Summary: Mando and Bo Katan leave Mandalore but are attacked by TIE fighters that destroy Bo Katan's home. Mando takes her to join his group of Mandalorians, and Bo Katan, having bathed in the waters as well, is allowed to join. On Coruscant, Dr. Pershing is taken into the Amnesty Housing program. There, he meets Officer Kane who used to work for Gideon. Pershing tries to adjust to his new life but misses his research. Kane gives him a chance to get back to his research, and after some time to find himself, he agrees. They go together to an old imperial junkyard to get supplies for his lab. However, Kane is working for the New Republic and it's a trap. Pershing is taken to a Mind Flayer to be indoctrinated better into the New Republic.
The Good: At a time where "The Mandalorian" resolved many of its remaining storylines and was in need of a new interesting direction to go, we get a bold and ambitious episode that starts up a new story focused on the New Republic in a highly compelling way. I love the decision to focus most of this episode on a background character we only briefly met, humanizing him and telling a compelling story that changes our perception of the world. This personal story was highly emotional and it provided something completely different from the simplistic "Star Wars" style that we have become used to. For a franchise that is quickly becoming stale, this was a breath of fresh air. Pershing's story is really good. For this to work, we had to connect with him and understand him, and the show nails this. Pershing is so loveably nerdy and awkward, and Omid Abtahi plays the character masterfully. He comes from humble beginnings and is simply following a passion for science to get through his life. He has good intentions, but finds himself a prisoner scrambling for redemption. Yes, he makes a poor decision that ends up costing him dearly, but we understand his reasoning and his desire to genuinely help, and it's so sad to see him punished so severely for it. The episode does well to make Pershing feel like a real character to make the ending so devastating. Little moments like his questions for the droid, the fun developing relationship between him and Kane, and Pershing getting caught up in the thrills after jumping from the train are really good at humanizing the character and keeping the story grounded in reality. The themes of this episode are very effective. "Star Wars" is typically black and white, but this episode excels at showing that whether it is the Empire or the New Republic, evil will still exist in society. Sure, Pershing worked for the Empire, but we can clearly see that he had his heart in the right place and would genuinely do the same for the New Republic. But, he is treated like a villain and put through unethical torture provided by the New Republic, who think that being anti-Empire excuses any sort of evil that they do. The final scene on Coruscant is terrifying as we see these brainwashed individuals all sitting there and calmly explaining to Pershing that this will be good for him, while Pershing is terrified to lose his humanity. It's a sad moment that conveys the inherent evil that exists in governing powers, evil that is almost impossible to get rid of. Mando and Bo Katan have a small role in the episode, but what we get from them is quite good. The TIE fighter battle was well shot, and it picked up in tension a lot towards the end as Bo Katan's home got destroyed and a massive fleet descended upon them. But the best part about this storyline is Bo Katan's development. She's evidently shaken after seeing a Mythosaur, and her decision to ultimately join the Watch is curious. Perhaps she is having a crisis of faith and is going to return to Mandalorian roots, or perhaps she simply sees an opportunity to take some power for her own and is trying to use this organization to further her own goals. Many have criticized the show for not showing characters' faces, but not seeing Bo Katan's face here does wonders because it makes her next move tougher to predict. We have enough context to understand the character's emotions, but not knowing precisely how she feels has created some exciting tension in her scenes with the Watch. Grogu piping in by trying to say "this is the way" was a cute and funny moment. The Bad: I empathize a lot with people who were frustrated with this episode for spending so much time with a random other character who had little relevance to Mando. While I enjoyed this for being a radical departure because of how it gave some impetus to a show that I was losing interest in, I understand how it may be too radical a departure for others in the same way that the episodes focused on The Mandalorian were too radical of a change for me during "The Book of Boba Fett". This is not a subtle episode by any means. The main idea of the story is explicitly spelled out to you, and the good final scene with Pershing is a bit hurt by how in-your-face the thematic storytelling is. I appreciate the inclusion of these themes a lot, but the execution definitely needed some more subtlety. The fighter sequence at the episode's start was enjoyable, but it took a while for me to get invested in it. At first, it seemed like another filler action scene and that prevented me from getting into the scene for a while. This is telling of how the meaningless action sequences in previous episodes have damaged my investment and trust in the series. The Unknown: Is Bo Katan turning towards believing in the old way after seeing the mythosaur? Is she going to join the Watch? Or is she using them for her own gain? The story can go either way. Who sent the ships to attack Bo Katan and Mando? Why? Is Kane officially working with the New Republic? Does she have ulterior motives? Will we see Pershing again? How will he be changed by the Mind Flayer? Best Moment: The reveal that Kane was working for the New Republic and that they were testing Pershing by trying to emotionally manipulate him, testing his values. The realization of this was shocking, and you feel bad for Pershing who likely would not have done anything against the New Republic if it hadn't been for Kane. The lack of humanity in this approach was horrifying for me, and seeing that Kane had set up Pershing as a test was disgustingly sad. Character of the Episode: Pershing. Conclusion: This was a departure from the norm for "Star Wars" and it worked very well. While not the most subtle of episodes, the story worked very well and this paved the way for new, more interesting stories in the universe. Score: 67
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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