Max Nocerino 
The Mandalorian Chapter 6 ‘The Prisoner’ really kicks it into high gear and finds Mando risking his neck with a ragtag group of mercenaries
The Mandalorian Chapter 6 ‘The Prisoner’ really kicks it into high gear after Dave Filoni’s disappointing fifth episode. This episode was written by Christopher Yost and directed by Rick Famuyima. I can say with confidence that both gentlemen can stay among the writer “stars” of Star Wars. Job well done! This episode was completely awesome.
RANZAR MALK
The Mandalorian arrives at a space station where he meets an old “friend” from his past. Ranzar Malk is his name and he reminds me of a midget version of Hagrid from Harry Potter. Ranzar instantly annoys me as a character. And his grizzled, disheveled appearance also makes him look like a derelict. He is putting together a team for a mission and strangely is eager to use the Razor Crest for the job.
Red flags go up immediately for me and they stay up when the rest of the crew assembles.It’s a small crew but like Ranzar; each member immediately annoys me. They are strange, obnoxious, and borderline psychotic. Long story short: I don’t like them. BUT that is the mark of a good writer in making characters that you are not supposed to like.
ROGUES GALLERY
The one who creeps me out the most is a Twi’lek female named Xi’an. She is very frightening with her vampire’s teeth, knives, and Bellatrix Lestrange-esque personality. It is also implied that she and Mando had a relationship in the past. And I feel bad for Mando if that is the case as Xi’an proves that not all Twi’lek girls are sexy. The mission the crew has to go on is very nebulous in the beginning. But we soon learn that it is to extract a prisoner from a New Republic prison ship.
Q9-0 (ZERO)
Much to Mando’s dismay, the crew includes a droid named Zero. And he will be piloting Mando’s ship, as well as planning the extraction. He is (surprise surprise) an annoying personality, but very smart and capable. One of the weird things I noticed, however, is that when the Razor Crest comes out of hyperspace and banks and turns to latch onto the hull of the prison ship; the occupants are thrown about. Besides (I guess) being too dumb to wear seatbelts, don’t ships in Star Wars have inertial dampeners? Hmmm. Strange.
THE EXTRACTION
The extraction action is BADASS. And the Mandalorian reminds us how skilled he is in combat (as we kinda uh… doubted it a bit in Episode 5). BUT also how he has a moral compass, which is in very sharp contrast to the crew. I love the sterile feel of the prison ship and the cool design of the New Republic security droids. All money well spent!
Throughout the episode, bits and pieces of the Mandalorians (as a cultural group) story are presented to us. It would seem that the Empire (or someone else) may have wiped out most of them by 9 ABY due to a comment from one of the crew. And the “No-take-helmet-off” rule is well known by Mando’s “friends”. If the Mandalorians have indeed suffered a Great Purge, it poetically mirrors the Purge of the Jedi. And the Jedi were the ancient Mandalorian’s great rivals.
THIS IS THE WAY!
The helmet thing is cool, but I do hope the Story Group has an explanation for this plot hole. It’s a minor one, but all holes need to be eventually patched up. Why don’t the Mandalorians take off their helmet? There’s no problem in Star Wars Rebels. But not at this point in the timeline? Is Mando part of a more orthodox tribe of Mandalorians? Who knows?
I like Mando as a character. He is VERY clever and in this episode, we see how expertly he deals with “unexpected occurrences”. At the end of the story, you will get a moment of satisfaction reminiscent of another great show; Rick and Morty. Rick and Morty left the Zigerions in the episode M. Night Shaym-Aliens in Season 1. Very similar to the Mandalorian’s departure from this chapter. This reference may not mean anything to everyone. But if you are a Rick and Morty fan as well, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
VERDICT
Anyway, no sign of the mysterious character of the last chapter. But a cringe-worthy cameo does appear which had me rolling my eyes and groaning. Honestly, though, besides this gross cameo and a few odd blurred backdrop shots at the beginning of the episode; the chapter was on par with the first four and I give it 4 out of 5 Death Stars.
The Mandalorian is streaming exclusively on Disney Plus NOW!
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
