Book Review - Behind the Curtain by Anita D Hunt

Warning: This post will be discussing abuse and suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

There often comes a time when you explore titles in genres that you don't normally read. During this year's visit to Swanwick, several attendees launched books published by Spellbound Books, including Anita D Hunt with her thriller, Behind the Curtain. This review is part of a Reading Between the Lines blog tour organised by Lynsey Adams.

Blurb

Two wives.
One dead.
One alive.
One perfect husband.

Penny-May cannot quite believe her luck when the handsome and charming Sam is interested in her, especially so soon after the death of his first wife, Lucy. As the relationship develops and Sam’s true nature begins to emerge, Penny-May believes that it is all her fault for not being perfect, for not doing as she is told, for not being Lucy. After all, according to everyone else, he’s the perfect gentleman. Isn’t he?

As desperation sets in, Penny-May is stunned to come across the diaries of Sam's first wife. Will the legacy of Lucy's hidden diaries finally give Penny-May the strength and upper hand to escape Sam?

Review

It's safe to say this book takes a dark tone. The bulk of the story is from Penny-May's perspective, utilising a first-person point of view. It opens with a prologue which takes place in media res, in which she laments her marriage to Sam and wonders about Lucy. We then flash back to roughly two years earlier, where Penny-May secures a temp job as a personal assistant at Sam's firm of architects. She later learns that he's apparently grieving his first wife, who is mentioned to have committed suicide.

Roughly the first third of the book shows Penny-May working more directly with Sam, which soon blossoms into a romantic relationship and later a marriage. You'd think that part would play out like a romantic novel, if it wasn't for the prologue. The book is also interspersed with chapters from Sam's perspective, which utilise a third-person point of view but nonetheless establish that he isn't a nice person. This becomes especially apparent after he's introduced to Penny-May's brother Daniel, who has Down's syndrome. While his interactions are cordial, subsequent chapters from his perspective show his ableism, and it's only a matter of time before that mask slips.

After Sam marries Penny-May, things get unpleasant very quickly. Sam's mother looks down on Penny-May, believing that she married him for his money, while Sam himself is incredibly controlling. It isn't long before he gets physically abusive, and at that point Penny May has few people she can turn to, especially because Sam's regarded as a pillar of the local community.

In the final third, Penny-May discovers Lucy's diaries, showing her journey that was almost identical to Penny's. It further reinforces how vile a person Sam truly is. This is accompanied by Penny-May's escape, which provides an incredible twist and some much-needed catharsis.

All-in-all, Behind the Curtain is a well-written thriller. It will make you angry, but I'd say that's the desired effect, and helps create a truly gripping story. The book is available from Amazon here, and I recommend checking it out.

About the Author

Anita D Hunt lives in the beautiful County of Cornwall. She has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing and is a published poet, theatre critic and short story writer with four of her short stories appearing in the three volumes of Cornwall Writers anthologies. She is also an admin on the Cornwall Writers team. 

Anita works in the care industry working with people with dementia and delivering cognitive stimulation therapy sessions for them. She is passionate about equality and accessibility for all. With this driving force, she has several volunteering roles within the County as well as singing and performance signing for Rock Choir Cornwall. 

In what spare time she has left, she spends her time with her family, walking her elderly dog and turning her hand to anything crafty. 

She has often been known to say that ‘sleep is for wimps…’

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Happy writing.

Renegade Nell - A Review

Yeah, I'm procrastinating again. Dealing with post-Swanwick Blues and contemplating what to work on next, I decided to take a look at Renegade Nell, a swashbuckler fantasy series created by Sally Wainwright (of Gentleman Jack fame). While the Kestrel and Scar stories aren't really fantasy, I hoped to get some inspiration for them.

Taking place in 1705, we follow Louisa Harland as Nell Jackson, a soldier's widow who returns to her father's pub in Tottenham. During her journey, she's confronted by a gang of highway robbers led by Isembard Tully but defeats them with the aid of a fey called Billy Blind, played by Nick Mohammed. Not long after returning, she gets into a fight with Thomas Blancheford, the spoiled and boorish son of the local magistrate. In revenge, he kills Nell's father, arranges to have her and her sisters evicted, and then kills his own father and frames Nell for it. Now an outlaw, Nell must find a way to clear her name. Meanwhile, Thomas and his sister both fall under the sway of the unscrupulous Earl of Poynton, a powerful sorcerer and ringleader of a Jacobite plot to depose Queen Anne.

Going into the series, I was expecting some entertaining swashbuckler fantasy, and that delivers. There are some great sequences where Billy Blind inhabits Nell to give her superhuman strength (and the ability to catch bullets), but he won't inhabit her all the time. Nevertheless, Nell is still a cunning fighter even without Billy's help, and provides plenty of witty lines when she doesn't take anyone's crap. We don't know much about where Billy Blind came from, and he doesn't know either.

There's an impressive array of other characters too:

• Enyi Okoronkwo plays Rasselas, a stable hand at the Blancheford estate who becomes one of Nell's first allies. After Blancheford's father covers up the death of Nell's father, it's Rasselas who blows the whistle and later joins Nell when she goes on the run.
• Frank Dillane plays Charles Deveraux, a foppish noble whom Nell deduces to be Isembard Tully. The pair pose as an aristocratic couple at one point, which produces some funny bickering as they comment on their wanted posters.
• Jake Dunn plays Thomas Blancheford, who is a spoiled and foppish bully but later gets consumed by guilt after he kills his father. It's satisfying to see Nell kick his ass at the beginning of the series.
• Alice Kremelberg plays Blancheford's widowed sister, Sofia Wilmot. She initially covers for Thomas when he kills their father, and soon becomes a student of Poynton's black magic.
• Ashna Rabheru plays Polly Honeycombe, an aspiring novelist and romantic at heart who is looking to escape from an arranged marriage and later develops a crush on Nell.

One thing I wasn't expecting was the harsh critique of the inequality and elitism of society at that time (which honestly hasn't changed much). Nell is disdainful of how the law only protects the wealthy and influential, and fears that a magistrate won't help her since she's apparently killed one of their own. A later episode shows her posing as a doctor to infiltrate Newgate Prison, where she finds children serving sentences or awaiting execution for stealing bread or blankets. There's also a recurring theme (including a whole musical number) in which Nell is demonised by the newspapers, showing how the media often serves the interests of the elite while profiting off sensationalism. This is where I found the writing to be the strongest.

Sadly, there's only one season with eight episodes. When I was reading up on things, I discovered that Disney cancelled the series at the end of July. It's surprising what you find when you don't use Twitter. I guess Disney weren't keen on the aforementioned themes.

However, the series is available on Disney+ and is definitely worth a watch.

Happy writing.

Swanwick 2024 - My Write Up

Once again, it's that wonderful time of year. No, not Christmas, but it can feel like Christmas (especially at the times you don't know what day it is). I'm of course talking about my annual visit to the Writers' Summer School at Swanwick. This has been my eighth visit to the school, and my third visit as a member of the committee which organises it. One of my roles in the months leading up to the school is processing applications for the "TopWrite" scheme which offers subsidised places for 18-30 year-olds starting out in the writing world. Much bigger than this was the technical side of things, which involved a lot of running around to switch on screens and microphones in the conference rooms. That was hard work.

Like every year, the school hosts a wide variety of fascinating courses. These include "Specialist Courses", which comprise four sessions spread over the week; "Short Courses", which comprise two sessions taught on the same  day (with lunchtime between them); and single session "Workshops".

