Chapter 12: The Siege

"Chapter 12: The Siege" is the fourth episode of the second season of the television series The Mandalorian. The episode was directed by Carl Weathers, and aired on Disney+ on November 20, 2020.
==Official description==
The Mandalorian rejoins old allies for a new mission.
==Plot summary==
===Prologue===
The episode opens with the partially repaired Razor Crest traveling through space. The Mandalorian Din Djarin and the Child work together to repair the ship but the Child is unable to understand Din's instructions with the red and blue wires. Djarin tells the Child to keep them apart but he almost electrocutes himself. While the Child has some soup, Djarin realizes that they are unable to travel directly to Corvus due to the state of the ship. He decides to visit some friends on Nevarro for repairs.
Meanwhile, the former Armorer's workshop is now a hideout for Aqualish robbers, with its furnace serving as their kitchen fireplace. The robbers are debating over their loot and preparing to kill and eat a lava meerkat for a meal. Before they can butcher the creature, one of the Aqualish hears some movement and realizes someone is around. The Aqualish sport their blasters but are ambushed by Carasynthia Dune, now the Marshal of Nevarro, who engages them in physical combat. She quickly bests them in combat and uses one of them as a shield. After eliminating the hostiles, she goes through their stolen goods and befriends the lava meerkat, telling the creature that no one is eating it today and that it is free. She gives the lava meerkat some food before returning their stolen property to their rightful owners.
===Anchorage on Nevarro===
Meanwhile, Djarin lands the ramshackle Razor Crest on the outskirts of Nevarro City. He and the Child are met by Greef Karga, now the Magistrate of Nevarro, and Cara Dune. Seeing the damaged state of the ship, Greef offers to repair Djarin's ship. Din asks how much his credits are worth around here. While stroking the Child's face, Cara says that they can work something out. Greef instructs some workers to fix Din's ship before carrying the Child, teasing him playfully. One of the workers is a Mimbanese who takes an interest in Djarin and the Child.
While walking through the streets of Nevarro city, Djarin notices that the town is bustling with traders. Karga says that he is busy with clerical work and credits Marshal Dune with enforcing law and order in the town. Cara notices that the Razor Crest is not looking so good. Din mentions his run-in with the New Republic, whom Karga believes should leave the Outer Rim Territories alone. If the Old Empire couldn't settle it, Karga reasons that the Republic won't do better.
Karga and Dune lead Djarin and the Child inside a school (the former local cantina) where a protocol droid is teaching a class. She asks her students who can name the five major trade routes in the galaxy. She suggests the Corellian Run while a boy names the Hydian Way. Dune explains that things have changed around here. Karga suggests leaving the Child behind but Djarin insists that the Child follow him wherever he goes. Karga tells Din that where they are going, he wouldn't want to take the Child. Dune backs Karga up, saying that he will be fine here. As the protocol droid talks about trade routes and galactic geography, the other children take an interest in the Child.
While the protocol droid talks about the former galactic capital Coruscant and the New Republic's current capital of Chandrila, the Child makes eye contact with a boy with a blue bandanna. The protocol droid drones on about the Akkadese Maelstrom which surrounds the planet Kessel and its three moons. The Child asks the boy for something he is chewing but the boy refuses to share. While the droid talks about Kessel, the Child uses the Force to levitate the boy's snack and proceeds to eat the cookies.
===Getting down to business===
Meanwhile, Djarin enters Karga's office with Karga and Dune. "The Mythrol," whom Djarin captured earlier, is talking about ship records when he sees the armored Mandalorian enter. The Mythrol and Djarin are mutually surprised by their encounter. Karga explains that the Mythrol has been taking care of his books since he was a pollywog but had disappeared one day after some "creative accounting." The Mythrol says that Magistrate Karga was generous enough to allow him to work off his debt, which Karga says would take 350 years to pay off. Djarin offers to track him down if he runs away again. The Mythrol promises not to misbehave, saying that he does not want to spend any more time in carbonite. He says that he still can't see through his left eye.
Dune then talks about business. Djarin says that he is only here for repairs but Karga points out that the repairs would take a while, meaning that he has some free time on his hands. Karga adds that they could use his help. Dune shows Djarin a holographic map of their landmass on Nevarro, which is mainly safe. Karga and Dune brief Din about an old Imperial base, which has been here since the Imperial expansion. Dune says it has a skeleton crew but has not been abandoned for some reason.
Karga hopes to benefit from the sale of Imperial weaponry on the black market. When Djarin asks if he wants him to mop them up before the black market gets to them, Karga explains that he just wants the Empire off his planet. If they can take out the last Imperial outpost on Nevarro, they can be completely safe as a trade anchor for the entire sector. Dune adds that the planet will finally be free. Djarin asks what they are looking at.
