2x03 Chapter 11: The Heiress

[8.2/10] There’s a big part of me that wonders what it’d be like to watch this episode if you’re not as steeped in the Star Wars Universe, particularly the animated corners of it. My suspicion is that “The Heiress” would still work just as well.

If all you’ve watched is the movies and other episodes of The Mandalorian, then presumably, this is just a story of Mando running into another sect of Mandalorians who have their own code and their own mission, who team up together to take on one of Grand Moff Gideon’s lieutenants. The episode absolutely works on those terms.

It works because even if you don’t know her history, Bo Katan is a total badass here. What a boon it is to have Katee Sackhoff in the role (hello, fellow Battlestar Galactica fans). She brings the right combination of dry sarcasm, determination, and nobility to make this character work. Bo Katan has a presence in this episode that matches Mando’s, which makes her stand as an equal and worthy compatriot here.

It also works on pure action. I don’t know if I’d call it a secret weapon exactly, but one of The Mandalorian’s best features is the fact that its action is really well staged and choreographed. So much action, both on television and even big budget movies, is so bland and samey and static. But here, the directors and other creatives know how to stage a skirmish with some shady fishermen followed by a Mandalorian rescue, or four Mandos taking an Imperial transport ship, for ultimate tension, dynamism, and above all else a sense of fistpump-worthy awesomeness.

These fights have movements. We get the spark of fear when The Child is kicked into the sea creature’s mouth. We have the moment of confidence when Mando dives in after him, because he’s gotten out of tougher scrapes than this (including being swallowed by a beast in the season premiere). We get the sense of desperation when he swims to the top of the cage for oxygen only to face the fishermen’s spears. We get the glimpse of hope when we see and hear snippets of what seem to be other Mandalorians coming to the rescue. And then we get the cathartic confirmation that, yes, Mando’s countrymen are here, more than capable in a fight, and ready to save the day. It seems simple, and it should be, but so many other shows and movies drop the ball on this type of thing.

The same goes for the fight on the Imperial Transport. Not only is there a clarity of action, with fewer cuts and longer sequences so that the audience can actually process what’s happening, but there’s a nice array of turns and surprises as the sequences build on one another. We get the reactions of the Imperial Captain to help communicate the threat as perceived by the other side. We get some great hallway fights with solid tactics that sell how formidable and sharp these Mandalorians are together. We get the cool twist of the Imperials thinking they’ve trapped the Mandos, only for the good guys to eject their foes. And we get a final challenge with the Imperial Captain trying to go down with the ship rather than let the Mandos have it. There’s all a progression to this that adds excitement and a sense of momentum to the proceedings, rather than just slapping a bunch of action together and calling it a day.

Likewise, it’s cute to see Mando essentially dropping off Baby Yoda at a neighbor’s house to be babysat. The reunion between the Frog People is really heartening, and I like the subtle story of The Child learning that those eggs are alive, that other lives exist in a way that surprises and amazes him. Again, the puppeteering and effects work here is really good and makes not only Baby Yoda but his small journeys and experiences really endearing.

There’s also plenty of world-building and lore for the uninitiated here. We learn that Bo Katan is trying to take back her home planet. We learn that the Empire has put out misinformation suggesting that Mandalore is cursed and anyone who goes there will die. We see that there’s other sects of Mandalorians who don’t necessarily buy into “The Way.” We learn that Bo’s after the darksaber we saw at the end of last season in the possession of Moff Gideon. And we learn that she knows the location of a Jedi, who might help Mando on his quest. Even if you’re not familiar with other Mandalorian events from other Star Wars shows, those details and moments help fill in the bigger picture.

But if you are, holy hell is this episode catnip for the longtime Star Wars nerd! I can’t tell you how cool it is to see Katee Sackhoff make the jump from animation to live action, playing Bo Katan in both mediums and adding a sense of continuity between them. It has such extra resonance when she refers to Mando as “a child of The Watch”, knowing that she herself was once a member of Death Watch, a group that presumably has connections to the sect Mando follows. Her hunt for Gideon and the darksaber carries so much more meaning when you know not only what the darksaber signifies in Mandalorian culture, but how Bo Katan obtained it before and who she received it from. This builds so much on previous continuity in a way that adds richness to what we get here.

That’s all before the mention of motherfucking Ahsoka Tano! It’s not a big shock, considering the casting announcements for this season, but it’s still incredibly cool to hear her name spoken in live action for the first time, by someone who fought alongside her at the Siege of Mandalore no less. We know, from prior shows, what Bo Katan’s very personal history with The Watch is, what she’s fighting for, and whom she’s fought with, which gives so much weight to these hints and interactions. It honestly makes me want to rewatch every Mandalorian-relevant episode of The Clone Wars and Rebels all over again.

Overall, this is another real winner of an episode. It works well on its own as a cool dose of worldbuilding that expands the scope of Mandalorian culture and honor, and as a badass action tale of some quasi-superheroes taking over an enemy ship. But at the same time, it invokes and gestures toward other events in the Star Wars Galaxy that create even more resonance to Mando running into other major figures in the Mandalorian mythos. A series of thrills, both action-packed and nerdy, to be sure.

Mandalorian has a rough landing on the frog's planet, followed by the frog finally reuniting with her husband, how romantic ;) The port city they ended up with is teeming with creatures which look like Doctor Who's ood, one of them claims he would take Mando to other Mandalorians on his ship, but it turns out he was after Mandos's armour as he throws the baby to an octopus creature and when Mandalorian jumps into the basin to save the baby, they lock him in. He almost get killed but is saved by a group of three Mandalorians, they are two women and a man and they are rather original as they do not believe in keeping their helmets on all the time (it looks like they wear them only in combat). It seems that Mando is offended by their calling his beliefs about the helmet a radical sect and parts company with them. However, they help him again as he is attacked by a group of these ood-like creatures and they make a deal, he would help them with a heist for weapons (which they need to rebuild their homeland, the leading lady is aiming to attain the throne of their country) and they would tell him when he can find the Jedi in return. I don't know why it is suddenly about the Jedi and not about the baby's people, the little one definitely has magical abilities but I thought that Mando is going to find a planet inhabited by the baby's race, so we could see the place where Yoda came from and other representatives of this people. The heist makes for a very fun and action-packed sequence, with the Mandalorians finally getting the control of the spaceship. They attack a ship filled with Stormtroopers and people in imperial uniforms, but wasn't the empire a goner? The leading lady of the Mandalorians wants to find out where an artefact called dark sabre is and after he gets the information he wanted, Mando leaves them and goes back to collect the baby (whom he left with the frog family, which was on one hand a good decision since he would not put the baby in danger anymore, but on the other hand I was a bit worried that the baby would try to eat more of the eggs and the frog would skin him alive; from the final scenes it looks like he befriended the little frogs a bit). According to what the Mandalorian lady said, we are going to visit a planet with more dense vegetation, I am looking forward to it since what I really miss in space shows like Star Wars are beautiful landscapes and nature which is often shown in fantasy but rarely in sci-fi type of productions. Especially as beautiful landscapes can really save a poor story, at least there is something to look at.