Being on tech meant not always being able to attend the courses I was interested in, since I give first dibs to my volunteers as to where they want to be. I remember being told on my visit "don't try to attend everything because you'll tire yourself out by Tuesday". Boy is that true. Not only was I in charge of tech, I was also running my own course, gave a one-to-one session on writing action, and sold a few copies of The Lady's Favour.

For the specialist course this year, I attended the first two sessions of "The Secrets of Storytelling" by Simon Hall. There were some truly interesting pointers, including the use of senses in writing and how to show not tell. There was even a segment which involved looking at the story in the song "Escape". I do like Piña Coladas. Getting caught in the rain...not so much. Unfortunately, I had to miss the latter half so I could get a bit of quiet time and make some preparations for other parts of the school (including my own course).

Sunday's short course was "Talking Taboos" with Liz Hurst. The first session was dedicated to writing sex scenes, which is something I don't really do, but was nonetheless insightful. The second session looked at swearing, including when and where to use them to great effect and the law of diminishing returns. I don't really use that much swearing in my prose. Kestrel might use "bloody" or "arse" from time to time, but nothing more severe than that. My poetry is a bit more potty-mouthed though. This was followed by a workshop on "Secrets of the Psychological Thriller" with Lesley Kara. While that's not my usual genre, it was nonetheless fascinating.

On Monday, I attended "Writing Fillers" with Maggie Cobbett (pictured above with my book). That provided some interesting pointers on where to submit photos or letters to magazines, and could be an avenue that's worth looking into (I haven't done any ghostwriting since pausing my Fiverr gig last October). The workshop that afternoon was "Find Your Historical Fiction Voice" with Fiona Forsyth. Historical fiction is one of my main genres, and I got some great pointers about avoiding use of slang or explaining terminology in narrative.

On Wednesday, I ran my own short course on writing content for Table-Top Roleplaying Games. Being a rather niche area of writing, I didn't get many attendees, but that nonetheless helped create a comfortable environment to bounce ideas. In fact, I've since started working on an adventure in my comic fantasy setting called "The Curse of Faltitek", which got brainstormed as part of a group exercise. After a particularly stressful evening with that side of things, I found a sense of catharsis in that.

In addition to courses, there was a fantastic array of evening events. These included a poetry open mic on the Sunday night, which I was on hand for and read one of my own works. There was a campfire singalong on Monday night where I sang a couple of pirate songs from memory, and enjoyed some marshmallows. There was also a fancy dress evening on the Wednesday with the theme "Diamonds are Forever", complete with a disco. I didn't do much dancing this year; it was too hot and I picked up a few blisters on my feet. But I had a pleasant evening in the bar.

Agent 0075, Licensed to Quill

As this was the school's diamond jubilee, there was a special celebration dinner preceded by a cake cutting ceremony with a speech from the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. This ceremony included an announcement of members for next year's committee from a vote held at the school's Annual General Meeting. I had run for chair at next year's school, but was unsuccessful. However, I am still on the committee, so I can keep the mics running for another year.

Insert Portal reference here

Despite the stresses of the technical side, this year's Swanwick was still an enjoyable experience. People enjoyed my course, I sold half of my stock in the book shop, and I made a lot of new friends. It was great to be approached by people who said they had voted for me in the election, enjoyed my performances, or showing appreciation for my running around. Tech is a big job, and often regarded as a thankless task, but it was great to see that proven wrong.

I'm certainly looking forward to returning next year, although I will have to step down as a committee member afterwards. If my finances hold out, I'm sure I'll be able to attend in Swanwick 2026. Might even get some writing done.

Happy writing.

The Lady's Favour - Taking Stock of My Work

Well, last weekend I published another book. However, this wasn't a new story but rather a collection of my three earlier stories: Gentlemen of Fortune, The Pirate King, and The Homecoming, released together as The Lady's Favour (the original working title for Gentlemen of Fortune).

These three stories follow my wondering rogues Kestrel and Scar as they meet Rosanna Barclay, recently arrived in Port Royal from England in search of her missing father (Gentlemen of Fortune). They're later tasked with bringing down the operations of Port Royal's leading information broker "Lord" Pettigrew (The Pirate King) and return to England where Kestrel is forced to confront his past (The Homecoming).

I originally started writing Gentlemen of Fortune at the tail end of 2015, and finished the initial draft in 2016. After several rejections and re-writes, I eventually published it in 2021 for a university assignment while it was being considered by an American pulp magazine. When there was a delay in the magazine's decision-making, brisk sales at the Swanwick Writers' Summer School led me to self-publish it on Amazon. Publishing the e-book was relatively effortless, but I remember struggling to publish the paperback due to Amazon's cover formatting, to the point I decided that any individual stories I subsequently published would be e-book only.

I followed Gentlemen of Fortune with The Pirate King in 2022, announcing at the end of August that I would be launching it on Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th). Unfortunately, matters were complicated when the queen died a week later, and the funeral was held on the same day. Nevertheless, I opted to proceed with the publication as planned. Not everyone grieves in the same way, and I wasn't exactly grieving myself so I saw no reason to alter my plans. In 2023, I followed up that story with The Homecoming, which I'd originally started as part of another university module. That story got published at the end of October, and gave me a nice trilogy.

This year has seen me get a new work contract along with a flat move, which took up a lot of time. With that in mind, I decided to put that trilogy together, make a few edits (don't worry, nothing gets altered so another character shoots first), and this time publish this as a physical release.

What's next for Kestrel and Scar? Well, this month I'm focussing on my course for Swanwick in August (plus the tech requirements). As for future stories, I'm thinking perhaps a trilogy of origin stories. One for Kestrel, one for Scar, and one for how they first met. I've also got a ton of other story drafts in various stages of completion. The sky's the limit.

The Lady's Favour is currently available on Amazon as a paperback and an e-book. In the meantime, happy writing.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Wrap-Up

Well, that was a fun month, and it was nice to revisit one of the first live-action series set in the Star Wars universe.

The Mandalorian serves as a pretty good Space Western. I love the action and the characters, and it's nice to see other stories in the wider world of Star Wars. The first two seasons are pretty solid, but I think the decision to continue Din and Grogu's story in The Book of Boba Fett made it difficult to maintain a coherent story. The pacing of the third season was pretty slow as well due to a lack of a clear goal until the end, even if there were still some solid episodes within that season. Granted, the first season didn't have a clear goal beyond keeping Grogu safe and keeping flying. Kinda like Firefly.

If I was to tidy up the third series, I'd have the Din and Grogu-focussed episodes from The Book of Boba Fett as the first two episodes of the third season. You could then cut a lot of exposition from the actual first episode of the season. Secondly, I'd cut out the episode with Dr Pershing. He barely appeared in the previous two seasons so it seems odd to give him a day in the limelight. It would make Elia Kane's appearance in "The Pirate" more tense.

Anyway, because there were only eight episodes in each season, I'm going to do a "pick of the season" for each one (excluding The Book of Boba Fett).

For the first season, it's a toss-up between three. I liked "The Sin" for the emotional depth, "The Prisoner" for the humour and catharsis factor, and "Redemption" for the blazing action. Ultimately, I'm going to say "Redemption", and give the honourable mention to "The Prisoner".

For season two, I'm set on "The Tragedy" as my pick of the season. It's got some great action, the return of familiar faces, and our protagonist at one of his lowest points. For the honourable mention, I'm going with "The Passenger" for its atmosphere.

Finally, my pick for season three would have to be "The Mines of Mandalore". Again, I love the tense atmoshpere and horror element it provides, along with the development it gives to Bo-Katan. My honourable mention would go to "The Pirate" for the epic battle between the Mandalorians and the pirates.

