The Mandalorian: The Return

 "Mandalorians are stronger together."

And so the season ends. Din Djarin gets an epic heroic quest to do, and shower himself in honour from all, with thev rather adorable help of R5, the honourable help of his lady liege Bo-Katan, and the rather awesome help of soon-to-be-Din Grogu, exemplar of how every fighter needs a magic user in the party to provide magical protection. This is the way.

This is an awesome finale. Yes, as has been discussed, this season has turned the focus somewhat away from Din Djaron and towards Bo-Katan and Mandalore. Yet the ending swerves decisively away from that, and why should a show called "The Mandalorian" not focus on such things?

Moff Gideon, I trust, is gone for good. He was a great villain, not least because Giancarlo Esposito (watch Breaking Bad and The Boys!) is an actor of the very first rank who needs to do some classical theatre very soon. He excels at morally flawed yet brilliant and charismatic figures. Prospero? Mark Antony? Coriolanus...? 

Anyway, this is both a dsuperb finale, destroying the Darksabre yet leaving Mandalore united and with hope, wheras Din Djarin and Din Grogu, shrouded in honour, unofficially set of to help the New Republic police the Outer Rim.

This is the way. This is how to cap an excellent season.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 23- The Spies

 "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes."

Oh my. This is how you do a penultimate episode.

It's simple, really. Two sets of plans are made to retake Mandalore. The first by the united tribes of trad and rad Mandalorians under Bo-Katan, the second by Moff Gideon, finally revealed... and appearing in a splendid scene of imperial realpolitik that both references and rubbishes Grand Admiral Thrawn from the '90s Timothy Zahn books.

The Mandalorians' return to their home planet has an epic tale and feels like an ancient saga in how the events unfold. There are great character moments. Bo-Katan relating her surrender and betrayal by Gideon as Mandalore fell. Din Djarin declaring that he serves her not because of her royal blood but because of her character. That awesome, Michael Moorcock-like sand ship that evokes The Dragon in the Sword. How all seems hopeless at the end, like a film I need not mention. The heroic sacrifice of noble Paz Viszla.

And yes, IG-12, piloted by Grogu. The perfect comic relief to leaven this bread. Bring on the finale.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 22- Guns for Hire

 "I don't think they get many of our kind here..."

The Mandalorian can pretty much do no wrong at the moment. Take this episode, for example. Narratively, it's a case of the season arc quite transparently stopping for an episode so we can have a quasi-whodunit set in a decadent society where all citizens live lives of leisure, served by droids, and where blatantly Asimov themes of robotics, as on the Spacer worlds, play out.

And yet... look at the world building. The ultimate culprit, played by the wonderful octogenarian Christopher Lloyd, is a Separatist devotee of Count Dooku. Mando gets to show off his experience of Ugnaught culture. We have a brief appearance of star-cross'd lovers, a Quarren captain and a Mon Calamari prince. And we get a droid bar. I love the droid bar. Yet I also love the depiction of a post-work society which will, in a few generations, collapse into utter decadence.

It's such fun seeing droid-hating Mando interact with Bo Katan here, both joint stars of the show here. Yet the conclusion almost transcends all as Bo-Katan wins over the mercenary Mandalorians by taking the Darksabre from a willing Mando... on a devilishly clever technicality. This is all just bloody brilliant. And Grogu even gets a bloody knighthood...

The Mandalorian: Chapter 21- The Pirate

 "Bo-Katan walks both worlds..."

Wow. The Mandalorian gets better and better. This season is on fire.

The plot is simple, time-honoured, life-affirming Western stuff. Greef Kargo's decent, hard-working community are attacked by pirates, overrun, and become refugees. The New Republic won't help because of bureaucracy, or rather the understandable realities and limits of power. So it falls to the Mandalorians, who successfully fight off the pirates and are rewarded with land of their own. Simple.

