Max Nocerino 
Chapter 12 sees the reunion of The Mandalorian, Cara Dune, and Greef Karga on the volcanic world of Navarro.
The Mandalorian Chapter 12: The Siege is Carl Weathers’s first episode he directed and while it wasn’t quite as good as Bryce Dallas Howard’s; it still I feel was successful and helmets off to Weathers.
REUNION
Now to the episode. Chapter 12 sees the reunion of Mando, Cara Dune, and Greef Karga on the volcanic world of Navarro. The Razor Crest is in desperate need of repairs and Karga is inclined to help with them. A lot has changed on Nevarro, and Dune has been named the Marshal of the main settlement. Marshal is a popular title for Sherrif in the galaxy far, far away. Dune has helped Karga clean up the town but the Empire is still a lingering thorn in their side.
Gina Carano (Cara Dune) manages to be both masculine and sexy at the same time and is kinda like a mixture of Black Widow and She-Hulk. She has lost a lot being a daughter of Alderaan and it is fun to see her kick butt. As with all Mandalorian episodes, it was enjoyable even though the plot was very “basic”. The group needs Mando’s help to infiltrate an Imperial weapons base and destroy it. Seems simple enough but perhaps too simple. Mando leaves The Child in a makeshift school of (mostly human) younglings, and they are taught by a protocol droid. I have long imagined droids filling roles as teachers in Star Wars, so finally seeing it was titillating, to say the least.
STAR WARS ACTION!
The action is always on point in this series with blaster shootouts, dogfighting ships, and evading obstacles in a speeder. Classic Star Wars. However, sometimes it isn’t enough to satisfy someone who loves to see a well-oiled plot and I have to say it’s a little bit of a “filler” episode. Granted; it DID set up events to be put in motion for later; so there is a thought process behind it. Mando’s first bounty (on-screen) Mythenerol joins the infiltration team and sadly becomes their “servant” with Karga, and Dune barking orders at him constantly. I feel bad for the guy. He’s kinda a goofball and tepid comic relief but it stinks he has to work off a 350-year debt. I originally expected this character to be broken out of prison when I first saw clips of this scene and thought he would be the key to Ahsoka Tano but sadly this was not the case. I have a feeling our favorite Togruta will not appear until the final episode of the season.
THE AQUALISH
Some other cool stuff we got to see was a band of Aqualish. It’s an alien species not often highlighted in Star Wars, but it has a huge pull on the mythos as a member of this species is the one who shoved Luke Skywalker in the Mos Eisley cantina. The really funny part of the episode was a hilarious meta-reference inserted into the dialogue. When those jerks make Mythenerol get on a ledge to meltdown the reactor, he laments that there are no guard rails. Ha! This is a big outside universe joke in Star Wars, as there are often precarious perches and safety does not seem to be a priority in the galaxy. No space OSHA equivalent it would seem. I know this is silly but that joke was really what juiced up my energy for this episode and I am overjoyed that Favreau does his homework.
VERDICT
In the end, we have a pretty good picture of what the Imperial Remnant is planning and as always, we are excited to see the outcome. B+ all the way.
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!
