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«The Mandalorian», Season 2: «Chapter 14: The Tragedy»
by Luca Fontana
«The Mandalorian», Season 2: «Chapter 15: The Believer»
15.12.2020
Translation: Megan Cornish
There are no new Jedi this time. But there's still excitement. Because the next chapter tells a story like only «The Mandalorian» can – and follows in the footsteps of «Game of Thrones».
First off: this discussion of the episode includes spoilers! So watch «The Mandalorian – Chapter 15: The Believer» before you read on.
It's payback time.
What starts very unspectacularly turns out to be one of the best episodes of «The Mandalorian» yet. Maybe even THE best. These are the episode's best WTF moments and Easter eggs.
The return of Migs Mayfeld
Dank farrik!
Just everything to do with Boba Fett and the Slave I
At least it doesn't take long for me to lose that funny feeling that I’m dealing with a fan-made series from the last chapter. You know what I mean. Tython, the planet with the seeing stone. It consisted of nothing more than barren rocks, bushes, a heap of stones and a few people cosplaying amongst the rocks.
And believe me, you've no idea how hard it is just to think something like that as a hardcore Star Wars fan. Let alone write it. Publicly.
Thankfully, the feeling doesn't come back here. No chance. Simply because of the stunning shots of the Slave I, Boba Fett's iconic spaceship. Shots like this:
And then Boba Fett strides down the ramp in his freshly painted armour, blaster in hand like in «Star Wars: Episode IV: The Empire strikes Back».
How cool is that?
One shot later, the crew sits in the belly of the Slave I. The gravitational force hardly changes for the occupants as the spaceship changes from its horizontal parked position to a vertical flight position. The chassis of the Slave I visibly rotates around the inner section. We Stars Fans have never seen anything like this before.
I'll say it again. With more feeling this time: dank flipping farrik!
And then there's a shot of the Slave I – I'm already anticipating the end of the episode – launching a seismic charge:
I can hardly hold back the «YESSS!». Not for stuff like this. It reminds me of the butterflies you get in your stomach when you fall in love. Am I going nuts?
The philosophical Mayfeld
Dune and Shand watch from a distance. Fett and the Slave I are ready and waiting for the planned evacuation.
This is... not the Way.
Then Djarin and Mayfeld head through the jungle. They pass through a native village. The residents look at them. Them and their dark armour. Hate burns in their eyes. It makes me wonder what the Empire has done to them. The question's posed not just by us viewers, but by Djarin too. As if Mayfeld can read his mind, he says:
«Empire. New Republic. It’s all the same to these people. Do you really think all those people that died in wars fought by Mandalorians actually had a choice? So how are they any different than the Empire?»
The message reverberates in Djarin's mind. Mine too.
«If you were born on Mandalore you believe one thing,» he continues. «If you were born on Alderaan you believe something else. But guess what? Neither one of 'em exists anymore.»
Mayfeld is talking about war. About wearing uniforms. About following orders. About blindly following ideology that's seen as pure evil elsewhere. But not in Mayfeld's world. There's good and bad on both sides of every conflict. But who's right?
Mayfeld gives us an insight into his Imperial past. It's a time when he did things he says he's not proud of. A time when his view of things was as limited as the view from his stormtrooper's helmet. Afterwards, he just tried to survive. So he could look at himself in the mirror at the end of each day. Mayfeld's gloomy face gives away that he possibly didn't succeed.
Wait. Am I starting to like Mayfeld?
Yes! I LOVE the Empire... wait, what?
This is the Way.
Perched on top of the transporter, Djarin picks off one pirate after another. Sometimes in close combat, sometimes from a distance. In its dirty jungle setting with a light sepia tone, the whole thing reminds me of a Vietnam war film. Somehow, I like it. It's another thing that I've never seen in «Star Wars» before.
But the big WTF moment comes at the end of the action.
Djarin fights until he's completely exhausted. He sends one pirate after another to the great beyond. But their numbers aren't dwindling. Quite the opposite. There are too many of them. They're too powerful. The situation seems hopeless. Then: blaster bolts. From behind, over Djarin's shoulder. They meet their marks with pinpoint accuracy. They're joined by TIE fighter pilots.
The Empire saves the day.
This is a great scene: «YES», I shout. Ludwig Göransson's music blares triumphantly. Stormtroopers, the heroes of the day. Who'd have thought it? Not me. Even after 30 years of being a Star Wars fan. But here I am, cheering on Imperials. That's what Mayfeld meant in his philosophical scene earlier.
Damn it, Mayfeld. Stop making me care about you!
