Summary: Mando arrives on Corvus where the planet has been desolated. A village has been taken over by Morgan, a Magistrate who is opposed by Ahsoka. Ahsoka decrees that she will come back to kill her and free the village. Mando is offered a Beskar spear from the Magistrate to kill Ahsoka. Mando finds Ahsoka and introduces Baby Yoda to her. Ahsoka learns his name is Grogu and that he was trained in the Jedi Temple before it fell. Ahsoka trains Grogu a bit but after seeing his attachment to Mando, she refuses to train him. Mando agrees to help Ahsoka save the village in exchange for her training. Together they take down the village and Ahsoka defeats the Magistrate, demanding Thrawn's whereabouts from her. Ahsoka still refuses to train Grogu and tells Mando to take him to Tython where he could potentially connect with another Jedi using the force.
The Good: Some context before I start this review. I haven't watched "Rebels" but I have been filled in by a friend on key characters and storylines in the show so I am familiar with things like what Ahsoka has been up to and with the identity of Thrawn. That being said, I thought that Ahsoka's return in this episode was near perfect. Rosario Dawson did a tremendous job of capturing the essence of the character and bringing her mannerisms, personality and charisma to a live action TV show. Never did I feel like I was watching an imitation of the character, and that's due to some very impressive work by everyone working on this episode, but especially Rosario Dawson herself. This was truly an inspired bit of casting. The opening scene of the episode was terrific and allowed for the return of lightsaber action in a tremendously enjoyable way. Seeing Ahsoka dual wielding was a treat and the entire action sequence was wonderfully shot, memorable and brilliantly choreographed. The same can be said about the climax of the episode which was very entertaining. It was a fun action setpiece with lots of superb shots and well directed action. This is certainly an episode that will please just about every Star Wars fan out there. I really liked the Japanese theme to this episode. We've seen "The Mandalorian" parallel western films before, but now we get to see it try its hand at a samurai film, complete with the imperial rulers, the samurai playing both sides, and the showdown between Ahsoka and the Magistrate towards the end of the episode. On top of that, this episode did something really unique by intersplicing a samurai-inspired duel with a western-inspired showdown between Mando and Lang. It was a unique clash of styles that offered up something I had never seen before. The standout scenes of the episode were definitely the ones with Ahsoka and Grogu. This is the most information we have got on Grogu and it was all very fascinating to learn. The biggest of course being that he has a name! It will be tough to get out of the habit of calling him Baby Yoda, but giving him a name does give Grogu a greater sense of identity as a character which I really like. I thought that his backstory was very intriguing and raised some interesting questions (see: The Unknown). I especially enjoyed the brief bit of force training that Ahsoka did with Grogu and seeing Mando excitedly helping him unlock his powers was a wonderful character moment. There were a couple other details that I really liked. I enjoyed seeing Ahsoka fighting in a style similar to "The Clone Wars" showing that this show does care about the little details in lightsaber fighting styles. I also quite liked the reference to Anakin's fate, with Ahsoka refusing to train Grogu because of what happened to him, which makes sense following her encounter with Darth Vader in "Rebels". Ahsoka has learned from her past experiences, even if it leads her to make the same biased decisions that the Jedi council made back in the prequel trilogy to not train somebody out of fear of what they could do. This is in contrast to the lessons learned by Luke in the sequel trilogy, which is a fascinating bit of deep storytelling. Lastly, I liked the nod to Grand Admiral Thrawn, who it seems will be returning in this show. The Bad: While I had just praised this episode's creativity for paying homage to samurai films and western films at the same time, I wasn't entirely happy with it. The episode ended up feeling a bit phony and inorganic because of how both of these references were thrown at us towards the end with such little subtlety. I think the episode actually lost a great deal of emotional engagement and suspense by trying too hard and being too cute with the homages. I've seen a lot of people praising this episode as near perfect and I honestly do not agree. I enjoyed much of this, but I had issues with it as well. For one, the world of Corvus was a complete disappointment. I was excited to travel to a new planet in this episode but we have pretty much no world-building done here at all. We're not given any information on this village or how it works, and we're given less information on why the Magistrate is here on this planet. Apparently she is here to just cause destruction because that's all that burning the trees is going to do. Furthermore, we also have no idea why Ahsoka is on Corvus and how Bo Katan knows this, which is a question that should have been answered. If she was simply tracking the Magistrate, would she really have stayed on Corvus for as long as she does? This episode feels very familiar. Even though a lot more happened in this episode, it still follows the same basic formula of Mando arriving on a new planet, meeting some characters, getting a quest, finishing the quest, and then leaving. This is not new content at all and it's starting to become old since the characters aren't being explored very much during these adventures. Much of what we saw in this episode was familiar stuff. The action sequences lacked tension completely and relied heavily on the gorgeous cinematography to be good. Luckily for them, they were very well done, but there's only so much I can get out of good looking visuals. Furthermore, the homages in this episode were mostly already done. The western homages are starting to get old, and the slashes homages that were present here had already been explored back in "The Prisoner" from last season. Additionally, Ahsoka's current story feels like a carbon copy of Bo Katan's. Both characters have gone to a specific planet to complete a specific mission while on the hunt to find a character that they want to fight. Both storylines are very similar, and they don't have enough storytelling potential to interest me in seeing the same idea explored twice. Looking at things like that, a lot of things in this episode were recycled and while that doesn't make this a bad episode, it blocks it from being anything truly special since I feel like I've already seen a lot of what this episode has to offer. And that is the problem I have with "Star Wars" as a whole in its current state. "The Last Jedi" was a mixed movie to say the least, but it's the only "Star Wars" product that has come out since Disney acquired the license to have a unique vision and try something new. As much fun as "The Mandalorian" is, it plays it completely safe and relies far too much on fanservice and "giving the fans what they want" to tell its story. But in doing so, the show feels rather hollow and lifeless, as if it is only focused on pleasing the fans and nothing else. The show has forgotten to tell a story that's worth watching. There is nothing underneath the surface, no emotion, no complexity, no substance. The show feels empty in spite of all that it is doing right, and this is one of the biggest reasons that I just can't view this episode as any more than good. Shouldn't Moff Gideon have found Ahsoka through the tracker he planted on the Razor Crest? The pacing feels strange since the last episode ended with such a big cliffhanger and reveal but none of that was important in this episode. While I typically like standalone episodes like the ones this series is specializing in, I feel that this show could be paced better to service the overarching story. The Unknown: Who took Grogu from the temple? How did he manage to get away in the chaos? Why was Grogu prioritized to be taken out of the temple? Has Mando led Moff Gideon to Ahsoka? Where is Thrawn? Why is Ahsoka hunting him down? What has he been doing since he was sent to the unknown regions in "Rebels"? What will Mando find on Tython? Will a Jedi respond to Grogu when he gets there? Best Moment: Mando reacting to Grogu successfully using the force. It's the closest this episode got to genuine character investment. Character of the Episode: Ahsoka. Conclusion: I liked this episode. There is a lot to love with how Ahsoka's return was handled, and there was plenty of interesting lore and mythology revealed in this episode to keep things interesting. However, this was by no means a classic episode of television. It's excellent "Star Wars" content, but unfortunately the repetitive, shallow and unsatisfying nature of "Star Wars" following the failure of "The Last Jedi" means that excellent "Star Wars" content doesn't translate to excellent television. This is merely good. Score: 63
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Summary: Jake and Amy book a venue for their wedding only for it to be snagged by The Vulture. Charles and Rosa are tasked to find the missing Sergeant Peanut Butter. Holt tries to get Terry to acknowledge his problem that he loves to be loved by everyone.
