Only a year and several weeks too late, I’m here to review the very first episode of the hit Disney Plus show, The Mandalorian. Having just finished season two, I found myself so jazzed to go back and rewatch all the episodes, and I’m excited to share my thoughts along the way. In this post I’ll review Chapter 1: The Mandalorian.
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Review of The Mandalorian Chapter 1: The Mandalorian (you are here)
Some Extra Introduction
This is my first attempt at reviewing a television show or movie since I had a xanga. While I sometimes joke that I was raised by the television (Seinfeld greatly shaped me) and I’m always happy to banter about shows, I’ve never been interested in reviewing them.
Well, if you’re new here, you might not know I’m actually not much interested in reviewing anything. Our reviews tend to be very informative, but rarely colorful. I don’t like to commentate because I see the blog’s role as providing an outline of what you can expect from an experience, not whether I thought it was “good” or “bad.”
Also, it just so happens that while I’m carrying my baby around the apartment all day or otherwise unable to buckle down for 10 hours and blog like I used to, it’s nice to have something easy to do on my phone—like rewatch The Mandalorian. With that, let’s get to the recap / review.
Recap + Review
I’m going to write this as a recap with commentary throughout. It spoils this episode, but not any others. Certain details aren’t recapped. I suggest Wookieepedia for a thorough recap.
Part 1 — Hey, Mando!
The episode opens with our bounty hunting hero having tracked a target to a cantina. One of my favorite things I’ve read about Star Wars is the brilliance of the opening moments of the entire series:
Star Wars (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
The setting is a planetary system unlike our own. A small Rebel ship enters the frame, followed by the overbearing Star Destroyer. It’s straightforward, informative, and cool. Since then, I always note opening moments in media.
The Mandalorian gives us a good shot just a few seconds in—a look at our protagonist, alone, making the long cold walk to his target:
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
My favorite part of this episode is the opening scene (and the closing shot, which I discuss in detail later), which quickly establishes the show as a space western. If you tweaked the dialogue a hair and cast everyone as humans, this is a pure western scene. Even the opening moments, in which we see our lone, masked ranger approaching the saloon in pursuit of his bounty, is explicitly western.
Mando enters the bar, only to have some local goons pick a fight with him over a “spilled drink.” He easily wins the fight, and our first moment of gunslinging (Mando doesn’t shoot first) results in one of the goons getting cut in half by the door—okay that’s not something you see in many westerns.
The bumbling soon-to-be-captive (who incidentally was being hassled by the goons) tries to talk / bribe Mando out of taking him. But Mando simply reaches for his gun, delivering this first steely line:
I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.
I don’t think there are any lines in the show spoken quite like Mando’s first line. Pedro Pascal delivers it like the platonic ideal of the gruff western antihero. It’s a tone I don’t think we ever quite hear again.
The opening three minutes have a few notable elements:
as soon as he enters the cantina, the Manalorian’s presence is noted by the occupants
the lead goon is the first to refer to the main character, using the generic shorthand “Mando”
the lead goon remarks on the armor being “beskar steel”, confirming it by running a knife across it
shortly thereafter, Mando’s beskar armor deflects a blaster shot with no issue
Mando goes the entire first exchange and fight scene without a line, letting his silence speak for him before that gem of a first line
As with any good western, securing the cargo is only the start of your troubles. The getaway is always hampered by some intervening actor. In this case, Mando quickly battles a ravinak that latches onto his ship. Disposing of that threat, Mando begins his journey with his new asset in hand.
Part 2 — Toilet Humor
Since its inception, Star Wars has walked the fine line that separates fun from cringy sci-fi humor. Luke whining about going to Tosche Station—fun. C-3PO—fun. Jar Jar Binks—cringy. Mos Eisley Cantina—fun. Canto Bight—cringy.
