Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 5 Review

By Haizle Williams, GGR Contributor

Let me start this review by saying- I’m not a Star Wars fan. 

Did you gasp when you read that? Wonder what they were thinking when they let me do today’s review? You’re not the only one, but when I asked why, I was told, “this is the way”. I don’t hate Star Wars, but it’s not my usual jam. You know what is my jam? Westerns. I’m also a fan of space shows. Since The Mandalorian is a space western, here we are: you and me, talking about the Mandalorian, the Jedi, and The Child.

Chapter 13 starts with what we are tricked into thinking is a bad guy running through the woods, swanging her lightsabers, cutting everybody in half. After all the killing’s done, we find that no, she’s not the bad guy. This badass Jedi (played by Rosario Dawson, so of course she’s gorgeous) is coming after the Evil Magistrate (EM). The Jedi gives her one day to surrender and give up the location of her master. Does the EM give in and give up the info? Of course not! We’re only about 10 minutes into the show. EM and her trusty sidekick (Michael Biehn of Aliens, Tombstone, & Terminator fame) just plan to be ready for the next showdown.

Next scene, we see that Din Djarin (Mando) and The Child have made it to this city, Calodan. After taking his gear knob from the baby (who has used his magic mind powers to unscrew it and take it from the Razor Crest), Mando notes that outside the walls, the town looks desolate and creepy. Once he tells the sentries that he’s with the guild, he’s allowed into the city walls. Mando sees that it’s not quite a ghost town, but everybody runs and hides. Everybody except for the prisoners the EM has tied on these electrified poles in the middle of the plaza. See? Evil, like I said. EM sends some guards to find Mando and bring him to her. You know and I know that means one of two things- she wants him, or she wants him to do something for her. In this case, she wants him to do something for her. Apparently, the Mandalorians and Jedis have a long history of fighting each other, so she wants him to hunt down the Jedi and kill her. When history isn’t reason enough, she offers to give him her Beskar staff as bounty. We’re left hanging, but assume that Mando has agreed, because the next thing we see is him and The Child on their way to find the Jedi.

He finds the Jedi in the middle of the thing that used to be a forest, but everything is dead. Well, technically, she finds him. She started kicking his butt, but they settled on a non-verbal truce. He tells her that Bo-Katan sent him to find her, and she then notices The Child. She spends some time with him, while Mando paces like a father waiting outside of a pediatrician’s office. It is at this moment that our entire world is rocked. Ahsoka (The Jedi) tells Mando that she and The Child can communicate through thoughts, and his name is Grogu.  

Yeeeees, chile! GROGU. Of all things for that precious, cookie loving, big eared baby to be named, they chose Grogu. But who am I to judge? I guess it’s better than saying Baby Yoda. And he seemed to like it because when Mando called him by his name, he perked right up. 

We also find out that Grogu was hidden and trained in a Jedi temple, until he was taken. Things got a little dark and hazy after that because he was all alone, afraid, and hiding his powers. The Jedi says that she’s not going to train Grogu because of the fear and anger inside of him from this time period. Mando is like, “what do you mean? It’s what Jedis do!” and the Jedi is like, “well, maybe all of y’all shouldn’t have killed off all the Jedis and you would be able to find someone who could help you.” BLOOP! I paraphrased, but that’s what she meant. So Mando finally reveals that EM sent him to kill her, but he never agreed. The two then made a bargain that Ahsoka would help train Grogu if he helped her take care of her Evil Magistrate problem. 

Here we are, ready for the showdown at the O.K. Corral Calodan. We start this fight with The Jedi jumping to the top of the city wall, commencing to whoop off on everybody in sight. (Seriously, you need to watch this just to see Rosario Dawson kill all these guards.) She drops a piece of Mando’s armor, making them all think she killed him. She continues the fight, and as usual, right when needed, Mando jumped out on them like “SIIIIIIIIKE!!!!!” He freed the prisoners and got all the people to safety, while The Jedi stalked EM for their final fight sequence. Of course, Ahsoka wins and EM tells her that her master is Grand Admiral Thrawn. The people are saved, the city rejoices, and The Jedi gives Mando the staff that he didn’t earn. 

The end scene made my heart grow two sizes. Mando is at his ship, preparing to say good-bye to Grogu. Once again, he’s like the dad saying good-bye on the first day of kindergarten. Just as he and Grogu are leaving the ship, The Jedi meets him and says that Mando is like a father to Grogu, and she won’t train him. To sort of keep up her side of the bargain, she tells Mando to take Grogu to the Jedi temple on Tython and see what path Grogu will take. He’ll either tap into his powers and a Jedi will come get him or not. But then again, there are few Jedis left, so who knows? 

 My thoughts: 

• Mando seems to pick up all of the stray badass women in the universe, and I love that about him. I’m pretty sure we’re going to see more of this Jedi in the future. 

• I can’t see Mando just leaving Baby Yoda Grogu at the temple. He’s grown mighty attached. But he’s surprised me a couple of times so far, so who knows?

• Grogu didn’t eat anything this episode. What’s up with that?

There you have it. The Mandalorian from the eyes of a space western fan. Now go subscribe. I have Spoken.