The Good: I enjoyed a lot of this. Jake and Amy's enthusiasm carried the main story and I found their interactions to be tons of fun. The Vulture's cameo was pretty good and the show found a creative way to use him by having him snag Jake and Amy's venue despite not being into his own relationship at all. Having Jake and Amy go after him and ending up in a moral crisis was enjoyable television that had good storytelling and some nice laughs. Hitchcock's brief appearances were also excellent. Terry and Holt's story feels like filler but it's helped by the fact that both Terry Crews and Andre Braugher brought their A-game to some good dialogue and laughs, making the most out of every moment. Rosa and Charles' story was fine and had the odd laugh as well. What worked best was how Terry and Charles' storylines combined with a feel-good ending. The Bad: The two side storylines were rather dull until the ending. As much fun as I had with them, I can't overlook how thin they felt and how rushed they were throughout the episode. The toit nups line was very much hammered in and it felt like the episode was trying to hard to make a catchphrase. It was amusing the first time, but after that it became annoying. Best Moment: Holt's anger at being called Ray by Terry. Is there anything Holt says that isn't funny? Character of the Episode: Holt, though Terry is a close second. Conclusion: This was another solid episode, but another episode that didn't really excel. I'm glad that this season has found more consistency and this episode was a breeze to watch, but I can't help but feel that the show can do better than this. In spite of this, I have been enjoying this season so far. Score: 65 Summary: Monica and Chandler throw a halloween party and everybody comes by.
The Good: This was tremendous fun. You're always in for a wonderful episode when the premise puts all of the 6 main cast members together to interact with each other and have fun. This episode was really enjoyable with tons of fun interactions. The costumes provided a nice way to get in some laughs, Ross and Chandler's feud was really fun, Rachel's troubles with kids made for the odd laugh and Phoebe's story was surprisingly good and saw the character of Phoebe utilized in a way that makes her sweet, funny and likeable, something that has become rarer and rarer as the show has gone on. As a whole, this episode embodies what I enjoy about "Friends" and while it wasn't the very best execution of the concept of everyone being together, it was still very fun. The Bad: A couple laughs here and there didn't quite land but I won't go too far into the details. Joey mocking Chandler is funny but compare this to how Joey did it back in "The One where No One's Ready" and you can see how the show's humour has gotten less clever and more silly. It's still funny but the stark change in styles is the key reason why this episode doesn't work quite as well. Best Moment: I'll go with Chandler awkwardly calling Mona a slutty nurse when she walks in, a great laugh. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: This was a really fun episode. While it doesn't hit the highest of highs, there is a lot to love here and I had a great time watching this. Season 8 is off to a very strong start with a few excellent episodes. Score: 75 Summary: Holt falls back into a gambling addiction when helping Jake and Terry with a case. Rosa tries to prove to Hitchcock and Scully that she can sit for longer than them. Charles gets Amy's help to open up a food truck business.
The Good: I enjoyed much of this. The central story was very well done. Holt's gambling past feels odd to be brought up this late in the show, yet it fits perfectly with the character. There have been hints of his love for gambling before (like the one episode with Pimento) and this character conflict fits nicely with the less robotic personality that Holt had in the past. The story was told well, had some nice moments and a lot of good laughs. I really enjoyed the contractions reveal since it made perfect sense, was set up well, and made Jake look genuinely smart as a detective. The side stories were fine. Charles' murder truck had some good ideas and Rosa gaining respect for Hitchcock and Scully was a nice side venture. The Bad: I do wish that the side stories had been given more time to develop. They felt rushed and I feel like more could have been done with them. Amy investing in Charles' truck was a strange idea and not one that I ever bought into. Their storyline and conflict was silly and quite difficult to buy into. Neither character came off well in this episode. This episode as a whole wasn't as funny as the show usually is. It's still good stuff, but coming off of last week's hilarious episode it was a noticeable step down. Best Moment: I'll go with Charles becoming Jake's "BM" in the cold open. Easily the funniest part of the episode. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: While not one of the show's funnier episodes, this was pretty solid and it had some nice moments. A good episode. Score: 65 Summary: The precinct competes in its fifth annual Halloween heist, with everybody getting a chance to claim the title of amazing human/genius.
The Good: Halloween episodes always deliver and this was no exception. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" excels when its characters are allowed to be them goofy selves for good reason, and that reason was provided here. The motivation of the heist allowed everyone to be at their entertaining best in attempts to win, and with the show's sense of humour getting better and better with each season, the Halloween episodes too continue to get better and better. This episode was absolutely hilarious with superb jokes surrounding things like Bill's pyramid scheme, Amy's constant trashing of Jake and Holt's never-ending supply of hilarious lines including "you're just some common bitch" and his excessive repetition of "cummerbund". As expected of Halloween episodes, this one had twists on top of twists until it ended and it was tremendous fun to watch all of them. Furthermore, the final twist of Jake asking Amy to marry him was absolutely perfect. Not only was it fitting for their relationship but it also gave this episode a greater purpose to it, and provided a genuinely touching and memorable moment to close out the episode. Plus getting the whole precinct's reactions was a magnificent touch. The Bad: Nothing I can call bad. This was tremendous entertainment. Best Moment: There are so many outstanding jokes and lines to choose from, and on top of that there's the wonderful moment of Jake proposing. If I had to single out just one moment, I'll go with Terry being given 3 GPS trackers before the heist, something that was laughably ridiculous yet fit in perfectly with the both the tone of the show and the crazy antics of Halloween heists. Conclusion: Such a magnificent episode of television. These Halloween heists feel like they are from a completely different show with their extreme absurdity, insane fun factor and crazy creativity. It's a blast every season and this one was the very best of them. This was both a hilarious episode and a touching episode and it was easily the best episode the show has ever done. I doubt we'll see this kind of quality from the show again... at least until the next Halloween episode. Score: 85 Summary: Mando stops on Nevarro and gets help from Greef to repair his ship. He catches up with Cara and Greef and learns that they have been rebuilding Nevarro, also with the help of Mythrol from "Chapter One". But there is an inhabited imperial base that remains and they need to destroy it. Mando agrees to help and they go to the base. Once inside, they discover it's a lab where force-based research is being done for Moff Gideon. They blow up the lab and escape after a chase. Mando leaves quickly. Moff Gideon is updated that the imperials have placed a tracker on the Razor Crest.
