Monday 24 June 2024

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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  ...