![]() The Darksaber passing back to Bo-Katan gets to a core issue with Star Wars, which is how much the series is focused on a few powerful bloodlines. Are you defined by where you live, where you grow up or the code that you live by? It makes sense that Din clings more to the culture as a child of exile while Bo-Katan defines Mandalore more as a physical place to rebuild. Her conversations with Din dig into the conflicts between their approach to what it is to be a Mandalorian and also what it means to be a people in diaspora. She also gets to show off just how much better she is with the Darksaber than Din when she takes it off the creature that captured him, reestablishing her claim to the weapon that can finally reunite her people. With Din captured, Grogu seeks help from Bo-Katan, who saves Din’s life twice in 15 minutes. Hopefully in future excursions to Mandalore we’ll learn more about what that thing was and why it seemed to be interested in draining Din’s blood. More time could have been devoted to the episode’s more disturbing threat: the giant, bug-like robot that captures Din and its bizarre pilot - which is reminiscent of the dianoga from A New Hope’s trash compactor. The episode relies a bit too much on fights with troglodyte-like alamites, with successive skirmishes using them to show off the skills of Din, Grogu and Bo-Katan. It looks great in the pale light of Mandalore’s blighted surface, its snapping maw almost matching the hue of the planet’s striking mountains of green glass. Morrison cleverly sets up its lurking presence while still delivering a start when it attacks. The dragon-like creature that emerges from hiding to ambush Grogu is used to demonstrate a skillful shift between tight views and more sweeping vistas that showcase the ruined planet. While the darkness sometimes conceals too much of the action, Morrison uses bursts of light and hints of movement to showcase the various threats that Grogo and Din face. It is unfortunate then that the show emulates the awful Attack of the Clones Yoda fight scene when Grogu Force hops out of Mando’s ship and into Peli’s arms. These lessons, along with those Grogu got from Luke Skywalker, will serve him well as he starts taking a more active role as a character rather than an unpredictable asset sometimes capable of bailing Din out of trouble. Din’s tone has shifted since being reunited with Grogu in a way that shows he’s truly embraced the child as an adopted son who needs to be fully initiated into the Way of the Mandalore. There are some tender moments on the ship as Din describes what Mandalore means to him as a foundling who never actually set foot on the planet. Instead the action zips on, with Din reluctantly accepting the help of the glitchy, cowardly astromech R5-D4 (yep, the very same) instead of his busted murderbot friend. ![]() Boonta Eve is a holiday established by the Hutts and this episode could have examined how the celebration has changed with them no longer on Tatooine, something that would fit well into the episode’s dive into the importance of a planet’s culture. ![]()
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