he was there during the destruction. Din watches them and then reports to Bo-Katan that they are ready. The Mandalorians drop! Paz Viszla keeps reminding me of Jesse Ventura’s Blain from The Predator (1987) with his heavy blaster cannon, “Time to let Ol’ Painless out of the bag.” He should team up with Greef Karga. 

Bo-Katan leaves her ship, says they will search for The Forge, and set up there. Afterwards, the other settlers will be brought down. She says, “Form up” to the group and puts on her helmet. The group of thirteen warriors walk the bomb-flattened ground. Din points out a dust cloud on the horizon. Bo-Katan calls for the Nite Owls who move to the left flank. What rolls up is a massive skiff, with two long sails and two skis to guide the vehicle. A man calls from the skiff that Bo-Katan wears the Nite Owl crest. He asks if she is Lady Bo-Katan Kryze. A trio of these Mandalorians launch with their jetpacks to land in front of her. The survivors take off their helmet revealing scars, wild hair, and rough faces. They bow to her and the captain (Charles Parnell) says they didn’t think she would leave them. I thought I recognized Parnell, he was Admiral `Warlock’ Bates in Top Gun: Maverick (2022). The scout (Charles Barker) says they failed her, but remain loyal. Night on board the skiff, the captain explains that the Imperials destroyed ships and bombed the surface twice in the Night of a Thousand Tears. Bo-Katan admits she surrendered!  

The others are stunned and Bo-Katan says that after their warriors were defeated, she met Moff Gideon. The Imperial Security Bureau negotiated for disarming in exchange for safety for the other cities and lives. She turned over the Darksaber to Moff Gideon. If he didn’t win the Darksaber in combat, Gideon wouldn't be able to use it like Din’s difficulty in using it. The scout asked about the Children of the Watch. The Armorer said they hid on the moon of Concordia. The captain asks if they are Death Watch, the assassins, but she says they don’t exist anymore. Bo-Katan says that the division of Mandlorian clans is what destroyed them. Alone, Bo-Katan stares at Concordia until joined by Din Djarin. He says that everyone, but their clan left the Way and that Bo-Katan was selfish. She admits that she was selfish. Understanding the Way, now, may give Bo-Katan what she needs to defeat Gideon. Din says they will rebuild Mandalore. Bo-Katan doubts that she can hold everyone together. He says he believes in honor, loyalty, and character which is why he serves Lady Kryze! Her formal title. Din adds, “Your song is not yet written.” This writing is so spot on. A powerful episode of The Mandalorian with Gideon and his Shadow Council and Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, Din Djarin, and the Mandalorians, this is the heart of the series!   

Five Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five! 

#TheMandalorian, #TheSpies, #PedroPascal, #KateeSackhoff, #Grogu, #IG12, #CarlWeathers, #EmilySwallow, #TaitFletcher, #SimonKassianides, #MercedesVarnado, #CharlesParnell, #GiancarloEsposito, #KatyMOBrian, #XanderBerkeley, #BrianGleeson  

The Little Mermaid: Guide to Merfolk Review!

The Little Mermaid: Guide Merfolk by Eric Geron is an incredible work of world building past the tiny fraction that was in the animated movie. Geron is the writer of The Descendants: Junior Novel (2015) under the pen name, Rico Green. Of course, this book is supplemental to the upcoming The Little Mermaid live action movie which will be released next month on May 26th. It is of course based on the animated Little Mermaid (1989) which in turn based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale published in 1837. The illustrations are from Arianna Rea, Denise Shimabukuro, and Max Narciso, all of whom do not seem to have worked on the movie. The premise is that this is a book from the royal library read and annotated by Prince Eric. I wonder if Prince Eric in the movie has the same fascination. Spoilers (possible) ahead! These are pages of bits of culture and details of Merfolk that I wonder if they were developed by director, Rob Marshall, screenwriter David Magee, and co-story, John DeLuca. It offers a look that gives so much potential to the new movie!  

One of the early pages is a Map of Mermaid Sightings across the Seven Seas so the continents (unnamed) are like another world not Earth. The specific sea that is the focus is the Carniae Sea that is the home of Ariel. It is located in the south western edge of a middle continent that does not seem to be Europe. We see brief stories of the sightings and the Depictions of Merfolk which seem to be based on classic artwork. There are some Relics and Artifacts, one was found off of Cropenhugen and another on the coast of Razil! A full page illustration show the home of a Mermaid, Ariel?, she is nestled in a bed of coral. We see a collection of Merfolk which looks like Ariel’s Grotto. An interesting part is the Mermaid Anatomy which details the fins on the Mermaid’s tail and the Mermen have pinnae, ridged ears. There are the different sea levels and the sea animals who live there. I wonder if the unusual animals will show up in the movie. 