While Mando strikes a very serious tone, the Mythrol (the blue guy) brings an abundance of levity. Well, by Mando “strikes a serious tone” I mean he sits there like this the whole time:
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
The Mythrol’s lines border on cringy (“That's the understatement of the millennium!” “…but if you've never seen a Fledgling Mythrol evacuate their thorax, you're a lucky guy, trust me.”) but they work well since he’s trying to break the tension and connect with Mando, who won’t bite. He’s pathetic, but he’s supposed to be pathetic.
One of the nice sci-fi moments of the show comes from the Mythrol, who comments that Mando’s ship is “pre-Empire” and “classic.” He also mentions its name—Razor Crest. Like the Galactica, the Enterprise, and the Millennium Falcon, the Razor Crest will be more than just a ship. It’s a character; it’s the guardian of our hero. And in this instance, it’s the first named character of the show.
We also learn from the Mythrol’s rambling that “you guys” (the Mandalorians) never take off their helmets.
The silent hero and the bumbling captive might be a trope, but it works well here because Mando is more than just silent. He fights the three goons and he kills the ravinak while people around him jabber on. And the Mythrol is slightly more than bumbling, he’s try to craft his way out of a sticky situation with a bit of good humor.
Wandering the ship, the Mythrol stumbles upon other captives encased in carbonite, and Mando proceeds to sentence him to the same fate. The Mythrol’s discovery of the bounties in carbonite recalls Han Solo’s capture by the bounty hunter Boba Fett (who also donned Mandalorian armor) in Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.
Part 3 — The Client
Having started on an icy planet, Mando now lands on a more…grey world. Again, when Mando enters a cantina, everyone takes notice. Mando meets with Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), who provides Mando and other “Guild” member bounty hunters with targets.
Mando refuses to transact in Imperial credits, noting that the Empire is gone. This is the second moment that helps establish the timeline of the show as post-Return of the Jedi (the Mythrol also commented the classic ship was pre-Empire). The two settle up in another currency. Mando takes a VIP bounty from Greef and heads to meet the new client.
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
Mando’s new client is guarded by four Stormtroopers (hey, didn’t we just establish the Empire has fallen?!). For the most part, we’re used to seeing Stormtroopers on Imperial ships with pristine white armor. But in the backrooms of Nevarro, after the fall of the Empire, their armor is worn and pockmarked.
Famed German Director Werner Herzog plays The Client, who it appears is a representative of the Empire (or its remnants). He doesn’t have many acting credits (relatively speaking, still more than me), but his cameos include this brilliance in which his character’s reasoning for moving might sound like some of our readers:
The Client tells Mando that Greef said Mando was “the best in the parsec.” This line is almost certainly a reference to Episode IV: A New Hope (the first Star Wars film) when Han Solo comments that the Millennium Falcon made “the Kessel Run” in less than “12 parsecs.” That line has been the subject of much debate over the years (stemming from the fact that a parsec is a measure of distance).
This line is equally awkward, since it’s sort of like saying “you’re the best in the mile!” instead of “you’re the best for miles” or “the best in a mile” or “the best in the land.”
The Client and Mando have similarly colored costumes, with dark red (maybe brown; reminiscent of dried blood either way) at the core and black / grey the otherwise dominant color. I wouldn’t read much into it, except that Mando also has some lighter shades, too. Make of all that what you will.
Also can we just take a second to appreciate how amazing these costumes are?
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
During a standoff between Mando and the Stormtroopers. We’re treated to a cheesy (but fun) bit of dialogue:
C: Please lower your blaster.
M: Have them lower theirs first.
S: We have you four to one.
M: I like those odds.
The Client provides Mando with a piece of Beskar steel as a downpayment for retrieving the asset. The Beskar is marked with the insignia of the Empire (photo in a later section), which is also worn by The Client (around his neck, above).
The Client remarks that if Mando brings him the asset, he can provide him with a whole camtono of Beskar. The camtono, it turns out, has an interesting backstory.
Doctor Pershing another awkward bumbler, notes the asset is needed alive, but The Client tells Mando that proof of termination will suffice for half payment. As Mando leaves, we get a key line from The Client:
The Beskar belongs back into the hands of a Mandalorian. It is good to restore the natural order of things after a period of such disarray, don't you agree?