===Breaching the Imperial base===
Later, Djarin travels with Karga, Dune, and the Mythrol on a silver landspeeder through the lava flats of Nevarro. Karga explains that the base is powered by a reactor. Dune's plan is to infiltrate the base, overload the reactor, and escape the base. Din warns them to be fast and to keep the speeder running. The Mythrol asks how close they want him to drop them off and expresses fear. Karga offers him two choices: taking them in and having 100 years knocked off his debt or letting him walk home alone on the lava flats with his humidity vest. The Mythrol decides to comply for his own safety and benefit.
While the Mythrol waits outside, Djarin, Dune, and Karga try to enter the base but find that the controls have melted due to the heat. The Mythrol wants to head back in the landspeeder but Karga orders him to stay put until he says otherwise. The Mythrol starts to complain about the danger to his gills. Karga offers to knock another 30 years off his debt if he gets the flange cutter and helps them out. The Mythrol obliges and gets to work on the door while the Mandalorian spots a platform above and rockets up in his jetpack. Dune grumbles about the Mythrol's slow progress with the latter countering that his tool is designed for light plumbing.
Shortly later, a stormtrooper is thrown to the ground by Djarin. The Mythrol wants to wait outside but Dune warns that the lava tide will be coming in soon. The Mythrol decides to follow them inside. Reaching the top of the platform, the group find that Djarin has taken out several stormtrooper sentries, proving that the base is not empty. Karga says that reactor should be set in the heat shaft and that if they drain the cooling lines, the whole base will go up in a matter of minutes.
The Mythrol spots a mint Trexler 906 Armored Marauder, which is valuable on the black market. Din adds that it is going to get vaporized like the rest of the base, causing the Mythrol to grumble. The four enter a hangar full of speeder bikes. In the command center, an Imperial security officer contacts shuttle bay after noticing that their security feed has gone down. He asks if they can check their relay hub but is ambushed by Dune, who chokes him to death.
Din switches off the camera feeds while Karga and the Mythrol rob the dead officer with the former taking his code cylinder, which he believes will come into handy. Venturing deeper into the base, they head towards the access corridor and pass two stormtroopers. The Mythrol uses the code cylinder to slice through the door, leading them into the base's reactor which is fueled by a lava seam below. They task the Mythrol with getting onto the controls and tampering the coolant lines while they guard the door. The Mythrol is afraid of heights and lava but Din threatens to put him back into carbonite. The Mythrol accesses the control console and gets to work, shutting down the coolant lines.
===Dangerous secrets===
The four of them then flee the reactor core and head back to the corridors. They overhear a stormtrooper ordering his comrades including 5387 and 5389 to follow him while he calls reinforcements. The four stumble across a pair of Imperial scientists purging the drives. Seeing the intruders, one of the scientists orders his colleague to destroy it while he exchanges fire with them. Both scientists are shot during the gunfight.
Djarin, Dune, Karga and the Mythrol find several tanks containing several deformed beings. Dune and Karga realize that the Imperial facility is not a forward operating base but is a laboratory. She decides that they need to hack into the system in order to figure out what is going on. The Mythrol reminds them about the reactor but Dune orders him to slice the systems. Djarin says he doesn't like what is going on.
The Mythrol uncovers a transmission from Doctor Penn Pershing who talks about replicating the results of the subsequent trials, which also resulted in "catastrophic failure." Despite promising effects, the body rejected the blood. Pershing doubts that they would find another donor with as high of an M-count, referring to midi-chlorians. He recommends suspending all further experiments and fears that the volunteer will meet the same "regrettable fate" if they proceed with the transfusion. Pershing says they have exhausted their initial supply of blood from the Child. He warns that if the experiments are to continue, they would need access to the "donor." Pershing vows not to disappoint Moff Gideon. Djarin thinks Moff Gideon is dead and that the transmission is old. The Mythrol reveals that the transmission is only three days old. Djarin realizes that if Gideon is alive, the Child is in danger.
===Blasting their way out===
The group are attacked by stormtroopers and a gun battle ensues. Mythrol helps Din, Dune, and Karga take down the advancing stormtrooper patrol. Djarin realizes that he has to retrieve the Child. Dune advises him to head back first on his jetpack. The other three flee through the corridors but are pursued by more stormtroopers. Cara, Karga and the Mythrol eliminate these stormtroopers and fight their way through the base. Meanwhile, Djarin fights through more stormtroopers, taking them down. He flees into the reactor chamber and rockets his way out. Reaching the surface, he takes out three more including one who plunges into the lava flow.
