How the steel was tempered, how Baby Grogu was saved, how to quickly gather friends. About this and how the Mandalorians went after the dragon – in our recap of the 4th episode of the new season of 'The Mandalorian'.
Mandalorians vs. a dragon. Admit it: you didn't expect it, but you wanted it. The Western meets the chivalric romance here, the past blends with the present, and Jedi and Mandalorians turn out to be alike, at least in that they all fight for a life they seem destined never to live in peace. The new episode of 'The Mandalorian' will delight everyone, especially fans of the old-fashioned charm of a galaxy far, far away.
Previous recaps:
Warning: spoilers for the 4th episode of 'The Mandalorian' follow
Mandalorians train along the shore: shooting, fighting, flying, while Baby Yoda plays with mollusks trying to hide from him in the sand (somehow eerily reminiscent of a scene from the great film 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'). Grogu's joy won't last long: Din (Pedro Pascal) and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) approach him, and while the latter is generally fine with the kid's pastime, the Mandalorian is serious: to become not just a foundling but a disciple, Grogu must train. How exactly this little green bundle of joy should train with the others is, frankly, not entirely clear, and it suddenly brings to mind 'Full Metal Jacket'. Private Pyle, where are you?
Bo-Katan comforts the upset Grogu: her father was the same, he's just proud of him. It doesn't help. Under the skeptical gaze of the Mandalorian crowd, the kid must spar (shooting darts from a device on his arm) with a helmeted teenager named Ragnar (the one who took the Creed in ), and he doesn't take the opponent seriously. But that's a mistake: after two rounds of losses and instructions from the Mandalorian to use the Force, in the third round the kid beats Ragnar. Seems like he deserved it.
Space pirates, water procedures, Mandalorians vs. a giant alligator – all this in the recap of the new episode of 'The Mandalorian'.
Open materialUpset Ragnar goes to the shore and is unexpectedly swallowed and carried away by a giant creature, a mix of a dragon and an eagle (somewhat resembling a pterodactyl). Since the boy might still be alive, the Mandalorians, led by Paz Vizsla and Din, give chase on jetpacks, but about halfway there, they run out of fuel (as Paz reports: that's how every chase after this dragon ends). At that moment, Bo-Katan flies over them in her starship, and it becomes clear that at least someone in this clan hasn't had their brain crushed by their helmet.
When Bo returns, she relays what she learned: the dragon's nest is at the top of the highest rock (where else?), and they can only get there while keeping the boy alive by rock climbing – the roar of the starship and the noise of the jetpack would make the serpent dine sooner. Well, said and done. Paz Vizsla assembles a team, Bo-Katan is put in charge, and Din Djarin, of course, goes with them.
The kid stays with the Armorer, and in the absence of candy, she decides to entertain the child with something more serious. She forges him an addition to his chainmail and tells him that the forge is the heart of Mandalorian culture. Any Mandalorian, like beskar, is tempered in trials until the ore becomes armor. Reflecting on the Armorer's words, the kid remembers his own past and what brought him to these strange people in uncomfortable helmets.
He remembers the Jedi Temple and how four knights died from blasters protecting the kid from the clones of the 501st Legion, and how he went down in an elevator where Kelloran Beck was waiting for him – a great warrior and the most unexpected cameo in the history of 'Star Wars' series. The thing is, Beck was played by Ahmed Best, a comedian and good actor who, 20 years ago, was unlucky enough to play Jar Jar Binks, one of the most unpopular characters in the galaxy far, far away (though he is funny, of course, but what can you do), and the role of Grogu's Jedi savior is a stunning way for Best to finally find his place in the franchise, and for fans to be ashamed that they bullied the man for so many years for nothing.
Kelloran Beck, wielding two lightsabers, deflects the clones' attacks and leaves the temple on a speeder with the kid in a cradle. The subsequent chase is wonderful in every respect and at some point references a scene from 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows': Hagrid performed the same trick in the tunnel on his flying motorcycle while saving Harry. Landing on a launch pad, Beck meets Naboo (apparently) guards who engage in a doomed confrontation with the clones, allowing the Jedi and the kid to fly away in their starship. Kelloran tells Grogu they are flying to friends; the flashback ends.
