Fun but Filler

For all it’s fun set-pieces, call backs and typical dry Mandalorian quips, I wasn’t a huge fan of the general narrative direction of episode five. After last week’s detour to Sorgan failed to move the overall story forward, we’re once again offered another instalment that fails to progress our characters’ journey.

It’s all well and good to have a fun Star Wars adventure. Not every episode of a TV series has to be a blockbuster bombshell-filled twist-machine – in fact, it’s a necessity to have lighter episodes in the mix for a series’ pacing – but to have two ‘filler’ episodes in a row, in what is only an eight episode series, has rather killed the momentum that The Mandalorian had built early on.

That’s not to say that there is nothing to love in the Dave Filoni written and directed episode five. In isolation, the 30-minutes pack some of The Mandalorian‘s most entertaining scenes so far.

The cold open to this one is hugely entertaining. Mando’s ship Razor Crest is coming under fire from an unnamed bounty hunter, who drops Mando’s very own line, “I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.” My reaction; “Hey, that’s Mando’s line,” was mirrored by the man himself, who brought attention to the fact in his usual nonplussed fashion before turning the tables and gunning his assailant into oblivion.

Just like in episode two, the Razor Crest is effectively grounded, with Mando forced to land at everyone’s favourite spaceport in Mos Eisely, Tatooine. Yep, we get plenty of moisture vaporators, cantinas and course, rough sand as Filoni takes us on a nostalgia fuelled binge.

After teaming up with rookie hunter Toro Calican (Jake Cannavale) to find Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), Calican’s very first bounty job, Mando has to negotiate with some Tuskan Raiders. While most of the fan service in this episode didn’t necessarily land a significant punch to the nostalgia gland, this one definitely hit. Rather than present just a location or familiar aesthetic, this scene serves to somewhat alter our perspective of the Tuskan’s.

Turns out they can be reasoned with if you have a new set of Binocs to trade.

Eventually stumbling across Shand, who is sitting atop a dune ridge with a sniper rifle locked and loaded, Mando and Calican race across the desert at night on speeder bikes blinding Shand’s blaster scopes by letting off flash charges. Again, an inventive use of a pre-existing Star Wars weapon. The pair captures Shand – a little too easily given the fact that she was billed as a near invincible servant of the Hutts – and that would theoretically be the end of the story.

Until the next wrinkle. Mando has to go and scout a Dewback after one of their speeders was sniped out of commission in the tussle and while he’s gone, Shand manipulates Calican to turn against Mando. Before the new hunter leaves to capture The Child that he’s now aware is important, he kills Shand.

Massively frustrating given the big build up for her character. It would have been great to see Mando up against a powerful adversary going forward – someone who is more than a match for him. But, Calican shot first and we lost another character from the field of play. He himself is later killed by Mando as the two met for a shootout back at the Razor Crest in the episode’s climax.

(Theoretically,) it’s two more characters taken off the board in the space of five minutes, simply feeding the idea that as visually entertaining, fun and well-shot as The Mandalorian is, it’s narrative is grinding to a halt. We’re no further forward than we were at the end of episode three.

I really hope that across the three remaining episodes, we are offered some connective tissue that makes the plot points of episodes four and five relevant. The final shot of five did serve to fill me with a little more confidence in this regard, as a mysterious figure wearing armour not dissimilar to Mando, walked towards Shand’s body.

The identity of the mystery figure might well be a propeller into the season’s climax and some much needed connectivity.