The most recent episode of The Mandalorian will definitely be getting much higher audience scores primarily due to a number of cheesy Grogu scenes and bombastic action sequences at the end of the episode, but those with a nose for good storytelling will see through the façade and recognize just how poor the episode’s storytelling is.
As with nearly every episode of The Mandalorian since the very first one, this episode too has internal logical contradictions. For example, the opening sequence shows Imperial spy Elia Kane providing a situation report to Moff Gideon. Specifically, she informs him that a group of Mandalorians led by Bo-Katan Kryze and Din Djarin’s Children of the Watch routed the pirates on Nevarro.
This information is surprising to Gideon as he states, “This cannot be. Those two factions are sworn enemies.”
However, it’s revealed at the end of the episode that Moff Gideon is positioned on Mandalore, and in fact has a rather robust infrastructure, meaning he’s been there for quite some time. It is also heavily implied that it is his group of Tie Interceptors and Tie Bombers that attacked Bo-Katan Kryze’s castle on Kalevala back in episode 3 “The Convert.”
So not only should Gideon have known that Bo-Katan and Din Djarin teamed up on Mandalore, but he should have at least gotten a report that the two were working together after he sent Tie Interceptors and Tie Bombers to destroy Bo-Katan’s castle. His surprise is unrealistic and completely negates what we were shown and told to in Episode 3.
In a similar manner, when the Mandalorians actually arrive on Mandalore they choose to only send one single squadron down in order to “scout the surface, find out what remains of the Great Forge, and establish a safe perimeter.”
However, when they actually arrive on Mandalore, they don’t land anywhere near the location of the Great Forge and seemingly have no clue where it is despite previous episodes making it abundantly clear that Bo-Katan knows exactly where everything is. Even in this episode characters like Axe Woves and Koska Reeves admit to being on the planet and being aware of the Great Forge and its location before the Purge of Mandalore.
To highlight how terrible this, when Bo-Katan exits her ship and arrives on Mandalore she says, “Somewhere below is where our ancient capital once stood. We’ll survey the surface until we find the Forge and create a safety zone.”
Remember how she pinpointed exactly where the Living Waters of Mandalore were located earlier in the season? Apparently, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, who wrote this episode, completely forgot.
One of the more glaringly stupid scenes is the reintroduction of what appears to be the Mythosaur. While Bo-Katan and Din Djarin have teamed up with a number of alleged Mandalorian survivors on a land ship, who happen to know the location of the Great Forge since everyone else forget, they notice a giant creature surfacing from underground.
Instead of changing their course or coming to a complete halt in order to not provoke the creature, the ship flies right into the creature and subsequently gets smashed, in the process the creature downs a number of the Mandalorians and drives the rest of them underground.
The show then dives into a massive action set piece where the Moff Gideon’s forces ambush the surviving Mandalorians and a fire fight breaks out. This might be nit picking, but both sides seem to mow down each other despite both of them wearing beskar armor, which we’ve seen in previous episodes easily deflecting blaster bolts.
As the episode comes to a close, it’s revealed the first ambush wasn’t the primary one, Gideon traps the remaining Mandalorians, who believe they have the Imperials on the ropes, between two blast doors. Din Djarin and two other Mandalorians manage to remain outside the trap, Djarin is disarmed and captured. While the other Mandalorian is killed. Bo-Katan, who has the Darksaber, just stands and watches. She doesn’t try and cut a hole through the blast door or anything.
It’s not until after Djarin has been taken off the table and Gideon demands the Darksaber does Bo-Katan decide to use it to break the rest of the Mandalorians free.
And then when she does cut a whole to offer the Mandalorians an option to escape, Paz Viszla who was mowing down Gideon’s forces with his minigun, chooses not to escape telling Bo-Katan, “Go. There are too many. This is the way”
He then proceeds to kill every single Imperial trooper attacking him. You don’t say there are too many and then kill them all. He does eventually meet his end when three Praetorian Guards equipped with electro weapons make quick work of him and his beskar armor.
It was a pointless death and there was no real emotional weight to it given he could have easily escaped with the rest of the Mandalorians. It was cheap and ineffective and just another mark against this show.
These are just a few of the examples of the extremely poor storytelling that is hidden behind the bombastic action sequences at the end of the episode. The show has not improved its storytelling, it just hid it with a big action sequence.
And to its credit this is something the show has done effectively for three seasons, it has hidden poor storytelling behind its action sequences. The show’s poor quality is usually seen in episodes where the big battle action sequences are not included.
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