This establishes the aim of The Client and whomever he represents is to restore order (foreshadowing the rise of the First Order). The forces of the Empire are, and have always been, evil, but thinking back just one scene gives pause.
The end of the Empire has some downsides, like Mando and Greef being unable to agree on a proper currency in which to conduct their business. No one wants to live in oppression, but disarray can be a problem for the ordinary citizen, too.
This line is also the first acknowledgment that the Beskar steel is special to the Mandalorians, and the next scene follows up on this, as the Mandalorian Armorer tells Mando the Beskar bar was gathered in the Great Purge, and that it is good to have it back with the Tribe.
She offers to make it into a pauldron, which unlike “camtono” is apparently a real thing—a piece of shoulder armor. They discuss that Mando’s “signet” has not been “revealed” yet. It’s revealed that Mando was once a Foundling, and through flashbacks we see two parents hide away a child as their city is under attack.
Part 4 — Blurrg
Arriving on yet another planet (this one not as grey, more sandy), Mando begins his hunt for the asset but is quickly attacked by two blurrgs. Mando’s tussle with the blurrgs reveals he’s not a perfect fighter, and he winds up being saved by a local named Kuill, who agrees to help Mando find the asset. But for a second, things weren’t looking great:
Kuiil’s manner of speaking—punctuating his messages with “I have spoken” is a nice parallel to Mando’s stoicism. Both convey authority and demand respect in their own way. While Mando is a man of few words and can offer a blank “stare” to convey that he won’t be repeating himself, the smaller, older Kuill relies on telling people his point stands.
This could be part of a larger thread of how the characters communicate authority, or power. Star Wars is, in large part, about power. As The Client mentions, this story takes place at a time of “disarray”. Power is up for grabs in this world for the first time in years. This makes watching these characters demonstrate their authority in different ways all the more interesting.
Mando has power whenever he enters a room through the reputation of the Mandalorians and through his actual physical power. Greef has authority through money and underworld connections. The Client has power through strength, but not his—that of his Stormtroopers. The Armorer’s authority is demonstrated through her wisdom. And Kuill just tells you that you’re going to listen to him and that’s that.
Kuill gives us more insight into the Mandalorians, remarking that Mando’s “ancestors rode the great Mythosaur.” He also says that based on stories he has heard of Mandalorians, he believes Mando will be able to get rid of the mercenaries who are holding the asset and are unwelcome on his planet.
Part 5 — Oh no. Bounty Droid.
Scoping out the mercenary camp, Mando discovers a bounty droid (IG-11) has beaten him there. After IG-11 dispatches of a bunch of the mercenaries, Mando and it come to an agreement to work together and split the reward.
The shootout between Mando, IG-11 and the mercenaries is a fun bit of action on which to finish the episode. Like the start of the episode, it also brings back the “western” part of “space western” that I talked up earlier. It a shootout in a dusty town reminiscent of the ghost towns of the wild west. And it has this cool ending:
IG-11 provides levity throughout, in the way that droids always do. It first comments it needs to receive “reputation merits” for the mission, despite splitting the reward with Mando. Then it repeatedly plans to self destruct, only to be told to stop repeatedly by Mando.
Mando’s disdain for droids recalls a moment from the original series. In Episode IV A New Hope, the bartender declines to let the droids into Mos Eisley Cantina.
The exchanges with IG-11 reveal, in campy fashion, part of why Mando hates droids. IG-11 waltzes into the mercenary camp, destroying any hope for a surprise attack and starts spewing some legal mumbo jumbo that the mercenaries can’t possibly care about. It’s a parody of what happens when you “stick to protocol.”
The irony is that if we compare IG-11 waltzing into the mercenary camp with Mando starting the episode walking into the cantina, it’s Mando—who enters in silence, fights in silence, and then speaks one line when capturing his new prisoner—who performs the job more “robotically.”
