The Mandalorian Episode 4 Review

by Mike Lunsford, Editor-In-Chief of The Great Geek Refuge

Warning: There will be spoilers ahead!!!

The day after Thanksgiving: for those who get that extra day off, it’s spent one of two ways. If you’re the risky sort who likes a hint of danger after their holiday gorge-fest, it’s Black Friday shopping! Sales galore! Mobs of people! Prices so low people fight each other for products! What better way to celebrate the day after “giving thanks for all that you have” than with violence over low priced electronics and toys? There is also option #2, the one I prefer: sitting down in front of the TV and watching some great new content. Back in the day, cable networks always had awesome movies on the day after Thanksgiving. But now, we got Disney Plus! Namely, the 4th episode of The Mandalorian entitled “Sanctuary” waiting to be consumed for our post-Turkey Day enjoyment. Let’s hit that recap and review!

The episode starts on an idyllic planet where farmers are raising their crops while child happily play around them. The peace is shattered as a band of marauders come out of the jungle and attack the village. The raiders, knowns as Klatooinians, pillage, plunder and burn the village, leaving our poor townsfolk to clean up and try to rebuild after the chaos.

Cut to our hero, Mando the Mandalorian. He and Yodling are flying along in space, looking for a place to hide for a while that won’t attract any attention from the hordes of bounty hunters likely looking to cash in on a huge payday. And of course, as par for the course in this series since episode 2, Yodling is being completely adorable, stealing the show as he tends to do. Mando chooses the planet Sorgan as it has no space ports and a small population. Last week, we established a nickname for baby Yoda. It has been further modified thanks to GGR friend Shirin Nicole. It’s full name: Okra the Yodling. Boom.

“Ready to lay low and stretch your legs for a couple months, you little womp rat? Nobody's gonna find us here.”

the cinematography of this series has been beautiful. All the planets look incredible.

They land on the planet and make their way to the local cantina, looking for some sustenance for the kid. Mando notices a woman who is trying to keep a low profile in the corner, who will not look at him. He asks the owner what she knows about her and she is unfamiliar. After ordering some soup for Okra, he looks back at the mysterious woman’s spot and she is gone. Mando leaves Yodling in the care of the cantina owner to track down the woman. As he goes outside and uses more of his badass tech in his helmet (this time, it’s an infrared scope), the woman gets the jump on him. They exchange blows as she is no slouch in the hand-to-hand department, fighting to a stalemate.

great line here. Mando says to the woman “want some soup?”

Our mysterious lady is Cara Dune (Gina Carano, Deadpool), a former Rebel shock trooper. Her reasons for leaving the New Republic are not clearly stated, but she has come to Sorgan to hide out and assumed Mando was on the planet, looking to collect a bounty on her. He explains his desire to hide as well but respects that he’ll have to find another spot for him and Okra. He makes his way back to the Razor’s Crest to prepare to leave the planet when he is approached by 2 local farmers. They tell the tale of the Klatooinian marauders’ raid on their home and beg the Mandalorian for help. He initially rejects them until they mention their village is in the middle of nowhere. Mando realizes “middle of nowhere” might be perfect for him and Yodling, and agrees to help, but stops and asks Cara to join him on this adventure first.

They arrive in the village and immediately settle in. The villagers are grateful to have them and the local children fall in love with Yodling.

You see the look at that little girl’s face? That’s the entire internet right now with Okra the Yodling.

Mando lets his guard down as he lets Yodling go off to play with the other kids. He begins to build a connection with one of the villagers, a woman named Omera. They have a conversation about Mando’s helmet and when he last showed someone else what his face looked like. It’s established further that the Mandalorians adopted him as an orphaned child and that was the last time he let someone else see his face, that, per “The Way,” if he removes his helmet he cannot put it back on. This seems to be a moral code of integrity, calling back to the Armorer asking “have you ever taken your helmet off?” as something that is vital to the Mandalorian Code. “This is the Way,” is what he tells Omera, showing his commitment to “the way of Mandalore.” Could he take his helmet off in front of her and when asked later, lie about it? He could, but integrity is a vital component of this Mandalorian code and his commitment to it is a huge part of who he is.

Mando and Cara do some recon in the woods, scoping out the raiders force strength. They discover they are up against 25 or so Klatooinians but the big reveal is when they see the giant tracks in the mud of the marauders secret weapon. Somehow, the bandits got their hands on an Imperial AT-ST walker. This changes things for Mando and Cara as the villagers didn’t disclose this when they hired them. They contemplate bailing on the whole mission but instead, after some coaxing from the citizens, they train them and help prepare defenses for a fight and a way to take that AT-ST out.

Cara and Mando make their way into the woods at night to spring their trap. They kick some serious butt in the Katooinian camp and draw out the AT-ST. This scene was incredible as you see the AT-ST rise up from the trees with its submarine-esque “rigged for red” eyes glowing, making the walker look even more menacing.