As for the future? Whether they do a fourth season or a movie, I'll probably look at that later down the line.

But for now, I've got a book to format. That's right, I'm publishing The Lady's Favour at the end of this month.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 24: The Return

Well, here we are at the end.

When we last left off, things were bad. The expedition to scout the Great Mandalorian Forge ran into an Imperial ambush. Din was captured, Paz Vizsla was killed, and Bo-Katan was forced to retreat. Axe Woves managed to find an opening to return to the fleet, but Gideon scrambled his air force to knock out the ships. Meanwhile, Grogu saves Din and he opts to put an end to Gideon. In the process, he learns that Gideon has been making clones of himself.

Most of this episode is taken up by the action. Din fights with Gideon. Grogu fights his Praetorian Guards. The Armourer reinforces Bo-Katan's team and they storm the base. Axe Woves even sends the captured cruiser on a collision course. It's all suitably epic for a season finale, and there's not much else to say.

When everything's resolved, I can't help but wonder what else there is to do. Bo-Katan re-lights the great forge, and Din formally adopts Grogu as a Mandalorian apprentice. The Armourer tasks him with leaving Mandalore to travel the galaxy with his adopted son. Din settles down on Navarro and subsequently offers his services to Carson Teva as an "independant contractor", taking on New Republic bounties. He also takes an IG unit head amongst the trophies in the officers' mess at Adelphi base, using it to rebuild IG-11 so he can serve as Karga's new marshal.

There's talk of another season and/or a film in the works. Honestly, where can they go next? I suppose we could get an opportunity for something else to threaten Navarro so he can team up with IG-11 again. Plus there could be the jobs he takes with Carson, maybe going after more pirates or Imperial war criminals. I'm sure there's scope for more stories, but I don't know if there's enough for a season arc. There's also the issue of what to do with Greef Karga, following the passing of Carl Weathers.

We'll see how this plays out.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 23: The Spies

Getting a Blade Runner vibe from that opening scene. After a season largely comprised of diversions, we're about to get some actual story. Although I'm not sure what spies the title is referring to.

Din and Bo-Katan return to Navarro, where they introduce their respective coverts to one another. Bo-Katan then proposes a move to re-settle on Mandalore. Din and Grogu opt to travel with her, alongside Koska Reeves, Axe Woves, Paz Vizsla, and The Armourer. On the surface, they encounter another group of Mandalorians who have been surviving on the surface in a sail barge ever since the bombings ended. Meanwhile, we learn that Elia Kane is still working with Moff Gideon, who is part of "The Shadow Council"; a secret alliance of Imperial warlords. As they tease the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn (a plot for Ahsoka), Gideon hatches a plan to remove the Mandalorians once and for all.

This episode has a lot of build-up with a great payoff, although there's some underlying tension from both the teeth-clenched teamwork between the Mandalorian factions and the reveal of Gideon's return. And that's on top of the hazards we've already seen earlier in the season.

There is some comedy at the beginning too. Greef provides Grogu with a mecha built out of IG-11's chassis, which includes buttons that say "Yes" and "No". Chaos ensues, but it even provides a dramatic payoff when he uses it to diffuse a fight between Axe Woves and Paz Vizsla (which is also funny on the grounds it's for the pettiest of reasons).

We also get some drama when it's revealed that Bo-Katan had actually surrendered the Darksaber to Moff Gideon after he defeated her forces in a bid to avoid a purge, only for him to renege.

The final part of the episode has the expedition travelling to the remains of the Great Mandalorian Forge, where they discover Gideon's hidden base. And he's got troopers wearing Beskar whom I initially thought were the return of Imperial Supercommandos from Rebels.

Great climax, with a harrowing cliffhanger. I'm excited for the finale.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 22: Guns for Hire

Strange mix of guest stars in this one. Feels kinda like stunt casting.

When we last left off, The Armourer tasked Bo-Katan with uniting the other Mandalorians in a bid to reclaim their homeworld. She sets out with Din and Grogu to search for her old force now under the command of Axe Woves, who set up his own privateer fleet with the captured Imperial ships. They trace him to the lush outer rim world of Plazir-15, but are summoned by the world's rulers: an unnamed Duchess played by Lizzo; and her husband Captain Bombardier, a former Imperial officer on the Amnesty Program, played by Jack Black. The pair seek the Mandalorians' aid in investigating a series of incidents involving rogue droids in exchange for an audience with Axe Woves and a future promise to formally recognise Mandalorian sovereignity.

Overall, this story feels like a police procedural, and an uncomfortable one at that. The pair meet with Commissioner Helgait, played by Christopher Lloyd, and learn that many of the droids who perform the community's menial work are repurposed battle droids dating back to the Clone Wars. Din seems to sink back into his old anti-droid sentiments, and very much becomes a bigot with a badge while Bo-Katan serves as a more level-headed foil. That said, they do briefly reverse their roles while dealing with Ugnaughts. There also seems to be some social commentary with regards to automation and "leisure classes", but that doesn't seem to go anywhere.

Copaganda aside, the visuals of this episode are stunning, with both the domed city and the surrounding countryside. The city's rulers both seem likeable (real-world issues aside), with a particularly funny moment where the Duchess asks if she could hold Grogu. We also get a pretty cool moment at the end when Bo-Katan finally meets Axe Woves, and Din is able to get him back on her side by revealing his capture by the cyborg; as Bo-Katan defeated the cyborg who had defeated Din, she's technically won the Darksaber. 

Although with the cliffhanger of the previous episode, you can't help but feel uneasy about the reunion. I'm still curious about where that goes.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 21: The Pirate

We're five episodes into this season and finally coming back to a thread from the first episode. Despite that fact, this is still a strong episode.

The "Pirate King" Gorian Shard launches a full-scale invasion of Greef Karga's town on Navarro, and he's forced to flee with the townspeople. He gets a message out to Carson Teva of the New Republic's Adelphi Rangers, trying to appeal for backup. Carson travels to Coruscant to directly appeal to his superior, who is reluctant to muster a fast response due to Navarro being an independent world. He then locates the Mandalorian covert through R5 and appeals to Din to help his friend.

The first portion of the episode is tense, with Carson trying to get through to his superiors, which includes a meeting with Elia Kane (who suggests using the pirate attack as a way to convince Navarro to join the New Republic). It goes to show that the New Republic's obstructive bureaucracy is probably no different from the Empire's. When he finds the Mandalorian covert, Paz suggests killing him outright to protect the covert's secrecy until Din intervenes. And when Din talks to the rest of the covert about intervening, Paz speaks about how he previously came into conflict with Karga's hunters back in the first season. You think he's going to speak against it, until he talks about how Din and Bo-Katan helped him save his son and offers support.

The second half is largely a battle sequence as the Mandalorians retake the city. Din and Bo-Katan use their craft to deal with Gorian's ship and fighters, while Paz and the Armourer lead the ground forces. When you get down to it, sometimes you just have to have some action. It's also nice to see Karga give the Mandalorians a heroes' welcome, after his previous conflict with them.

We also set up the story for the remainder of the series, as the Armourer tasks Bo-Katan with uniting the other Mandalorians in a bid to reclaim their ancestral homeland (allowing her to remove her helmet in the process).

When all that's resolved, we get a tense final scene as Carson stumbles across a derelict ship. It plays out like a horror movie as he sends in a probe to investigate, learning that Moff Gideon was extracted by Mandalorians. Having watched Rebels, I was reminded of Clan Saxon, a Mandalorian clan who served as Imperial viceroys.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 20: The Foundling

Now that the Living Waters have been visited and Din's back in the covert, I guess the writers had to figure out what to do next. As such, this feels a lot like filler and turned this season into "The Meander-lorian". I'm also getting a "Beware the Grey Ghost" vibe from it.

