Mando hooks up with more of his people, and we get wigs and jetpacks galore.
Previously on The Mandalorian: Frog Lady! Space Spiders! Giant ants with PhDs! The Egg Crisis. For the moment let’s all take a breath and dive right into “Chapter 11: The Heiress”. Are you ready for lore? Because we’ve got lore.
Our trio has made it to Trask in the duct-taped Razor Crest, as Mando (Pedro Pascal) manages a landing only to have his ship fall into the water. After it’s pulled out Mando pays a local Mon Calamari to fix what he can, and Mando and The Child follow Frog Lady (Misty Rosas) to her sweet reunion with her husband, uh…Frog Man.
Frog Man directs Mando to a local restaurant for more Mandalorian-related information and he and his wife head off. The Child is very sad to say goodbye to the eggs. Mando meets a Quarren fisherman who agrees to take them on his boat. As with so many things for Mando and The Child lately: It’s a trap. Luring them to a platform by suggesting that The Child might like to see them feed some giant beast or other, the Quarren knocks The Child, bassinet and all, into the creature’s mouth and Mando leaps in after him. The Quarrens close up the opening and cheer that his beskar will be theirs.
Things aren’t as dire as they seem, however, as three new Mandalorians jetpack onto the ship and easily dispatch the Quarrens and save Mando and The Child. The new Mandalorians are two women and a man; you can tell they’re women because of the feminized helmets. I mean…sure, fine, it’s unnecessary but to each their own, I guess. Mando reunites with The Child and explains his mission to his newly found compatriots and then…
And then they all take their helmets off and Mando is quite put out. He (as with Cobb Vanth) accuses them of having stolen their armor, but the lady in charge is having none of it. She’s Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff!), a warrior straight from Mandalore itself, and on her side of the Mandalorian internal divide, they can take off their helmets. She explains that Mando is a “Child of the Watch”, a splinter group that wants to revive the old ways like leaving helmets on all the time. Mando, as we’ve come to see, isn’t great with any challenges to his belief system, so he notes icily that there is only one Way and leaves.
Back at the docks, some Quarrens ambush Mando, but the Other Mandalorians show up and the four easily take out the goons. Bo-Katan knows where there are some Jedi to whom Mando can take The Child, but (of course there’s a but) they need Mando’s help with a mission first.
Mando drops The Child off with the Frogs, warning him to mind his manners, and The Child watches in awe as one of the little frogs is born.
Bo-Katan is a great character, but how does the reveal hit a viewer who never watched The Clone Wars?
There’s an Imperial ship loaded with weapons about to leave Trask and the Mandalorians want to board the ship and steal the weapons for use in the restoration of Mandalore and the reunification of their people. The plan works, much to the chagrin of the Imperial Captain (Titus Welliver), but like with most group projects that Mando finds himself part of, there’s a catch. The Mandalorians get access to the cargo hold and all of the weapons, but rather than leave, Bo-Katan announces that they’re going to take the whole ship.
Bo-Katan wants something that they know the location of, and I think we can all guess: she wants her Darksaber back. Mando is not here for these new terms, but Bo-Katan makes it clear that he helps them take the ship or she doesn’t help him locate the Jedi. The Captain calls Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who informs him that there will be no reinforcements. His duty understood, the Captain kills the other men on the bridge and takes the controls to crash the ship.
The Mandalorians make it to the bridge in time to stop the crash, but when Bo-Katan demands that the Captain take her to Gideon, he offs himself with a laser tooth. Bo-Katan tells Mando to go to the planet Corvus and ask for Ahsoka Tano. Mando collects The Child and the two take off in a somewhat-repaired Razor Crest, heading for the Jedi.
Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard and written by Jon Favreau, “The Heiress” is the most Star Wars episode of the second season so far. It’s got classic creatures and some fantastic fight sequences, and a joke about how bad stormtroopers are at shooting. It’s also the episode that most depends upon existing Star Wars lore and previous properties. That’s a touchy thing, backstory. Bo-Katan is a great character, but how does the reveal hit a viewer who never watched The Clone Wars?
It’s patently clear that no matter how many Jedi they meet, Mando isn’t leaving The Child with them, so it’ll be interesting to see what roadblocks are ahead for the pair. Will there be a return to the monster of the week format next week or are we getting to meet some hidden Jedi? Will Mando realize he can just eat a sandwich like everyone else and not only in the dead of night alone in his room? Will The Child get a new bassinet?
Bantha Droppings:
- The non-Bo-Katan Mandalorians are Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado) and Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides).
