The Mandalorian returns with the penultimate episode of the season, leading to the inevitable final showdown that will surely come to be in the season finale next week. Once again familiar faces from season one return to help Mando on his continuing quest.
This review will include spoiler-free and spoiler-filled sections, although beware, the spoiler free section will have reveals from last week's chapter 14, so do not read beyond this point unless you have at least seen that episode.
Spoiler-Free Review
Following last week's kidnapping of The Child/ Baby Yoda/ Grogu, The Mandalorian is building a team to get him back as we saw at the end of Chapter 14.
In Chapter 15, this leads to a new format for the series, a heist of sorts to steal information.
The action scenes in this episode felt oddly reminiscent of the coaxium heist in Solo A Star Wars Story without the comedic edge of that film. High stakes on a moving target with a massive explosion being a constant threat.
Following this is a series of scenes of high tension, with Mando taking more risks than we've seen so far in the series. He shows a willingness to break every rule we've gotten used to him following to ensure the safety of Baby Yoda, with the starting signs of some major character development.
Side character Cara Dune, Fennec, and Boba Fett don't have a lot to do in this episode and feel sidelined, although this is likely to reserve them for next week's grand finale of season 2 of the flagship series of Disney Plus.
Spoiler Warning
The episode begins with Cara Dune using her newfound New Republic Marshal powers to break Mayfeld out of a New Republic work prison to help Din Djarin and crew find information about the whereabouts of Moff Gideon, and Baby Yoda alongside him.
They travel to the planet of Morak, where what's left of the Empire is mining a dangerous highly explosive substance from the planet.
The only people who can pass through the scanners of the base are Mando and Mayfeld, so they hijack a transport full of the dangerous substance and attempt to use it to find their way inside the Imperial base. Significantly, this requires Mando to shed his Mandalorian armor for that of a Stormtrooper to blend in, still never shedding his helmet.
Along the way, they are attacked by pirates who attempt to destroy the transport, after having successfully destroyed every other transport to a visible massive explosion above the tree line.
Mando is able to defeat multiple rounds of these pirates utilizing mostly physical combat, but is almost overwhelmed by them before the arrival of two Tie Fighters to save them from their impending demise in a fiery explosion.
Upon arriving, the two of them are celebrated for being the only transport to successfully return to the base.
They then make their way to the system they need to access to get vital information on Moff Gideon's whereabouts, but Mayfeld cannot use it as planned. An officer from his time in the Empire is sitting next to it, and he can't risk being recognized.
This requires Din Djarin to utilize the system, which needs a facial scan in order to give out information. This means for only the second time in the series, Mando takes off his helmet to reveal his face.
But this time, multiple people see it in the Imperial base, including the officer Mayfeld recognized, who asks for identification info on Mando. Mayfeld comes in to save Mando, and they end up having a drink with the officer.
This conversation largely involves Mayfeld speaking indirectly of his time in the Empire, and the reasons he no longer supports it, specifically a time when an entire city full of citizens and soldiers was destroyed for the Empire.
This is then ended by a battle to escape the base, with Cara Dune and Fennec providing support as snipers from the surrounding hills, allowing Boba Fett to pick the newly re-helmeted Mando and Mayfeld up from the base, where he quickly disposes of Tie Fighters after the base is destroyed.
In the aftermath of the battle, Cara Dune and Mando let Mayfeld go free, stating that they will tell the New Republic he was killed in the battle, and begin to plan their next steps against Moff Gideon.
This episode showed a different Mandalorian than we have seen before, willing to take risks, and break his own code in order to dave Grogu. This comes after this season spent time questioning what it means to be a Mandalorian with the introduction of characters like Bo-Katan as well as growing the paternal relationship between Mando and The Child.
It will be interesting to see how this Mandalorian responds in next week's confrontation with Moff Gideon, as well as if any other sidekicks from both seasons will join the fight.
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