With the Mythrol's help, Dune and Karga reach the shuttle bay but are cornered by more stormtroopers, who have exited a turbolift. Dune gets the others to cover her while she commandeers a Trexler Marauder. She evacuates Karga and the Mythrol. After finding one exit blocked, Dune drives the cruiser over the shuttle bay and lands on top of the Mythrol's silver landspeeder, crushing it in the process. As the three escape, they are pursued by a squad of scout troopers riding 74-Z speeder bikes. Some of the riders crash their bikes on the rocky lava fields below but three of the riders manage to track down the Repulsorlift vehicle.
Karga uses the Marauder's laser turret to exchange fire with the scout troopers, taking one of them down. However, the remaining two scout troopers ride their bikes beside the Marauder and fired into the cockpit. Dune manages to crush one of the scout troopers and his bike using the Marauder, eliminating him. However, a second scout trooper manages to climb onto the armored vehicle and attempts to plant a grenade. However, Karga spots him and uses the laser turret to blast him to shreds.
===Canyon pursuit and dogfight===
Four Outland TIE fighters escape the Imperial base before it is consumed by the lava explosion. The Mythrol cheers and Dune says they are headed home. The TIEs fly above the canyon, homing in on the Trexler Marauder. Karga vows to take care of the TIEs and fires at them and the rocks. The TIEs strafe the Marauder with Karga missing. Karga asks Dune to drive faster. Karga manages to shoot down one of the TIEs but it crashes nearby and the resulting debris damages the turret cannon, leaving the vehicle defenseless.
Exiting the canyon, trio race the Marauder across the lava fields with the TIEs in hot pursuit. As they approach the city, the Razor Crest appears and takes out a second Outland TIE fighter. With the Child in the co-pilot seat, Djarin tells him to hang in there as he pursues the remaining TIEs into space. In the upper atmosphere, the Mandalorian takes out a third TIE fighter before descending into the skies and taking the fourth fighter out in a frontal assault. Dune, Karga and the Mythrol watch the battle from below. Djarin compliments the Child who vomits on his tunic.
Back on the ground, Karga asks the Mandalorian what he owes him. Djarin replies with the repairs, wanting to make it even. Karga offers to buy Djarin a drink but the Mandalorian responds that he has some onboard maintenance to take care of. He tells Karga, Dune, and the Mythrol that they have to catch the road before Gideon comes back after them. The three watch as the Razor Crest lifts off into space.
===Emissary from the New Republic===
Later, New Republic starfighter pilot Captain Carson Teva questions Karga about the destruction of the Imperial base on Nevarro. Karga claims he can remember nothing before the base exploded and denies sighting the Razor Crest. Teva reiterates his question about the Razor Crest but Karga insists that he never said anything about that ship. Teva reminds him about his control log but Karga claims that the control droid can't tell apart anything pre-Imperial and reminds the Captain that this is not Coruscant. When Teva asks if he has anything else to add, Karga says that he has nothing else to add but promises to send more information in a gram if something pops up. As the Mythrol watches, Karga says that is if he ever comes back.
Teva speaks with Dune, who is feeding the lava meerkat. He compliments her work in cleaning up Nevarro. Teva wants to recruit the former soldier but Dune says that she is not a joiner. Teva says that there is something going on out here. He says that the people of the Core Worlds do not believe it but insists it is true. Teva says these are not isolated incidents and that they cannot be dealt with effectively without local support. Teva recalls that the records say that Dune was from Alderaan.
Seeking to build a rapport with her, Teva tells her that he served on Alderaan. Dune remains silent until Teva asks if she lost anyone. Dune replies that she lost everyone. Teva apologizes for her loss before leaving behind a badge bearing the insignia of the New Republic. Dune watches as he walks away.
===Gideon's ambitions===
Aboard a light cruiser, an Imperial comms officer talks with the Mimbanese worker who tells her that the homing beacon has been planted as she requested. The officer thanks her, saying that she will be rewarded in the new era. The comms officer then enters a chamber where Moff Gideon is watching as several Imperial scientists work in a laboratory.
The comms officer tells Gideon that their spy has planted a tracking beacon on the Razor Crest. She also confirms that the Mandalorian still has their "asset." Gideon vows to be ready as he turns to gaze at rows of Phase-III Dark Troopers who remain in stasis.
==Continuity==
During the raid on Gideon's base, a shot of Karga, Dune, Djarin, and the Mythrol as the first three are firing at Imperial troops has a crew member in a green T-shirt, blue jeans and a wristwatch or bracelet visible in the background, behind Karga and part of a wall. It has since been digitally edited out of the episode.
==Credits==
==Appearances==
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
==External links==
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