Tag: Star Wars

The previous twelve chapters of The Mandalorian have made several things clear. From the fact that no character seems to be off-limits (as long as the timeline fits) to how the storylines keep branching out over time. But one of the most obvious ones seems to be how it cherishes a slower pace when the story requires it. Being a TV show that, unlike the movies, has a greatly extended runtime, it makes the most of it in various ways, instead of just doubling-down on the usually fast-paced theatrical experience. We’ve already talked about how the show fights instant gratification, going into how even the most apparently innocuous episodes tend to introduce something of importance down the line. And now Chapter 13 all but spells out how the show’s endgame, one that everybody wanted to figure out right from the start, is being molded by all the twists and turns, the main and side-quests, the major and minor characters we’re meeting along the way.

Din Djarin’s journey to bring The Child to someone who can care for him gets consistently sidetracked, and, more than that, it does seem to run into a lot of dead ends. One might argue that they could have easily bypassed many of the planets and characters along the way, making for a more streamlined route towards whatever is waiting for them at the end. But besides taking all the fun out of what everybody wants to be a series focusing on the fascinating possibilities the Star Wars universe has to offer, it would make the heart of the show devoid of any real meaning. To put it simply: Din’s constant effort to do what’s best for The Child and the Child’s appreciation and growing affection towards Din is both the path in which the story is finding ways to grow and the show’s endgame intertwined together.

When Ahsoka mentions she cannot train The Child it can be something that is justified by her own journey trying to find Thrawn on her way to reaching her long-lost friend Ezra Bridger. But it is also because she understands how much Din Djarin and The Child have grown close to each other, a “strong attachment” as she puts it, and how that changes the way to deal with his future training. She makes it obvious that The Child’s future wouldn’t be the same without Din’s presence, and we’ve noticed how Djarin has grown since Chapter 1 to realize this is something that works both ways. It is at times like these that we are reminded of the quote often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Life is a journey, not a destination.” And The Mandalorian is proving to be just that. It sort of parallels how raising a child sometimes is. Oftentimes you long for a time when you understand each other better when your relationship is a bit more complex, but it’s often in the small moments along the way that true happiness is found and built upon. The Mandalorian has also managed to build upon the small things, making for a more relatable storyline. So being, the adventures these characters have taken us on and the worlds they have taken us to have proven to be such a bright light in the troubled times we live in that no matter how it all ends, that’s what it will be remembered by. The journey itself. Good times!

The latest episode of The Mandalorian introduced its first Jedi character. Fans of The Clone Wars and Rebels were excited when Ahsoka Tano got teased for the season. It was a long wait, but finally, in this seasons’ fifth episode, she made her live-action debut. Her introduction strongly moved the recent episode’s structure closer to one of the two main inspirations behind the franchise. Star Wars’ is a love letter to classic Western and Japanese Samurai films. Up until this point, the latter was more subtle in its inspiration, but Chapter 13 has switched that up. Ahsoka’s debut pushed the series towards it closer to its samurai inspirations.

There will be minor spoilers for the episode, so only continue at your own risk if you have yet to watch it.

The series’ biggest Japanese inspirations were in the core concept. The journey of Din and the Child, who now has a name, echoes the story of Lone Wolf and Cub. Yet, the samurai aspect was never at the forefront, as it focused more on Mando’s skills with the blaster. This episode introduced a character that changed that. His search for a Jedi has come to an end. After meeting Ahsoka, he asks her to look after the foundling and teach him to control his abilities. Yet, she refuses his inquiry. Mando is forced to make another deal, so he could change her mind. So, together they faced Diana Lee Inosanto‘s Magistrate and Michael Biehn‘s Lang.

The episode ends with two showdowns. Once again, Mando faces Lang in a blaster showdown. Ahsoka was in a fight against the Magistrate, who was elegantly wielding a Beskar steel staff. Their showdown took place on a single path surrounded by a beautiful Koi pond. It wasn’t about who can attack first but a ballad between two skilled warriors. Visually, it was a beautifully done fight. Earlier in the episode, we got the reveal that Beskar armor can withstand lightsabers, so it set the stage for a fair fight. It felt like the perfect balance between the Prequel’s elegant coordination and the Original trilogy’s methodical approach. As the article’s title implies, it felt like an episode of Into the Badlands had mixed with Star Wars and Akira Kurosawa‘s work.

There were some gorgeous shots in this episode, and going by the artwork you can see above, I am glad they decided to go with the exterior outside of the home. The Koi pond was just a great touch to offer a unique visual strongly tied to its inspiration. It also helped to restrict it in a way that they could make every step have weight. They didn’t have an entire room to jump around. All they had was a single path surrounded by water. Yet, they still stayed true to the Western by having these two distinctive fights with different stakes. Switching between them just added more tension and weight to every swing of the saber. The outcome of that fight would echo for those waiting outside. Hopefully, we will see more lightsaber action in future episodes. It would be a waste to introduce Ahsoka and not have her return, especially if someone is out there wielding the Darksaber.