The Good: This was another really fun episode. I thought that a lot of things about this episode were better than the previous one. For one, the story was paced better and included more world building and story progression. Last episode was good but it felt quick and had an air of unimportance to it despite the big appearance of Bo Katan. This episode felt much more significant as a piece of the story. Last episode felt as if it was structured around Bo Katan telling Mando to go find Ahsoka. This one felt like it had a worthy story to explore. The second big reason I liked this more was that the characters were more enjoyable. Bo Katan's crew were new characters and were honestly a little boring in the prior episode. Returning to familiar characters like Cara, Greef and Mythrol worked really well here and made the mission to destroy the lab much more exciting than the mission to steal the weapons from the last episode. Overall, I thought that this episode was executed better despite feeling similar to the last one. The assault on the imperial lab was a lot of fun too. This is classic "Star Wars" with a group of characters going on a mission into enemy territory together and having it result in some wild fun, which is exactly what happened here. Even though the logistics weren't all there (see: The Bad), I greatly enjoyed the chase that served as the episode's climax and I thought it was very impressive to see this whole sequence in a TV show. The worldbuilding on Nevarro was much more satisfying than the worldbuilding on Trask. We already know this planet, so it was wonderful to come back later to see how much it had changed. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the quality of life improvements on the planet and I thought it was a nice bit of worldbuilding. Thankfully this episode had lots of elements related to the overarching plot and I really enjoyed that. The mysterious message in the lab was very interesting and raised tons of questions (see: The Unknown) while the ending scenes did a magnificent job connecting the events of this episode to other aspects of the story like the New Republic and Moff Gideon. The Bad: I've compared this episode a lot to "The Heiress" and for good reason. This episode felt extremely similar in structure to that one and it felt like I was watching a very familiar episode this time around. Sure it was a better structured episode, but this one had the misfortune of coming afterwards so a lot of what happened here didn't feel as original or impressive as the content from "The Heiress". Some of what happened at the imperial compound didn't make sense. First of all, how many imperials were on Nevarro to begin with? Didn't Gideon bring his full force in "The Reckoning' last season? It doesn't make sense that there are more troops that were just hanging out and not helping with the capture of Baby Yoda. Furthermore, the design of this lab was perplexing. There are speeders intended to protect the lab, but they are almost useless because half of them crashed and burned just trying to get out of the lab because of the cliffside location. Why would they not bring more ships instead of speeders that would be useless? Finally, how did the speeders even catch up to the vehicle that Cara, Greef and Mythrol hijacked? They had such a big head start that somehow completely vanished in between shots. Lastly, the heat shaft was unrealistically dangerous to be around. Are there no health and safety regulations in this universe? It's difficult to buy into the self destruct button to be so easily accessible, and it's difficult to buy into it being so easy to fall to your death into the heat shaft. The jokes with Mythrol's cowardice got old fast and were constantly repeated to the point of annoyance. This season's jokes haven't been very good so far. The Unknown: How much time has passed between season 1 and 2? Nevarro has been drastically improved and Greef's facial hair has gone completely white. Surely it has been a while, but how long? What is being studied at the lab? Will "The Mandalorian" tie into the sequel trilogy? Are we seeing the story of how Palpatine was brought back from the dead? It seems like a plausible end goal for these research projects. Did the people say that they have another child used in experimenting? How many others are there? Who deployed the tracking beacon on the Razor Crest? Was it a character we know? Did Greef or Mythrol betray Mando? Best Moment: The mysterious lab footage. It was very intriguing stuff that built the mystery of the show tremendously well. Character of the Episode: Cara. Conclusion: This was another pretty good episode. It had ups and downs, but overall it was an effective piece of entertainment that really got this season moving. Score: 64 Summary: Jake gets Holt to evaluate him so that he can get back to working a case, as opposed to just doing desk work. Rosa gets advice from Terry and Amy when she thinks that Pimento is cheating on her.
The Good: This was a fun episode and a welcome return to the status quo after what was probably the show's longest overarching storyline so far. It was a blast getting a story just centered around the precinct for once. I greatly enjoyed Jake's storyline in this episode. Not only was it funny with Holt being a gem as usual (the squats were hilarious), but it also put Jake through some worthy character development, showing us how his time in prison affected him. I really like this detail and it's one of the first times in this show that I've felt like the events of these overarching storylines have had consequences. Rosa is handled similarly well. The writers are smart enough to run a different story with her, this time fixated on her relationship with Pimento. Their story is very well written as well and we get to learn more about how Rosa was affected by prison. The break-up with Pimento was well handled and well explored and I thought that the characters were very well utilized. And of course Terry and Amy were terrific in their supporting roles. Pimento was used sparingly here and that role fits him much better than being pushed the the forefront of the story. Pimento's always funniest when he comes in for the odd joke. The Bad: The only character who I thought wasn't handled well was Charles. He's funny, but it really feels like he's just along for the ride and is as useless as Hitchcock and Scully throughout the episode. A lot of Jake's poor decisions in this episode should have been checked up by Charles to properly draw on the fact that Jake may not be the same but instead Charles comes off as a total chump. Is he funny? Yeah. But the character looks like a woeful detective in this episode. Best Moment: There were lots of great jokes. I laughed the hardest at Pimento screaming during hopscotch. Character of the Episode: I'll give it to Terry, he was terrific here. Conclusion: This was a refreshing episode. The characters were all utilized well, the stories were good and the episode had tons of great jokes. Score: 70 Summary: Jake tries to get information on Romero to give to the warden. The Nine-Nine work to find some evidence on Hawkins to get Jake and Rosa out of jail.