There are the Companions of Merfolk including a crab. I remember Crusty (Paul Frees) in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964). I love the world building in the different phases of moon, sun, and stars. We have The Sea King with his daughters. Another elaborate piece of world building is the Rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, the daughters of Triton, except not with names all starting with “A”; no Aquata, Andrina, or Arista. Instead, there is Mala, Perla, and Tamika. I wonder if the "Daughters of Triton" song will be changed. All very different looks, kinda like they are the daughters of the wives (“Ex-Wives”?) of Henry VIII?  Each one has the ruler, marine life, culture, and environment of each sea. It finishes with the Sea Witch and Legends. This is stunning that the Little Mermaid world is detailed so that if a little flotsam of it makes it into the movie, this will be a world that can be explored in other films or media! 

#TheLittleMermaid, #GuideToMerfolk, #EricGeron, #AriannaRea, DeniseShimabukuro, #MaxNarciso, #RobMarshall, #DavidMagee, #JohnDeLuca, #Ariel, #PrinceEric, #SeaKing, #SeaWitch 

The Ark, “Hoping for Forever”, Review!

The Ark is tense with a muutinous crew, a confrontation with the Ark-15, and an even greater threat with its captain! Re:Cap, “The Painful Way”, the Trusts scheme to take over Ark-1 when the crew agreed to change course to a new planet. It has resulted in Lt. James Brice and Felix Strickland put to sleep by their colleagues. At Cat’s quarters, Lt. Sharon Garnet takes a drink, uh oh, as the knock out drops take effect, Cat says she’s wrong. Garnet tries to head over to get checked by Dr. Kabir. She realizes that Cat drugged he, she stumbles to the door saying she didn’t account for her enhancements, and Cat injects her with a tranqulizer syringe. The Trusts and their loyalists; Cat, Lt. Spencer Lane, Eva Markovic, and Jelena Griff, enter the bridge. This surprises Alicia who is ordered to her station by Lane. Eva takes the ship out of FTL and recharges it. Lane makes an announcement saying there was an error in judgment with Garnet, Brice, and Strickland. Also, that they are headed to Proxima B. Griff says to the other crew can be reassigned. It is kinda good that the loyalist stay in a good position, but also I would go to my quarters and not take part in the mutiny. 

William Trust says Lane should have the command chair. Helena Trust in her arrogance takes the chair. Brice revives trapped in the helmet room with Strickland and Garnet. Garnet updates him and the situation and he rages! He worries about everyone dying and angrily says he has Klampkins! Garnet hugs him. She promises that once free, Brice has permission to knock out Trust! In Cat’s quarters, Helena is happy at the bounty of strawberries and fruits, she thinks they will thank them. William enters for a session, Cat tries to cover about the matchmaking, so love is off the table for this genetic obsenity. Helena asks who is Cat’s match and she tries to say he died with the command crew. Kelly meets with  for help with her device. He easily fixes the comms system and sees a message from Ark-15! She snaps his neck, um, the actress who plays Kelly is kinda slight, so I’m not certain if that would be possible. Kelly sends him out of the space ejection chamber. William asks for Helena and sees Cat who wants to continue their affair, he is worried about Helena’s suspicion, Cat doesn’t realize that being the other woman is short career. 

THE ARK - - “Hoping for Forever” - - CHRISTIE BURKE, TIANA UPCHEVA, RICHARD FLEESHMAN, STACEY READ, SHALINI PEIRIS - - Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

Angus is trying to destroy the crops, Kelly wants him to reconsider about Trust, and kisses him. Cat runs into the medbay with a painkiller for Dr. Kabir. She needs to use it on a wounded Ensign Selander. Afterwards, Dr. Kabir realizes that there are no sedatives, Cat is the key to the conspiracy through William Trust. Dr. Kabir wants to help Garnet. In the locked room, Garnet second guesses her decision. Eva reports that the FTL is recharged, but then finds it locked out. Alicia says she’s innocent. Helena wants William to threaten the prisoners and purges the oxygen from their cell!  The trio start to panic, Griff reports the situation to the bridge, Trust makes an excuse. They can’t use the helmets without the compression suits. Strickland and Brice fall and then Garnet. William still threatens Alicia and when Lane tries to argue, Helena backs him down. Alicia breaks down and activates the FTL. Trust restores the oxygen. Helena wants her husband to make an example of Alicia! Griff opens the cell and Garnet poses to her about loyalty to the vicious Trust. Alicia defies Trust, Helena knows she can hack out of any cell, and says she will be sent out of an airlock. 