Din volunteers Grogu for combat training, but their sparring is interrupted when a winged beast snatches another foundling. As Din and Paz run out of jetpack fuel while trying to pursue the creature, Bo-Katan shadows it back to the lair in her ship. She promptly volunteers to lead a hunting party to rescue the foundling. Meanwhile, Grogu is forced to stay with the Armourer, who forges him an extended flashback of how he escaped the Great Jedi Purge; he was spirited out of Coruscant by Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, aided by several members of the Royal Naboo Security Force.

Despite this episode being a filler, it's not actually that bad. It's cool to see Bo-Katan leading the hunting party and gain acceptance amongst the covert. Through her, we learn more about the practices of this particular group of Mandalorians. We also get to Paz Vizsla get some more depth. In his first appearance, he accused Din of cowardice by taking an Imperial bounty. In The Book of Boba Fett, he challenged Din for the Darksaber, and in the earlier episodes of this season he always disparagingly referred to him as an apostate. But he still works with them, especially when it's later revealed that the foundling who was snatched is his son. He's also a lot nicer to Bo-Katan; when the hunting party is camped, Din explains that the Mandalorians find a secluded spot to eat so they can remove their helmets. Paz tells Bo-Katan that as the leader of the hunting party, she can stay by the fire.

The rescue sequence gets tense as they climb the mountain with grappling lines and later encounter chicks in the creature's nest. In a similar vein, we get some more blazing action during Grogu's flashback as he and Kelleran are pursued by clone troopers. It's also great to see that not everyone agreed with the purge, as Kelleran's allies fight the clones. It's implied they're part of Padmé's security detail, whome she probably sent to extract any Jedi they could while she went to find Anakin on Mustafar.

Of course, I can't talk about this episode without talking about Kelleran Beq. Apparently he was a character who appeared in some game show, but this is his first canonical appearance. He's also played by Ahmed Best, who previously played Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy. Alright, Jar Jar was a reviled character, and Ahmed Best got a lot of flak for playing him. But I wish him well, and I'm happy he was able to find another role in the franchise. I couldn't help but draw a parallel with the aforementioned episode of Batman: The Animated Series which featured Adam West.

Although I'm still wondering what else happened to Grogu. That could be its own story.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 19: The Convert

Ah, the "Paperclip" episode. And probably one of the weaker ones of the series.

Picking up where we left of, both Din and Bo-Katan have bathed in the living waters. But as they're returning to Bo-Katan's castle, they're attacked by a squadron of TIE Interceptors. Din has to bail out of Bo-Katan's ship so he can engage them with the Hotrod N1. But after they fend them off, a bomber squadron razes the castle.

And now for something completely different. The rest of the episode follows Gideon's scientist Dr Pershing, who has since accepted a pardon through a New Republic "Amnesty Programme" and has become a celebrity on Coruscant. At a housing project set up for the numerous ex-Imperial personnel on the programme, he re-unites with Elia Kane, the former comms officer from Gideon's cruiser (whom I thought was killed during the season two finale, but then noticed on the re-watch she only got hit in the shoulder). Frustrated in his soulless 9 to 5 and learning that his field of research is illegal, Pershing joins Kane on a plan to salvage some lab equipment from a de-commissioned Star Destroyer.

You can probably see why this episode is considered weak; all told, it has little to do with the main series. Din and Bo-Katan's skirmish with some suspiciously organised Imperials takes place entirely before the opening titles, and they don't appear again until the very end of the episode. It seems rather meandering.

Having said that, it's interesting to see what life is like on Coruscant now that the New Republic is in power. All told, it's not great. You've got a sheltered high society who are completely indifferent to the regime change, obstructive bureaucracy, and work cultures that seem to value busy work. On top of that, there's unsettling treatments for Amnesty personnel who are deemed "failures" that are apparently based on Imperial technology that people on the Outer Rim believe to be horror stories or propaganda. Other than that last part, it seems to perfectly encapsulate the illusions of western democracy.

Anyway, after that lengthy diversion, we see Din lead Bo-Katan to his covert. After proving that he's visited the living waters, he's welcomed back to the covert with open arms. When the Armourer learns that Bo-Katan had also bathed in the living waters and hadn't removed her helmet since, she's also invited to join the covert.

Well, I suppose we could get some hooks from this episode for the rest of the series.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore

Well, that quest didn't take long.

Seeking a replacement memory core for IG-11, Din travels to Mos Eisley and makes inquiries with Peli Motto. When he mentions he requires a droid to visit Mandalore, she sells him her astromech droid R5-D4 (the one which Luke's uncle almost bought instead of R2 back in A New Hope). After travelling through an electrical storm in the upper atmosphere, Din finds that Mandalore's atmosphere is breathable and ventures into the ruins of Mandalore's capital, Sundari. While travelling, he's captured by a cyborg, forcing Grogu to flee the ruins and find Bo-Katan.

This episode is actually a pretty good one. The ruins of Sundari are reminiscent of the Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings. Once a great city, it's now fallen into ruins and occupied by troll-like creatures called Alamites. The poor lighting creates a tense atmosphere, and makes you wonder what kind of dangers are lurking. In addition to the Alamites, there's some creatures that feel like a cross between wolves and bats, and the cyborg that captures Din. I found the design similar to General Grievous from Revenge of the Sith, but this one is more feral in nature. You don't learn much about it, but the fact that you don't actually makes the encounter more chilling. What follows is probably the most active we've seen Grogu as he races back to the ship (Force pushing an Alamite at the cave entrance in the process).

If there's anyone who truly steals the show, it's Bo-Katan. While she told Din last episode where the mines were, she wants nothing to do with him and is ready to send him away when his ship returns. But when she only finds Grogu there, she realises Din's in trouble and goes to save him. She takes out the cyborg and shows him the mines, while still being dismissive of the stories. She then saves Din a second time when he falls beneath the waters. What is kind of funny is that it's built up to be him getting pulled in by another monster, but in reality he just took a bad step. However, it turns out that there is something in the water: a creature called the "mythosaur", which has a legendary status and is used as the main emblem of Mandalore. Said mythosaur leaves them be though.

All in all, this was one of the strongest episodes of the season. The trouble is that the previous episode set this up to be the main story arc for the season. Now that's been resolved, what do you do with the rest of the it?

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 17: The Apostate

After a brief diversion to deal with an attack by the supporting feature, it's time to start the third season of The Mandalorian.

If you didn't watch The Book of Boba Fett, and skipped the recap, here's a quick rundown: After entrusting Grogu to Luke Skywalker, Din Djarn reconnected with the survivors of the Mandalorian covert from Navarro. However, he was cast out because he had removed his helmet in front of somebody, and is tasked with bathing in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore.

Anyway, it turns out that the Armourer has managed to find other Mandalorians to rebuild her enclave, but a large sea creature disrupts an initiation ceremony. Din Djarin arrives in his "hot rod" Naboo fighter with Grogu and saves the day, but receives a cold reception. In a scene that's largely exposition for anyone who didn't watch The Book of Boba Fett, Din and the Armourer discuss rumours Mandalore has been rendered uninhabitable since the Imperial purge. She permits Din to return if he can prove the rumours wrong. Again, the quest that was outlined in the spin-off, which goes to explaining why those events should have been depicted in this series rather than that one.