The Good: There is a lot to enjoy here. Jake's story is pretty fun and has some fun moments like with Jake in solitary, and the creative turn of events that ended with Jake being found out as a snitch despite him doing everything right. The Nine-Nine working to free Jake had fun moments. I enjoyed Amy being weirded out by Charles' antics and straight Holt was an absolute delight to watch. The ending reveal with Holt using Seamus to frame Hawkins is an intriguing development that ends the episode fittingly. The Bad: It makes no sense that Romero would tell Jake where the blizz comes in just because he is using it. He's high, he could literally tell anyone else this information at any given moment! Romero as a whole didn't quite click because the character didn't have a whole lot to him. The same goes for Caleb who felt like he was straight out of a cartoon for much of this episode. As expected, Hawkins' defeat is very by-the-numbers and surprisingly unsatisfying. I suppose this will go down as another rather forgettable storyline due to the tame ending that Hawkins was given. Best Moment: Every moment with straight Holt was magic. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This episode was a bit of a mixed bag. There were plenty of funny moments but some aspects of this overarching story didn't land as well as I had hoped. I suppose that's par for the course for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and its long-running storylines though. Score: 61 Summary: Jake tries to survive in prison with his cellmate Caleb the cannibal. Rosa sends Holt and Terry to do tasks for her when they make her feel uncomfortable by behaving weirdly around her.
The Good: This was overall a pretty good episode. I thought that the prison setting was utilized very well and Jake was hilarious throughout the episode as he tried to settle in. His interactions with Caleb were a ton of fun and the show did well in crafting a memorable side character with Caleb and his cannibalistic antics. The brief exploration of the corruption of the prison system worked surprisingly well, especially since the show actually focused on the topic for more than just a small laugh. I enjoyed Rosa's side story as well which was written brilliantly to showcase Rosa's discomfort while also allowing Holt, Terry and even Hitchcock to be at their comedic best. The Bad: Some of the jokes were far too dark for the show. I understand that spending so much time in the prison would cause tonal issues, but I still feel like much of this episode bordered on territory that was too dark and upsetting. Caleb is funny, but the more time the show spends on the cannibalism idea, the more uncomfortable I became. I feel similarly to the character of Romero who feels far too serious and threatening to fit appropriately in a comedy show. Best Moment: Holt playing the gay card (yas queen). Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This episode had tonal problems but overall it utilized the setting well and ended up being very funny. This was really enjoyable and is probably one of the show's better episodes that focus on an overarching story. Score: 69 Summary: Mando arrives on Trask and goes to the inn in search of information. He connects with a crew of sailors who offer to take him to the other Mandalorians. Along the way they try to kill Mando for his armour, but the other Mandalorians arrive and save him. They are Bo Katan who has a small squad. Mando agrees to help them steal weapons from an Imperial ship in exchange for directions to the jedi. The group successfully steal the entire ship and Bo Katan reveals that she is looking for the darksaber. Afterwards, Mando is given directions to Ahsoka and goes to meet her.
The Good: This episode is a joy for all "Star Wars" fans with the return of Bo Katan, further information on what's happened on Mandalore and the mention of Ahsoka. The overall narrative of the "Star Wars" saga got a lot more clarity with this episode and that's definitely a good thing. But what's best about this is that even for people who aren't big "Star Wars" fans, this is still very watchable stuff and it doesn't require prior knowledge of the series to be appreciated. I liked the introduction of Death Watch. Their different lifestyle compared to Mando was intriguing and it made it very interesting to see if Mando would accept them as Mandalorians even if they take off their helmets. I was also very engaged while the episode was giving us more information about Mandalore. The attack on the ship was a lot of fun. It was all-out action with a couple of pretty funny moments thrown in there as well. It's exactly the kind of wacky fun that I want to get from this show. Speaking of wacky fun, I once again loved the opening scene. I wasn't really into it for a while since it seemed clear to me that the Razor Crest was going to stick the landing no problem. But then there was that hilarious subversion as the ship plummets into the water at the very end, a moment that made me laugh out loud. The Bad: As you can see I don't really have much to say about this one. And that's because this episode was actually less than 30 minutes of content. It feels like far too short of an episode, and some extra time would have served the show well to better develop the new characters and spend more time exploring Trask. The frog characters ended up being quite useless. Here they are just a means to watch over Baby Yoda. Furthermore, Mando risked his life and money for this mission, and the reward that the Frog Man gives him is pointing to the inn where Mando has to ask and pay somebody else for more information. Is Mando really just the world's biggest chump? Plus how am I supposed to like the frog characters now since they basically just conned Mando into helping them with his only reward being a finger point towards the inn. Simply poor writing. Something about this episode makes it feel worse than it should be. Things feel somewhat rushed the entire time and you get the feeling that the story is hampered by the writers doing their best to keep things vague. The dialogue doesn't feel natural and it doesn't feel like there are actual characters on display here. The whole episode is very plot-heavy and doesn't do much of anything for the characters at all. That makes it feel pretty dull. The Unknown: What is happening on Mandalore right now? Why does everyone die when they go there? What happened to Bo Katan after The Clone Wars? How did she lose the darksaber to Moff Gideon? Will we be seeing Ahsoka next episode? What has she been up to? Best Moment: Probably Mando learning about Bo Katan and the disconnect he felt from her. This was the only part of the episode that actually explored a character in conflict. Character of the Episode: Bo Katan. Conclusion: This was a decent episode overall. While very short, this was a significant episode for "Star Wars" and it was exciting to watch. The show didn't care enough to try to make this a special episode, but it's fine for what it is. Score: 62 Summary: Jake and Amy work together to find some evidence to stop him from going to jail. Holt tries to convince Rosa to not leave the country. Charles takes Terry to meet a hacker who he plans to use to get information on Hawkins.
