Twin Suns Outpost is pleased to bring you a weekly write-up covering each episode of The Mandalorian Season 2. Each week three members of the TSO team will prepare a short reaction to the most recent episode of the award-winning series.
THE TRAGEDY - Directed by Robert Rodriguez - Aired December 4, 2020 on Disney+
*SPOILER WARNING*
KYLE SCULLY: Blog Writer, Comic Reviewer
“The Tragedy,” oh what a tragedy it was. The Mandalorian’s fourteenth episode catapulted the story forward at lightspeed with more than a few tears along the way. Rather than spending an episode helping a random stranger complete a task prior to reaching Tython the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) arrives without a second thought. This blessed change of pace is a harbinger of good things to come.
Grogu finds himself on a sacred Jedi rock and he quickly gets to work connecting with other Jedi and looking simply adorable. And now, this is when the episode goes from good to classic with its reveal of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), a character who earned a cool status after a few Original Trilogy appearances without doing too much at all. Here, along with a recently revived Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) Fett helps the Mandalorian defend Grogu from incoming Stormtroopers. His motives aren’t completely altruistic. He wants his old armor back and the Mandalorian’s unbreakable code makes Fett’s initial request impossible to fulfill.
Once Stormtroopers arrive though alliances are quickly formed and Boba Fett shows off why he deserves legendary status among Star Wars fans. He dispatches Stormtroopers with effortless confidence and an impeccable sense of creativity. He never seems to use the same technique twice. The moment he gets his armor back is the moment director Robert Rodriguez seals the episode as an all-time Star Wars classic. He also adds a nice bit of flair with a slick knee-gun, a nice callback to the crotch gun from From Dusk Til Dawn.
Fett also offers a nice tie-in into the themes of fathers and sons. He talks about his own father, Jango Fett, his history and the value of the armor as it relates to Jango and his family legacy. It’s a welcome, if unexpected connection. Fett could easily have just been a killing machine but Morrison injects him with some real resonance and humanity. Wen is also a great addition to the episode. There is simply no one more badass than Wen. Her armor and her partnership with Fett reminds one of Jango Fett and Zam Wesell’s partnership in Attack of the Clones. It’s another cool reference to the prequels.
Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) makes a deliciously fun cameo and his Dark Troopers are as menacing as you can imagine. The Imperials continue to earn their presence in the story as a very real, dangerous threat.
“The Tragedy,” brings everything you could want in a Mandalorian episode. There’s plenty of action, emotion, classic Star Wars characters and some real story advancement. The Mandalorian might not take off his helmet but the show just took off and it doesn’t like it’s slowing down anytime soon.
CHRISTIAN CORAH: TSO Book Reviewer and Podcast Host
This was the best episode of the series for a couple of reasons. While Din Djarin’s character has gone through some development, I think it has been a lacking part of the series (but Star Wars stories are typically not character led, especially the movies and TV shows). At the beginning of the episode, we see a conflicted Djarin. He is conflicted over his love for Grogu and wanting to do what’s best for him by bringing him to a Jedi. This internal battle could have been developed more, but I’m glad it was there. Now for what everyone cares about. The fight scenes in this episode BLEW ME AWAY. Similar to the last episode, The Mandalorian continues to bring us fight scenes that easily exceed what we see in the movies. The Boba Fett reveal in this episode felt a little forced at first, but man oh man was I here for it. I could watch Boba crack Stormtrooper Armor with his staff for hours straight. It is honestly comparable to Darth Vader’s hallway scene; I never though I would say something like that. It was the ultimate redemption of Boba’s character. And while we are all coming down off of the high of Boba getting his armor back, the tragedy took place. It is no accident that the droids that took Grogu acted very droid like. Droids in Star Wars notoriously act human, having independent thoughts and personality. These droids moved in unison, with precision, and showed no emotion. They are truly the epitome of what Djarin hates about droids. The scene with them slowly approaching Grogu on the ground felt hauntingly beautiful. I didn’t want Grogu to be taken, but they way it was done was genius. Finally, there is something at stake at the end of an episode (similar to season one when Grogu got stolen by a Scout Trooper). While this was the best episode of the series, I expect it to be topped very soon.