Except it's not about the plot, it's about the nuances and little things. The Salacious Crumbs pointing out the ambush. The fact we all knowdamn well what Kargo is doing when he bends down to the R2 unit. The fact that the New Republic colonel who refuses help is portrayed not as a stupid pen-pushing staff officer but as a reasonable man with competing, impossible priorities who is, while we may not like it, probably making the right decision. The subtle plotting of G68. Paz's unextectedly supportive speech.

And so, after some awesome action sequences, the Mandalorians have some security. And the Armourer- I live her- bonds further with an increasingly spiritual Bo-katan and bids her remove her helmet(!) and go forth to recruit others so Mandalore may be retaken. And if that bombshell wasn't enough... we learn that Moff Gideon was sprung... by Mandalorians???!!!

Wow. Just wow,.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 20- The Foundling

 "But it was real!"

Before I gush about this wonderful bit of telly, let me first gush about geekier matters. Carl Weathers, that septugenarian movie star, directs, and superbly, for the second time. Even cooler is that we get a flashback to Grogu's youth and how he's the only Jedi youngling saved from the massacre by a rather cool and heroic Jedi, played by... Ahmed Best, who now has a place in the Star Wars mythos that isn't Jar Jar Binks!

Grogu gets a special piece of armour from the armourer, and is taken on as a foundling, winning a rather cool little duel. It's all at once extremely cute and nicely revealing about aspects of Mandalorian cultutre.

The tribe bonds over the taking of a foundling by a kind of pterodactyl thing. Mando is great as ever, yet it is Bo-Katan who is the star this episode. She covers herself in glory in rescuing the foundling, and is praised by the armourer, who she seems to accept as a mother figure. Bo-Katan's arc is fascinating: she utters the words "This is the way!" Is she losing faith in her doubts? She has seen the Mythosaur...

This is mythic, beautifully crafted telly.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 19- The Convert

 "This is the way!"

This is, perhaps, a less obviously crowd-pleasing episode, despite the events at the start and finish, and much of it focuses on unexpected characters, which is brave. It is, nonetheless, compelling. And no doubt much is set up for the rest of the season. Will the devious Elia Kane be the big bad, the cuckoo in the Coruscant nest, a former devotee of Moff Gideon?

We meet Dr Pershing again- reformed, now a successful product of a programme designed to convert former Imperials into loyal citizens of the New Republic. Yet Elia- with much excitement- slowly exploits Pershing's scientific idealism- though his ethics are debatable- into a trap leading ultimately to the mind flayer, the name of which surely deliberately evokes both Dungeons and Dragons and Stranger Things.

We explore Coruscant in a way we never really have before. The Imperial capital is a veritable Trantor of a planet, full of both naive New Republic functionaries and cynical amoral senators- naive idealism coexisting with the potential for corruption. This Eden does not feel secure, and the snakes are there.

Yet Dr Pershing is not the only eponymous convert; almost by accident, so is Bo Katan. The action scenes at the start are fascinating, as well as showing the increasing bond and trust between her and Din. They escape to a refuge of trad Mandalorians who follow the way. Din is redeeemed... yet, as she has taken the waters and not since removed her helmet, so is Bo. By circumstance. How will she react? Is her arc one of acceptance and seizing her inheritance?

The Mandalorian: Chapter 18- The Mines of Mandalore

 "Did you think your dad was the only Mandalorian?"

This is an interesting and fascinating episode: a bit of humour with good old Peli- it's good that we get to see her every now and again- on Tattooine, and then it's off to explore the ruins of Mandalore. I'm not sure why Mando was so keen to resurrect that IG droid last week when it seems like any half-knackered R5 astromech droid will do, but never mind.

It's superb, tension-filled stuff, with evocative ruins, monsters and a splendid end of level boss, a skittering insect thing that pilots a big robot that in turn pilots this big mecha thing. As all-out action it's superb. Yet as lore, it's fascinating. We see the mines, the waters, we hear of the mythology, in no way based on the tale of Theseus. And we get to know Bo-Katan a little better as she not only rescues Din butbthe two of them seem to bond, despite their differences. As Bo-Katan says, it's more important than ever for Mandalorians to unite.