The Good: This episode is a lot of fun. It certainly feels like the climax of the season and it does a lot of things well. A lot of the humour here goes more in the direction of parody and I thought it worked surprisingly well. There were plenty of courtroom tropes and clichés that were explored and laughed at in this episode and I enjoyed that. I also quite liked how Charles inexplicably aged so much despite it making no sense at all. The scenes with him were executed well enough that I bought into it, and the final gag of Charles "miraculously" standing up again was hilarious. I really enjoyed Charles and Terry's story and the constant hacking done to Terry was a great running joke. I also really liked Holt and Rosa's storyline. It made perfect sense and utilized a pairing that we haven't seen very much of to create a pretty touching story of Rosa being unable to leave her real family. Jake's antics in the episode were a ton of fun, including but not limited to his woefully timed bank robbery jokes and his constant repetition of "cool" to close out the episode. Another character who was used well is Gina. I thought that this episode recaptured what makes her so entertaining. I also applaud this episode for not taking itself too seriously and having there be consistent laughs to ensure that the episode remains entertaining. The Bad: However, the episode doesn't give enough detail to the courtroom scenes so under scrutiny a lot of things don't make sense. For example, lots of evidence isn't sufficiently made available and the idea that Holt wouldn't testify the idea of an off-the-books investigation is absurd. It makes the Nine-Nine seem like idiots for not taking the obvious route in planning Jake and Rosa's defense. Another issue is the two month time skip which feels oddly timed. It feels strange that nothing much happened in these two months, especially considering the new plot thread of Gina's pregnancy. I was excited for the news channel parody cold open but I found it to be very underwhelming as the jokes should have been much better. Best Moment: There were lots of great jokes. My favourite would probably be Charles' "miraculous" recovery. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This was a very funny and very climactic episode that delivered exactly what I wanted. Under scrutiny a lot of this episode doesn't hold up and has the ability to really frustrate some people, but I think that the episode was better for focusing more on jokes than the intricate details of the judicial system. I may have enjoyed this episode more than most as a result since I could definitely see people being upset with how this was handled. For me though, I found this to be a funny and entertaining conclusion to season 4. Season 4 as a whole was easily the show's weakest season. The first 3/4 of the season were pretty poor and outside of the outstanding "Halloween IV", most episodes handled characters poorly and had some weak, aimless storylines. Furthermore, every overarching storyline in the first half of the season fell flat on its face and didn't satisfy me at all. The final few episodes of the season did have more consistency though, and even though I'm not a fan of the show's overarching storylines, I thought that the closing act to this season was well done. As a whole, I think the season did improve with these final few episodes but it's still a step down from the quality that "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" showed early in its run. The one bit of hope I have for the show is that I think it has gotten funnier as it has went along. If the writing can be stronger in the next few seasons, I can see this show recovering since its sense of humour has gotten really good this season. Score: 71 Summary: Jake and Rosa form a plan to take down Hawkins. Charles, Terry and Amy try to find out where Gina has been disappearing off to and discover that she is pregnant.
The Good: I enjoyed the main story quite a bit. The focus on the Jake and Rosa this season has been a welcome change and this episode did great to celebrate that. The past two episodes have handled both Jake and Rosa exceptionally well, and I think this is the most entertaining and well-defined Rosa has ever been in the show. I enjoyed the plan they made to take down Hawkins, and the twist at the end of the episode was very interesting and sets up what should be a very fun season finale. I also really enjoyed Pimento's brief scenes which utilized the character perfectly without putting too much of the focus on him. The Bad: The issue here is that the side story was really poor. With such a huge plot-heavy storyline going on with Jake, Rosa and Holt, it feels underwhelming to have everyone else in the precinct following Gina around to discover her secret. This story had some flaws too. Charles immediately spilling the beans about knowing about Gina's pregnancy felt far too forced and wasn't that funny. Then having the squad actually believe that Gina was knocking up a celebrity was absurd, they should know Gina well enough by now to know that it isn't true. So much for them being detectives. I also thought that Gina's relationship with Milton fell flat and it looks to be heading very much in the direction of Rosa/Marcus with how little I care. I also thought this story was woefully rushed as a lot of ideas were covered but none of them were properly explored in entertaining ways. As a final complaint, I thought that this episode didn't utilize Holt as much as it should have. Best Moment: Pimento snorting more and more cocaine. Character of the Episode: Rosa. Conclusion: This was an episode of two halves. One was really fun with an interesting twist at the end, and the other was very poorly executed and left me feeling rather empty. As a result this is a mixed episode. Score: 60 Summary: Jake and Rosa compete to try to join the task force of Lieutenant Hawkins, a revered detective. Terry and Charles struggle to stop Hitchcock and Scully from fighting. Holt loses Amy's pen and forces her to let out how she feels about that.
The Good: Jake and Rosa's story was really well done. The competition between them felt believable and the added detail of them taking time to declare it an official competition made the story much more believable. Jake and Rosa always feel like genuine friends when they are in a story together and that remained true here with how they treated each other. I thought the story of them both deciding to let the other get the position was perfect and it made for a worthy story. Plus the competition ended up being extremely funny. The end of the episode offers an interesting cliffhanger which will likely provide the story that will be used to conclude the season. The side stories here were pretty solid. Hitchcock and Scully fighting had some funny moments and I liked the continuity with the source of their frustrations being Scully's new girlfriend Cindy. I thought the Holt/Amy story was solid and had some funny moments, particularly Gina demonstrating that Amy is unable to be upset with Holt. The Bad: The Hitchcock/Scully story is a little bit too difficult to buy into and the resolution is cartoonish. And once again the show decides to portray Gina as a savior as she somehow solves this problem too. The character is funny when she believes she is a savior when she isn't, it comes off as ridiculous and annoying when Gina somehow is able to be the savior in many episodes in a row. The show has turned Gina into an annoying character with how she has been handled this season, which is a shame. Best Moment: The running joke of Rosa spiking Jake's drinks and then his gum with caffeine was excellent. Character of the Episode: Rosa. Conclusion: This was another strong episode with plenty of good laughs and three rock solid storylines. The Gina stuff continues to bring down the past few episodes, but thankfully the writing has become more consistent to make up for it. Score: 68 Summary: Jake gets to work a case with Holt regarding Holt's mother whose house was broken into and things take a personal turn. Amy tries to teach Gina how to change a tire. Terry, Rosa and Charles make modifications to the break room.
The Good: The Jake/Holt pairing does wonders again. It was tremendously fun seeing these two interacting regarding Holt's mother and the jokes in this storyline were superb. It was also nice to see a meaningful storyline being told which gives us more information on Holt's family and it gets to test Holt and Jake's relationship in a unique new way. This was a really well done storyline that stands out as one of the season's best. The side stories had their moments. Amy's awkward prank show recovery was fantastic, and I enjoyed seeing the new additions to the break room going awry. The Bad: Gina gets yet another episode to come across as needlessly annoying. It's hard to buy into Amy dedicating so much time to Gina who is always mean to her and clearly doesn't like her at all. What's worse is how Gina takes apart Amy's car to prove her point. The way that the show has used Gina this season has been puzzling. The break room storyline does feel like filler even if it is entertaining to watch. Best Moment: Andre Braugher's execution of "cowabunga mother!" was an absolute delight. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: The main storyline here is superb and has both jokes and story, while the side stories hold their own and don't feature as much sloppiness as the show has typically put in this season. This is a consistent episode and I enjoyed it a lot. Score: 68 Summary: jake and Rosa go hunting after Amy after she runs away before her sergeant's exam. Terry and Holt try to spruce up the kids room. Gina comes into possession of the Boyle family's mother dough.
