Max Nocerino 
Max unpacks the hotly-anticipated eleventh chapter of The Mandalorian
Chapter 11 usually means when a business goes bankrupt, but The Mandalorian is far from denigrating. The last episode I felt was a little weak but this installment made up for it and then some. Mando manages to limp to an ocean world with his frog lady passenger. Interestingly enough, the landing gear is shot so the ship can’t just transition from vacuum to atmosphere like we always see in Star Wars. Due to problems we can only fathom, the ship goes through re-entry as a Space shuttle would here on Earth and burns up, and then crashes into the ocean. Yikes.
The Frog Lady meets her mate at the dock and we see Mon Calamari and Quarren fisherman mingling in this seasteading port-dock city. I always liked the Mon Calamari but the Quarren are creepy and remind me of Davie Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. They are squid-faced aliens and the ones on this planet are brutal and untrustworthy. Mando gets double-crossed by a pair of these “fishermen” but is saved by none other than BO-KATAN!!! It is SO awesome seeing her in live-action and she is just as badass as she was in The Clone Wars.
Bo-Katan agrees to help Mando find the Jedi if he helps her commandeer an Imperial Gozanti-cruiser. Those Star Wars Rebels fans reading this will be quite familiar with this class of ship. Aside from tons of Stormtrooper butt-kicking and awesome fight scenes, we learn a lot about the Mandalorians in this brief episode. First off, the year-long mystery is finally solved. Bo-Katan and her compatriots have no problem removing their helmets and it turns out my hypothesis was correct. Mando not removing his helmet and claiming “this is the way” all the time is actually because he is part of a very orthodox and “zealot” order of Mandalorians and Bo-Katan has no intention of recognizing this.
Yet she needs Mando’s help and promises to lead him to the Jedi if he can help her take the ship. Bo-Katan has intentions of being the new ruler of Mandalore and is looking for something she needs. They need to get to the control room before the Imperials crash the ship as they are attempting to commit suicide to keep the vessel out of the Mandalorian’s hands.
Verdict:
This episode was beyond good and was full of action-packed fight sequences, stunning spaceship effects, and enough revelations to last a year. Now looking back, I was too focused on the silly science of the last episode to fully understand how it built up to this episode. Katee Sackhoff looks just as I always imagined a live-action Bo-Katan and I can’t wait for the next episode. Bryce Dallas Howard directed Chapter 11 and helmets off to her excellent work. I won’t spoil the ending but fans NEED to catch the next episode because it is set to be crazy good. In the meantime, I give Chapter 11 an A+.
Thank the Force Star Wars has Jon Favreau.
The Mandalorian is streaming exclusively on Disney+ 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!
