Ricky Church reviews the season one finale of The Mandalorian…
The Mandalorian‘s inaugural season comes to an end in an exciting and suspenseful fashion as Mando, Cara, Greef and Baby Yoda are cornered by the ruthless Moff Gideon and his Imperial troops. Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi directs a tight and focused finale that has a great balance of action and character moments, including some terrific performances from Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito and Waititi himself. ‘Redemption’ tied up most of the season’s loose ends while leaving a few tantalizing teases for the show’s future.
After beginning with a pretty hilarious cold open right up Waititi’s alley, ‘Redemption’ did not take very long to get things started as Mando (or Din Djarin as we know him as now) and his allies faced Gideon’s Death and Stromtroopers. Giancarlo Esposito again shined as the mysterious Moff Gideon, a man who wastes no time in letting everyone know just how much information he has at his disposal and how willing he is to turn to violence. The only downside to the finale was how little Esposito actually appeared, but it is still a mark to his talent that he conveyed as much as he did in so short a time. He is clearly a very formidable opponent and the fact that he himself has such strong ties to Mandalore through his position in the former Empire makes his relationship with Din full of potential. It will be interesting to see how their rivalry might evolve next season.
The core cast did a great job together as Pascal, Carano and Carl Weathers easily sold the strength of their characters’ camaraderie. Pascal in particular got to display a more vulnerable side to Din Djarin through his performance. Whether it was his dismay at the fate of his Mandalorian brothers and sisters, worry for Baby Yoda or facing his own death, Pascal was able to showcase a lot of emotion throughout the finale for a character who has often remained emotionally collected. One of the biggest aspects to Din’s story though was finally coming to terms with his hatred and distrust for droids as he and the reprogrammed IG-11 worked together to protect Baby Yoda. Through this, we got to see Din’s face for the first time as the IG unit found a small (if somewhat debatable) loophole for the Mandalorians’ inability to remove their helmets in front of other living beings. The moment between Din and IG where the droid tended Din’s wounds was well played by Pascal. As debatable as it is for exactly how much Pascal himself was in the suit throughout the season (given that Bryce Dallas Howard revealed she worked with his stunt double, Brendan Wayne, for her episode), he’s never phoned in his vocal performance and makes his brief face time as impactful as it should be.
Anyone familiar with Waititi’s films knows how much comedy he puts into his work and he makes no exception with Star Wars. The opening with the Scout Troopers is enough to make a sketch comedy about Stormtroopers in itself, but he uses IG-11 and Baby Yoda for some nice comedic bits or lighter moments, such as Greef telling the child to “do the magic hand thing”. However, for as much comedic elements there are in the finale Waititi strikes a fine balance between the tension and comedy. The focus he places on the emotional scenes help raise the stakes and makes you question just who will make it out alive or if Din may end up breaking his creed and become excommunicated from his culture. Even Waititi’s performance as the voice of IG-11 balances the ridiculousness of this assassin unit being a nurse droid and the dangerous skill he possesses well through his line deliveries.
When it does come to the action, though, there is plenty to enjoy that deem a rewatch just for how much happens in the background of some of the fights. Waititi gives some great moments, such as Din versus the Death Troopers by hand, IG’s speed through town, Cara mowing down Stormtroopers with her mini-blaster or the TIE chase at the climax. Each sequence is shot very well and is easy to follow despite how much is going on. It is akin to Deborah Chow’s action scenes in ‘The Sin’ with how fluid the characters move and action is edited. ‘Redemption’ also gets credit for not giving us more of the same when it could have easily been the ragtag group blasting Stormtroopers for the whole episode. The action is constantly changing to add some variety to their escape and remains compelling through each scene, though it does again lean on the deus ex machina of Baby Yoda saving them with last second Force powers in one critical scene. Despite that, the differences in the action definitely adds to the finale’s enjoyment.
If there was one shortcoming, though, it would be a lack of answers. The whole season has revolved around Gideon’s acquisition of Baby Yoda, but the ‘why’ of it goes unstated (though hardcore Star Wars fans can surely come up with several good guesses). It is a little bit of a letdown that Gideon’s motivation is still up in the air or that the exact position of Werner Herzog’s deceased Client in this Imperial hierarchy is never addressed as it would only have added to the stakes in protecting Baby Yoda. As it is, Din and the others are only protecting him simply because he is a baby and the Imperials definitely don’t intend to treat him well. While the Armorer does reveal some of the baby’s Force connection to the group as a reason for his importance, it would have been better to hear from Gideon why he wants the child so badly and emphasize why Din needs to seek out more answers.
On that note, ‘Redemption’ does offer some interesting teases for the upcoming second season. With Din taking the child to search for answers about the Jedi and whatever species Yoda is and comes from, The Mandalorian is really opening up the door to the wider world of Star Wars as well as the franchise’s mystical side. It will be interesting to see how Din raises a Force-sensitive being and what Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have planned in the origins of Yoda’s species. Overall, ‘Redemption’ was a great episode from Waititi with an excellent balance of action, comedy and emotion from a tight script by Favreau. The cast work well together and Pascal explores some new territory in his performance as the title character in the finale. ‘Redemption’ is more than a satisfying and epic end to an impressive first season of The Mandalorian.
Rating: 9/10
Ricky Church