As a long time Star Wars nerd, I’ve never taken the AT-STs seriously. They were kind of a joke after you see the friggin Ewoks take them out with a series of logs, ropes, and rocks. Seriously, one shows up against a squad of soldiers who were at the Battle of Endor? They had to laugh. “Come on, guys. We got this! Those teddy bears beat these stupid things. Let’s go get some rope.” This episode made the AT-ST scary. It really solidified that the Ewoks were not just some goofy plush animals, they were formidable warriors who planned well against the superior Imperial firepower by using their resources to their maximum effectiveness. The Sorgans did the same, with help from Mando and Cara and defeat the Klatooinians! Hooray! Now our heroes can just kick back and relax. Plus, Mando and Omera can continue their flirty relationship and Yodling can have somewhat of a normal childhood of eating frogs and stuff! Mando sees how happy Yodling is on Sorgan with the villagers and sees how safe he is here. He knows that this might be the best place for him and asks that Omera and her people take care of the kid…but he states that this is not where he belongs. Omera tries to dissuade him from leaving. Their connection is evident, with even Cara stating “why not stay here with the cute, young widow?” Omera and Mando share this tender moment as she tries to convince him that he can stay with them, he can “set his armor aside if they need it one day,” and you can tell that this is not an easy decision for him.

The Mandalorian’s decision becomes complicated when we see another stranger arrive on Sorgan with a bounty fob in hand. As Omera and Mando share their tender moment, we see him take aim with his sniper rifle, starting at the back of Mando’s head and then moving to the Yodling. As the bounty hunter slowly pulls the trigger, a shot rings out that brings Mando back to reality as he runs to the woods to find the source of the shot. When he arrives, he sees Cara standing over the body of the unnamed bounty hunter, tracking fob still beeping. The two agree that he was definitely there for the Kid and they are no longer safe on Sorgan. Mando decides to take Yodling with him in order to continue protecting him. The town is heartbroken as they give tearful goodbyes to their tiny green friend as he and Mando make their way to the Razor’s Crest.

oh jeez…the internet is dusty as hell right now!

This particular story has been told hundreds of times: mercenaries hired by villagers to defeat bandits/raiders. It’s been told by different directors, artists, even cultures. You might remember it as Seven Samurai or the Americanized version The Magnificent Seven. Heck, if you really want to get goofy, it’s essentially The Three Amigos as well. This is in no way throwing any shade at The Mandalorian. There is no story in the world we live in that hasn’t been told yet, what matters is how you tell it and the execution is the key. The series has yet to have an episode that comes off as sloppy or lazy. With episode 4, you could potentially accuse the episode of being sappy at times. The scenes with Yodling are so damn cute and sugary sweet, you wonder if you’re going to come down with diabetes after this episode, but it was still executed well. This show knows exactly what it is doing. You can see the care they’ve put into the first live action Star Wars series. On top of that, this is what Star Wars is and has always been: stories about heart and compassion while fighting overwhelming odds against the forces of evil. The Filoni/Favreau team totally get that and they’re excelling in the process.

We’re now halfway through the first season of The Mandalorian and I am thoroughly impressed. From the trailers that initially came out for the series, I pictured something much grittier and dark. The series has been far from that. It does have moments where it is dingy and dark, in particular the spaceport scenes and cantinas where bounty hunters tend to hang out, which makes sense. But this darkness is balanced out by the light of the natural scenery. Every planet we’ve seen has been gorgeous. On top of that, the credits always include concept art for each episode and I LOVE seeing the art. I took some screen grabs for you guys to enjoy them as well! Take a look and flip through some of the pics.

The shining star of the series by far has been the performances. Pedro Pascal as the titular Mandalorian has been outstanding. This can’t be understated as he is finding ways to add nuance and deep emotion through only his voice as we have yet to see his face in this series. His emotional turmoil comes through in slight inflection changes that a lesser actor could potentially miss or over do. Werner Herzog as the Client has been unnerving in his delivery and expressions, not to mention Doctor Pershing (Omid Abtahi) from “Kamino” and the Major Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark vibe he puts off. Carl Weathers has been fun as the Count of Monte Fisto…I mean Greef Karga and with the addition of Gina Carano in this last episode, I have been very impressed with the acting chops everyone has shown off. Even the non-actor actors like IG-11 in the first episode, who almost stole the episode, have been so much fun.

Maybe I’m a mark and I’d love this show no matter what because it’s Star Wars, but ultimately, I don’t care. I’m enjoying the hell out of the series. I read a lot of reviews that question “is Disney making this too cute?” or “is this just fan service?” Again…I don’t care! I think that too many fans overthink this and ruin it for themselves by picturing what a show or movie is going to be instead of enjoying the ride. Just sit back, y’all. Let Mando and Okra the Yodling pull the leaver and take us into hyperspace and we’ll see where this thing takes us.