The not-so-innocuous world of Sorgan

Is it paradoxical that the longest episode of the series so far is also the one which sees our characters make the least amount of narrative progress? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing – episode four was an almost self-contained blast – but it did undoubtedly surprise me.

We start the episode with Mando and The Child on the run, seeking a sanctuary after having escaped from The Client, or more specifically, his army of disgruntled bounty hunters on Nevarro.

They head for the innocuous world of Sorgan, a place Mando believes will be quiet enough for them to lay low while their trail goes cold. Sorgan is basically Mando’s Winchester Arms.

Or so he thought. Sorgan – which is a brand new planet to Star Wars lore, and a beautiful addition at that – was first seen in the episode’s cold open, as a peaceful farm village was attacked by a band of orc-like villains.

This opening scene was superb. Scenes like this really put the “War” in Star Wars. It doesn’t always have to be Battle of Geonosis scale conflicts. In a galaxy as politically divided and directionless as this one, planets are riddled with seemingly insignificant tussles when compared to the grand scale of our Skywalker Saga. I love that The Mandalorian is exploring these more intimate stories that we haven’t seen before.

This is a big galaxy. It’s great to be exploring it.

So, Mando’s peaceful hideout isn’t quite what he had expected. He teams up with a former Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune, who is also in hiding on Sorgan. The duo essentially become the village’s muscle against this villainous band of pillagers in exchange for being able to silently live alongside these farmers in what is the middle of nowhere.

Mando and Dune discover that the pillagers have muscle of their own in the form of an old AT-ST and just when the two of them are ready to bail out of a fight they can’t win alone, the villagers step up, offering themselves as willing soldiers to support in the fight.

The final battle sees the farmers win the day, sinking the AT-ST – quite literally, in fact – and Mando and Dune have effectively eliminated the one threat to the village. Sanctuary secured.

That is until a bounty hunter armed with a tracking fob leading him to The Child discovers the village. Blaster aimed on The Child, just as he is about to pull the trigger, Dune kills him and saves our little green friend in the process.

The episode opened with Mando and The Child on the run and that is exactly how we finish. The Bryce Dallas Howard directed episode four doesn’t directly progress our story but once again, it fleshes out Mando’s character brilliantly.

He’s tempted to turn his back on the Mandalorian way of life. Tempted to settle down and lead a farmers life. Tempted to remove his helmet in public for the first time since he entered the guild as a child.

And I’ll be honest, I was sure that Omera was about to reveal Pedro Pascal underneath the Mandalorian helmet. I was surprised that it was about to happen as early as episode four, but I was ready. We’d seen enough humanisation of Mando at this point to make it feel earned. Turns out that the trailer scene that supposedly spoiled the fact that we’d see the Mandalorian’s face, didn’t actually spoil anything at all. Nice switch from Favreau and friends.

The one major disappointment of the episode for me is that fact that Cara Dune didn’t leave Sorgan as part of Mando’s crew. We know that he is open to building a crew aboard his ship Razor Crest – back in episode two, he looked to recruit Kuiil. So, why not offer Dune a job? Perhaps that’s a story for another time. It’s almost a guarantee that they’ll cross paths in the future.

The two made a powerful team and their chemistry on screen was great. Their initial fight sequence, after Dune mistakenly believes that Mando has been sent to detain her, is well choreographed and shot and ends with a comical beat destined for iconic status as The Child sips on his soup while spectating the tussle to trigger a thousand and one memes.

Sure, the story may not have moved a million miles in episode four. We effectively ended where we started from an overarching narrative perspective. But we were served 41 minutes of true Star Wars fun, and I’ll take that any day of the week. Another great episode overall.