The Mandalorian S2E3 - Chapter 11: The Heiress

long live the empire

 

The helmet removal confusion is finally revealed and of course Din is part of a shady cult mandalorian faction and he had no idea

 

Great episode. I was surprised to see Bo-Katan!

 

The only thing I wish the show did was spend just a bit more time talking between Bo and Din about the differences in Mandalorians. Really hammer it home. Slow down, take the time to actually talk without interrupting it with action. Pedro and Sackoff are good enough actors to keep it compelling.

 

So much Star Wars DNA in this one!

Both literally and literary.

 

It's the first time they meet. I suspect they'll get plenty more interaction. I'm even suspecting he'll switch once he realizes he's on the bad side. Plus, he's got his quest. I don't think Din is really interested in that right now.

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 13, 2020, Original Post Date: Nov 13, 2020 ---

I take it you didn't watch the Clone Wars?

 

Guys, the anxiety Din goes through when Baby Yoda's pod gets eaten, the way he's like a wreck until the other Mandos pull him out... Maybe it's a parent thing, but I was 100% empathizing with his broken voice asking them to save the baby and then holding him afterwards...

I'll just be over here crying in the corner.

 

The anxiety he went through when the three of them took of their helmets.

 

Of course I did. My point is that it's revealed in the show after Din has been strict about it and we didn't know Din's group was that much of their own thing. I mean we had an idea thats what they likely were as Mandalorian but I don't remember them having a name and being considered "one of them" and Din had no clue about him being a different kind of mandalorian

 

I read that more as anger, at least initially. I'm guessing he's still processing finding out he's actually been ignorant of greater Mandalorian culture, history, and religion all this time, when being Mandalorian as he understood it has been his whole identity and reason for living...

 

But that's the perfect time to do it. 3 episodes of 8 done. We know the next two are unlikely to feature Bo again.
That puts us at 5/8.
Now we have to circle back to Bo for something that theoretically should have been done already. It's inefficient story telling.

This episode was only 36 minutes. tied for second shortest of the series.
There was time for this conversation to happen without it feeling bloated or anything.

If Din had time to fight the dragon with Cobb Vanth for some armor, then he had time to shoot the blast with Bo Katan about the ways of Mandalore.

 

Might be grandfathered in as 'historical' or 'antique' under New Republic regulations!
___________

Starbuck and the Boss in the same episode!
BDH referencing her father's Apollo 13 in the first sequence!
Mon Cal refugee planet? Need the Wookiepedia history on that!
Pseudo-Cannibalistic chowder?
Kraken!
Bo didn't mention that...she was also "of the Watch" at one point....

 

This episode had so many great moments and shots. If this was a videogame, I'd be taking so many screens hits and video clip recordings!

 

Yeah, Bo-Katan was very Bo-Katan of old in this episode. You want to cheer for her and you like her, but you recognize she can be ruthless. She withheld that info about her history with Death Watch from Mando for what reason? (Besides, obviously, that we had to keep the immediate story moving.)

When she and Mando meet again, I hope he remembers that she doesn't always keep her word in the same way that he does.

 

I have to wonder what casual Star Wars fans where thinking about when watching this episode. Having Bo Katan is a rather deep lore cut.

 

Btw, is the planet that Ahsoka is on a new planet?

 

I loved this episode. Personally my favorite of the season so far. And it wasn't even close.

I've seen several comments about the episode not providing the time to breathe, but after the previous two, that is EXACTLY what I wanted. An episode with some immediacy and one that moved the story forward. I feel like episode 1 could have been like 10 minutes shorter. Episode 2 could have been a total of 10 minutes total, but that's just me.

This one was fantastic. The world building was good and the story moved forward. Now onto Caladan and hopefully Ahsoka!

 

Rewatched the episode and the imperial ship battle made me want to play Battlefront II, which I did and it was a fun time!

I wish I could kill stormtroopers as Boba though!

 

OK, guys, so what do we think of this "Child of the Watch" business?

Here is what Bo-Katan actually says about it.

BK: And you are a Child of the Watch.
Din: The Watch?
BK: Children of the Watch are a cult of religious zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society. Their goal was to re-establish the ancient way.
Din: There is only way. The Way of the Mandalore.
​

It's interesting to note that in the subtitles, "Child of the Watch" is capitalized. I think that means it's the name of the group that Din belongs to, not just that his group is a different generation of Death Watch (or perhaps "the Watch" if that's a different thing than Death Watch).

So...do we think that Din's group, the Children of the Watch, splintered off of Death Watch? Which had already splintered into Maul's group and Viszla's/Bo-Katan's group? In other words, Din's Children of the Watch group broke off from Bo-Katan's Death Watch, which broke off from the original Death Watch (that opposed Satine)...

Bo-Katan seemed annoyed with the Children of the Watch, calling them a cult and zealots. Do we think this is simply because they broke away from her group and that naturally caused hard feelings? Or do we think that she despises their actual beliefs? Or did they not participate in opposing the Empire in the way that she wanted them to?

Is the "Fighting Corps" that Din joined when he swore the Creed his group's name for themselves? Or is it a specialized military group within the larger covert?



I know that's a lot to digest (and we only got a very small slice), but it made me feel so bad for Din. If I'm this confused about it all, how must he be feeling having this bombshell dropped on him?




Anyway, I'm wondering how much the Armorer knows about all this. She really seemed to have no clue about the Jedi either, so I don't think she's intentionally been manipulating this group of Children of the Watch but has been doing it in good faith, and possibly is as ignorant as the rest of them.

But wow, Din's group seems to know so little about the Force/Jedi, their own people's recent history... I guess that's why Bo calls them a cult, because they've kept themselves so isolated and insular. But given what we know (which is precious little) about this Night of a Thousand Tears and the Purge, keeping out of sight of the Empire doesn't seem like such a bad idea.




On the other hand, Din's group seems to value honor highly, which seems like a really good thing. Though they take it too far IMO with the "helmet stays on" mantra, which really dehumanizes them and divides them from one another in basic human activities, their efforts to save children seem pretty great too (unless of course they're just saving them for the sole purpose of increasing their own numbers and indoctrinating them). And Din, for all he's an experienced bounty hunter, is far more of a "good person," looking out for and working with others, than Bo-Katan in her single-mindedness is. So just because Bo-Katan calls them a cult and zealots doesn't mean their beliefs are all bad in my book.


So, um, thanks for coming to my ramble.

 

I'm pretty sure its taken from legends, and if that's true then it's a very obscure cut to revive into new canon.