Mandalorian S2E4 reveals mysterious new foe

For his debut as a director in Star Wars, Carl Weathers did a great job.

The fourth episode of The Mandalorian Season 2, titled Chapter 12 “The Siege,” was an action-packed affair with lots of laughs. It also helped move the storyline forward by showing an overview of Moff Gideon’s blueprint.

[Warning: Our recap contains major spoilers for season 2, episode 4 of The Mandalorian.]

The episode opens with Din Djarin dragging smoke – and several pieces of his ship’s hull – as he walks towards Ahsoka Tano. Despite the repairs made to Trask in Episode 3, the hyperdrive failed dramatically and it’s time to pull over to a safe port for some repairs. Cut to Nevarro, with Greef Karga (Weathers) and Cara Dune (Gina Carano) waiting backstage.

While repairs are being carried out, fans are treated to a delicious vignette in Nevarro’s old canteen. The site of the massive battle with Moff Gideon and his troops at the end of Season 1, it has been transformed into a one-room school. This is where the child is immersed to spend the afternoon learning the galactic geography. But, like the caterpillar of that famous children’s book, he’s still hungry and unleashes a bundle of space buttons with his mind.

Counterposed against the rather dark scenes to follow, it is a wonderful distraction.

Daycare secured, Din is roped up in another robbery. Greef and Cara took the small town under their wing, serving as governor and marshal respectively. But, in order to secure their establishment, the Imperial Resisters left in a nearby base must be cleaned up. Packed to the gills with top-of-the-line weapons, he only makes the planet a ripe target for smugglers.

Image: Lucasfilm

Once inside the base, the trio – joined by the return Horatio Sanz as the blue-skinned, fish-faced Mythrol from the series’ very first episode – meet strong resistance. They head for the reactor, overload it and head for the exit.

It should be noted here that the entire base, including the reactor control panel itself, appears to have been ripped straight from the first Death Star. This base has been here on Nevarro for a long time, and that’s what makes the sequel so unsettling.

On their way to the surface, Din and his company stumble upon a pair of Imperial scientists who quickly attempt to destroy their work. Once downed, the group discovers a series of tanks with mysterious creatures floating inside. Although difficult to distinguish, they appear to have the same rounded heads and elongated limbs as the Emperor’s company plan – the Force-sensitive Snoke.

The Mythrol begins to tap on a console, and a transmission from Doctor Pershing (Omid Abtahi) arrives.

Image: Lucasfilm

“I highly doubt we will find a donor with a higher M number,” he says, no doubt referring to The Child’s midi-chlorian levels. Apparently, he used The Child’s blood for transfusions to consenting subjects, perhaps trying to improve their own sensitivity with the Force. There is still at least one volunteer on the waiting list, but the offer has run out.

Din is rightly frightened and leaves via jetpack to secure the child. What follows is an epic chase sequence, with Greef, Cara, and the Mythrol using an Imperial tank requisitioned for their escape. They run over stormtroopers, detonate speed bikes, and ultimately repel an attack by a squadron of TIE fighters. It is then that Din, in his fully repaired razor crest, rushes to save the day.

The action sequences in this episode are actually some of my favorites from the entire series, especially the aerial combat scene between Din and the TIEs. Rather than buzzing morons, the soldiers in these scenes have a real sense of threat. With the Mythrol and The Child hanging around for comic relief, the fight goes exceptionally well. Hopefully Weathers will have more time behind the camera in the seasons that follow.

The episode ends with a long and disturbing postscript. The action switches to an Imperial Arquitens-class light cruiser, also known as the command cruiser. Apparently, this is where Moff Gideon settled down. We learn that a mechanic on Nevarro planted a tracking beacon inside the Razor Crest. The Empire follows Din and The Child until their meeting with Ahsoka Tano – which is due next week, with the return of director and series co-creator Dave Filoni. But he is not alone.

Image: Lucasfilm

Inside the Command Cruiser, Gideon has a mysterious collection of … something in black armor. They are much bigger than regular stormtroopers. Are they modern battle droids? New suits for an elite cadre of death soldiers? Or are they a long-lost remnant of powerful cloned super-soldiers?

We’ll probably find out the day after Thanksgiving, and if we’re lucky we’ll see Mando fighting back-to-back with a real Jedi.