The Good: Jake going after Amy is a fun storyline and it allows Jake to really shine as a character. Throughout the episode he is at his immature best with things like trivia night, his Amy impression and the die hard off the roof sequence being highlights. It's a lot of fun. I also liked that this episode touched on Jake and Amy's relationship in a meaningful way. Terry and Holt have some funny moments in their story, particularly Holt whose petty side returns in this episode. The Bad: Much of this episode felt kind of worthless. Terry and Holt's storyline is pure filler and has almost nothing to offer. On top of that, having Terry and Holt waste time playing with trains instead of working really demeans the fact that these characters have jobs to be doing. Charles and Gina's storyline is pretty poor. It's nothing new from these characters at all and feels like treading familiar ground. Gina is horribly annoying once again as she both blackmails Charles and destroys a family heirloom. Yet somehow the episode still expects it to be alright when she fixes everything by the end of the episode. The show has really been playing up Gina's annoying tendencies while thinking that it's acceptable and it's making me dislike the character a lot. Gina has never felt more selfish, and I feel a disconnect with the character this season. The Amy storyline is hurt by the fact that it seems so implausible for Amy to run away suddenly. She's a far more responsible character than that, so this decision feels very forced. Furthermore, having this sergeant's exam come right out of nowhere hurts the continuity of the show and makes it feel more like the gimmick of an episode instead of the significant plot development it should be. Best Moment: Jake's impression of Amy. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This episode was fine for laughs and had some heart with the Jake/Amy storyline, but it had tons of flaws and left me feeling very unsatisfied by the end. Another below par instalment. Score: 54 Summary: Manda returns to Peli who has arranged a deal for him. She found somebody who has information on a Mandalorian living on Trask, but in exchange Mando has to help transport a new character, the Frog Lady to Trask where he gets the information. Mando accepts but gets questioned by the New Republic and flees. In his escape he crashes into an ice cave and is attacked by spiders. The New Republic people find and save him, choosing not to arrest him after searching up his record due to how he allowed for the arrest of 4 other criminals back in "The Prisoner". Mando fixes up his ship and leaves.
The Good: There were more fun Easter Eggs here, as is expected from this show. I enjoyed bits and pieces of this episode. Mando's encounter with the New Republic was fun and it was nice to see that the show had the budget to pull off a ship chase sequence. I really enjoyed the opening scene which served as an exciting standalone opening sequence, showing Mando getting into trouble but fighting off the people who attacked him. Baby Yoda had cute moments in this episode that were fun, especially after he did almost nothing in the first episode. The Bad: This was a huge step back from the first episode and I disliked vast majority of the episode. The biggest problem was how pointless this whole thing felt. Nothing in this episode was important barring a few lines of exposition early on. Quite literally nothing about this episode progressed the storyline and it felt like a meaningless side story that could be skipped altogether. To make matters worse, there was also no character work in this episode at all, and the worldbuilding was lackluster, especially when put up against the brilliant work done in "The Marshal". This was by far the most pointless episode of the show so far. Furthermore, this is the only episode of the show that didn't end with a resolution of some kind. Mando is still flying towards Trask and all that was resolved was the threat of the New Republic and the spiders which are threats that just scream filler to me. I was never emotionally engaged in either of these storylines so getting resolution to them made me feel nothing. Not having Mando get to Trask by the end of the episode was a poor decision, and it feels genuinely perplexing when you realize how short this episode was and how easy it would be to squeeze in an extra scene to finish this story. The story itself was terrible. The Frog Lady is one of the most forgettable characters so far and there were so many inconsistencies with her. For one, she somehow switches from being able to understand Mando and not being able to understand him at will. In the first scene, she doesn't understand him at all, yet when she speaks through Zero (why is he even here, surely the droid-hating Mando would have sent him away ages ago), somehow she is able to understand Mando without translations. It's very inconsistent. Even worse are her eggs. Apparently these eggs are so important that they drive the entire plot. These eggs would be her only lineage so it makes sense. What doesn't make sense are her motives. Is the criminal Mando really the best way for Frog Lady to secure passage to Trask? She is in Mos Eisley, surely there are hundreds of others that could provide passage. Yet she insists on going with Mando for some reason. How did she get here anyways if her species is only able to survive on Trask? The writers don't care enough to answer this. And also, how the hell does she not notice Baby Yoda eating her spawn? The show plays this off as cute but it is quite horrifying to see Baby Yoda eat Frog Lady's babies and I don't find it anywhere near as cute as the show thinks it is. But it also feels strange that these eggs are so important yet Frog Lady doesn't notice when Baby Yoda eats them. Mando's motives in this episode are also terrible. Quite frankly there is no way I would believe that Mando would ever risk going on this mission, especially since, as he said, it's not safe for him to fly around slowly since he's a criminal. The only motive we are given is that Peli vouches for Frog Lady with her life which seems to convince Mando (although I really don't know why Mando trusts her so much anyways). But even that is proven to be worthless since Peli has only known Frog Lady for 10 minutes! So if that's the case, there is no reason for Mando to risk this! And the mission almost costs him his life anyways, so it makes Mando look incredibly stupid for taking this unnecessary risk. The actual story of this episode is based off of contrivances as well. The entire spider plot is only set into motion by the stupidity of the characters. Baby Yoda just has to eat everything to kick off this story (eating the spider was gross television that didn't need to happen) and that is just silly. Mando should know better than to leave Baby Yoda on his own, especially in an ice cave where he could easily get lost. Furthermore, Mando should be watching Baby Yoda closely with the frog eggs being out in the open, so it's absurd that we're supposed to believe he would look away for so long. Lastly, Frog Lady marching out into the cave alone for an inexplicable reason was just awful storytelling, and it's such a bad trope to have an important character leave for no reason and get themselves into trouble. The New Republic's involvement at the end of the episode was awful. First of all, they serve as a very unsatisfying deus ex machina. Secondly, their involvement makes no sense. These guys hunted down Mando and apparently could not find him so they went to the base and ran tabs, which is when they saw who he was and decide to let him go. Yet after that they apparently decided to go looking for him anyways and find him in the ice cave? Somehow? Why on Earth would they go back to find him, especially since he would most likely have been long gone in any other case!? Furthermore, these guys proceeded to save Mando's life by killing the spiders, yet inexplicably left him in the ice cave with a destroyed ship to die. Why did they bother saving him anyways? Nothing adds up and the motives of these characters make no sense. It's horrific TV writing. Furthermore, Mando tried to hide Frog Lady's presence from them in the earlier scene. Why? We aren't given any good reason why she should be kept secret and I was horribly confused by this. The Unknown: What will Mando find on Trask? What is the lead on another Mandalorian? Will Mando have any other encounters with the New Republic? Best Moment: The opening sequence. Character of the Episode: Baby Yoda for being cute in most scenes. Conclusion: This episode stinks. It was pure filler so it was almost impossible to emotionally engage, and on top of that it featured the worst writing that I have seen in this show so far. This was a huge step back after the season premier and it's an episode that I would honestly just skip. Score: 42 Summary: The Nine-Nine goes to a cop-con at Rochester with plans to party. Holt runs for a high ranking position to earn the Nine-Nine back some prestige.