The characterisation is handled superbly. It's all subtext, all showing and not telling, but the relationships between the two Mandalorians and the increasingly brave and capable Grogu are fascinating. It's also deeply evocative to see what's left of Mandalore, which looks dead from space. That ending, too...

Superb as ever.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 17- The Apostate

 "Now that's using your head..."

Oh, I've missed The Mandalorian. It may not be particularly deep or philosophical, intelligent though it is: it's a western, and deals with the inherent themes that arise from the mythology of the Old West which are, yes, by no means shallow. The Old West is every bit as evocative and worthy of art as any mythology, and admired as such everywhere in the world except for its native United States. And this episode reinforces that, balancing character, plot, wit and action.

The arc is set up. After last season, the Mandalorian has a hopeless task to redeem himself for removing is helmet, alongside Grogu, now his apprentice. He must bathe in the Living Waters below the Mines of Mandalore that probably don't exist, presumably as a season-long quest. There seems to be little hope. Even Bo-Katan has given up, yet Mando has achieved the impossible.

We meet Grief Kargo again, who has made a decent, honest success of his town. He's pleased to see Mando, and is keen to enlist this potentially useful citizen as landed gentry or at least sheriff; pirates look increasingly menacing, and seem set to loom rather large this season.

It's all such fun, with a giant crocodile and trees full of Salacious Crumbs; tiny little droidsmiths; a proper gunfight. I loved Andor with a passion, but there's room for this too.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 16- The Rescue

 "You are not a Mandalorian."

"Never said I was."

SPOILERS ABOUND. You have been warned! 

This is the perfect finale, and would have been so even without the fanwank, which itself was nonetheless the cherry on the cake. 

The character of Dr Pershing is used, at the start, to up the ante by blatantly foreshadowing the entire platoon of droid Dark Troopers (whom we have seen before) that await our heroes as they plan their assault on Moff Gideon's "light" Imperial Star Destroyer. There's some nice character stuff as a baddie goads the good Marshal about being on the Death Star when the Grand Moff Tarkin destroyed Alderaan. This is the sort of little touch during an action-packed finale that shows real quality.

Bo-Katan and her sidekick are tagging along for the Darksabre- with a little light racism aimed at Boba Fett for being a clone along the way. But the assault goes to plan... until Mando unexpectedly comes across the Machiavellian Moff Gideon, in a superb performance from Giancarlo Esposito. He has three aces up his sleeve. He's got what he wanted out of Grogu; there are hordes of Dark Troopers about to attack against whom they have no hope; and, in defeating Gid and unwttingly claiming the Darksabre, he is forcing Bo-Katan to fight and kill him for it in order to regain the throne of Mandalore, because it's not the sabre that matters, it's the "story". I love this. Perfect plotting.

And then the mysterious Jedi arrives, slicing through the Dark Troopers with his green lightsabre, although interestingly only through screens within screens. This turns out to be highly appropriate when said figure turns out to be a CGI Luke Skywalker, with Mark Hamill's face rejuvenated by a cheaper version of the process used for Samuel L. Jackson in Captain Marvel. The parting betwen Mando and little Grogu is heartbreaking, as he removes his helmet(!) and allows his baby to touch his face. He's a proper dad.

This is magnificent stuff, even before we get to the post-credits teaser for Boba Fett's forthcoming series, as he and the uber-cool Fennec Shand enter Jabba's old palace, kill Bib Fortuna (my first ever Kenner figure back in '83) ad take over.

This is simply superlative telly.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 15- The Believer

" I never saw your face..."

The penultimare episode... and it's a superbly taut and brilliantly made action thriller in which our heroes brave all sorts of dangers order to find out the location of Grogu next season. Boba Fett and Fennec Shand are now confirmed members of Mando's gang alongside Cara Dune- and our old friend Mayfeld is sprung in order to get inside the Imperial base. It's a nicely rich mix of people with some excellent characterisation on display.

