Max unpacks the hotly-anticipated fifteenth chapter of The Mandalorian
Wow. What an episode. So much to unpack and tons of fun to watch. Mando and the Fett Force (as I like to call them) need to find the coordinates for Moff Gideon’s ship and they go to a junk world/ prison colony to recruit a familiar face. It’s Mayfield! Mayfield is the guy who Mando “teamed up with” last season in a prison breakout on a New Republic prison ship. He is ex-Imperial and could prove very useful. Mayfield is a very Earth-like human character in sharp contrast to the no-nonsense Mando. He can be annoying and chatty but he is the only one that can access an Imperial terminal.
They go to a jungle world and commander a Juggernaut. Die-hard fans will remember the wheeled tank from Revenge of the Sith. I feel it’s a little archaic to have wheels, but I guess it’s better to have some traction on a jungle path. Mayfield tries to chat with Mando who has donned an Imperial stormtrooper variant armor and it is hilarious how Mando just ignores him. It reminded me of Episode 1, Season 1 when he ignored the Mythrol bounty he scored when the guy tried to make small talk.
Anyway, they get into the Imperial refinery after fighting one of the strangest pirate crews I’ve ever seen. It was a group of aliens on a hover skiff flying after the Juggernaut through the jungle. It was so cool; I’ve never seen such an odd combination. We learn a lot about Mayfield when they get to the refinery. Die-hard fans again will recognize Operation: Cinder and Mayfield expresses his distaste of the horrors it caused to a creepy, slimy Imperial officer. This dude is gross and has a Southern accent. It reminds me of the drill sergeant my grandfather had in the Korean War. Well, it reminds me of what I’ve been told about him.
Mayfield grows on you during this episode as we see he has a conscience and is not proud of his Imperial past. They managed to get out alive and as someone who was a huge fan of American Sniper; I love how Fennec and Cara picked off the Imperials on the roof. Sharpshooters are deadly!
This episode delivered everything a Star Wars serial is supposed to have. Character development, interesting locales, action, and cool weapons. I was delighted to see Fett still carries some Seismic Charges. For a third time; Die-hard fans will recognize them from Attack of the Clones. The only complaint I have is Boba’s armor. He cleaned it up but it still looks like a child Halloween costume. Also, Mayfield was sentenced to hard labor on a trash world for 50 years! Ouch. That’s quite a horrible punishment and not something you’d expect from the good guys.
Now Team Fett needs to get to Gideon. I’m so sad the season is almost over. Let’s hope he gets Grogu back in the final episode of the season. Chapter 15 gets a solid A+ from me!
The Mandalorian is streaming exclusively on Disney+ NOW!
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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!