Eva stands up and Helena wants both of them taken away.  Our heroes take back the bridge in a fight and Brice gets his right cross to Trust. Then, she knocks out Lane. Helena tries to escape, but Strickland has his security prod on her. The traitors are seated at the command room. Alicia defends Eva, Garnet says she did the right thing, and then sends her away. She has spared Eva and Griff since they helped at the end, Eva is about to speak, but Strickland reminds her to speak when told by her commander, yes! When it is Eva’s turn, an alarm sounds, Brice takes his station and says there is an approaching ship! Ark-15! Garnet orders Trust’s shield to activate, Eva starts to use the shield, but it fails! Alicia says he failed to take into account quantum tunneling. Kelly enters the cell with the traitors, dropped the body of the guard, and then contacts Ark-15! “Hoping for Forever” picks up with Kelly holding the gun on William Trust. In a struggle, Lane is knocked back, and Kelly coldly shoots Helena Trust in the stomach. The crew, Garnet, Brice, Strickland, and Griff, watches the approaching ship. Garnet asks about the intentions of Ark-15. 

THE ARK - - “Hoping for Forever” - - RICHARD FLEESHMAN, CHRISTIE BURKE, TIANA UPCHAVEA - - Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

A shuttle heads towards Ark-1. Eva says it will take 82 minutes to charge up the FTL drive. Brice goes to watch the woman who betrayed him. Strickland also goes with Griff, but he leaves without her. Garnet sends away Griff. She makes an announcement to seal off their bunks for a possible hostile takeover. Angus with a lunch tray goes to find Kelly and has her gun on him. She goes in and painfully sets Lane’s broken nose. They want to take Helena Trust to medbay, but Kelly only wants Angus’ expertise. Eva tries to seal the hatch, but the hatch is blown. Garnet sees they have body armor and guns. She lures them with a friendly call, but actually has them sucked out of the airlock! Strickland and Brice pull out a body from the hatch. Garnet wants to find out how they reached the hatch from the shuttle. A man, Marko (Vahidin Prelic), in a compression suit in EVA reaches an airlock and enters the ship, armed like the other soldiers. Marko has found Kelly’s signal and joins her. Kelly says Lane knows the DNA vault. They want William to go or the gunman will shoot Helena. Kelly takes Angus. They tape Angus and Lane’s mouths and head out. Cat tries to console Helena who says her husband should be with her best friend! 

Kelly says that the crew is locked down. The gunman says that Ark-15 is gone. Strickland suddenly appears with his katana fighting with the gunman. Lane tries to kick away Kelly’s gun, but she recovers it. They struggle on the floor and Felix kills the gunman, Marko. Strickland asks if she told the truth about his family, but of course it is a lie. She shocks him with a prod. Griff slaps Strickland conscious and he is about to hit her. He sees the body of Marko. He warns Garnet. Kelly takes Lane, William Trust, and Angus, she wants Lane to fly the shuttle to Ark-15. He agrees when she threatens to shoot Angus. Trust also sits at the controls. She says only Angus is needed, she kisses him. Helena says she always knew Cat loved William. She dies. I don’t have too much sympathy for either of them. Griff finds Cat crying over her friend’s body. Strickland reaches the bridge. The Ark-15 fires, but they go to FTL in time! More soldiers cover the crew and of course Evelyn Maddox (Jelena Stupljanin) appears. Kelly greets her mother. I’m getting vibes from season 3 of The Outpost, Yavalla the new villain who searches for something important. Also, she has a daughter who falls for the geeky science boy. Still, there is enough twists, tension as we have a mutinious crew (are the rest still stuck in their bunks?) and two forces that may be the hope for life on Proxima B!  

Five Compression Suits out of Five! 

 

#TheArk, #ChristieBurke, #RichardFlesshman, #StaceyRead, #PavleJerinic, #RyanAdams, #ShaliniPeiris, #TianaUpcheva, #ReeceRitchie, #ChristinaWolfe, #TamaraRadovanovic, #PaulLeonardMurray, #MercedesDeLaCruz, #SamanthaGlassner, #JelenaStupljanin, #VahidinPrelic

 

The Mandalorian, “Guns For Hire”, Part II Review!

