Monday, January 27, 2020

The Mandalorian - The Prisoner


"Chapter 6" offers a fun heist episode that also introduces a few characters from Mandalorian's (Pedro Pascal) past. However, it's not without some head-scratching problems. The Mandolorian answers a call from his old crew led by Ranzar Malk (Mark Boone Junior) that coincidentally comes at the exact moment when the Mandalorian is looking for some quick cash. Learning the job is breaking out a prisoner from a New Republic Prison Ship, that the crew want to use the Razor Crest for their getaway, and the job doesn't even pay well enough to cover the gas are all reasons enough for the bounty hunter to walk away (plus, you know, not trusting any member of the crew from shooting him in the back or stealing his cargo). While the episode needs our protagonist to to accept the job, the writers don't cover themselves by properly selling that job to either the Mandalorian or the audience.

Sneaking onto the ship and finding the prisoner gives us the best scenes of the episode. The motley crew's discovery of the Child also feeds into the larger narrative by showing how much he's come to care for the little guy. The double-cross leaves the Mandolorian imprisoned in a cell and the crew ready to steal his ship. Here's where the episode runs into more issues. The ship isn't that big. There's no cause for them to dawdle knowing that New Republic ships are on their way. The Razor Crest never leaves its location. It takes time for the Mandalorian to break-out and start hunting the traitors. Why aren't they able to get to the ship and escape first (and how does he keep getting in front of them)? Despite these questions, the episode ends on a high note with the Mandalorian offering a betrayal of his own as he and the Child head out into the darkness of space a little worse off than they were before the adventure started.

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