Countdown to The Mandalorian Season 3: Revisiting Chapter 4 'Sanctuary'

<p data-pw-in-article='true']As we start to gear up for the release of The Mandalorian season 3 in February 2023, we’re taking a look back at each episode of the show so far through the lens of concept art. This will be a weekly series of reviews taking place each Thursday until the premiere of season 3 next year. You may find our previous entries in this series here.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']While we will be revisiting all of the artwork displayed in the episode’s credits, bear in mind that this is not a fully conceptualized review of the episode. We still have those from when each episode of The Mandalorian came out, and will link to them at the end.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']The Sanctuary is up there with some of my favorite episodes of The Mandalorian. The episode is superbly directed by Bryce Dallas Howard in her Star Wars directorial debut and heavily inspired by Seven Samurai. Many fans harshly criticized the episode at the time for not moving the plot forward and for being too similar to Seven Samurai. The first criticism is fair enough, though perhaps unreasonably impatient only four episodes in, but the second is to ignore one of George Lucas' main inspirations for Star Wars in Akira Kurosawa, who directed Seven Samurai.</p>

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<p data-pw-in-article='true']The cold open is centered on Omera, member of a peaceful fishing village on the backwater planet Sorgan, a green world full of forests and marshland. The villagers are going about their business and Omera's daughter Winta is chasing a frog. The village is then ambushed by a band of Klatooinian raiders, who charge through the undergrowth looking surprisingly reminiscent of orcs from The Lord of the Rings. Omera takes Winta and the pair hide in the water until the Klatooinians leave with the villages' fishing supply.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']While the concept art here shows the raiders running across the narrow stretches of grass like they do in the episode, the shot of them all running through is slightly different. Whereas here the art is more of a cinematic wide shot, the episode itself shows the Klatooinians running towards the camera, which perhaps inspires a bit more fear in the viewer.</p>

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<p data-pw-in-article='true']If anything, the storyline honors Star Wars' roots and is an important stage in Din Djarin's journey. Having escaped Navarro, he travels to Sorgan. It's here that he hopes to lay low for a while until the heat dies down.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']He lands in the main settlement and orders Grogu to stay in the cockpit (though why he thinks The Child will obey him is anyone's guess, considering Grogu had only just been causing problems for him by touching every button in the cockpit). The Child ends up following him into the local cantina and gets frightened by a tooka, one of Dave Filoni's favorite Star Wars creatures.</p>

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<p data-pw-in-article='true']Din quickly notices a woman who sticks out from the crowd and suspects she might be bad news. He bribes the waitress for information on her, but with little luck. When he looks back and realizes the woman has made a hasty exit, he follows her outside.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']After he follows her footprints round the corner of the hut, Cara Dune leaps down from above and the two get into a messy brawl, eventually ending with them both on the ground pointing pistols at each other's head (though presumably Mando's beskar helmet would have ensured he'd win this fight). In one of The Mandalorian's most adorable -- and meme-worthy -- moments yet, we hear a sipping noise and the camera switches to a shot of Grogu watching them both while sipping on some soup.</p>

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<p data-pw-in-article='true']The above concept art showing the ambush is interesting, as Cara looks nothing like her actress Gina Carano. That said, it does make sense as the concept art would have been created long before the casting process began but you can see there was a clear desire to cast Cara Dune as someone with a muscular frame from the very beginning.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']After a quick chat, they clear all their misunderstandings. We learn that Cara is an Alderaanian who once served as a rebel shock trooper, and assumed that Mando was hunting a bounty on her. She demands that Mando leave Sorgan so she can continue to lay low, and he agrees to do so.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']However, later that night Din is approached by two villagers from the krill fishing village that was ambushed by the Klatooinians back in the cold open. They wish to hire him to defend them against the raiders, and though he initially rejects their offer, he is intrigued when they mention that their village is in the middle of nowhere. He realizes that this could be a place where Grogu could be safe from prying eyes, so he asks Cara Dune to accompany him to the village and help protect the locals.</p>

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<p data-pw-in-article='true']This concept art shows the fishing village as a peaceful place. The rays of sunlight shining through the treeline and still water give off a serene atmosphere that is brought to life in the episode. They arrive at the village and the children immediately take a shine to Grogu, while Din is offered a hot meal and some privacy where he can take off his helmet.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']It's here that an alternative path reveals itself to Din. You get the sense that this is a place where he could live a completely different life without the Mandalorian 'Way'. Omera seems interested in him romantically and you begin to wonder if he could stay with her and Grogu; maybe even raise a family of his own.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']For now though, those thoughts are put on hold and he and Cara investigate the Klatooinian threat. They soon discover large footprints in the forest nearby, and they realize that the raiders have an old Imperial AT-ST walker in their possession. This gives Cara cold feet immediately, as they correctly surmise that they are completely outgunned. They advise the locals to move but when they make it clear they will not leave, Din suggests training them in the art of warfare.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']The two of them get to work and we get a training sequence showing Cara teaching the villagers how to fight with wooden spears, while Din leads target practice. They formulate a plan, in which Cara and Din will get the raiders' attention and lead them back to the village for an ambush. The village ponds act as a moat of sorts, funneling the raiders into specific spots where they can be picked off. They are also essential to their plans to defeating the AT-ST; if the walker accidentally steps in the pond, it will lose balance and topple over, making it vulnerable.</p>

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<p data-pw-in-article='true']Din and Cara sneak into the Klatooinian camp and are quickly discovered. They blow up one of their huts and flee back to the village hotly pursued by the raiders. The plan is going well enough but the AT-ST stops just short of the water. Even with their carefully laid plan, the concept art above makes it clear that they are still painfully outmatched. Realizing that the walker will eventually pick them off, Cara moves forward and uses Mando's handy phase-pulse blaster to stun the pilot and topple it.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']It has to be said that using the walker to evoke a large scary beast was incredibly effective. Giving it red eyes by putting a light in the cockpit makes the AT-ST look way more intimidating than it did in Return of the Jedi, and setting the fight at night really sells its demonic vibe.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']With the walker destroyed, the rest of the raiders flee and the threat is extinguished. We discover that offscreen, Mando and Cara have stayed at the settlement for another three weeks helping the villagers recover from the battle. Din and Grogu appear quite comfortable living among the villagers and Cara questions if he will stay as their protector.</p>

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<p data-pw-in-article='true']The concept art above is recreated in The Mandalorian as Din watches Grogu play with the other kids from a distance. However, it's clear at this point that Din has made up his mind. He sees the village as a 'sanctuary' for Grogu to grow up in peace, surrounded by good people. But his path is still the Mandalorian 'Way', and he intends to leave and go back to helping his own people after they scattered to the winds in the previous chapter. It's an easy way to absolve himself of responsibility and still satisfy his own conscience.</p>

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<p data-pw-in-article='true']This convenient plan is immediately shattered, as we see a stranger has Grogu in their rifle sights. While Mando talks to Omera, we hear a shot ring out but quickly learn it's a fakeout, as Cara catches the bounty hunter in the act. Din realizes that Grogu will never be truly safe while the bounty is on his head and decides the best thing for The Child is to keep him by his side. He leaves Sorgan and bids the villagers farewell. The two of them head offworld and we're not sure what their next journey will be.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']If you are interested, you can find our original review of Chapter 4 of The Mandalorian, from November 2019, right here.</p>

<p data-pw-in-article='true']Our “Countdown to The Mandalorian Season 3” series will continue next week, when we’ll be revisiting Chapter 5. Stay tuned!</p>


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