‘The Mandalorian’ Episode 6 Is Titled ‘Tragedy’ and It’s a Doozy — REVIEW
There are two responses when you see the word “tragedy.” As a regular human, there’s probably trepidation or weariness; what’s going to happen? The worst, of course, comes to mind. For Star Wars fans, “tragedy” means so many things. Younglings dying? Heroes falling to the Dark side? The lengthy story, no, sorry, the lengthy “Tragedy of Darth Plagueis” the Wise definitely pops into mind.
So, Episode 6 being titled “The Tragedy” was not going to be a walk in the park from the beginning. And it did not end in rainbows and butterflies. But it did give fans a great episode. [Spoiler alert: Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”].
Mando and Grogu continue to serve up some great father/child content
This is one of the shortest episodes in the series so far, if not the shortest. It’s about 33 minutes long but there’s so much to zoom through.
At the start, there’s the sneak peek of Boba Fett and his New Zealand accent, one that fans know pretty well which belonged to the Clones back in the day. And of course which belongs to Temuera Morrison, who originated the role of Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones (and who’s playing his son, Boba, now).
It then jumps to Mando having a very cute moment with Grogu. Last episode, Din Djarn and the audience were introduced to Baby Yoda’s real name, and Grogu loves it when Mando says it. And Mando loves hearing Grogu react when he does say it. It’s all very sweet. And it’s the best interaction ever.
Mando’s also working through Grogu’s Force powers a bit, being a supporting and good dad. However, he is a bit frustrated, mostly due to what Ahsoka said about his previous training. It’s kind of unclear if it’s because Grogu doesn’t remember much or because he lost some of his skill, but either way, Baby Yoda feeds off of Mando’s anger. Which, safe to say, isn’t good. And feeds into what Ahsoka worried about when she mentioned his attachments and why she didn’t think it was a good idea to train him.
Boba Fett finally shows up and it lives up to the hype, of course
As Mando and Grogu approach the Jedi Temple on Tython, Grogu gets a weirdly pained expression on his face. He, of course, has an adorably cute face. But it becomes clear in a little bit that he must feel a connection to the center of this temple. So that face was definitely a reaction to the power or connection he felt to the site.
As Baby Yoda is beaming up some sort of Jedi Force at the spot, Boba Fett’s ship, which has a recognizable design from Episode II, comes into the atmosphere, and Mando is on high alert. Even though he doesn’t want to, Din Djarin has to leave Grogu on that mountain. He’s working his magic, with his eyes all closed. And while he looks so serene, he also looks so vulnerable.
Fighting ensues, and Fennec (Ming-Na Wen) from last season thankfully makes her return. Din makes a move to keep Boba’s armor, which he took from Cobb Vanth. However, Fett isn’t backing down, hence the fighting. Did you forget that the Empire was tracking Mando, though? Yep. Stormtroopers show up, but they’re fighting against two Mandalorian foundlings and a sharpshooter, okay? They have a lot against them.
Also, the way the Stormtroopers speak is so much like in the original trilogy, and noticeably not like how they’ve spoken in the sequels or otherwise. It’s very retro and reminiscent and yet another great example of how awesome The Mandalorian is at Star Wars tributes.
To put it simply: Boba Fett is savage when it comes to his fighting style. He fights with raw power, and just bludgeons the Stormtroopers. He might have a lot of emotions fighting with these things that used to look like his father, and himself. Or were initially meant to, and were housed in uniforms that look so much like these. And he’s also fighting with a non-mechanical weapon, which isn’t something we see a ton in Star Wars.
This episode gets real dark, real fast and it definitely lives up to its title
Basically, this sequence is overall very cool, and Fennec also has some great shots. And once Boba Fett gets a hold of his armor? All bets are off. The missiles out his knee! The over-the-shoulder, behind-the-head shot! Their retreat! Just iconic levels of Star Wars in 33 minutes.
Almost as soon as Din Djarin leaves Grogu on the mountain to go help Fennec and Boba Fett against the Stormtroopers, he collapses. This whole time, he was consumed by the Force and a blue light that was beaming through him in that Jedi Temple.
But then Moff Gideon pulls out the big guns. The Dark Troopers.
As we explained before, the Dark Troopers used to exist in a Star Wars video game in the ‘90s, and are superpowered, automated Stormtroopers. They steal the child after Moff Gideon’s ship destroy’s the Razor Crest.
So not only does the episode end with Mando losing his ship, the kid, and everything, but now they have the realization that Moff Gideon has an army of superpowered robots and the Empire isn’t gone. It’s some dark stuff.
With the loss of the baby, Din heads back to Nevarro to ask Cara Dune for help. She’s now the Marshall of the New Republic, and Mando needs to spring Migs Mayfeld from Republic jail. Cara puts up a fuss at first, but all bets are off when the kid’s involved.
What’s going to happen with the fact that Grogu called on the Jedi? It’s unclear right now, but Grogu is Force choking Stormtroopers, which could spell trouble for the future of his Jedi training. Because Anakin used to Force choke often and, well, look where he ended up.
It, of course, ends with an ominous line from Moff Gideon, saying, “We have got our donor.” The Snoke experiment, or whatever they’re doing, is going to continue if Mando doesn’t show up fast.