The Good: I really liked this. The episode reminded me of "Beach House" in terms of concept with the episode being about the precinct on a vacation with Holt feeling like he isn't included. But unlike that episode, this one felt like it had more to say and was much better executed. I really enjoyed Holt's storyline. His nemesis was avery fun character for Holt to play off of and I thought that the story of this episode was much mroe engaging and fit the character arc of how the Nine-Nine has transformed Holt into a goofier character. The transition hasn't been smooth at all and has been one of my bigger problems with this season, but moments like these still deliver really well. As for the vacation stuff, this was tremendous stuff. Rather than leaving cop stuff behind, this episode was firmly oriented around solving a case (where the laptop bag went), and because of that, this episode felt like a "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" episode with a twist rather than something that feels like it could belong in any other sitcom. I thought that this helped the episode a lot. The laughs in the episode in general were excellent and it was consistently funny. Seeing the squad hungover was a ton of fun and each character added to the humour in natural ways. I also really enjoyed Scully's little side arc. The Bad: Nothing I would outright call bad. This episode treads on very familiar ground due to its similarities with "Beach House" but seeing how well executed this was, I'm more forgiving of it. Best Moment: Lots of laughs to go around. The moment that did it for me was Hitchcock being knocked out and that somehow getting the party started. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This is what I've wanted from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" all season. An all around funny episode that has a storyline that makes sense and utilizes its cast well without any of the stupidity that has plagued many of the storylines this season. This isn't anything too special, but it's a load of fun and that's all that I want. More of this please. Score: 72 Summary: Terry gets racially profiled by a cop in his neighbourhood. Jake and Amy babysit Terry's kids.
The Good: This was extremely well executed. If "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" was going to execute a more serious episode, this is how to do it. The balance between serious content and jokes was near perfect. Even though there were fewer jokes in this episode, the ones we got were very memorable, like Margo talking about Scottsdale, Amy and Jake struggling to babysit and everyone's response to Terry being profiled. The comedy was excellent in this episode. I was also pleased by how well the show handled the complex topic of racism. With both Holt and Terry in the show, they were able to make a unique and more comprehensive examination of racism in the NYPD and I really appreciated that. Both of the characters of Terry and Holt were handled superbly, and the acting from Terry Crews and Andre Braugher was superb. This was certainly one of the most memorable episodes of the show and I really liked the switch from comedy to something more serious this time around. The Bad: Of course I don't watch sitcoms for serious examination of themes. I watch them to laugh. So as much as I loved what this episode did, I can only score it so high if it doesn't have that many jokes. Best Moment: Best laugh was probably Jake and Amy calling each detective in sequence for babysitting help. Best moment would have to be Terry's speech to Holt. Character of the Episode: Terry. Conclusion: This was a more serious episode, but it was executed tremendously well. The acting was great, and the writers overdelivered with the few laughs that were in this episode to make sure that it was still funny. This is easily one of the best episodes of the season, and even the series as a whole. Score: 74 Summary: Believing that the precinct will be shut down, Jake and Charles solve one final case together that turns into something much bigger. Holt tries to quickly finish mentoring Amy on their final day. Terry tries to break the record for most solves in the Nine-Nine.
The Good: There was a lot of emotion to this. In a lot of ways this felt like it could have worked as closing episode for the series with news that the precinct would be shut down. Jake and Charles' story capitalized the most on this as the two of them try their best to enjoy their final case. This is Jake and Charles at their absolute best throughout the episode and their dynamic has never been better. I especially liked Jake deciding to choose not to prematurely bust the drug dealers to save the precinct, delightfully showing us how he has matured as a character. The side stories were solid enough. Holt mentoring Amy was fun with some good laughs. I thought Hitchcock and Scully were standouts here with a lot of really strong jokes. Lastly, I loved getting to see Mark, another officer from the Nine-Nine get some screentime, while also addressing the presence of the inner circle of detectives. It was a good joke. The Bad: There was never any tension about the precinct shutting down so that took a lot away from this episode. It was obvious that the Nine-Nine would continue so the emotional beats that this episode hit didn't really feel as effective as they should have been. I feel that this story would have been much better had it come towards the actual end of the show, and it's wasteful to use the idea of the precinct being shut down so far away from the end. I thought that the handling of Gina in this episode was the worst that "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has ever handled a character. Back when Holt was dismissed, Gina showed genuine maturity as a character by growing attached to the precinct and the people in it. Yet here she shows none of that maturity and pranks everyone like a cruel and heartless prick. And the prank of drinking cement is careless writing. At the very least, it will result in deadly burns, and at worst it could kill! What's worse than that is that even though Gina comes across as a selfish character with no growth since the start of the show, she gets to save the precinct with her prank. It's very poor character writing and woefully unsatisfying storytelling. It's tough to imagine anyone liking Gina after this episode. Best Moment: Hitchcock revealing his terrible tattoo that looked very much like a suicide was hilarious. Character of the Episode: Charles. Conclusion: This was a fun idea for an episode and a lot was done right, especially with the Jake/Charles dynamic. But the questionable placement of this storyline and the grievous mishandling of Gina ruined much of what this episode was going for. Another disappointing episode in a season that just hasn't gotten going. Score: 55 Summary: Jake and Rosa go to the set of a TV show to work a case. Gina and Amy try to figure out what Terry did that made Veronica so hateful. Holt and Charles try to find a way to get somebody else to assess their precinct.
