Review: Chapter 11 (Season 2 Episode 3) of "The Mandalorian"

After making the second part of the journey with the Razor Crest badly damaged, due to the incident that occurred in the previous chapter, Din Djarin and “Frog Lady” end up reaching their destination. After a somewhat comical landing in the port — I couldn’t help chuckling when they fell into the water after the effort that Din was putting into the maneuver to not mess it up — both Din and the “Frog Lady” settle in at a modest sea port inhabited by the well-known Mon Calamari. I must say that I really liked the atmosphere of the scene: seeing this species again made me feel so nostalgic since I have a lot of affection for it because of the original Star Wars saga, but also for the sequels and “The Clone Wars.”

While Din left the Razor Crest to a Mon Calamari so it could fixed as best as can be, the “Frog Lady” reunites with her husband. Although we do not have a great connection with this character, since she is new and does not seem like she will contribute much more to the plot of the series, the moment of the reunion was beautiful to me. After a long journey, she finally gets to find her family. This can be a little reference to what Din is looking for, since he’s also trying to find other Mandos — his family, after all — and sooner or later, he surely will end up achieving it.

Tipped off by the husband of “Frog Lady,” Din goes into an inn so he can feed The Child and find some information, which is the main reason why he’s there in the first place. Din talks to the innkeeper asking him if he had seen more Mandalorians that look like him. One of the Quarren in the inn tells him that he could take him to them, explaining to him that they were only a few hours away.

Here comes a detail that has fascinated me. I have loved the pirate touch that the series has taken, because it is really cool that there are different scenarios throughout it: Tatooine with a more arid style and now a more marine one. It might seem silly, but I usually appreciate and enjoy these kinds of details. While distracted and enjoying these things like a kid, the Quarren that was going to feed the Mamacor beast suddenly pushes the Child into the water and Din jumped in after him. Maybe this was pretty predictable, but it took me completely by surprise. So yeah, “it’s a trap.”

During a few stressful seconds with Din struggling to breathe, and the Child trapped in the Mamacor’s stomach, someone comes to interrupt the stay. What appears to be nothing less than… Mandalorians! After a brief fight where they finish them off, and manage to pull Din and the Child out of the water, we have time to take a closer look at them. One in particular stands out, whose helmet is familiar to us from The Clone Wars… yes, it’s Bo-Katan herself.

The rumors were true! The actress, Katee Sackhoff, seems to me to be a very wise choice, as she voiced the same character in “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels.” Although she seemed a bit young in my opinion, I loved it.

Back to the chapter, Din steps back when he sees they uncovered their faces. Seeing that this shocks him, she tells him that he is the son of “The Watch,” explaining to him that they were a sect who had the intention of re-establishing the ancient Mandalorian way. Now, we know all of this from “The Clone Wars” but the main idea in case someone is the following:

Around the fifth season, Maul challenged Pre Vizsla to a duel to the death so that the one who won would become the leader of Mandalore. After Maul defeated and killed him, Bo-Katan along with other members of The Death Watch revealed herself, as they were not willing to accept his rule.

In this episode, Din replies that there is only one path: the way of Mandalore. After this, he leaves them.

In my opinion, a lot of interesting things have happened during this scene, like the appearance of Bo-Katan. I think she can bring cool stuff to the series, as well as more about the Mandalorians, which is great. Thanks to her we will probably get to know more about the Darksaber and its history, like what has happened to her during all this time.

On the other hand, Din will know better his origin and his history since he seemed to be confused when hearing about “The Watch.” I have a feeling that, as many of us have been anticipating, the Mandalorian spirit will awake.

In the next scene, it’s dark and we find Din and the Child walking. To our surprise, a group of Quarren seeking revenge for what happened on the ship surround them. They threaten Din for killing their brother. When it seemed that this was not going to have an extremely happy ending, Bo-Katan and her two partners appear, taking them out.

Afterwards, they go out for a drink where Bo-Katan explains to Din that Trask has a black market port where weapons stolen from Mandalore are being sold. Bo-Katan seeks to reunify Mandalore, emphasizing that it’s possible if the Mandalorians remain united. But Din clarifies that this is not his objective: he’s seeking out the Jedi to deliver The Child, which of course won’t be easy. However, he agrees to help them raid the Imperial Gozanti freighter where the weapons are located. The plan consists of flying up the ship via jetpack before it leaves, as it will maintain a low altitude exiting the port.