The opening scene, with its CGI-enhanced depiction of a New Republic prison, is amazing. So is Boba Fett's ship Slave-1 (friends of mine had the Kenner toy of this when I was a nipper), which appears rather a lot though the magic of CGI. There's some awesome action with some pirates. There are tense scenes with a total bastard of an Imprerial officer.

But the episode focuses around a fascinating conversation between Mando and Mayfeld in which the later points out that Mando is happy to bend the rules about removing his helmet when something he cares about is at stake- over the course of two seasons we've seen the grizzled, taciturn bounty hunter turn into a devoted father. We see him first bend then break this rule, a rule that means a lot to him. For such an undemonstrative man this shows us that Mando cares a lot for this kid.

And so we see at the end, as Mando sends a threatening message to Moff Gideon. This is simply superb telly.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 14- The Tragedy

 "They're back. The empire. They're back."

It's all go in this very eventful episode: Grogu goes to do that magic Jedi thing on the planet Tython but, awkwardly, Mando is attacked at the worst possible moment by a not dead Fennec (the ageless Ming-Na Wen) and... a hooded Boba Fett. Who claims that Mando's Beskar is his armour. Oh dear.

All this is a side-show, of course, to the clever bit of misdirection with stormtroopers from a more than normally moustache-twirling Moff Gideon who, finally, manages to nab cute little Grogu, who now faces an immediate future as a "donor". Brr. And those "Dark Troopers" are cool.

Yet there's another big reveal going on- Mando's armour is indeed his, and Mando eventually accepts that: honour succeeds where battle failed. It's a nice touch, that the esteemed Mr Fett agrees to help return the child as a quid pro quo. We also get a nifty bit of subtle retconning: Jango Fett was a foundling. This is the Way.

The script from the dependable Favreau, the direction from the Hollywood guest helmer, the performances, the whole damn thing... it's excellent. I'm loving this.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 13- The Jedi

 "He's formed a strong attachment to you."

Yeah, this is a bit good. My mind is blown.

We know from the start that Mando is on Corvus to find a Jedi to train Baby Yoda- or Grogu, as we now learn his name is. And, excitingly, we see said Jedi- Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson from the various Netflix Marvel series- in the first scene, as she heroically pits herself against an evil local dictator who twirls her, er, moustache rather nicely. It's an interesting choice not to hold back this moment, but it sets the scene nicely.

We then get an episode which is awesome for several reasons. Ahsoka is, of course, coolness itself with those awesome lightsabres. The basic plot of Ahsoka and Mando teaming up and defeating the Magistrate is awesome, as is the lightly humorous relationship between them as they both see the irony in a Mandalorian and a Jedi, ancient enemies, working together.

There's a mind-blowing moment, though, as it's revealed that the Magistrate's "master" is one Grand Admiral Thrawn. I'm not at all familiar with Star Wars media outside this, the films, the Kenner toys of my '80s childhood and those two '80s Ewoks TV films, but I did read a novel by Timothy Zahn back in the early '90s- wasn't Grand Admiral Thrawn the baddie? But surely this novel can't be canon now the recent trilogy at the pictures has contradicted it?

 There's more geekiness, too, as Ahsoka examines Grogu, confirms his past- a survivor of the massacre at the Jedi temple on Coruscant in Revenge of the Sith- and, fulfilling a Jedi trope, refuses to train him as he's too full of fear and anger. I'm sure we all saw this coming- but there's hope in the shape of a magic mountain on yet another world...

The script here (not Favreau) is perhaps a little less polished than usual, but there's just so much cool stuff going on. I'm loving this.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 12- The Siege

"I lost everyone." 

The Mandalorian just keeps getting better. This episode has everything: action, humour, strong characters whom by now we've come to know well, and hints at even more stuff going on arc-wise.

