WARNING: Possible SPOILERS for The Mandalorian Episode 8 below
RECAP
Two Troopers riding bikes are returning with the child. They wait in the outskirts of town as they hear Moff Gidian has just killed a group of his own troopers to get what he wants, last thing these troopers want is to do wrong by him. The child makes a little noise, and the trooper carrying him smacks the child in the bag, not once but twice. When the other trooper wants to check on the child, he gets bitten and then PUNCHES the child!
Cara, Mando, and Greef are still trapped inside the building trying to come up with a means of escape. When they get a comm link from IG-11 that Kuill has been terminated. When Mando asks “What did you do?” IG-11 responds, “I am fulfilling my base function.” Mando replies, “which is?” And much to his relief IG-11 says, “to nurse and protect,” and then we see a shot of IG-11 riding on one of the bikes now with the child strapped to its chest!
IG-11 makes a harrowing ride through town, towards our captives, blasting troopers along the way. He attempts to break out the team but they are driven back into the building. Mando has been badly injured and a flame trooper starts to burn down the place.
The child pushes the flame back, throwing it out of the building, launching the flame trooper back with it! With the new escape hole, Cara and Greef agree to leave with the child, as Cara tells IG-11 to make sure to bring the Mandalorian with him.
After the others leave, IG-11 tell Mando he needs to remove his helmet to save him, to which Mando pulls out his gun and tells IG that “no living thing has seen me without my helmet, since I swore the creed.” To which IG says, “I am not a living thing,” and then proceeds to remove Mando’s helmet and then covers him with a Bacta spray, saying it will heel him in a matter of hours.
After being helped out by IG and reuniting with Greef and Cara, the team heads to the Mandalorian underground hideout, which now appears empty, and they come upon a pile of Mandalorian armor. Mando becomes very angry asking if Greef is responsible for this, yelling until the Mandalorian blacksmith(?) shows up saying it was their own fault for exposing themselves.
As Mando explains the child is the one who saved him from the Mudhorn, by moving objects with its mind, the Blacksmith tells Mando she knows of such things. She then tells a story of Mandalore the great and an order of sorcerers called Jedi. Mando asks, “what is it?” To which she replies it is a Foundling, then tells Mando he must return it to its people. Then gives him the signet of a Mudhorn.
As storm troopers begin to “storm” the place, the team heads to the underground, molten river. The blacksmith stays behind to fight, after giving Mando a jet pack. As the team drifts down the molten river in a boat toward a large group of storm troopers at the rivers opening, IG-11 sacrifices itself by walking in the molten river and then blowing up the storm troopers.
Gideon shows up in his tie fighter and after one pass Mando is able to use his new jet pack to latch onto the Tie Fighter. After a short struggle Mando is able to put an explosive on Gideons Tie ending the battle. After a short discussion with Greef and Cara, Mando heads off with the child.
The episode ends with Mando placing the final rock on Kuill’s grave before setting off in the Razorcrest with the child. The child pulls out a necklace with the signet of Boba Fett? We end on a shot of Gideon cutting himself out of his Tie and then standing on top of it with the Darksaber!
THOUGHTS
This was really a great season finale, and a great season in general. Right out of the gate the stormtroopers were fantastic, mocking their shooting skills and joking around! I thought to myself; No! did he just smack the child? I cannot believe he would just do something… oh no he did it again! When the second trooper checks on the child, he gets bitten hahaha, WHAT!? Now HE just PUNCHED the child! I hope they get what is coming to them!
It was also great to see them play on the long-standing joke that stormtroopers can’t hit anything with their blasters! As they both sat there and missed over and over from approximately 10 feet away.
Gideon is a character that continues to intrigue and seems like a ruthless leader with his own agenda. He also has the very iconic Darksaber in his possession, and at this point we have no idea how it came in him.
We saw Mando’s face! Not that I personally cared much whether this happened, but it seemed like some did, and I just really liked how it was executed. To be able to find a way for the Mandalorian to take off his helmet, but never break his creed, was fun to watch.
You know what else was fun to watch! The Mandalorian blacksmith make efficient work of a group of stormtroopers. I have really enjoyed this character from a lore and wisdom perspective, even in this episode talking about the Jedi Order, so to see the fighting skill was pretty epic as well. And now she has given Mando the task of reuniting the child with its people.
I guess this was finally the end of IG-11? I know many of us wondered if we’d see IG past the first episode and well, we at least got the entire season. And if that wasn’t enough, quite the heroic send-off, for a droid, as well!
Another sad but touching send off, was that of Kuill. We, and I believe the characters, were kind of left in limbo about the fate of Kuill at the end of the last episode, until IG confirmed for us that he was terminated. So, it was nice to see Mando have the time to go back and pay respects with a grave, and to give one of the great characters from this season a proper send-off!
It’s great to see what kind of friendship Mando, Cara, and Greef were able to establish this season. I found in interesting, if not unexpected, that Greef wanted to go back to the same work and was recruiting the other two. And while Mando had other plans, with the child, and Cara turned Greef down for now, it will be interesting to see where this goes, if anywhere next season.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Din Djarin is the name of our main character, we affectionately call Mando. He is a Mandalorian human male, that clearly works (or is it worked now?) as a bounty hunter. He is portrayed by Pedro Pascal. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Din_Djarin
- The Darksaber is a unique black-bladed lightsaber created in ancient times by Tarre Vizsla. We know of the Darksaber from Star Wars Rebels, where Sabine Wren uses it to train with Kana Jarrus. But last we saw of it, Sabine offered it to Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, the rightful leader of the Mandalorians.
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darksaber - Taika Waititi directed the eighth and final episode, of season 1, of The Mandalorian. You may know him most famously as the Director of Thor: Ragnarok, but he also voices IG-11 throughout season 1 of The Mandalorian.
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Taika_Waititi - “The Armorer” – Is the name given to the awesome female Mandalorian, that I have not known how to address in these writings. I guess it is The Armorer from now on, unless we get a true name. Following the Galactic Empire’s Great Purge, she resided with the Tribe in covert on the planet Nevarro, where she forged armor and eapons for her fellow Mandalorians.
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/The_Armorer
What did everyone think of episode 8 and the entire season? All the stops were brought out in this season finale, to really go out with a bang. I for one, cannot wait until next season. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
You can watch new episodes of The Mandalorian on Disney+.