- What galactic Party City did they visit to put that wig on beautiful Katee Sackhoff? In an episode chock full of vibrant alien masks, the best they could do was “Roaring ‘20s Flirty Flapper” and an Alice band? It doesn’t move. It gleams a petrochemical gleam.
- When Hozier sang “Take me to church”, what he meant was “Take me to the chowder house on Trask, where the chowder is served from overhead spigots”.
The Mandalorian streams every Friday on Disney+.
Read next: The Spool's Best New Releases
Streaming guides
The Best Live TV Streaming Services With Free Trial
The praises of live TV streaming services don’t need to be further sung. By now, we all know that compared to clunky, commitment-heavy cable, live TV is cheaper and much easier to manage. But just in case you’re still on the fence about jumping over to the other side, or if you’re just unhappy with ... The Best Live TV Streaming Services With Free Trial
How to Watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 3
Season 3 of the hotly anticipated Power spin-off, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, is arriving on Starz soon, so you know what that means: it’s the ’90s again in The Southside, and we’re back with the Thomas family as they navigate the ins and outs of the criminal underworld they’re helping build. Mekai Curtis is ... How to Watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 3
How to Watch Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re so back! To celebrate Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary, the BBC is producing a three-episode special starring none other than the Tenth/Fourteenth Doctor himself, David Tennant. And to the supreme delight of fans (that would be me, dear reader), the Doctor will be joined by old-time companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and ... How to Watch Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials
Which Netflix Country Has Each Movie of The Hunger Games?
For whatever reason, The Hunger Games series isn’t available in the same countries around the world. You’ll find the first and second (aka the best) installments in Hong Kong, for instance, but not the third and fourth. It’s a frustrating dilemma, especially if you don’t even have a single entry in your region, which is ... Which Netflix Country Has Each Movie of The Hunger Games?
How to watch Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin Season 2
After a years-long hiatus, scientist and explorer Albert Lin is coming back to National Geographic with a fresh new season of Lost Cities, renamed “Lost Cities Revealed.” In the past, Lin, who is probably the closest we’ll ever get to a real-life Indiana Jones, has traveled everywhere from the ancient Knights Templar in Israel to ... How to watch Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin Season 2
How to Watch Paramount Network With a Free Trial
To date, Paramount Network has only two original shows on air right now: Yellowstone and Bar Rescue. The network seems to have its hands full with on-demand streaming service Paramount+, which is constantly stacked with a fresh supply of new shows. But Yellowstone and Bar Rescue are so sturdy and expansive that the network doesn’t ... How to Watch Paramount Network With a Free Trial
How to Watch WE TV With a Free Trial
Previously “Women’s Entertainment,” We TV has since rebranded to accurately reflect its name and be a more inclusive lifestyle channel. It’s home to addictive reality gems like Bold and Bougie, Bridezillas, Marriage Boot Camp, and The Untold Stories of Hip Hop. And when it’s not airing original titles, it has on syndicated shows like 9-1-1, ... How to Watch WE TV With a Free Trial
How to Watch FX With a Free Trial
You’d be hard-pressed to find a bad show airing on FX. The channel has made a name for itself as a bastion of high-brow TV, along with HBO and AMC. It’s produced shows like Atlanta, Fargo, The Americans, Archer, and more recently, Shogun. But because it’s owned by Disney, it still airs several blockbusters in ... How to Watch FX With a Free Trial
How to Watch A&E With A Free Trial
If you’re a fan of true crime and insider docu-shows like The First 48 and Court Cam, then you’re probably already familiar with A&E. The cable channel is home to other reality TV gems like Hoarders, Duck Dynasty, and Storage Wars (they’ve moved on to spin-offs like Road Wars, Customer Wars, and Prison Wars now). ... How to Watch A&E With A Free Trial
How to Watch Unimás With a Free Trial
As the sister channel of the much bigger Univision, Unimás is home to popular Spanish-language telenovelas and talk shows (yes, including El Gordo y La Flaca), as well as a couple of sports events and programs. Most notably, however, Unimás also operates a couple of station affiliates around the country, so it also reports local ... How to Watch Unimás With a Free Trial
How to Watch TNT With A Free Trial
For many sports fans, TNT is a non-negotiable. It broadcasts NBA, MLB, NHL, college basketball, and All Elite Wrestling matches. And, as a bonus, it also has reruns of shows like Supernatural, Charmed, and NCIS, as well as films like The Avengers, Dune, and Justice League. But while TNT used to be a cable staple, ... How to Watch TNT With A Free Trial