TV Review: “The Mandalorian: The Tragedy” (S2, Ep. 5)
By: Dr. Thomas J. West Iii
Tags: Culture, Star Wars, Mandalorian, Television, TV Series

For some time now, The Mandalorian has been teasing us that some sort of big action is going to take place, that the moment would arrive when Moff Gideon finally succeeded in gaining the child, and that’s what finally happened in the fifth episode of the second season, aptly titled “The Tragedy.” Indeed, the fact that we knew this moment was coming did nothing to alleviate the gut-punch most of us felt when the Child was snatched up and taken to Moff Gideon’s waiting ship, especially since we could only watch helplessly as Mando and his newfound companions — including none other than Boba Fett — tried to reach him before that could happen.

As important and wrenching as the kidnapping itself is, however, there’s also something tragic about what this episode reveals about Grogu and his powers. Of course, it was obvious from the beginning that there’s quite a lot going on behind that cute face. Sure, the moments when he devoured frogs were played for laughs, but there was also something more than a little sinister about the idea of this little creature being a voracious carnivore that consumed anything in his path, to say nothing of the fact that he clearly had quite a lot of ability when it came to the Force (remember that time he literally picked up the rhinoceros-like Mudhorn?) There was a lot of potential there, but it was so often played for laughs that it was easy to forget just how much of a weapon he could be if he happened to fall into the wrong hands.

What’s more, as Ahsoka told us in the previous episode, he’s clearly dealt with a lot of trauma and sadness in his young life and, as a result, there’s a lot of anger burning beneath that cute surface, just waiting for the chance to be unleashed. One of the best things about this episode was the way in which it allowed us to see, through both Grogu’s actions and Gideon’s response to them, that it is very sinister that he was able and willing to use the Force to batter the two Storm Troopers who were standing guard over him. That certainly doesn’t bode well for the future, since it seems like it might make it easier for Gideon to make use of him in his efforts (which are pretty clearly focused on providing a viable clone for Palpatine to inhabit).

As he always does, Giancarlo Esposito makes the most out of a somewhat limited amount of screen-time. I’ve begun to wish that we got to see more of him, if for no other reason than that we could get a firmer understanding of what it is that he’s doing and, just as importantly, what motivates him as a character. Given how infrequently we end up spending time with him, it’s a bit hard at times to see him as anything more than a cardboard cutout of a villain. Sometimes, less is more when it comes to allowing viewers to spend time with an antagonist, but it’s getting to the point where we really need to see more of him in order to for his villainy to truly land with the intensity that it needs to in order for his dramatic arc to work.

Of course, the other major moment of the episode was the revelation that Boba Fett, one of the most iconic villains from the original trilogy, had in fact survived his supposed death and is now seeking to regain his armor. It was a wise choice to use Temuera Morrison to portray Boba, since he’d already gained significant fame for playing Boba’s “father” Jango in the prequel trilogy. Here, he certainly looks like has endured quite a lot in the last several years, and Morrison gives him a gravelly intensity that suggests there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface than he is willing to let on. It will be quite interesting to see the ways in which he continues to play a larger role in the events currently shaping the Galaxy.

Formally, there’s a deftness to the direction that balanced the pulse-pounding excitement that we’ve come to expect from this series with more intimate and personal moments. I particularly appreciated the editing near the end, in which Mando desperately attempts to get to Grogu before Gideon captures him, toggling between Mando, Boba, and Fennec Shand and Grogu’s prone form. While we know at some level that this isn’t going to end well, we can’t help but wish that it were otherwise, that Mando and company would once more thwart Gideon’s nefarious efforts. It’s action melodrama at its finest.

Overall, I thought this was an extraordinary episode of the series, ratcheting up the tension in all of the right ways, while leaving just enough ambiguous for us to return hungry for more. I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one who was more than a little devastated by the utter destruction of the Razor Quest, which has already endured so much. It is, perhaps, a bit absurd to get so emotionally attached to a ship, but that’s the nature of the Star Wars universe, isn’t it? We can’t help but feel a bit of grief at the wanton destruction of this represents, and it’s another reminder that Gideon sees everything in terms of whether it’s useful to him or whether it’s an impediment. Mando’s digging the little silver ball out of the wreckage is a poignant reminder of how important the ship has been to the development of his bond with Grogu.

Some have complained that the recent crop of Star Wars stories has been more interested in filling in the gaps of existing history rather than expanding into new horizons. While there’s some truth to that, it’s episodes like this, with its effortless weaving together of adrenaline and pathos, that show that sometimes, what matters even more than what stories are told is how well they are told.