But I digress. Din returns to Navarro, which has received a makeover and become a prosperous independent trade port under High Magistrate Karga's supervision. He even offers Din a home in the region. However, all's not well as a subplot emerges: A group of pirates are causing trouble at the local school (which used to be a cantina). In the ensuing showdown, Karga proves he's still a fast draw, but he seeks to recruit Din as a new marshal; Cara Dune's been promoted to special forces (as Gina Carano had been fired at this point), and his desire to make his town independent has made him reluctant to approach the New Republic. He's also kind of crestfallen when he learns that Din had come back on business; seeking to rebuild IG-11 to help him go to Mandalore.

As stated above, the story gets a little jumbled in this episode. Although it does finally reveal what happened to Bo-Katan in the aftermath of the last season; her people abandoned her when she didn't recover the Darksaber, and she's since grown bitter over her failure, giving up on her quest to reclaim Mandalore and living in solitude at her castle on one of the other worlds in the system.

Jumbled story aside, there's still some good action sequences, with the monster battle at the beginning of the episode and the stand-off with the pirates. There's also a Terminator-like sequence when a rebooted IG-11 tries to kill Grogu, and a space battle with more pirates.

Speaking of Grogu, he provides a bit of comic relief in the episode; using the force to steal candy and spin the chair in Karga's office, and later trying to hug the diminutive Anzellan technicians whom Karga tasks with rebuilding IG-11.

The Mandalorian Marathon - The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor

I've got some time to kill, so I figured I'd wrap up this little interlude before returning to the actual marathon.

Fett is preparing for war with the Pyke Syndicate, and it isn't looking good. The mayor of Mos Espa is on their payroll, the city's major gangs have pledged neutrality, and Fett's crew is underpowered: Fennec Shand, Din Djarin, a wookie gladiator called Krrsantan, two Gamorreans who used to work for Jabba, and a gang of 70s mods with cyberpunk mods. Yes, really. I groaned when I heard them referred to as such too.

Anyway, Murphy's Law is in full effect. Cad Bane makes his presence known, revealing that he gunned down Cobb Vanth and threatened the people of Freetown into staying away, while also admitting that Pykes were responsible for killing the Tuskens Fett lived with in the earlier flashbacks. At the same time, the local bosses double-cross Fett and ambush his people as they're scouting. As the Pykes converge on the ruins of The Sanctuary, Fennec Shand leaves to assassinate the bosses, leaving Fett and Din to face them alone.

There's a particularly funny part when Fett sends the mayor's majordomo to negotiate when he volunteers to present terms for surrender, until he realises what those terms actually are. After that, it all kicks off. While that's going on, Grogu arrives in Mos Eisley, having decided to be a Mandalorian rather than a Jedi. He finds Pelli Motto and they travel to Mos Espa.

The climax is full of highs and lows. Fennec takes a detour to save the Mods, Krrsantan is able to escape from his ambush, and a posse from Freetown arrives to save Fett and Din. This is promptly reversed when the Pykes send out two war droids, until Fett arrives with his rancor. Yes, he got a rancor (supplied by Danny Trejo), and is riding it into battle (like the Nightsisters in Empire at War: Forces of Corruption). It all plays out like a Kaiju battle. And while that's going on Fennec goes all Agent 47 on the other bosses and the mayor.

Overall, the action was great, but it did feel a bit too over-the-top at times. Anyway, we end with Din reunited with Grogu, leaving Tatooine to go back their own story.

I'll be back tomorrow to talk about that.

The Mandalorian Marathon - The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger

That title's a mouthful. Anyway, we're still carrying on The Mandalorian's story in "The Book of Everyone but Boba Fett".

Last episode showed us what Din was up to. This one shows us what happened to Grogu. While he's learning the Force under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker, Din attempts to deliver his gift. However, he's met by Ahsoka Tano, who warns him that it's going against the Jedi's code of forsaking attachments (a contrast to the Mandalorian code which values loyalty). Meanwhile, Din returns to Tatooine as Fett prepares to go to war with the Pyke Syndicate.

A large portion of this episode is taken up by Grogu's lessons with Luke, as the latter tells him about Yoda and shows him what the force can do. There's also some funny moments as Luke uses the training remote from A New Hope to test Grogu's reflexes and Grogu ends up using the Force to crush it. It's also quite touching to see the interaction between Luke and Ahsoka, who jokingly tells Din that she's "an old friend of the family". Considering how she's one of the few people around who knew Luke's father, that actually speaks volumes. The final scene shows Luke presenting Grogu with the beskar chainmail Din had made for him, alongside Yoda's lightsabre, presenting him with a choice. Honestly, I think the Mandalorians had more of a community than the Jedi.

Anyway, back at the plot. Fett is on the lookout for more muscle, and Din pays a visit to Cobb Vanth, who has been chasing the Pykes out of his territory around Freetown (formerly Mos Pelgo). The trouble is, the Pykes are mounting up their operations against Fett; two of them bomb a popular gambling den and nightclub in Mos Espa. Even Cobb Vanth is targeted immediately after his return by another character making a return: Cad Bane, the gunslinging Duros bounty hunter from The Clone Wars. They even got Corey Burton to reprise his voice role. The return is a welcome one, but still won't make much sense if you haven't seen The Clone Wars.

On the subject of that, I need to do some number crunching.

• The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett both take place five years after Return of the Jedi, and nine years after A New Hope. After her first appearance in The Mandalorian, Fennec Shand later appeared in The Bad Batch, which begins concurrently with Revenge of the Sith, taking place 19 years before A New Hope. That's a gap of 28 years. Ming-Na Wen was 56 around the time she first appeared in The Mandalorian. If we use that age for Fennec, she would have been around 28 at the time of The Bad Batch. Probably already made a reputation for herself, which goes to show why the Bounty Hunters' Guild didn't want to go after her. 
• Boba Fett's earliest canonical appearance would be as a ten-year-old in Attack of the Clones, which is set three years before Revenge of the Sith. That would make him 41 when The Book of Boba Fett takes place. He's played by Temuera Morrison, who was 61 when it aired. But the series establishes his time in the Sarlacc pit took a physical toll on him. 
• Cad Bane first appeared in The Clone Wars, which takes place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. According to Wookiepedia, he was born 62 years before A New Hope, which would have made him 40 around the time of Attack of the Clones. That means he's 71 in the Book of Boba Fett. 

Then again, Grogu is an infant despite being 50. And Chewbacca is established to be 190 when Solo takes place (Ten years before A New Hope). According to the core rulebook for the Saga Edition roleplaying game, Duros are considered venerable if they're over 70. However, this material is pre-Disney and no longer regarded as canon. Nevertheless, someone who has been doing the bounty hunting game for that long is someone to run away from really fast. The Book of Boba Fett is certainly reinforcing the message of "beware of old folks in a profession where they usually die young". Bounty hunting doesn't strike me as the kind of work that has a pension plan, which seems be why Boba Fett is setting himself up as a crime lord.

Anyway, I'll wrap up this lengthy diversion tomorrow when I finish The Book of Boba Fett and make a start on the third season of The Mandalorian on Thursday.

The Mandalorian Marathon - The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian

And now for something completely different.

Teased by a stinger at the end of the previous episode, The Book of Boba Fett follows Boba Fett and Fennec Shand as they try to establish themselves as the bosses of Jabba the Hutt's territory on Tatooine, which soons brings them into conflict when the Pyke Syndicate attempts to establish themselves. The series also features flashbacks of how Boba Fett escaped from the sarlacc after Return of the Jedi, lived with the Tuskens, and then found Fennec Shand. By episode five, they decided to say "and now for someone completely different".