At first it looks as though this is going to be another story of the week as Mando has to stay on Nevarro while his ship is repaired, so we can see how Cara Dune (now the sheriff of this frontier town) and Greef Karga (the mayor) are getting on and Mando has to join them in a mission to fill out the episode. I wouldn't have objected much- the mission is cool, to one remaining Imperial base left on the planet, with lots of action and lots of humour, including Baby Yoda using the Force to steal some sweets from another kid. Nevertheless, it seems at first as though all this is a story of the week in order to kill time entertainingly before we visit the Jedi mentioned last episode.

Except there's a lot more going on than that as the base is more than it seems. Mando discovers that rumours of Moff Gideon's death have been much exaggerated, and we uncover the fact that Baby Yoda's blood was being used in some bizarre blood transfusion experiments. These are big revelations, and there's also a subtle undercurrent of the New Republic trying to push their authority a little closer to the Outer Rim frontier- this Space Western is almost starting to echo Deadwood at times.

The final revelation, though, is that Cara is from Alderaan. Everything and everyone she knew is gone, which seems partly to explain how she has become what she is. Ouch. This is such good telly.

And yes, I blogged a Star Wars related post on May the 4th. Yay me.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 11- The Heiress

 "No, I have enough pets..."

Right, the Granada Sherlock Holmes has nearly finished, with one episode left (tomorrow), so it's time to alternate Sapphire & Steel with some other unfinished business and finish the promising second season of The Mandalorian. It's an impressive episode to return to, ad a reminder of how Jon Favreau has created an impressive piece of television, and quite conceivably a better space opera Western than Firefly.

Compared to last episode, which was essentially about getting from A to B with some excitement on the way, this episode is quite evantful. Yet the bare bones of the plot- Mando arrives on Trask (home of the Quarrens and Mon Calamari- it's great to finally see the planet, with its AT-AT cranes, dodgy mechanics, piracy and living squid soups) in search of other Mandalorians in order to get directions to a Jedi so he can take babby Yoda where it belongs- barely scratches the surface of what is going on here.

Those three other Mandalorians, led by the enigmatic and dangerous Bo-Katan are not as expected. It;s shocking to see them remove their helmets- but we now learn that most do; it's only the extreme "Chid of the Watch" faction, to which Mando belongs, that hold on to "the Way". This is quite a revelation and a superby done twist. Moreover, while Bo-Katan happens to be broadly aligned with the goodies, she is ambitious and power-hungry, and prepared to twist her promises. I wouldn't be surprised if she were to turn up one day as an antagonist. However, Mando now has a place to head for in order to meet a Jedi.

There's also plenty of action, plenty of humour and plenty of action, plus of course plenty of the usual Imperial dastardliness. I've really missed The Mandalorian and it's time to catch up completely.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 10- The Passenger

 "What can I say? I'm a great judge of character."

Ok, this episode isn't as awesome as last week's, mainly because it's ultimately a filler episode about getting from Point A to Point B, as far as the arc is concerned, with a bit of picaresque fun and adventure on the way in something of a story of the week. There's a lot less to analyse as it's all rather straightforward in comparison. You can't deny, though, that it's all very well done.

Mando, in travelling to meet this mysterious other Mandalorian, has to transport a cute and amusing frog lady with her jar of eggs which Baby Yoda, the little sod, tries to eat. He gets intercepted by a couple of cops for a broken taillight and runs away, crashing and incurring the wrath of a family of particularly fearsome spiders. That's it. That's the plot. But the way it's done is rather entertaining, despite the fact this is all filler- although I like the way the cops (New Republic types with X-Wings) basically let Mando off at the end.

I don't even mind Dr Mandible(!) looking a bit crap, or all the cutesyness. This is a superbly entertaining episode which continues the strong start to a second season which so far is better than the first. And we even get a cameo from Richard Ayoade.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 9- The Marshal

 “There's no such thing as an abandoned Sarlacc pit."

"There is if you eat the Sarlacc..."

I simply cannot emphasise simply how good this opening episode is to this second season of the greatest science fiction Western since Firefly. I's a masterful piece of telly, however much the role of the Krayt Dragon may owe to Dune.

