Max Nocerino 
Max unpacks the hotly-anticipated thirteenth chapter of The Mandalorian
Wow. Just wow. Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian was written by Dave Filoni and is his second episode of the series so far. His episode last season was noticeably not as good as Favreau’s writing so I was a little skeptical on whether this would be any better – but I was wrong. It was phenomenal.
Right away we are bombarded with – drum roll please- LIVE ACTION AHSOKA TANO!!!! Rosario Dawson looks amazing as Ahsoka and this is a moment fans have been waiting for, for years. Rosario’s voice is much deeper than Ashley Eckstein’s so it may take a few minutes to get used to the change but Dawson expertly acts just as Ahsoka should. She is a terrifying panther in the dark and her white lightsabers look great in live-action as well. Ahsoka has become a wandering warrior nomad in the forest and is trying to save a village from a woman who is very pompous and bad guyish.
Mando comes looking for her and makes a deal with this strange woman. Kill the Jedi and you get a nice shiny Beskar pike. Mando uses this as a ploy and tries to get Ahsoka to train the Child. The Child’s name is revealed to be Grogu which is a very appropriate name as it has a resemblance to Yoda. It makes sense that this species would have phonetically similar sounding names for their people. Ahsoka doesn’t want to train Grogu and it is also revealed that he was once living in the Jedi Temple before the end of The Clone Wars.
Wow. He was there the whole time and we never knew it. He sure as heck wasn’t in Yoda’s class but it’s amazing to think Yoda had an interaction with him. Maybe Yoda is his father! Anyway, the episode was very well put together and doesn’t have any loose ends. Mando’s attachment to Grogu is adorable. He’s the best dad in the galaxy (when compared to other characters) and his “parenting” of Grogu is very sweet and realistic.
Ahsoka does not want to continue his training since she senses much fear and anger in him. She knows firsthand what happens when a powerful Jedi feels those emotions so it makes sense that she doesn’t want to train him. She offers a similar solution and it looks like Mando and Grogu will still be together for some time. I like how Beskar has replaced cortosis as the metal that is impervious to lightsabers. Seeing duels between a laser blade and an old-fashioned metal blade is surprisingly invigorating and there was a very samurai-style duel between Ahsoka and that mysterious woman.
We know what Ahsoka’s plans are and now we also know what Mando will be doing. Everything has been set up for yet another amazing adventure and as always – I can’t wait for Chapter 14.
A all the way.
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!
Great review!
Thanks Carl!!!!