When we last left Din Djarin, he saw Grogu being taken away by Luke Skywalker to learn the ways of the Jedi. This episode opens with him claiming a bounty at a meat packing plant on a ring world, and reveals that he still carries the Darksaber. It later turns out he took the job in exchange for information about the whereabouts of what remains of his old covert, now reduced to two: The Armourer, and Paz Vizsla (whom Din butted heads with over taking the job to find Grogu). Paz, who is descended from the original creator of the Darksaber, challenges Din for it. Din prevails, but is cast out of the enclave when he reveals that he removed his helmet. The Armourer tells him that he can only redeem himself if he visits the Mines of Mandalore and bathes in the waters (despite claims that their ancestral homeworld is no longer habitable). Seeking a ship, Din travels to Mos Eisley, where Pelli Motto supplies him with an old N-1 Starfighter (as used in The Phantom Menace).

While it's nice to see Din again, this episode has a lot of exposition. We learn about the origins and legend surrounding the Darksaber, and that the Armourer believes Mandalore fell because Bo-Katan didn't originally win the blade in combat (as depicted in Rebels), although it doesn't state what happened to her. We also learn that Moff Gideon was taken back to the New Republic to stand trial.

That said, Din gets put through the wringer here. He injures himself during a job while getting used to the Darksaber, gets chastised for not killing Gideon, gets shunned by the people he's being trying so hard to re-unite with...and has to check in this sword in the stone during a commercial flight. On top of all that, it's clear he misses Grogu. To the point of having his beskar spear melted down to make chainmail for him. During that sequence, the armourer forges another flashback which depicts the Empire's campaign against Mandalore; the "Night of a Thousand Tears". It feels like a future scene from Terminator.

The second half has a few laughs though, as he re-unites with Pelli, who produces a ton of funny lines. I thought it was interesting to see one of those sleek prequel-era craft get the "second hand" treatment, and it seemed refreshing to see Din actually get enthusiastic when taking it for a spin. There's even a funny moment as he gets "pulled over" by two X-Wings, one of which is piloted by Carson Teva (whom he encountered while conveying Frog Lady).

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 16: The Rescue

It's the finale of the second season, and boy is it a ride. Once again, I'll have to discuss some major spoilers.

Having learned where Gideon's cruiser is going to be, Din and his companions capture Dr Pershing - now revealed to be an expert in cloning - in a bid to determine if Grogu is still alive. Seeking more guns, they recruit Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves. Bo-Katan agrees, as she seeks the blade that Gideon possesses; the Darksaber. During the raid on the cruiser, Din's companions move to take the bridge, diverting the ship's garrison so Din can rescue Grogu and knock out a platoon of Dark Troopers that Gideon is storing.

What exactly is the Darksaber? It's essentially the Mandalorian's equivalent of the "sword in the stone", the holder of which has the right to rule Mandalore. It served as a major plot device in The Clone Wars and Rebels. If you hadn't watched either of those, then Gideon explains it during a confrontation.

Before the main action sequence, there's a brief opening where Boba Fett disables the shuttle carrying Pershing, and we see an interesting mix of personalities: one of the shuttle pilots takes the good doctor hostage, shooting the other one when he tries to negotiate. But when he gloats about Alderaan in front of Cara, she blasts him then and there. Pershing himself is also an interesting case. For an Imperial scientist, he's not exactly your typical mad scientist. He's genuinely concerned for Grogu's safety, and willingly offers information about the Dark Troopers.

We also get a brief moment where Boba Fett ends up butting heads with the other Mandalorians, even getting into a wrestling bout with Koska Reeves. But even he wishes them luck during the mission as he pretends to attack the stolen shuttle in a bid to get close.

The main strike team - Bo-Katan, Koska, Fennec Shand, and Cara Dune - kick a lot of ass when they make their way through the ship. Meanwhile, Din struggles against one of the Dark Troopers before he ejects the rest of the platoon into space. And when he gets to Grogu, Gideon is there waiting for him.

Even when the ship is seized, things are still tense. Gideon shows how dangerous he is in captivity, sowing discord amongst the party by stating that the Darksaber has to be won in combat, meaning that Din can't willingly hand it over to Bo-Katan. And while Bo-Katan is almost ready to fight Din for it, the platoon of Dark Troopers fly back to the cruiser and lay siege to the bridge. All seems lost until a lone X-Wing arrives. Gideon previously bragged about how Din should assume he knows everything about his foes. And when he realises who was on that X-Wing, he's terrified.

Now, things are gonna get a little messy from this point forwards. After the credits, we get a brief scene where Boba Fett and Fennec Shand storm Jabba the Hutt's old palace and take over what remains of his organisation, serving as a teaser for the first release spin-off; The Book of Boba Fett. Trouble is, the latter half of that series involves Din Djarin, essentially turning it into "The Mandalorian Season 2.5".

With that in mind, I'm going to be looking at those last three episodes before I move onto Season Three.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 15: The Believer

It's the penultimate episode of the second season. Again, I'll have to discuss some major spoilers.

In a bid to find Moff Gideon's cruiser, Din seeks out Cara Dune, now a Marshal of the New Republic. Using her position, she is able to recruit Mayfeld for his knowledge of Imperial protocol. He suggests they access a terminal at a secret Imperial refinery on Morak for the information they need. As Cara, Fennec, and Boba Fett are too well-known to the Imperial Security Bureau, Din reluctantly accompanies Mayfeld in infiltrating the facility. During this time, Din is forced to go against his code to find Grogu.

A large of the episode involves Din and Mayfeld's plan to infiltrate the facility by hijacking a transport carrying a highly volatile mineral, during which time Din is forced to swap his beskar for stormtrooper armour. They're later waylaid by a group of pirates who are blowing up the shipments. It's a tense scene as Din fights wave after wave of them while Mayfeld is forced to walk a thin line between trying to outrun them and trying not to destabilise the cargo too much. You know you're in a mess when you end up being saved by stormtroopers.

Bill Burr does a good job providing an interesting foil to Din. While we've seen other characters awkwardly attempt small talk with the terse Mandalorian, his cynicism makes him stand out. He discusses how people still chafe under rules, no matter who's in charge of the galaxy, and talks about how everyone has a line they won't cross until they're desperate.

This theme gets put to the test when they reach the facility. Mayfeld finds the terminal in the officer's mess hall, but balks when he encounters his former commanding officer, Valin Hess. Din is forced to go in Mayfeld's stead and removes his helmet so the terminal can scan his face. When Hess questions him, Mayfeld is forced to step in, creating a tense scene as he calls out Hess over an atrocity referred to as "Operation Cinder".

It's a great episode, and Din's Liam Neeson-style message to Gideon at the end (using the same words that Gideon used) makes me excited for the finale.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 14: The Tragedy

Wow, Robert Rodriguez directed this? Also, I'm going to have to discuss a fair few spoilers in this episode.

Following Ahsoka's advice, Din takes Grogu to Tython and places him on top of a Jedi "seeing stone" in the hopes of reaching out to a Jedi who can teach him. But as a familiar ship arrives, the stone activates and sends Grogu into a deep trance while surrounding him with a force field. Unable to get him out, Din goes to confront the newcomer: Boba Fett, everyone's favourite bounty hunter from the original trilogy, played by Temuera Morrison (who played Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones). He's accompanied by Fennec Shand, whom he'd found on Tatoone after she'd been shot and left for dead by Calican. They seek Fett's armour, which Din had taken from Cobb Vanth, and offer to guarantee Grogu's safety in exchange for it. Din is reluctant to hand it over, as Boba didn't take the Mandalorian Creed, but their discourse is interrupted when stormtroopers arrive to take Grogu.

