Review: Chapter 15 (Season 2 Episode 7) of "The Mandalorian"

After Gideon took Grogu with him in the previous episode, Din Djarin — with the aid of Boba Fett, Fennec and Cara Dune — begins his search. We pick things up after Din went to Cara Dune to inform her that Grogu is in the hands of the Empire and needs her help, explaining his intention to locate an ex-Imperial sharpshooter in the prison registry.

In this way, the penultimate chapter of the second season begins in a busy prison yard. We soon see a familiar one: Migs Mayfeld, last seen in Season 1 Chapter 6. Without much explanation, Dune takes him with her to the Slave I, where Mando, Fennec and Boba Fett are waiting…

To our surprise, Fett has a new look since we last saw him in action. His armor is no longer marked by dents and scratches and is freshly painted. My opinion is divided. On one hand, I feel that the special essence of Boba that differentiated him from his father Jango — having a more damaged and neglected armor — has been lost. I’ve always loved that signature Boba Fett style. On the other hand, I like the idea that this means a new beginning for Boba. After all, he has been looking for his armor for years. Now that he’s finally able to find it, it’s like a resurrection symbolically speaking for him and it’s good to differentiate that by renovating it.

One detail I want to mention is that the helmet’s dent still remains there. For us but also for Boba, that brand is invaluable. It is also curious that the killstripes on the helmet are now red and not yellow.

Something that also strikes me is the armor’s color scheme. Despite being a darker shade of green, I like it. As BestOfFett pointed out on Twitter, the armor’s color looks similar to the 80s comics that featured Fett. In any case, I think the intention here was to create a distinction between armors, so that it had a different personality from the rest of the variants that we already know. I love that detail.

It should also be noted that Boba is using the EE-3 blaster again — a nice nod to his classic “Return of the Jedi” style. I think this is a weapon with which we identify a lot with Boba. It doesn’t seem to be the same one, although I have my doubts, since there seems to be sort of a tape just in the section where the blaster was cut in ROTJ, so maybe it’s merging both parts… Anyways, it has a redesign, as well as the stock, which instead of being black is reddish. In my impression, it also seems to be somewhat thicker and heavier than usual. In any case, I really like how it matches the rest of the armor.

Finally, the jetpack. With the epic return of Boba in the previous episode, we got to see a mixed color scheme jetpack: ROTJ but then an ESB rocket. Now, we can see how he has finally been inclined to the style of “The Empire Strikes Back.” Personally, I am more of a ROTJ fan, but that does not mean that we have lost the essence of this variant, since both the blaster and the gauntlets are taken from there. I like that Boba Fett’s new look was inspired by the different variants of the original trilogy, adding new details to finish innovating the character.

Returning to the plot, they take Mayfeld with them, who will come in handy since he once worked for the Empire. As Slave I takes off, we will have the opportunity to enjoy how the ship looks inside. It has a very different style from the Razor Crest, which was more rudimentary, if you can call it that, with an older and less clean appearance. On the contrary, the Slave I is more spacious and “elegant.” As seen from the inside when it lifts off, the detail we see about how the ship rotates is simply fantastic.

In any case, I love both ship styles. It’s a real shame we lost the Razor Crest but it was necessary to unify the bond between Mando and Fett. Also, if you watch carefully, you will notice the ROTJ jetpack is resting on the ground in the Slave I, in the same room where they all are gathered, talking about Gideon. So, with this, we take for granted Boba has more than one jetpack. Who knows if he will change it again sometime in the future…

Our friends ask Mayfeld for the coordinates of the Moff Gideon, but he clarifies that he will need an internal Imperial terminal to do that. There is one on the planet Morak, so that will obviously become their next destination. Their objective will be to infiltrate in the rhydonium refinery. It will not be an easy task, since it is highly protected by stormtroopers.

Not only that, it will also be necessary that the scanner does not detect any of them. Fennec is wanted by the ISB (Imperial Security Bureau, which are basically the typical Empire officials), Dune could be recognized as a Rebel, and Fett has a “recognizable” face. Clearly, the only one cut out for this task is Din. Although he decides to accompany Mayfeld, he makes it clear that he will not show his face at any time… although that remains to be seen.

Din and Mayfeld, accompanied by Dune, assault one of the Juggernaut vehicles heading to the refinery in order to use the pilots’ armor. Once in their new suits, Cara Dune is left with Mando’s armor and the other two go towards the refinery. Along the way, when passing through that small town, Mayfeld talks about something truly true. These people do not care whether it is either the Empire or the New Republic who governs, since both are invaders who, for some reasons or others, are reducing and controlling them at will — as if it were a dictatorship. The opposite sides may believe in different things, but in the end, they are just one part of something global and common that involves everyone at the same core.

I also found interesting the contrast between Mando’s and Mayfeld’s opinion — saying that both are very different — who explains that in reality we are all the same. Visually, this paradox is staged: they are different, since one wears a helmet and the other does not, but they are the same, united in this same mission in that actual moment. These small details make the series a great value.

Suddenly, an explosion makes one of the transports down the road explode. Seconds later, another one explodes. They learn pirates are raiding the Juggernauts to prevent the rhydonium from reaching its destination. Din Djarin has to confront them if he doesn’t want to blow himself up, although there is probably something else that really drives him to act: saving the Child.