And a Western this episode most assuredly is, as the framing of the opening shot, with Mando and Baby Yoda walking towards the camera shows us. As the season opener this episode is quite arc-heavy, and so we're teased, after a superbly effective opening sequence which entertains us wth lots of action while subtly dropping a lot of exposition, with rumours of of another Mandalorian on Tattooine, in the forgotten town of Mos Pelgo. The apparent Mandalorian we see- the Marshal- is of course a red herring, but how did that armour get into the possession of those Jawas from whom he bought it, and who is that mysterious watching figure at the end, played- very interestingly- by Temuera Morrison?

The Marshal is, of course, blatantly a sheriff straight from the tropes of the Western, and to drive the point home he's even played, rather well, by Timothy Olyphant, Seth from Deadwood- and the fact the Weequay barman is played by W. Earl Brown makes this almost a Deadwood mini-reunion.

The plot- the villagers and Tusken Raiders must make common cause and use cunning to slay a massive burrowing dragon (yeah, that bit owes slightly less to Westerns), gives us loads of entertainment while eminding us how much we like our protagonist, whose face is hidden but who shows himself yet again to have surprising depths as a character. And it's a rollicking tale that feels much shorter than it is. 

I love the genre playfulness, too; Mando and the Marshal are set to have a typical Western duel, holsters ready, in the saloon, when the ground begins to shake and the Western is interrupted by a trope from another genre. And there's some nice world building- as soon as the Empire is destroyed at the end of Return of the Jedi, the mining corporation moves in and enslaves everyone. It's Star Wars, but definitely a Western and not fairytale.

Welcome back, The Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 8- Redemption

“He just killed an officer for interrupting him. So this may take a while.“

Wow. Now that’s what I call a bit good. This finale is a thing of beauty and, seeing now how it all fits together, it elevates the previous seven episodes into a cohesive whole. I can see why The Mandalorian has received such acclaim, and I concur wholeheartedly.

So yes, we begin with Mando, Cara and Greef completely surrounded by Imperial troops under new big bad Moff Gideon, and Imperial scout troops have Baby Yoda. It’s a bleak cliffhanger. But I love how things immediately turned into an unexpected direction. So it’s a comedy scene between two scout troopers that tells us what Gideon is like, and his habit of executing subordinates for petty reasons. But his speech to our protagonists is hugely revealing- our Mando has a name (Din Djarin) and is not a native of Mandalor but a foundling, and at last we see the full flashback of how he came to be adopted by his new culture. This adds an awful lot of depth and hints at the ending.

All this dialogue is fun (what is this “Mind Flayer”?), but even more fun is Taika Waititi who, when he’s not brilliantly directing this episode, is perfect as the reprogrammed IG-11, the most badass nanny in the world (eat that, Poppins), who rescues the kid and then the gang, all while being staggeringly cool. It’s neat that a droid that originally tried to kill the Child should be its saviour, and indeed die in a way justifying the episode title- but let’s not get too far ahead.

Mando appears to be the one facing a heroic death, but no- he's saved by IG-11. And, as said awesome droid is not technically alive, we get to see his face, in the same episode we learn his name. And we find the other Mandalorians to have been devastated, the only apparent survivor being the armourer. She shows hersef to be badass when the Imps arrive later, of course, but for now she makes clear what we've probably realised- Baby Yoda is a foundling and, unless Mando can return it to its home (and there was an ancient war with the Jedi?), it's his son, to be raised in the tradition. This is the Way. Cool.

That escape through a river of lava with a ferry droid has no business not being a reference to the River Styx and, sure enough, when they emerge IG-88 blows his way to Hades, along with a load of Imps, to save the others. He is, in spire of everything, a hero. And Mando, in spite of everything, truly mourns this droid. This is cleverly crafted drama.

We end with Greef hiring Cara but, for now, Mando has some Jedi family history to research. I bloody can't wait. I can't praise this series enough.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 7- The Reckoning

"Tea?"