If you enjoy action, this episode has it in spades. Most of the running time is taken up by Boba Fett and Fennec Shand fighting the stormtroopers while Din tries to get Grogu off the stone. Fett doesn't have his armour at first, but he's able to take down a squad with a Tusken gaffi stick. Meanwhile, Shand is able to quickly snipe many troopers, even as they begin deploying heavy weapons (including a mortar). Din later joins the fray, using his armour to protect Shand as she fires back. Fett eventually recovers his armour and takes down the transports as they're leaving.

Of course, there's not just action. The beginning shows Din interacting more with Grogu. In the early episodes, Grogu enjoyed playing with a silver ball which he unscrewed off one of the levers in the Razor Crest. Din initially chastised him for playing with it, and later gave it to him. In the previous episode, he used that same ball to connect with Grogu during Ahsoka's training, and does it again here. It also hints at his ambivelance at the thought of Grogu finding a Jedi, having grown fond of The Child.

By the end of the episode, we see Din at probably one of his lowest ever points. An airstrike from Gideon's cruiser obliterates the Razor Crest, and then combat droids known as Dark Troopers (which initially debuted in the FPS game Dark Forces) abduct Grogu.

It's also interesting to see Boba Fett get a bit of depth. In the original trilogy, he was largely a background character who met an unceremonious end in Return of the Jedi. In this one, he's shown to be quite level-headed and surprisingly honourable for a mercenary. Having promised to guarantee Grogu's safety in exchange for his armour, he offers to help Din rescue him.

All-in-all, I'm excited for what happens next.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 13: The Jedi

Time for another blast from the past. And a hint at the future.

With the Razor Crest ship-shape again, Din Djarin travels to Corvus in search of Ahsoka Tano, hoping to find a Jedi to train Baby Yoda. He visits the city of Calodan, which is under the despotic rule of Morgan Elspeth, a former Imperial magistrate played by Diana Lee Inosanto. Ahsoka, played by Rosario Dawson, is hiding in the forests and harrassing Elspeth's forces, seeking to learn information about her master. Elspeth offers Din a Beskar spear if he kills Ahsoka, and sends him into the woods. The pair soon team up to liberate the town.

Like in "The Heiress", we see the return of a prominent character from the animated shows. Again, I'd already seen Ahsoka in Rebels when I first watched this, but hadn't watched The Clone Wars. If you're unfamiliar, here's the run-down: She was originally a Jedi padawan apprenticed to Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars, but later left the Jedi order and became something akin to a Neutral Good ronin. It's clear that her Jedi skills haven't faded.

This episode utilises a strong Kurosawa-themed element, which is something that has been part of Star Wars from the very beginning. The visuals of Calodan and the surrounding woodlands do a great job in painting a bleak world. It seems kind of symbolic, but it's also mentioned that Elspeth helped build the Imperial war machine, so the visuals and deforestation are akin to industrial smog. A subtle environmental message?

This episode also reveals that The Child's name is Grogu, and he was raised on the Jedi Temple in Coruscant until the Empire hunted down the Jedi. Between the action sequences, we get some quiet moments of Ahsoka trying to teach Grogu how to use the Force, but she chooses not to fully train him on the grounds that he's too attached to Din.

As for the action, we open with Ahsoka fighting off Elspeth's faceless goons who are essentially knock-off Stormtroopers before confronting her at the gates. There's also a brief scrap between Din and Ahsoka when she initially assumes he's working for Elspeth. During the final battle, Ahsoka does most of the fighting while Din works with one of the locals (later revealed to be the governor) to free several prisoners whom Elspeth is holding hostage. While she confronts Elspeth, Din gets into a staredown with her main enforcer; a gunfighter called Lang, played by Michael Biehn. We don't get to learn much about him, other than that he's likely from a military background.

Finally, this episode serves as a teaser for Ahsoka, a spin-off show in which Rosario Dawson and Diana Lee Inosanto would reprise their roles. I'm not going to look at that in this marathon. However, I will say that while I enjoyed it, I felt it relied a little too much on having seen Rebels.

Anyway, it's a great episode.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 12: The Siege

What is it with Imperial aversion to guard rails? And what do we know of Jeans Guy?

When we last left off, Bo-Katan told Din that if he wants to find the Jedi, he should travel to Corvus and seek out Ahsoka Tano (another character from The Clone Wars). Unfortunately, the mechanics on Trask did a substandard job on the Razor Crest, forcing him to seek repairs on Nevarro. Upon his return, he finds the town has become more peaceful: Greef Karga is now serving as the local magistrate, Cara Dune has become the marshal, and the Bounty Hunters' guild house has been converted into a school. We even see the Mythrol whom Din hunted in the first episode, working off a debt to Karga. In exchange for the repairs, Din offers to help Karga and Dune shut down an Imperial forward base in the region.

Once again, this episode provides some great action sequences. Notable moments include Cara's return, during which she single-handedly takes down a criminal gang hiding in the remains of the Mandalorian enclave. There's also running gun battles through the facility, followed by a chase through the canyon as the party escapes in a transporter pursued by speeder bikes and later TIE fighters.

There's also a couple of funny moments, largely provided by Baby Yoda and the Mythrol. For example, Din is trying to get Baby Yoda to help him with repairs. He later leaves him at the school, during which time he uses the Force to steal another kid's sweets. Meanwhile, the Mythrol serves as a Cowardly Lion-type character who acts the party's rogue of sorts. Even that role gets defied at times when he's called to open an electronic panel to open elevator. As he's working, Din flies up to a landing platform on his jetpack, we hear sounds of a battle and see a stormtrooper fall into the ravine, and then Din calls the elevator.

This episode also hints at the Imperial remnant's interest in Baby Yoda. Din and his companions initially set out to knock out the forward base so the troops stationed there wouldn't threaten the town and the hardware couldn't be sold on the black market. However, they soon discover that the facility was a lab in which several cloning experiments were being conducted. The party soon finds a recent holographic recording from Dr Pershing and learn that Moff Gideon is still alive and still seeking The Child. We also learn at the end of the episode that one of the ship mechanics on Nevarro is a spy for Gideon, and has planted a tracking beacon on the Razor Crest.

Looking forward to the next episode.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 11: The Heiress

I'm getting a Firefly vibe from some of those Razor Crest shots.

Picking up where we left off, Din arrives on Trask (after a bumpy landing) and Frog Lady is able to reunite with her husband. Din and Baby Yoda are then directed to an inn where they can find somebody who has seen other Mandalorians. Seeking passage on a trawler, the pair are promptly betrayed by the ship crew, who seek to harvest the Beskar in Din's armour and lock them in the tank with a carnivorous sea creature. The pair are promptly rescued by a trio of Mandalorians led by Bo-Katan Kryze, the displaced ruler of Mandalore who seeks to reclaim her birthright. In exchange for information about the Jedi, she asks Din to help her seize an Imperial freighter carrying weapons and loot salvaged from Mandalore.

From this episode, we start to run into a major issue a lot of the Star Wars shows face: crossovers with the other shows in the franchise. Bo-Katan is a character who appeared in The Clone Wars and Rebels, and they even got Katee Sackhoff to reprise her role in her character's first live-action appearance. When I first saw this episode, I had watched Rebels but not The Clone Wars, so I was familiar with her backstory which those shows had established. I just wonder if those shows would be required viewing for someone watching this one?