The two decide to open the door using the mounted gun. This is a curious choice since it runs a high risk of killing the asset inside, but I suppose Mando would maybe be fine with the half payment (which would now be quarter payment, splitting it with IG-11).
The two discover the asset—a cute little creature that looks like a baby Yoda. Mando, surprised such a cute little thing could be 50 years old, shoots IG-11 in the head rather than let it kill The Child, and then we get the final shot.
The Final Shot — Watch Those Hands!
The final shot of the episode is not only beautiful, but brilliant in that its been set up for, well, decades I guess. To understand how that happened, you have to look at hands.
On my umpteenth watching of this episode, I really started to notice the characters hands. Realistically, I know next to nothing about actual westerns. A few space westerns, sure, but I’ve only seen traditional westerns in passing.
That said, as I started to notice the hands, I took a guess and Googled “the good the bad and the ugly table scene,” (seriously—all I knew at this point was that The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is a western) and found exactly what I’d hoped for. Here’s some cowboy guy sitting at a table, one hand hidden in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966):
Keep that image in your mind, the awkwardness of only having one hand above the table while the other is hidden from view.
And here’s that cowboy guy shooting someone from under the table (it’s an awkward screenshot, but you can see him holding the gun):
The reason I searched for this was because if you pay close attention to the hands of characters in The Mandalorian, they do the same thing, revealing something like the amount of trust involved.
In the gunslinging world, a hidden hand is a dangerous hand. So to ensure people stay friendly around you, you’re better off keeping a hand under the table, where it poses a threat to them, like in that above scene from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.
Of course, there’s the infamous Star Wars (1977) hidden hand:
Star Wars (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
You can see some interesting “hidden hand” dynamics throughout Chapter 1, and they sometimes change with the flow of the conversation. Here are just a few.
When Mando and Greef meet, Mando mostly keeps one hand (his left) under the table while Greef keeps his on the table.
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
When inviting Mando to call his bluff about only being able to pay with Imperial credits, Greef takes an even more open posture (this one isn’t totally hands, fine):
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
When Mando meets with The Client, they both keep (at least) one hand hidden most of the time while sitting. If you watch the scene for the hands, you’ll notice that when they naturally make it onto the table, they eventually awkward retreat at least one back underneath.
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
This very awkward shot in particular strikes me:
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
Mando’s right hand remains hidden for most of this exchange:
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
When meeting with the Armorer, a fellow Mandalorian, Mando’s hands (and those of the Armorer) are conspicuously not hidden:
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
Mando’s hands on his knees (below) mirror the Armorer’s hands on her knees (above), both openly showing they pose no threat.
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
The table between Kuiil and Mando is too low to hide hands (even his own), make of that what you will:
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
And of course, the final shot plays on this theme. When Mando meets The Child, he and The Child reach out their hands toward one another, in what is evidently a gesture of something more than trust:
The Mandalorian, Chapter 1 (copyright Lucas Film, Fair Use claimed)
Odds and Ends
FWIW, the drink is spilled moments before Mando enters the cantina by the goons themselves
The speeder pilot is portrayed by comedy veteran Brian Posehn
The Mythrol mentions wanting to be back with his family for Life Day
Jawas are seen in the market in Nevarro
IG-11 is voiced by Taika Waititi
Mando agrees to split the reward with IG-11, which could mean parting with a large amount of purged Beskar
Mando’s distaste for droids is noted throughout the episode
Two cantinas are visited in the episode. I think there’s something to be said about them as a place of business in the Star Wars universe. Maybe later.
Conclusions
This is the part I feel is unnecessary, but I’ll go ahead and include anyways. Chapter 1 is a stellar way to open the series. It offers such great variety—the action throughout, the fun (Mythrol, IG-11), a classic creepy Empire moment with Werner Herzog, adventure to multiple planets, and a touching moment to end on. Even having seen through season 2, I can say Chapter 1 remains one of the best episodes of the series. 4/5.