RECAP:  The Mandalorian S1:E5:  The Gunslinger

SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The Mandalorian Chapter 5: The Gunslinger

Prior to watching The Mandalorian on Friday mornings, I try not to look at anything that will not only spoil the episode for me, but also anyone else's opinion of the episode, even if it is spoiler free. I don’t want my opinion to be influenced by anyone else’s before I’ve gotten it “on paper”. That being said, prior to watching Chapter 5, I did go to iO9 and inadvertently see the headline “The latest Mandalorian had maybe a little too much fan service for its own good”. That concerned me. There’s a fine line between using established in universe locations, characters, etc in order to tie things together and appeal to long time fans and so called “fan service”. It’s not a clear line to be sure, and I think whether or not something crosses that line has more to do with intent than anything else. After watching The Gunslinger, I definitely don’t feel patronized; and I don’t feel my wants as a long time fan were serviced at the cost of good storytelling, or to the point that someone who has never seen any other Star Wars besides the Mandalorian would be utterly lost.

The episode opens with a great space battle between our hero and another bounty hunter in a fighter I could not identify (I’m not good at these sort of things, feel free to chime in down in the comments). The Razor Crest is a cool ship, but it’s not exactly a sleek starfighter, and Mando seems like he is better suited to the ground stuff when it comes to fighting; nevertheless, Mando manages to best his opponent, albeit only after sustaining some serious damage. He goes to land on a nearby planet. Why Tatooine of course! Luke said “if there’s a bright center to the universe, you’re on the planet that is farthest from”. I beg to differ. Tatooine is clearly the center of the universe, and it has two suns, so it’s very bright. Luke, you moron. I admit I was very excited when the voice over the comm announced it was coming from Mos Eisley. Oh, the possibilities; the things we could see. For me, as a fan, going back to Tatooine is like going back home. Yes, you’ve been there before and seen just about everything. Yes, you don’t want to stay there forever; but going back to those same places and seeing how things have changed or stayed the same. I’m sorry, but it just feels good; and that’s good enough for me. After a shot that is reminiscent of one from ANH, Mando lands his damaged ship in a hangar. Coming out, he is greeted by three pit droids, and like everyone else who has seen TPM, he has no tolerance for their crap. Peli Motto, the proprietor of the hangar/repair shop offers to fix the ship up for him; but he needs money so he heads to Chalmun’s Cantina. I mean, where else would you go? It’s always been the happening place! Now, if he had walked in and the Modal Nodes had been playing the same song and Wuher had been there...yeah, that would have been too much. But no, it’s just enough; you get the feeling that things have changed. There’s an EV-9D9 type droid working the bar (I like to think it was EV-9D9; maybe somebody raided the late Jabba’s palace captured her, sold her to Jawas, and they altered her personality and sold her to Chalmun). Mando meets Toro Calican, a would be bounty hunter looking to get into the Guild by bagging Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), a deadly assassin who worked for the crime cartels. They set out over the Dune Sea; en route they encounter some Tusken Raiders. What follows is maybe my favorite scene of the episode. When two Sand People appear almost out of thin air beside them, Mando doesn’t automatically start shooting them. Sure, he could have. I mean, they’re like animals; and he could have slaughtered them like animals. Not just the men either; but the women, and the children. That’s what I was expecting; but no, he negotiates with them and secures safe passage through their territory. That was a great reversal of expectations for me, and definitely the most that has ever been done to “humanize” the Tusken Raiders in a film or episode. Finally, they come upon Fennec Shand. The situation is bad...she has the high ground. I know. No sensible person would try it. But Mando devises a plan that results in them subduing her. While Mando goes off to round up a dewback they saw a ways back (because they need something for her to ride on), Ferrec tells Toro that Mando is even more desperately wanted by the Guild than her. She tells him about the “target” too. Rather than go along with her plan to free her, Toro just shoots her and makes himself scarce when Mando returns. Mando then returns to Mos Eisley (in the meantime Peli and the Pit Droids have discovered Baby Yoda and, like everyone one else on this planet, fallen madly in love with him). Toro has beat him back to the hangar and has Baby Yoda hostage; Mando uses a trick similar to how they beat Ferrec and is able to overcome Toro. One blaster shot later, Toro is dead, his dreams of being a legendary bounty hunter now buried under his own arrogance and duplicity. With Peli paid, Mando heads out; then we see a mysterious figure approach the body of Ferrec Shand.

We don’t really advance the Baby Yoda saga any, but this is another solid episode. As always, I could complain about the run time; but they’re keeping it so tight it really feels like a less is more situation here. I loved Amy Sedaris as Peli. I knew I knew who she was as I was watching, but I just couldn’t nail it down. She’s a great comic actress and she can really inhabit a part. The pit droids were a great callback to the PT. When Toro confesses to Mando that he has never captured a bounty, it kind of reminded me of Unforgiven, when the Kid tells Munny he’s never killed anybody before. As always this show screams for proper toy treatment. Riot Mar, the pilot bounty hunter who is killed at the beginning? He’d be cool. His flight suit and helmet made me wonder if he wasn’t a former Rebel pilot turned bounty hunter.

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