The episode of “Guns For Hire” began with Quarren and the re-introduction of Axe Woves and Koska Reeves. This mirrored director Bryce Dallas Howard’s episode 11, “The Heiress.” Din Djarin was traveling with Bo-Katan Kryze to find her fleet on Plazir-15. This also debuted The Duchess and Captain Bombadier. The Head of Security, Helgait sent them to the lower levels to find the list of rogue droids from the Ugnaughts! A droid problem in the deep part of a city? An Empire Strikes Back (1980) call back! Spoilers ahead! Bo-Katan and Mando reach the basement level with the high-tech workers like Moss and Roy from The IT Crowd. This workroom is seriously industrial with sparks falling out of an 80’s metal band. Bo-Katan introduces herself, but the Ugnaughts ignore her, continuing to solder Super Battle Droids, and other work. She continues saying they will help with their “droid problem” and then gives up. Din Djarin introduces himself as “friend of Ugnaught Kuiil”, he forcefully asks them for help, and ends with of course, “I have spoken”! 

The Ugnaughts stop work and look at him. At a table, all of the Ugnaughts sit with the two  Mandalorians. Their leader is Saifier (Dale Dickey) and his performance artist is Misty Rosas who also the artist for Kuiil! She is also a singer so I would really like her singing on the new DJ Rex playlist and the song to show up in an episode! He says there is no malfunctions with the droids they built. Din tries to save the conversation saying the Ugnaught work on droids is legendary. The others nod. He says like them they have a task and need their help. Saifier hands over a data pad with the rogue droids. They take the hyperloop pod to the city. Din explains he had “spent time” with Ugnaughts, one in particular, Kuiil from season one! He says Bo-Katan insulted them saying their work was malfunctioning. I do like the investigation like a twist on Obi-Wan tracking down Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones (2002). Then, he says they predicted a malfunction with a droid at the loading docks. 

At the dock, super battle droids march, this would be terrifying during the Clone Wars. The B-1 Series Droid Foreman (battle droid voice, Matthew Wood), stops them, Bo-Katan tells him, they were sent by The Duchess to find the rogue droids. Din starts to wave his hand in front of the droids walking out carrying cargo. The droid foreman warns Mando. Then, Din starts kicking the droids! One stumbles and then punches The Mandalorian sending him back! The droid runs and Bo-Katan tries to blast it, before starting the chase! Din has to leap over containers spilled by the droid, but Bo-Katan has her jetpack take her over in a mini-burst. The chase leads into a crowded city street. This causes screams from citizens. The battle droid hurls a container dodged by Din and Bo-Katan does a spinning jet pack boosted twist! The super battle droid goes into an alley and then leaps on a landspeeder crushing it. The droid next hurls a post that causes an explosion. It passes by a speeder bike store, Gray Scooters?, like the ones ridden by the gang in The Book of Boba Fett, but all white models. I still say they rode swoop bikes, more snub-nosed than the longer speeders, the term was in the Han Solo Legends novels by Brian Daley. 

They split up, Din makes his way through stores, and then crashes through a window to tackle the Super Battle Droid. He blasts it, but when it falls, we also see on the other side, Bo-Katan with her blasters! Tiny constable droids float around them projecting yellow crime scene beams. Bo-Katan studies the droid and takes out a spark pad. She reads from it “The Resistor” which Din says could be a droid bar. A droid bar? There was a droid spa in Clone Wars, “Evil Plans” (2010). Bo-Katan wants to enter the bar her way. Through an alley, they enter The Resistor, and we see a multitude of droids like the group in the Jawa Sandcrawler. Including a few RX-series pilot droids! The appearance of the Mandalorians make them all pause. So this is like two scenes, Sandcrawler and cantina, combined from Star Wars (1977), love it! They are greeted by the Bartender Droid (Seth Gabel). Din throws the spark pad on the bar. He threatens to rip out the droid’s memory circuit with a device. A protocol droid tries to walk away until stopped by Mando. Bo-Katan takes him aside and the bartender droid interrupts that he wants the situation resolved. He fears that the droids will be replaced by humans! This is the sci fi reverse of the current A.I. situation, topical! 

The bartender droid says that they have all been reprogrammed, spared by Plazir-15, instead of scrapped by the New Republic. The droid bartender says he just wants to help them which gets a droid cheer, first time we’ve heard it?, from all of the bar patrons.  In a side room, the bartender says that droids are served Nepenthe, this is the name of the “drug of forgetfulness” in Greek mythology. The bartender explains it is a droid lubricant that uses “refreshing” particles. They are like an update from the mainframe. He quickly selects and scans through a box of spark pads and detemines that the rogue droids all took the same Nepenthe. A Lab Tech (Jen Kobert) pulls out the super battle droid like a body on a morgue slab. It is being examined by the lab tech and the duo. A lab droid like a white version of the interrogator droid withdraws fluid from the super battle droid. The lab tech takes the fluid in a vial to be analyzed for particles. Suddenly, the lab droid sends out lasers that cut the lab tech’s shoulder!  It begins cutting apart the lab! Din Djarin slices it in half with the Darksaber! 

