In “The Mandalorian” recap, the bounty hunter returns with his prize in hand as he deals with the guilt of handing over a child to a group of Imperial loyalists…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
The latest episode of “The Mandalorian” not only set a new path for the bounty hunter who only seemed consumed by collecting his bounties but ties to past events from the “Star Wars” universe were also referenced.
Perhaps the biggest moment came when the Mandalorian was visiting the Armorer and he was joined by several more Mandalorians who were also in hiding in the same building. After revealing his massive beskar payment — the metal bars that mean so much to the Mandalorian people — one of the other Mandalore natives mentioned how this precious substance was stolen during “The Great Purge” because it was stamped with the symbol of the Galactic Empire.
“The Great Purge” initially references events that unfolded in “Revenge of the Sith” when Emperor Palpatine seized power away from the Republic and turned his clone army on the Jedis who they once served alongside in battle. The Great Purge nearly wiped out every Jedi in existence minus a few key people including Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was later tasked to keep a watchful eye over Luke Skywalker as he grew up on Tattooine.
While the majority of the Great Purge always focuses on the Jedis being slaughtered, this was also the time when the Galactic Empire rose to power and conquered systems all across the galaxy. Mandalore was one of the planets that soon came under Imperial control as they not only took over but they also harvested the valuable beskar metal for themselves.
Without diving too deep into Mandalore history, the planet was eventually returned to its inhabitants after the Empire was toppled by the Rebel forces during the events of “Return of the Jedi.”
But this particular sect of Mandalorians are still in hiding — perhaps they are at odds with the current government — but it’s clear by this episode that they definitely have no love for the Empire. It’s entirely possible that this “Great Purge” differs from the slaughter of the Jedis and that might explain why these Mandalorians are still hiding like “sand-rats” unable to show their faces across the galaxy.
With that said, let’s recap the latest episode of “The Mandalorian” titled “Chapter 3: The Sin”…
The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
As he returns from the planet where he captured the baby Yoda, the Mandalorian receives a message from Greef Karga — the contact he deals with in the bounty hunter guild — that the Client is very anxious to receive the package. Along the way, Mando (as Karga calls him) begins to wonder what this Client is going to do to a child but his responsibility lies with the payment he’s set to receive and assisting in the rebuilding of the Mandalorian way.
When he lands on the planet, the Mandalorian leads the child back through the streets before finally reaching the door where the Client resides. He questions the Client about how many bounty hunters were given a tracking fob for this asset because he ran into several of them while attempting to retrieve baby Yoda.
The Client obviously wanted this child rather badly because the fob was handed out to dozens of bounty hunters who all wanted to reap the reward due to them if they could claim the asset. Ultimately it was Mando who got the job done so he receives the spoils of war — a chest filled with beskar bars.
Before leaving, Mando asks the Client what he plans on doing with the child after watching Dr. Pershing examine the child before leading it away into a different part of the building. The Client says that’s none of his concern and it’s not a question a Mandalorian should be asking him anyways because his job was to track down the bounty. Now that it’s done, the Mandalorian has no further concern for the asset.
After leaving the building, Mando returns to the underground lair where the Armorer resides and he hands over the crate of beskar that he received as payment. The Armorer knows she can build a new set of armor for Mando, which is what all Mandalorian warriors previously wore until the Empire dismantled their planet.
The Armorer asks Mando how he received gnashes across his current armor and he answers that a fight with a Mudhorn was the culprit. She then suggests making the Mudhorn his new signet but he responds that it wasn’t a good kill because he was assisted by an enemy in battle. That enemy was the baby Yoda who lifted the Mudhorn off the ground long enough for the Mandalorian to strike the death blow.
He also ends up being confronted by another Mandalorian who is also in hiding because he took payment from a client who was either part of the Galactic Empire or a sympathizer. He takes great offense that Mando would accept payment from people responsible for gutting Mandalore and sending its people scattered across the galaxy.
Tempers flare and someone nearly gets knifed but cooler heads prevail as the Armorer reminds them that they are all fighting for the same goal and glory of Mandalore. As she builds the new armor, the Mandolorian is once again haunted by visions of the past when it appears he was orphaned after his parents were killed after hiding him away during an attack by the Empire
The Armorer warns him that there will be some very jealous people looking at him when he reveals this new beskar armor but he revels in the new look of his uniform as he emerges from the secret bunker where the Mandalorians reside while using the leftover metal to help the “younglings,” which presumably are the children being raised in the aftermath of the downfall of the Empire.
He then goes to the bar where he’s greeted by Greef Karga, who is elated at the news that the asset had been returned to the Client. He even received a couple of bars of beskar as a reward for leading the Client to the bounty hunter who could get the job done right.
Rather than engage in small talk, the Mandalorian just asks for his next job while inquiring yet again what the Client planned on doing with the child. Greef has no idea what the Client has in store for the child but he suggests that Mando have a drink and by the time he reaches the planet where he’ll find his next bounty, he will have forgotten all about this child.
But once he arrives back at his ship, the Mandalorian notices one of the knobs missing from a lever on the control panel that the baby Yoda was playing with en route to the planet. His conscience finally gets the better of him so Mando exits the ship and heads back to the location where the Client resides to investigate what they will do to this child.
After he spies on a conversation between the Client and Dr. Pershing, the Mandalorian has made his decision — the child must be rescued.
He orchestrates a plan to infiltrate the building while taking out numerous Storm Troopers along the way. When he finally arrives in the room where Dr. Pershing is working, he finds the baby strapped down to an examination table. Mando rescues the baby but decides not to kill the doctor after he claims he’s the only reason the child was still alive because the Client was more than happy to kill it.
On the way out, Mando is surrounded by Storm Troopers but he uses “whistling birds” — special heat-seeking projectiles made from beskar that were given to him by the Armorerr — to kill them and make his escape.
Once he’s outside it doesn’t take long for Mando to notice dozens of the location fobs start lighting up as he makes his way towards his ship. The Client wasn’t found inside the building but obviously he’s aware that the child was taken and now he’s alerted the rest of the bounty hunters in town that the asset is free to claim yet again.
Mando is eventually confronted by Greef Karga, who tells him to turn over the asset and maybe he’ll get to live to see tomorrow.
The Mandalorian is unimpressed by the offer and a fire fight ensues as the bounty hunter does his best to defend the child with seemingly everybody in town trying too capture the baby and take the reward. Just when it looks like Mando is surrouonded with no further options, he’s rescued by his fellow Mandalorians, who come out of hiding with jetpacks strapped on their backs as they fight off the bounty hunter guild so he can get away with the child in hand.
Mando thanks his fellow Mandalorians for saving the day as he makes it back to his ship and prepares to take off. Before he can leave, however, he’s confronted by Greef Karga again, who wants the baby so he can return it to the client. Mando ends up getting the drop on him, shoots Greef in the chest and leaves him for dead as he leaves the surface.
Greef wakes up a moment later — the beskar bars hidden in his jacket pocket saved him from certain termination.
Once he’s in the air, Mando hands the little ball from the lever back to baby Yoda so he or she can play with it as he takes off bound for parts unknown while remarking that he needs to get his hands on one of these jetpacks. Now the Mandalorian is the man on the run with a horde of bounty hunters all coming for him as he seeks to protect this baby from the remnants of the Galactic Empire.
“The Mandalorian” returns with a new episode next Friday on Disney+.
