“The Mandalorian” delivers an okay fourth episode that gives more background for Grogu’s past but expects audiences to suspend disbelief in an odd rescue mission.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Story
This episode sees a foundling being snatched by a flying creature. Din, Bo-Katan, Paz and a slew of other Mandalorians go on journey to rescue this foundling under interesting circumstances.
While the other Mandalorians are away, Grogu stays with the Armorer. The Armorer builds Grogu another piece of armor and Grogu begins to experience flashbacks. We see that Grogu was able to escape the Jedi temple during Order 66 with the help of Jedi Kelleran Beq.
The Mandalorians rescue the foundling who is revealed to be the son of Paz Vizsla. Finally, Bo-Katan tells the Armorer she saw a Mythosaur but the Armorer brushes it off and clearly doesn’t believe her.
The Good
The only good part of this episode was Grogu’s flashbacks to Order 66. One great thing about this was the parallel that occurred between both Din and Grogu. In the first season, we would learn more about Din’s origin every time the Armorer would craft armor pieces and the same happens with Grogu. It gave more answers that audiences have been seeking since the first season and even redeemed a certain actor who was previously in Star Wars.
Ahmed Best had previously portrayed Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Unfortunately the character was not received well and led to wrongful hate from fans towards the actor himself. Ahmed Best proved those horrible fans wrong by showing up as badass Jedi Kelleran Beq who saved Grogu from Order 66. It is very likely we will see more of him in flashbacks and how Grogu got out of his possession.
The Bad
Unfortunately the rest of the episode was less favorable compared to other episodes of the series. The plotline of the foundling being kidnapped just felt stupid and meandering. Because of how long it was taking for the Mandalorians to rescue him, it felt like the foundling was probably dead already. The fact that he was alive by the time the Mandalorians saved him really forced audiences to suspend disbelief even in a universe that focuses on space wizards and alien creatures.
Another problem was the runtime of the episode. Even with an astonishingly short runtime for this episode, it still felt like the plot dragged its feet and took too long to get the point.
The final issue which is more of a season long issue is the lack of use of Din Djarin and the Darksaber. It feels like Din is no longer the star of his own series and has become a useless character. Not to mention we have hardly seen any more development of his use of the Darksaber in the two years he has had possession of it.
Review
This episode of “The Mandalorian” had some major flaws and a notable highlight but questions the direction of the story in the halfway point of the season. Episode four is 5/10.