The Armorer puts a new piece of armor on the kid – a plate with the Mythosaur on it – and Grogu nods approvingly. Meanwhile, the Mandalorians led by Bo-Katan stop for the night on a hill to complete their rescue operation in the morning. Bo-Katan is living with the sectarians for the first time and doesn't understand how they plan to eat by the fire if they can't take off their helmets. As it turns out, they don't plan to eat by the fire at all – everyone disperses and takes off their helmets to eat alone, leaving Bo-Katan alone by the fire as the team leader.
In the morning, they climb the rock and plan to attack the dragon's nest unnoticed, but Paz Vizsla almost ruins the operation because, as it turns out, Ragnar is his son (biological or like Grogu is for Din – unclear). A prolonged fight ensues on the rock and in the air, during which Din saves the falling Ragnar and, it seems, finally earns the trust of Paz Vizsla, his main opponent in the clan. And the dragon, diving over the water for a new attack, is eaten by a sea monster (a spectacular scene) – the giant alligator from the first episode of the season. As Qui-Gon Jinn would say: 'There's always a bigger fish.'
When the Mandalorians return, the Armorer greets them as heroes and especially praises Bo-Katan, telling her that she has performed the greatest feat prescribed by the Creed by saving a student. As it turns out, they saved not only Ragnar but also the dragon's hatchlings. They couldn't just leave them to starve.
In the battle, Bo-Katan lost her shoulder pads, and the Armorer, offering her services, forges new ones for her comrade. Bo-Katan asks for the Mythosaur seal to be placed on one of them, which the Armorer approves: this animal is a symbol of all Mandalorians. Kryze cautiously asks: what if she saw the Mythosaur there, in the Living Waters of Mandalore? The Armorer approves of this too, saying that those who follow the Creed may have visions, and seeing the Mythosaur is a good omen. Bo-Katan explains that it wasn't a vision, to which the Armorer, whose thoughts are never clear, replies: 'This is the Way.' In short, this is indeed the Way, but what happens next is unclear.
Impressions
After the previous highly politicized and intriguing episode, the fourth is a feast for the heart. Mandalorians vs. dragons, dragon vs. alligator, Jedi vs. stormtroopers. The age-old confrontations in this episode reveal several important points: first, why this is still 'Star Wars' and not, roughly speaking, 'Star Ceasefires'; second, how vulnerable a person is in a galaxy far, far away – alligators, dragon-eagles, clones with chips (the mechanism for executing Order 66).
The director of the fourth episode is Carl Weathers (who plays Magistrate Greef Karga here), who already directed one of the best episodes of the second season and has been working in television for a long time. And the very fact that an 80s star, who in his prime shared the screen with Sly, directs wonderful action scenes with people in colorful costumes and lightsabers, warms the heart in a special way.
Regarding the concept: besides the overall genius of the idea of a fight between anyone and a large flying monster, let's note a few important films in this vein. It's clear, for example, that the creators watched 'Dragonslayer', which starred Ian McDiarmid, then still the future Emperor Palpatine. It's a wonderful movie and an important argument that 80s fantasy shouldn't be written off. And the direct thematic predecessor of the episode is the film 'The Valley of Gwangi', which now probably only interests big fans of film history, and even in its release year, it interested, frankly, not many, but it's a charming picture, and in it, cowboys confront dinosaurs, and what more does a decent person need for happiness?
The biggest mystery: where did Kelloran Beck take the kid, who are these friends? Considering the ship is from Naboo, and Padmé during the events of the finale of 'Revenge of the Sith' (and Order 66 and the execution of the Jedi in the temple are exactly this period) was first on Coruscant (and saw the burning Jedi Temple!), then on Mustafar, and then on her deathbed, she could theoretically have sent the starship. But taking Grogu to her is already absurd, so maybe Kelloran Beck is taking him to Jar Jar Binks? That is, Ahmed Best to Ahmed Best. For sentimental reasons, we'll bet on this option, naturally.
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