The action begins. Although he ends the first round of pirates without much difficulty, there are soon more of them. To his surprise, his blaster runs out of ammo. I found it cool that, after having previously seen Boba fight with the gaffi stick, we now get to see Din fighting hand to hand. It is an intense fight and, although Mando defends himself correctly, he ends up in trouble, pinned down by the pirates who outnumber him. Fortunately, scrambling around and freeing himself from the pirates, he makes it in time to remove the detonator and throw it back at the pirates. What a relief.

When it finally seems like we can breathe a bit, another horde of pirates appears, all with thermal detonators in their hands. Din was already preparing with his fists raised, when suddenly TIE Fighters appear and finish off the pirates. Here I agree with Mayfeld: I never thought I’d be so happy to see the Empire!

Din and Mayfeld are received in a very good way, congratulated and cheered for having been the only ones capable of carrying the rhydonium to its destination. The truth is that this scene reminded me of the Rebels receiving Luke, Han, Lando, Chewie… I couldn’t help but smile. As mentioned before, in the end we are all the same. It just depends on perspective.

Once Mayfeld finds the particular terminal, he sees someone who makes him take a step back, named Van Heiss. Mayfeld apparently worked for him and so he insists that they must abort the mission, but Mando cannot afford it. He can’t leave the Child. Even though he has to use a facial scan to access the network, Din decides to get under way. He approaches the terminal, creating an atmosphere of tension. The fact that the officer does not stop looking at him, that he takes off his helmet, and that Heiss begins to call him before the operation is over… I was getting pretty nervous.

The officer confronts him to ask for his TK number. When it looks like Din’s cover was going to be blown, Mayfeld appears to speak for Din, who evidently had no idea what to say. The scene gets a bit comical, as when Mayfeld excused Mando for not responding, saying that his ship had lost pressure. The officer starts yelling at Din in the face so he could hear him. His reaction of “what the hell is happening” was really amusing. Not to mention his new nickname, “brown eyes.” Although they try to leave, Heiss forces them to have a drink and they can’t refuse.

In this scene, the conversation bringing back the theme of “innocent people in wars.” It is talked about the planet Burnin Konn, which was attacked by the Empire through Operation Ash, taking place three months after the Battle of Endor. Here, Mayfeld speaks sarcastically about what happened there. While Officer Heiss refers to the 5,000 to 10,000 deaths as “a sacrifice for the greater good,” Mayfeld wants to go beyond that. He shows his ethical side, which is something the official lacks. Many times we don’t think about it, but Star Wars is a war — fictional, but a war. Like all war, people die including many people who don’t have to like innocent families, only intending to survive as badly as they can so that their children have at least a better chance.

Due to the arrogance and lack of empathy shown by the officer, demonstrating he does not care about innocent people’s situations, Mayfeld shoots him out of sheer helplessness and rage. He feels it was well deserved.

After finishing with the other soldiers in the room, there is a short pause where Din can put his helmet back on. When Mayfeld says, “you did the right thing,” we see how effectively we all have our own choices, like Mayfeld had previously explained when talking about how we are all the same in some way. Although we have different principles — after all we all are people — our feelings and needs can make us act differently to reach a good purpose. Well done, Mando.

More soldiers and officers arrive to stop them and, with no other option, they have to go out the window. Fortunately, not all the odds are against them since Fennec and Dune are in sniper positions outside to support. Teamwork is undoubtedly a very effective method.

Once they are at the top, Boba arrives with the Slave I to pick them up. Once on board, Mayfeld is still upset and, with a cycler rifle, he shoots a transport’s exposed ridonium, causing the entire base to explode. As he later explains, “I was just gettin’ some stuff off my chest.”

Now it seems like the mission has concluded, but not without first witnessing in my opinion the best scene of the entire chapter, as a big fan of Boba Fett and his ship that I am. Two TIE fighters start chasing the Slave I. They won’t be a problem for this ship and are flushed out after a couple of maneuvers plus one of the famous seismic charges, previously seen in “Attack of the Clones.” Honestly, as soon as the chase started, I had a feeling that we would see them in action again. Its characteristic empty sound followed by the explosion sound automatically transported me to Jango’s phrase, “well, we won’t be seeing him again” followed by Young Boba Fett chuckling. Good times.

Once they land, Din is very grateful for the help of Mayfeld, who wishes him luck finding Grogu. I have the feeling that after this mission Din actually took more than the location of Moff Gideon. Despite the differences that we can find, there is something common that unites us. Grogu and him have something in common: Din, like Grogu now, had to seek and adapt to a new home, which has now become in his essence.

As for me, I have to say that I was impressed. Mayfeld was not a character that I liked very much, but in this chapter he showed that he has good potential. Behind his comical and open nature, there’s a very good person. Also, the courage he had in shooting that officer certainly says a lot about him. As a sign of gratitude, Cara Dune lets him go free. The scene ends with a beautiful shot showing the takeoff of the Slave I. It gets lost on the horizon, a possible reference to Mayfeld’s newfound freedom.

In the last scene, we see Gideon’s ship where they receive a message from the Mandalorian. At the beginning “recap” portion of the episode, Moff talked about the Child saying that he means more to him than they will never know. In the message, Din says the exact same thing now about him. Gideon may want the Child for many purposes, but it is not comparable to Din’s love for him. In this way, the strong bond between Grogu and Din has been very well conveyed.

We will see what will happen in the next chapter, but I think it will be more of an introduction to Grogu’s rescue. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a year, but I am so grateful to the whole “The Mandalorian” team for giving us this series.

Anyways, I am really looking forward to watching the next one. Is it Friday yet?

This is the way.

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