The Mandalorian – Chapter 21: The Pirate review S3 E5
The Mandalorian is heading down a very different direction this season and unlike Padme, it is a path I’m very much interested in following. The Pirate was so enjoyable it could have been the season finale and I would have been fully satisfied.
Navarro is under siege by Gorian Shard, who starts bombing the city district. Greef Karga manages to get his folks safely out, but curiously sends a distress call to Capt. Carson Teva requesting New Republic help.
Teva is chilling in a New Republic cantina when he gets the message. The coolest part of this scene was Teva interacting with another pilot, who just so happens to be a Lasat, the same species as Star Wars Rebels enforcer Zeb Orrelios. The CGI was so well done and this casual Lasat introduction made me optimistic that Zeb could be part of the cast for the upcoming Ahsoka series.
Oh wait! A quick check on IMDB reveals that this was not a random Lasat and it actually was my man Zeb voiced by Steve Blum himself.
Teva tries to make an appeal to his commanding officer, played by Tim Meadows in a fun cameo. Elia Kane barges into the meeting to throw shade on Teva’s request just to make it abundantly clear she’s working against the New Republic and to clear up any ambiguity.
It was weird that Karga didn’t call Mando first since he knows he’s more reliable than the bureaucracy. Fortunately, Teva has a more strategic approach and tracks down Din thanks an assist from his old Rebellion ally, R-5.
Teva warns Din that the Empire is growing again although no one else, particularly in the New Republic seems to be taking that threat seriously. I really wish we could get an Heir to the Empire series or movie underway with CGI-body doubles for Han, Luke, Leia and Lando just so we could understand how the Empire returned.
Teva’s been a great addition to the series and is becoming one of those indispensable side characters.
After Teva heads out, Din makes a plea to the Mandalorians asking them to help rescue Navarro. He makes sure to mention Karga offered up land for him — one in which they wouldn’t have to be in caves and constantly on the lookout for raptors and underwater dragons picking off the foundlings daily. The Armorer asks if anyone has anything else to say and of course Paz Vizsla wants to chime in.
Paz has always been a fun character since his actions have always been consistent even if he’s a little gruff. He eliminates any confusion by saying this is what Mandalorians do and with a rousing ‘this is the way,’ the Mandalorians are ready to head to Navarro.
Director Peter Ramsey stages the Navarro rescue with an epic big screen feel. The drop from Bo-Katan’s ship has been a major highlight of the season trailers and it’s just as impressive in context.
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Paz leads a ground squad to handle the pirates while Din and Bo-Katan stage a dogfight with Gorian’s fleet. I’m digging these non-space dogfights as it provides such a different backdrop for these fighter battles.
Equally impressive was the ground fights as it allowed the nameless Mandalorians to just look cool taking down Gorian’s pirates. Paz came through with the initial rescue until some pirates with a big machine gun blaster used the high ground (!) to snipe away at their numbers. The Armorer got her big bad a$$ moment clubbing the pirates with her weapons. It was an awesome moment and was shot with a major big time feel.
Karga isn’t the standard politician giving full credit for the victory to the Mandalorians and welcoming them to their new home. It’s nice when heroes can get treated with the basic respect and appreciation they deserve.
The Armorer summons Bo-Katan asking her to remove her helmet. Her actions have convinced The Armorer that Bo-Katan can unite all the Mandalorians, those who follow the old ways and the more modern ones. Maybe now we’ll see Axe Woves and Koska Reeves now? It was a big moment and definitely feels like a promising path to follow for the rest of the season.
Again, that could have easily wrapped the season and I would have been happy, but we’ve still got another half to go and we get a big hint at that arc with the final few moments. Teva is out on patrol when he spots a shot up cruiser drifting in space. With a quick scan, he learns it was the transport that was taking Moff Gideon to trial. While the crew is dead, Moff Gideon’s body is not among them.
A deeper scan reveals a fragment of Beskar armor is embedded in the cruiser’s wall. So does that mean Moff Gideon was rescued by Mandalorians?
The Pirate really delivered a strong outing for this season’s midway point, effectively tying up some early plot threads while paving the way for an equally thrilling second half. Throw in that unexpected cameo and this was another episode to add in the can’t miss category.
Rating: 9.5 out of 1o
Photo Credit: Disney