The Believer is revealed
We're coming to the point of the whole episode. To Din Djarin's fascinating decision. To get to the coordinates of the Imperial terminal, the user has to scan their face. That's Mayfeld's job. Djarin is forbidden from removing his helmet. But Mayfeld recognises the officer in the mess – where the terminal is – as the commanding officer he once served and killed under.
«Impossible. If he recognises me, that's it. I'm out.»
It's up to Djarin. He walks up to the terminal. He tries to log into the system. The scanner scans his helmet. There's an error message. Mayfeld's ex-officer casts a suspicious eye over to him. The alarm could sound at any moment. In the middle of an Imperial raw materials warehouse. What now?
Djarin, formerly the Believer, takes off his helmet.
It's a powerful scene. On the one hand, it shows how far Djarin is prepared to go for Grogu.Maybe even questioning his own religion. On the other hand, Djarin's entire posture changes at once.
Djarin seems unsure.
His helmet was his armour. Not only physically. Psychologically too. For the first time since he was rescued as a foundling and indoctrinated to follow the Way of the Mandalore, he exposes his face in public. Then, as the officer asks him what he just did at the terminal, Djarin can hardly speak. I... I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for Djarin!
They need to get out of there.
Djarin, with his helmet back on, and Mayfeld reach the roof, where they're evacuated by Boba Fett. Mayfeld picks up a weapon one last time and fires into a highly explosive rhydonium store. The whole place goes up. The Empire on Morak is destroyed.
For the first time in this episode, Mayfeld seems like he could look at himself in the mirror again.
«It looks like Mayfeld didn't survive the explosion,» says Dune, who should actually be bringing him back to the Karthon Chop Fields. Djarin nods. He knows. The anything-but-dead Mayfeld has just been given his freedom. Back on the ground, Mayfeld disappears deep into the jungle with a mischievous grin.
I like this guy.
Verdict: the one with the character development
This is a great episode. It might even be my favourite. It gives Din Djarin a new vulnerability under his beskar helmet and «The Mandalorian» new depth and possibilities for future episodes. Some hastily written critical tirades, which sound sexy but are actually just unnecessarily and deliberately provocative, are now falling pretty flat.
Such as Robert Hofmann's for online magazine Vice(in German).
«The Mandalorian» takes us back to the '90s, deprives us of the accomplishments of modern storytelling and turns us back into infantile, undemanding viewers.
But then «The Mandalorian» starts to stray into «Game of Thrones» territory. Cautiously, reservedly maybe, but there's definitely something to it. Migs Mayfeld in particular draws comparisons to Kingslayer Jaime Lannister, who throws a child out of the window in the first episode, but whose death is mourned by everyone in the series finale.
Coincidence?
Hardly. Dave Filoni, who co-produces, co-writes and co-directs «The Mandalorian», likely had something to do with it. After all, he was on thin ice with us «Star Wars» fans once for Ahsoka Tano.
In a «Clone Wars» making-of DVD, he says that he originally deliberately wrote Anakin's Padawan as irritating and overconfident; a brat that wants to know it all and would have no respect for established characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi or Yoda. This has two benefits for him as a storyteller:
- Filoni controls why his character is hated.
- He can then correct the character's weaknesses.
The result in Ahsoka's case is that she matured, learned humility in the face of serious decisions and tempered her big mouth. Over the seven «The Clone Wars» and four «Rebels» seasons, Tano developed into a fan favourite. Not because she was perfect from the start – Rey Skywalker is an example of that – but because she had undergone character development.
An example of the opposite?
George Lucas on Jar Jar Binks from «Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace». Take a look at the making-ofs. According to Lucas, Jar Jar Binks is the funniest and best character ever. Full stop. There's no hint of Jar Jar deliberately turning into an irritating character over the films.
All of this backs up my opinion that Mayfeld was deliberately written as one-dimensional and arrogant to start with. Simply so that he could develop his character.
Filoni and Famuyiwa do this with a plausible backstory that shows Mayfeld's behavior from a different perspective. With regret. And remorse. And then Mayfeld's new-found respect for Din Djarin. Whereas he constantly joked about Djarin's creed in the first season, he now says «I won't tell anyone that I saw your face» and leaves it at that, knowing the sacrifice that Djarin has just made.
By the way, now that Mayfeld is officially presumed dead, no living person has ever seen Djrain's face, right?
What did you think of this episode? Are there any more Easter eggs I've missed? Let me know in the comments. See you next Friday – if there are no more technical mishaps that I don't tell you about – for the discussion of «Chapter 16», the season finale.
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
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