This penultimate episode does nothing to stop me seeing this excellent as pretty much a Western in terms of plot, themes, characters and archetype- you could pretty much take away all the robots and spaceships and tell this whole story, flabby middle episodes and all, in the American West. This is, of course, no bad thing, and is a big part of why this genre series doesn't come across as mere fan fiction- there's lots of fan service here and there, of course, and rightly so, but fan service doesn't drive the plot so much as the notion that a Mandalorian's gotta do what a Mandalorian's gotta do.

So when Mando gets that message from Greef that he can come back and have all forgiven by the Guild if he kills his former employer, an ex-Imperial type who has the place swarming with Stormtroopers. Only here is it made clear that we are not too many years after Return of the Jedi- is this Imperial remnant a harbinger of the First Order?

Our Ugnaught friend gets a name- Kuill- and a backstory- he's moral and dignified, earning his freedom from centuries of slavery by the skill of his hands, and gently repairing IG-11 as a harmless protective and domestic droid in an extended flashback evoking parenthood. This, of course, makes us like him. So they kill him, the bastards.

It's also nice to see Cara- a person Mando respects, and perhaps almost a friend. It's also nice that Greef admits and abandons his proposed double cross after Baby Yoda heals him- this sort of thing gives the characters depth and agency, and makes them feel like people rather than plot functions. Greef May have been an antagonist but he is, in his way, an honourable man. Although I love the fact that the whole load of them are ambushed right after the line “Nothing can go wrong”.

Then things get intense. There are hordes of Stormtroopers, some of them those cool scouts with their speeder bikes, and Werner Herzog is simply superb- I love how he’s a genuinely ideological Imperial, believing the Empire brings order and not chaos (like Rome) and genuinely puzzled as to why Mandalor had to resist.

And, if things weren’t intense enough, we end with our gang all captured as a big TIE fighter lands and out comes the Big Bad, one Moff Gideon. More please. This is awesome.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 6- The Prisoner

“A lady never tells...”

This is the third episode in a row which puts the plot to one side in favour of a story of the week. I’m sure we’re all getting rather impatient by now, but at least this episode is a cut above the previous two, and has Richard Ayoade as a rather arrogant droid and a rather complex double crossing heist plot which feels, again, like something out of a Western.

Our man Mando used to run away with a rather interesting gang, played here by a nice little variety of character actors. Perhaps the most interesting of these is Xian, a rather flirtatious Twi’lek (why do no other Twi’leks look quite like Bib Fortuna did, with two proper gnarly tentacles rather than straight pointy ones?), but you can tell from the start that there’s no honour amongst these thieves, which makes them very different from Mando. Things go entertainingly wrong throughout with some superb directing throughout, with this episode again being shot like a horror film.

Meanwhile the smarmy droid has his own agenda with baby Yoda, but it’s never a good idea to try and shoot a toddler who is strong in the ways of the Force. This is one tough childminding gig. Mando certainly has guts.

We get clever plot twists, flirting, X Wing fighters and a gripping story. Fine. But can we get back to the arc now, please?

The Mandalorian: Chapter 5- The Gunslinger

“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold...”

Another filler episode, then, our second in a row. It’s reasonably diverting, although notably not as good, so can we get back to the arc please?

This is only a sub-par episode by its own standards, of course. The opening starship battle is retro and cool, and the story of the week about a triangle of bounty hunters is intriguing enough, plus we get to see Ming-Na Wen. The comic mechanic and her card playing put droids are fun too. And it’s nice to see Mos Eisley again- this time a little less pernickety about droids.

But there’s not much development of plot or character, or much world building, although I like the Stormtrooper heads on spikes, and Toro’s defensive protest that “This ain’t Corellia” when showing off the speeder bikes.

But this is ultimately a double cross narrative that doesn’t go anywhere beyond this episode. It’s pretty much a Western with sci-fi trappings; even the Tusken Raiders are blatantly equated with Native Americans. Diverting, but please- no more filler.