I personally liked to see Bo-Katan asking Din for help. I don’t know why but I have a feeling that this is not the first time she has seen Din. Maybe he knew him years ago, when he was just a child. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong… Who knows?

Before embarking on his mission, Din leaves The Child with the “Frog Lady,” who was already taking care of her first “tadpole.”

Once our group gets on board, they meet our beloved Imperial soldiers, who are still just as useless as always! It’s always cool to see these kinds of battles from time to time. A Mandalorian fight scene is a true spectacle. As they noticed the Mandalorians are destroying the troops, the commander orders the ship to ascend ahead of port protocol, so they can jump into hyperspace sooner and hopefully throw them into the void. What they did not take into account is that those who would end up flying through the sky are going to be themselves! Better not to underestimate the enemy, especially if they’re Mandalorian…

Meanwhile, Bo-Katan says that her plan is to take control of the ship, which makes Din nervous since it’s not part of the original deal. He has his own mission to fulfill. But she insists that, if he wants her help, she must get her way first: “this is the way.” I like how they use the meaning of this phrase. The path we must follow, although sometimes we do not know very well where it can lead us or if it is really the right one, we must show fidelity and loyalty to it. Good life advice. Because of this, Din accepts.

As the ship is practically taken over by our friends, Moff Gideon explains to the pilot what he had to do: “long live the Empire.” In a nutshell: they need to intentionally crash the ship, taking the lives of everyone on board.

I wonder if Gideon knows who those “pirates” actually are and if he is aware that there is someone looking for him to recover what once belonged to them: the Darksaber.

Seeing the ship start to lose altitude drastically, Din is forced to act and put his bravery into action, eventually using two explosives and his armor to protect himself from the oncoming Stormtrooper fire, so he could eliminate them and enter the cockpit. I admire Beskar so much. It’s amazing how tough it is, not only because it protects against blasters, but also resists them from astonishingly close distances.

Once they break into the cockpit, they narrowly manage to stabilize the ship from crashing into the ocean. The commander commits suicide, since he realizes that if he did not die now, he would do so later at the hands of Gideon.

Here, Din leaves them but not before asking Bo-Katan where he could find the Jedi. He learns that he must go to the city of Calodan on the forest planet of Corvus, where he will find… Ahsoka Tano.

Yes, this abruptly confirmed that we will see the young (well, not so young anymore) Padawan again. Without a doubt, it will be very nostalgic to see, which for me as Ahsoka is one of the best characters in the whole Star Wars saga. I’m sure Dave Filoni will know how to portray the character since, as we all know, he is a huge fan of her.

Before leaving, they use to the phrase, “this is the way.” Like I mentioned before, in the end, you must follow your own way and you must be willing to give everything for it. If a person does not take any risks, they will never achieve their goals.

Once he leaves and returns for The Child, we see that he has become fond of the “tadpole.” It is a fascinating scene which shows the mentality of children: at first they act without knowing due to their innocence (he ate some “frog” eggs in the last episode) but, once they start to understand, then they act differently. In any case, Mando already has enough pets…

After getting the Razor Crest back again, in not much better conditions than before, Din and the Child set out on their way to Corvus where, if everything goes alright, they will meet the Jedi named Ahsoka Tano.

The story is starting to get interesting. On the one hand, Din already knows where the Child’s destiny is. On the other, we have Bo-Katan, whom I’m sure will appear again to bring us new adventures and information about the Mandalorians and the Darksaber. What kinds of complications will arise? I don’t think finding Ahsoka Tano is going to be that easy. Maybe Gideon gets in their way, leaving two sides: Gideon versus Din, Ahsoka and Bo-Katan.

Not to mention Temuera Morrison’s character (presumably Boba Fett). How and when will he appear as Boba Fett by name in the series? What does he have to do with all this? I suppose there is much that we still do not know. I don’t know about you, but I am totally willing and eager to know how all these characters are going to evolve throughout the series.

This is the way.

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