*RECAP INCLUDES SPOILERS*
This week’s episode of THE MANDALORIAN finds our hero and the wee Baby Yoda in the middle of a chase. Another bounty hunter has tracked the baby down and is doing whatever he can to bring both Mando and the baby in. “I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold,” he says. These are soon to be his last words as Mando pulls off an impressive maneuver and ends up blowing him to space dust.
Slightly frazzled and quickly running out of fuel, Mando decides to dock in a familiar place: Mos Eisley. Once docked, he enlists the help of local mechanic Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) to get his ship refueled and back into flying space. He leaves Baby Yoda in the ship – a bad idea in my opinion – and heads out to look for work.
While he’s gone, Baby Yoda waddles out of Mando’s ship to the surprise of Peli and her Pit Droids. Peli takes it upon herself to take care of the child while Mando is out. Speaking of Mando, while out looking for work, he walks into a place even the most unseasoned Star Wars fan would recognize: The Mos Eisley Cantina. Although it’s a little dirtier and more desolate than when we first saw it, you can still see a few different species having a drink and chatting it up at the bar.
Overhearing Mando’s inquiry about work, Toro Calican offers him a job in the form of hunting down known assassin Fennec Shand. Quick to say no, Mando explains that Fennec is, in fact, an elite mercenary and anyone who claims to be involved with a bounty hunter guild should know that. After explaining that he needs this bounty to become a part of the guild, and offering him the entire payout, Mando agrees to help him. Leaving Baby Yoda with Peli, Mando sets out with Toro towards the Dune Sea. After encountering some familiar Tusken raiders, they negotiate passage through their land and encounter a Dewback with the dead rider being slowly dragged behind. Upon closer inspection, Mando realizes this is another member of the guild with a tracking fob to Fennec, and shots ring out prompting him to run back towards Toro to take cover. Someone is shooting sniper bolts at them and they have a good idea who it could be. Mando suggests they wait it out until the sun goes down and they take turns keeping watch.
Once the suns are down, Mando and Toro set off on their speeder bikes toward Fennec, using flash charges as cover against the sniper scope. They do manage to get pretty far but not before Mando is shot off his speeder bike, leaving Toro to try and capture Fennec by himself and she’s not going to make it easy. Once captured, Mando walks back a ways to try and find the Dewback they saw earlier so that they can all head back at the same time. While he’s gone, Fennec tries to convince Toro to take her to her rendezvous point in Mos Espa. She offers him double the price that’s been offered for her. After he refuses, she decides to take a different approach and tells Toro that Mando is a traitor and is carrying a stolen bounty. If he were to bring Mando and the child in, the guild would see him as more than just a newbie and it would catapult him to legendary status. Thinking about it for a bit, Toro seems to be willing to take her up on her offer to help him capture Mando. After a quick change of heart however, he decides to shoot her instead and go after Mando alone.
Upon his return, Mando sees what’s happened and decides to head back to the hangar. Once he gets there, he sees Toro’s bike and realizes there might be trouble. Toro has foolishly decided to hold Peli and the Baby hostage and if there’s anything we’ve learned from this show so far, it’s that nobody gets between Mando and his Baby. Mando makes quick work of Toro, takes his money in order to pay Peli and sets off on his merry way once again, with the baby safe. In the final shot of the episode, we see a mysterious figure approach the body of Fennec Shand. We don’t see their face, we only hear a spur jingle as they bend down to check on her.
The Lore
This episode was fun in terms of Star Wars lore. Lots of easter eggs and fun tidbits to pay attention to plus that mysterious ending.
First would have to be the Mos Eisley bit. We first see Mos Eisley and Tattoine in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, when we follow Luke and Obi-Wan into the cantina where they meet Han Solo and Chewbacca and our adventure begins. The Mos Eisley cantina, although looking disheveled before, definitely looked a little more run down since we last hung out there. Outside as Mando walks around we see stormtrooper helmets propped up on pikes perhaps as a warning to anyone who would still consider themselves siding with the Empire.
When we learn about Fennec Shand, we learn that she is an elite mercenary that has killed for many crime syndicates including the Hutts, as in Jabba the.
We also see some familiar equipment this episode, in the shape of the speeder bikes that Toro and Mando ride through the sand dunes while hunting Fennec down.
Being on Tattoine of course, Mando and Toro were bound to run into some Tusken Raiders, using hand signs to communicate with them.
We also learn the name of the planet Mando was originally on in the first two episodes, Nevarro. This is a new planet, as it hasn’t been featured in any other Star Wars productions.
Some fun quotes we’ve heard before were used, like “She’s no good to us dead” and “She has the high ground”.
I’d also like to mention Amy Sedaris and how perfect she was as Peli Motto. Seeing her holding and interacting with Baby Yoda was just delightful.
The last, and perhaps BIGGEST, thing I’ll mention in this episode is that ending. Who is it? What do they want? What’s their motive? WHO IS IT? The only hints we have are the sounds of spurs and possibly the title of the episode. One theory is that the mystery man could be Boba Fett, legendary bounty hunter. He did “die” in Return of the Jedi but he made a daring escape in the non-canonical expanded universe books. Tatooine was where we last saw Boba Fett and again, the spurs are our ultimate hint here, as Boba Fett has spurs on his costume that can be heard every time he walks around. Another theory and perhaps a more plausible one is that the mysterious figure in question could be Cad Bane, a gun-slinging bounty hunter that was featured in the Clone Wars cartoon series. Remember, the title of this episode was The Gunslinger, so it would be fitting that Cad would be who we see at the end of the episode. On top of this, his outfit and gear is very western cowboy so he would fit right in with the aesthetic of the show. This could also be a new chapter all together so we’ll just have to wait and see. Hopefully, we’ll find out before the season’s end. Episodes of THE MANDALORIAN will be released weekly each Friday on Disney+ and you can read Angie’s earlier recaps here.
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