Anyway, that concern aside, it's still a great episode. Bo-Katan kicks a lot of ass, whether it's the Quarren fishermen who targeted Din or the Stormtroopers guarding the freighter. And she isn't alone: she's accompanied by fellow Mandalorians Axe Woves and Koska Reeves, played respectively by  Simon Kassianides and professional wrestler Mercedes Varnado (also known as Sasha Banks). There's some tense moments as the freighter captain kills the pilots and attempts to crash the ship in order to prevent Bo-Katan from seizing the cargo.

In a further development, we learn how dogmatic Din can be in his beliefs. He's shocked when he sees Bo-Katan and her companions remove their helmets (which he considers a serious taboo), but then learns that his covert - The Children of the Watch - are regarded as zealots by other Mandalorians. He initially refuses to be with them until they save him again, after which he reluctantly works with them.

All in all, a fun watch.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 10: The Passenger

Talk about a road trip from Hell. Getting a Ridley Scott vibe from this one.

When we last left off, Din had acquired Boba Fett's armour from Cobb Vanth and left Mos Pelgo while being observed from afar by a mysterious figure. As he returns to Mos Eisley, he's ambushed by a group of bandits but fends them off, although the mysterious figure isn't with them. Anyway, he meets back up with Pelli, and learns from a "Frog Lady" that there were Mandalorians sighted on the planet Trask. In exchange for the information, Din has to take the Frog Lady to Trask so she can meet her husband and fertilise her eggs. 

The voyage to Trask is troublesome from the get-go: The eggs cannot safely travel through hyperspace, requiring sublight travel; the Frog Lady can only speak her own language, making communication difficult; and Baby Yoda keeps eating her eggs. To make matters worse, they're waylaid by a New Republic patrol who recognise the Razor Crest from the prison ship job in the last season. Din attempts to make a break for it, but crash lands on a frigid world. And there's spiders. Lots and lots of spiders.

The first portion of the episode is largely played for laughs, with Pelli Motto persuading Din to cover an insect creature's stake in a card game, and vouching for Frog Lady whom she only met ten minutes earlier. We get a cool but ruthless "Papa Wolf" moment from Din as he fights off the bandit attack and one of the assailants threatens Baby Yoda, demanding his jetpack. Din agrees to the exchange, and then activates the jetpack when the bandit takes it, sending him plummeting to his death.

The tension ramps up when they encounter the patrol. It starts out as the equivalent of a routine traffic stop, but when Din sees the two X-Wings take up an attack position, he realises he's in trouble.

When they crash land, Frog Lady demonstrates some ingenuity by using Q9-0's wrecked chassis to make a translator to admonish him. She later saves The Child from the spiders by shooting them.

All in all, this is a pretty good episode with a strong horror element.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 9: The Marshal

 

Well, it's time to start the second season.

Din Djarin is travelling the galaxy in his quest to reunite Baby Yoda with his people. Seeking other Mandalorians, he meets with a gangster called Gor Karesh, played by John Lenguizamo. Karesh attempts to kill Din to harvest his Beskar, but he defeats the goons and learns that there's another Mandalorian in the town of Mos Pelgo on Tatooine. Travelling there, he meets the town marshal Cobb Vanth, played by Timothy Olyphant, who wears Boba Fett's old armour. As he isn't Mandalorian, Din seeks to take the armour from Cobb, who offers it in exchange for help bringing down a Krayt Dragon. But the pair encounter a band of Tusken Raiders who are also after the dragon, forcing Din to make an uneasy alliance.

This is a pretty strong season opener, and it's nice to see the Tuskens being given some depth. Timothy Olyphant steals the show as the frontier lawman he seems to play a lot (like in Justified, Deadwood, and later Fargo). There's a tense stand-off between him and Din, but he still remains affable throughout it until the Krayt dragon shows up. After which point he suggests they work together. The teamwork between the Tuskens and the settlers is also very teeth-clenched. Cobb is initially apprehensive (even while they're breaking bread) but is able to keep the peace with Din. The title character also gets some development, having overcome his prejudice against droids after IG-11's sacrifice last episode. He even allows Peli Motto's trio of pit droids to work on the Razor Crest.

The action sequences are still great. We have Din fighting Karesh's men with his "whistling birds" (a set of mini rockets), followed by a pretty ruthless interrogation. There's also a cool flashback which shows how Cobb obtained Boba Fett's armour and used it to single-handedly rout the Mining Collective who occupied Mos Pelgo as soon as the Empire withdrew from Tatooine. And of course, we have the battle against the Krayt dragon.

All in all, it's a great episode with an intriguing cliffhanger.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 8: Redemption

Last episode was the build-up. This one's the pay-off.

When we last left off, Mando, Greef Karga, and Cara Dune are trapped in the cantina by Imperial forces. Kuill has been killed by Scout Troopers while trying to take Baby Yoda back to the Razor Crest. The client is also dead, but was revealed to be a puppet of the real mastermind: Moff Gideon, a former Imperial Security Bureau officer turned warlord, played by Giancarlo Esposito.

We open with a comedic segment of the two Scout Troopers waiting to deliver Baby Yoda to the Moff and trying to find ways to pass the time until IG-11 arrives. Meanwhile, Gideon prepares to raze the cantina as the rest of the party try to find a way out. During this time, we learn that Mando's real name is Din Djarin, Greef Karga was once a magistrate, and Cara Dune was from Alderaan. After an action-packed shoot-out, the party escapes into the sewers but discover that most of the Mandalorian covert was wiped out by the Empire. The Armourer deduces that The Child may have come from The Jedi (ancient enemies of the Mandalorians), and tasks Din with reuniting them.

The action in this episode is brilliant, with everyone being able to dish it out to the stormtroopers. Yes, even The Child. We even have a seuqnce where The Armourer single-handedly takes out a squad of them with a hammer and a pair of tongs. Finally, there's a sequence in which Din obtains a jetpack and confronts Gideon as he tries to strafe them in his TIE fighter.

There are also some truly poignant moments too, such as when Din refuses to take off his helmet so Cara can treat him due to his oath, or when they find the aftermath of an attack on the covert. It almost puts Din and Karga at odds again, until The Armourer assures him that neither of them are truly to blame.

All in all, it wraps things up quite nicely and sets up the story for the next season. I'm gonna spoil it now and reveal that Gideon survived the confrontation, and it in possession of a sword which won't be of particular significance unless you've seen The Clone Wars or Rebels. I'm going to mention this now, because it's where we start to see the issues that form in the later seasons.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 7: The Reckoning

It's the penultimate episode of Season One, and man is it a good one.

Mando receives a message from Greef Karga, who informs him that The Client has effectively occupied his town on Navarro. He offers to cancel the contract on The Child if Mando helps him kill The Client. Although it's an obvious trap, Mando realises that he can't pass up an opportunity for the guild to lose interest in him or his charge. He recruits Cara Dune and the ugnaught, whose name is revealed to be Kuill. They're also joined by IG-11, whom Kuill has rebuilt and programmed to act as a nurse and protector for The Child.

This episode is full of tension from all directions. Mando has serious misgivings about IG-11, stemming from his previous attempt to kill Baby Yoda combined with his own prejudice against droids. There's also moments where Cara butts heads with Kuill over their services during the Galactic Civil War, as Cara served the Rebellion while Kuill worked for the Empire in indentured servitude. We also see what Baby Yoda is capable of with his use of The Force.

The tension only ramps up as the party arrives on Navarro, meeting Karga and several hunters. Both groups give each other some serious side-eye, and there's a moment when they're attacked by hostile fauna which results in a hard choice being made. What follows is a "Trojan Prisoner" strategy to deliver Mando and Baby Yoda's pram to The Client in a town occupied by stormtroopers.

It all amounts to a harrowing cliffhanger which leaves me excited to see the next episode.