Now back to analyzing the fluid, the lab droid didn’t use its lasers to destroy the evidence, and finds that the particles are nano-droids. We know about nano tech. If there are nano-droids, only one droid needs to infected before it spreads to all systems and droids like a Butlerian Jihad in Dune. Din spots something and Bo-Katan finds that it is writing. The lab tech finds that it is a chain code, she finds out that it was built by the Techno Union, and it arrived by security leading to one individual! At the security office, Commissioner Helgait is working, he is told abou thte evidence with the Nepenthe and nano-droids. He leaps up and activates a large red button that will turn the droids into battle droids!  Helgait says he’s survived the Republic and the Empire. He admires Count Dooku, but then hit by Bo-Katan’s electroshock dart and falls! Captain Bombadier has a giant Pill Bug fold into a “ball” to be used by The Duchess in a game. She throws it through holographic hoops aided by Grogu using the Force! The rest of the party goers cheer for her. Din and Bo-Katan bring in Commissioner Helgait. The Duchess is shocked. He doesn’t like the changes made by Captain Bombadier. The Duchess is disappointed in Helgait who served her family, but supports her husband. She exiles him to the moon of Paraqaat. Constable droids take him away. 

The Duchess gives them both permission to speak with the Mandalorian privateers and also the Key to Plazir. For Grogu, The Duchess knights him in the Ancient Order of Independent Regencies, awesome! She waves goodbye to Grogu and he waves back, I don’t think this is the last we see of them. On the way to the landing field, Bo-Katan admits that she doesn’t have a plan. Crossing a field, the trio reach the line of Gauntlet fighters with the Class 546 Cruiser behind them. Behind Bo-Katan, Din Djarin, and Grogu is the Plazir-15 moon, Paraquaat? Axe Woves is there with Koska Reeves and other Mandalorians. Bo-Katan says she is there for her fleet. Axe says he is in command of it. She challenges him as a warrior. He fires a wrist rocket, but Bo-Katan leaps up with her jet pack and strikes him with both boots! They get up and he wields a vibro knife. She unsheathes a vibro blade from her gauntlet. It’s back and forth punches between them. Axe leaps at Bo-Katan using an assist from his jetpack he slams her into the side of a Gauntlet figher. He fires a wrist rocket that the others dodge. She in turn uses a jet pack assist to thrown Axe down and then has her vibroblade to his throat asking him to yield. 

Instead, he grabs hold of her arms and does a short flight with his jetpack to the wing of a Gauntlet. Bo-Katan is kicked back, but wraps Axe in a fibrocord whip to slam him down! He uses the flamethrower from his gauntlet, but she blocks it with her personal combat shield. Again, Bo-Katan has Axe down with her viboblade to him. He says that she will never be a leader by not taking the Darksaber from Din. Bo-Katan stands and says that the strength of Mandalorians is being together. Axe says that the “religious zealot” doesn’t have any Mandalorian blood, but Bo-Katan declares he is Mandalorian. Din Djarin holds the Darksaber to give to Bo-Katan. He explains that he was defeated and lost the Darksaber to the cyborg in “The Mines of Mandalore.” Bo-Katan rescued him and defeated the cyborg so he poses the question that she had earned the Darksaber in battle. I had thought this at the time especially that she easily used in combat, but this Mando took back the Darksaber. Axe Woves agrees and there are head nods from the other Mandalorians. Din hands the Darksaber to Bo-Katan and stands by her side. Bo-Katan Kryze activates the Darksaber blade, the true heiress to Mandalore! All of the Mandalorians united? I think we might be missing one on Tatooine and bring in Fennec Shand (and Cobb Vanth?) while you are it! A great The Mandalorian episode with twists on Star Wars, a mystery, and the question of Bo-Katan's destiny resolved! 

Five Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five! 

#TheMandalorian, #GunForHire, #PedroPascal, #KateeSackhoff, #Grogu, #Lizzo, #JackBlack, #ChristopherLloyd, #SimonKassianides, #MercedesVarnado, #JenKober, #DaleDickey, #SethGabel, #MatthewWood