By: Marc Millette
Synopsis
This episode opens with Mando talking to Grogu. He keeps saying his name and laughs when Grogu reacts. They get to Tython and Mando tells Grogu he’s going to have to stay with the Jedi that comes for him. That’s what he was quested with.
They find The Seeing Stone but have to land further away. Mando says they will have to do the last part of the journey with the windows down, and then the camera cuts to Mando and Grogu traveling by jetpack. He places Grogu on the center stone and tells him to do his thing. After sitting there a bit, a ship flies in, it’s Boba Fett and formerly Jango Fett’s ship Slave I. Mando tells Grogu it’s time to go but a blue impenetrable light surrounds him. Mando goes to intercept the ship to buy Grogu some time.
After a warning shot, he comes face to face with Boba Fett. The sharpshooting assassin Fennec is on a ridge with her sights on Grogu. Mando thinks he wants The Child but all he wants is the armor that he got from Cobb Vanth. Boba Fett asks Mando to take off his jetpack, guaranteeing the safety of Mando and Grogu while they talk. Right after an Imperial shuttle comes down full of stormtroopers. Mando goes to get Grogu while Fennec and Boba Fett go to hold off the stormtroopers. Grogu is still enveloped in the blue light, so Mando heads back to help. Fennec and Boba beat the majority of the troopers. Boba looks at Mando’s open ship while another shuttle of stormtroopers is coming down.
Mando catches up to Fennec as she is being surrounded. They fight on but are on the verge of getting overwhelmed when Boba Fett comes out in full armor guns-blazing and together they send the stormtroopers running back to the shuttles. They take off and Boba Fett, with his jetpack rocket, shoots one which crashes into the other, and both blow-up. A blast comes from an Imperial Star Cruiser that blows up the Razor Crest. Boba Fett runs to get Slave I while Mando and Fennec run back to The Seeing Stone. The camera cuts to Moff Gideon who says to send the dark troopers. Four black-plated troopers are dropped from the Star Destroyer straight to The Seeing Stone, right before they get there the blue light surrounding Grogu goes out and he’s visibly tired. The dark troopers shoot jets from their feet to land. They take Grogu and blast off back to the ship before Mando and Fennec can get there. Slave I comes onto the screen to follow them, but Mando says not to shoot. Boba Fett followed them up to the cruiser and said “the Empire is back” as the cruiser went into hyperspace.
Mando is shifting through what’s left of his ship, he finds the small ball that Grogu liked playing with and the Beskar spear, that’s all that’s left. Mando, Boba Fett, and Fennec are standing together. Boba shows Mando the lineage on his armor, his father was Jango Fett who was a foundling. Mando says the armor belongs to him and their business is finished. Boba Fett says not quite, they guaranteed the safety of Mando and The Child, and the child was kidnapped. Until they help Mando get Grogu back Boba and Fennec are in his debt.
Slave I lands on Nevarro. Cara Dune is sitting at a desk and has accepted that pilot’s offer at the end of Episode 4. She’s now a Marshall for the New Republic. Mando asks for help finding a prisoner, Migs Mayfield, so he can break him out and get help finding Moff Gideon. Cara argues that she can’t break the law. Mando interrupts her to say they have the kid.
On Moff Gideon’s Star Cruiser, he’s walking to a cell where Grogu is force pushing, pulling, and choking the two stormtroopers watching him. Another trooper offers to stun him and Gideon says no. After a couple more throws Grogu gets tired, Gideon pulls out the Darksaber and asks if Grogu has ever seen one of these. Grogu tries to take it but is too tired. Gideon then has the trooper stun him and shackle him, then tells the comms officer to tell Dr. Pershing that they have a donor.
Pros
Good fight scenes.
Slave I still flying the skies.
Boba Fett in full armor.
No fight between Mando and Boba Fett.
Finally Mando gets some traveling companions.
Cons
No more Razor Crest.
Far too short.
A let down after last week.
The downer episode so we can get a good ending.
Review
The “previously on” ruined any surprise but seeing Slave I was great. Fennec never missing and Boba Fett smashing through armor with the Gaffi Stick was pretty good. It does amaze me with how bad a shot all Stormtroopers and that their Star Fighters can ever hit anything, forget a direct hit on the Razor Crest. I know Grogu had to get captured, this sets up an episode of recruiting help, Mayfield, maybe Bo-Katan, perhaps Ahsoka heard Grogu’s cries of help when kidnapped since they have connected previously, and what about that other Jedi that might train Grogu? And then in that last episode, the Beskar spear is looking to be important for the fight against Gideon and his stolen darksaber.
6.5/10 Gaffi Sticks for this one. Short, quick episode. I’m glad they don’t feel like they have to have 45 minutes and that they have to stretch episodes but this one runs 34 minutes minus 2 minutes of previously on and nearly 5 minutes of credits puts it under 28 minutes. They could have easily done a few minutes on the Dark Troopers or Moff Gideon talking to Dr. Pershing about Grogu. Good stuff in the episode but just not enough to be a full episode. The next two episodes will follow last year, recruitment and showdown, though they may not be the recruits we expect and the showdown will have a twist to set season three.