2020, Disney+
Chapter 11: The Heiress
directed by: Bryce Dallas Howard
Limping to their destination in the Razor Crest, Mando, Baby Yoda and Frog Lady have a rough landing on a watery planet. There, Frog Lady meets up with her husband, while Din pays a sweatered Mon Cal to repair his ship. He asks around at the local tavern if they've seen anyone like him, and a Quarren ship captain says he can take him to them. It's, of course, a trap for them to try and steal his very pricey armor, but he's rescued by a trio of Mandalorians.
This group of Mandos, led by heir to the Mandalorian throne - Bo-Katan Kryze - note that can point Din to the location of a Jedi, but first they need his help in commandeering (well, stealing) an imperial freighter. It's successful. Less successful was the Mon Cal's ship repairs. Baby Yoda eats a tentacled starfish-thing. Oh and Bo-Katan tells Mando about a Jedi she knows... Ahsoka Tano!
The Good
The opening sequence of the Razor Crest having a very difficult entry into Trask's atmosphere, and one of the funniest moments in all of Star Wars, the unhappy landing.
A Mon Calamari in a big, chunky fisherman's sweater. Love it.
The AT-AT repurposed as a crane. Fantastic.
Bo-Katan making the transition from the Clone Wars cartoon to live-action, with Katee Sackoff reprising the role. Yes!
Learning that Din was raised in, basically, a cult. The whole "never take your mask off" - which was weird thing introduced in season 1 that we just kind of went with - takes on a whole new context. Bo-Katan kind of rolls her eyes at him.
The action is just terrific in this... exciting, fun, funny, daring. Bryce Dallas Howard's first episode (Chapter 4) was pretty much the weakest episode of the first season (and maybe the series) but this just shows that she can make it big, she can make it funny, and it shows that we probably underestimated her craft and skill from her first episode.
The Bad
RIP Baby Yoda's floating egg thing. How's he going to get that baby around now...?
It's too bad we only really see Mon Cals and Quarrens and they didn't really take the opportunity to introduce another aquatic species (or even Nautolans - Kit Fisto's people - or more Frog people). Diversity matters, even with amphibian humanoids.
Unreal Problems
In a meta sense, in continuity it's been about 30 years since the Clone Wars when Bo-Katan first appeared, and over 10 years since Rebels when Bo-Katan last appeared... she looks great!
I can tell they were trying to get Katee's hair to look like Bo-Katan's in the cartoon, but it doesn't look...great. I can't tell yet if it's a wig or a dye job, I haven't looked close enough.
Galaxy Building
Frog Lady gets to have her happy ending with a little baby tadpole. I'm not sure if Baby Yoda wants to eat it or if, now that it's an actual living being, he's got a little empathic connection with it.
Din pays the someone in "Flan" which is the Mon Cala currency which he was given by Greef Karga in Chapter 1.
The fervent zealotry of the remaining Imperials. They've lost the war but are still holding onto their conditioning. Plans are afoot. We'll see more of this.
Looking Forward
So this one kind of shifts focus from Mando to Bo-Katan about midway through and it shifts into some Mandalorian history as seen in Clone Wars and Rebels, and fills in some gaps. But it also sets up some things yet to come, including Bo-Katan's desire to get that Darksaber from Moff Gideon. She's building up resources to take back Mandalor (and rule it).
Ahsoka Tano gets her first live action name drop (though her voice did appear in The Rise of Skywalker) and Mando is sent in her direction. So we'll be seeing her soon.
Yes, Toys of that Please
All the Mandos. Bo-Katan we don't have any action figures yet. Koska Reeves (played by WWE's Mercedes "Sasha Banks" Varnado) and Axe Woves (played by Simon Kassianides)... we need them all. Black Series and Vintage Collection. I also want a Mon Cal in a sweater. May have to kit bash that one myself.
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