The Good: The Jake and Rosa storyline was pretty solid. Rosa had a good episode overall and I think the show has done really well at learning how to use the character. Her relationship with Jake has always been a strong point of the series and that remained true in this episode with their work on the TV show case. Holt and Charles' story was a delight. It nicely tied into the Veronica story and it had some of the absolute best character interactions that Charles and Holt have ever had together. The Terry storyline was pretty good. Gina and Amy were fun in their opposing approaches and I thought that the writers did superbly to craft a believable story of Terry messing up without making the character come off poorly. The Bad: Apparently the NYPD does not care about conflict of interest because there is no way that something like this would be allowed. There really should have been some way to file a complaint against Veronica for what she did but the show makes it seem like there's nothing to be done. I was also thoroughly disappointed by how neatly the Terry/Veronica story concluded. It feels like there should have been more to it. Nathan Fillion doing a parody of himself was amusing but the character didn't add much to the show at all. The TV show storyline was also hurt by making Jake look like a terrible cop. This episode in general did not make the NYPD look good at all, which would have been fine had the show intended to examine the NYPD in this way. Since it did not, it detracts from the episode to have sloppy writing bring up issues of corruption. Best Moment: Holt and Charles discussing the "pump pump" of the eyebrows when preparing to blackmail was hilarious and one of the best jokes of the season. Character of the Episode: Rosa. I don't feel like I've credited the character enough. Conclusion: This was a funny episode with an engaging plot and I enjoyed it quite a bit. However, the problems with unaddressed corruption did bring the score down for this one. Score: 65 Summary: Mando gets information that another Mandalorian resides on Tatooine in Mos Pelgo. Mando arrives there and meets Cobb Vanth who bought Boba Fett's old armour from some Jawas to save his village. Mando comes to a deal with Cobb: Cobb will give him his armour if Mando helps defeat a krayt dragon that's terrorizing the village. Mando and Cobb form a plan to defeat it and ally with the Tusken Raiders. The village people and the Tusken Raiders battle the krayt dragon and Mando defeats it. Cobb gives him the armour and Mando leaves. Boba Fett watched him go from a distance.
The Good: The opening sequence provided a lovely return to the star wars universe. It was a tense and fun sequence with some brilliantly choreographed action that was a ton of fun to watch. Furthermore, it neatly pushed the plot forward by sending Mando on a mission to Tatooine to locate another Mandalorian. The sequence worked well and got the episode off to a hot start. The rest of the episode strayed away from a plot focus however. I was surprised to find out that "The Mandalorian" chose to open season 2 with a self-contained story rather than a more serialized episode. I actually thought that this worked in favour of the show. We were given enough of a plot hook to invest us early in the episode, and the big reveal at the end of the episode certainly suggests that Mando's trip to Tatooine will play an important role in the story even if we don't know exactly what it is yet. So even as a self-contained episode, this had enough significance to work as a season premiere. What helped this episode most was how good the main story was. Unlike the half-baked and sloppy self-contained episodes of last season, this episode had fantastic world-building, intriguing character development and explored some interesting themes. There was much more purpose to this episode and I found myself being much more actively engaged in the storylines here. What also helped was the decision to make this episode 50 minutes long. One of my biggest complaints from last season was the short episode length and thankfully that was rectified here, allowing this episode enough time to explore its potential. The Mos Pelgo storyline was really engaging. It was tons of fun to visit a new settlement on Tatooine, allowing us to explore the planet in ways that we never did before. The amount of worldbuilding we got here was outstanding with new depth given to the Tusken Raiders, their relationships with the townsfolk, the cultures of both communities and also the various species that reside on Tatooine like the krayt dragons and those new wolf-like creatures. I also greatly enjoyed Cobb's backstory and the history of Mos Pelgo that was shown through it. I really like how the show is addressing how the dissolution of the empire has affected various areas around the universe. This was easily some of the best worldbuilding that Star Wars has ever seen, and I enjoyed every second of it. I thought that the krayt dragon was handled magnificently. Not only was it a lovely nod to "A New Hope" (a krayt dragon skeleton is seen) and apparently some of the video games as well, but it provided an engaging threat for the heroes to deal with. Unlike the AT-ST from season 1's "Sanctuary", taking down the krayt dragon felt like a genuine struggle for the characters and there were times where victory looked difficult. I appreciate the effort that was taken into making the krayt dragon a credible threat that made sure that the heroes didn't seem needlessly overpowered. Additionally, the visuals for the krayt dragon were outstanding. The episode also nailed some smaller details. The western influence of the show is still a joy to watch, and I loved how western everything felt when Mando first arrived in Mos Pelgo. I really liked the return of the mechanic character from season 1 at the start of the episode. It was a harmless cameo that continued to make the world feel lived in. I also loved things like the addition of a pearl inside of the krayt dragon, the weird blue drink that was served in Mos Pelgo and Mando hitting Cobb's jetpack in a similar way that caused Boba Fett to fall into the sarlacc pit in "Return of the Jedi". These little details are satisfying additions to the show. The Bad: Standalone episodes still suffer from the fact that it's obvious that the heroes will succeed and that the events of this episode likely won't have much consequence on everything else. Luckily, this episode avoids that for the most part with its outstanding worldbuilding and the Boba Fett reveal making this stand out further. But it still doesn't completely avoid this trapping and I was still convinced throughout the entire episode that Mando would succeed and that the krayt dragon would be killed without any major losses. While I appreciated that this episode tackled a lot of deeper concepts, I thought that a lot of them were half-baked or rushed. The conflict between the Tusken Raiders and the village folk was incredibly rushed. Cobb treated it like it would be a big deal for the village people to accept working with the Tusken Raiders. Yet somehow there was never any issue aside from one minor altercation when an explosive was dropped. That's very disappointing and I wish that this conflict was explored in more meaningful fashion. Since it wasn't, and since it was obvious that the village folk would work with the Tusken Raiders, all of the scenes with Mando and Cobb trying to convince the village folk to ally with the Tusken Raiders were a complete bore. The Unknown: How did Mando learn how to speak with the Tusken Raiders? Last time he only used the sign language and didn't actually speak. What has he been up to in the time that we haven't seen him? How does the Tusken Raider language work? They seem to be able to communicate either verbally or through gestures. Both seem to work. Do they have multiple languages or is there some other system at work? I would love to learn even more about them. So Boba Fett is alive. What has he been doing all this time? Was he the mysterious person at the end of "The Gunslinger"? What are his current motives? Does he want his armour back? What does he make of Mando? When will we be seeing him again? I'm very curious. Best Moment: I really liked Cobb's backstory. It was an enjoyable 5 minute short story. Character of the Episode: Mando. Conclusion: This was a solid return for "The Mandalorian". This episode won't blow everyone away but it was a very well executed self-contained story with a lot to enjoy. I might be a little kinder to this episode than most, but I had a blast watching this. A good way to start season 2. Score: 65 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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