The Mandalorian S2E7 - Chapter 15: The Believer

i am conflicted, mayfeld got a good story, but ive always wanted stories that let us see the empires side, and them not just being 1 dimensional villains

 

You have spoken. And it's true. Like you pointed out here and as @RoyleRancor says above. The focus on character moments, some enjoyable dialogs and development of its protagonists make this one outstanding

 

Wow, another hell of an episode.

Humanising The Empire? Yes! Seeing all of those troopers salute during a rare win for them, that was emotional. They go through trials and tribulations just like anyone else. It isn't their decision to be posted out there, they do what they can. Some are fanatic and downright evil, some are ordinary people, trying to make their way through the universe.

 

I think the scan somehow is supposed to kick you out if you're either a droid or on the Imperial Most Wanted list. And then if you have that data stick, you can get further into the system. It's very fuzzy.

But anyway, the reason I think this is that when they have that whole conversation in the beginning about who's going in and whether Mayfeld is going in himself, they go down the list of why each one's scan will be rejected: Cara can't being a known Rebel/New Republic person, Fennec can't since she's wanted by the ISB, and Boba can't because...well, his face has a lot of Imperial history. So the conclusion Din seems to draw is it has to be him because he's an unknown. He thinks he will just be there to back up Mayfeld and not have to show his face.

But when Mayfeld gets there he freaks out about his commanding officer being there and recognizing him--I guess this is PTSD talking. I don't think Mayfeld deserted or anything, just left when the war was "over," so I think his scan should have worked. But he just couldn't and Mando was desperate so he did the scan.

Obviously Din doesn't like the Empire, but I also don't think he has an Imperial history, even one he rejected, because such a big deal is made about the Crest not being on Imperial (or Republic) registers in the show.

 

Yeah, I don't know if they save the face scan to see who accessed the portal? Or if it goes into the Imperial Cloud server?

He might have deserted, but then you'd think he'd be worried that the face scan would reject him. I would think since he didn't want to go on the mission at all to begin with, he'd have led with that argument.

Once he got to the refinery and saw Hess, I think he was worried about a couple of things--first that he'd recognized and outed as having no business at this installation, and second that his PTSD was going to get triggered...which, as it turns out, was a more valid fear than the first.

If Mayfeld was in, say the Battle of Endor, or the Battle of Jakku, and he was just an enlisted guy who no war crimes to his name, he was probably captured by Rebel leaders and allowed to go home after the war. That's how it seemed to go in the Aftermath books, but who knows.

 

Rick's writing of and Burr's portrayal of Mayfeld really elevated him from a bit character to someone we feel we know. He's got a story. We have a rooting interest in the guy. And he provided more backstory in places we didn't expect -- something we're getting a lot of this season. I was kind of hoping he'd stick with the crew, but the final shot of him walking away a free man (on a hospitable planet ... no desert rock here!) was fulfilling. And I'm sure the crew will come calling somewhere down the road.

BTW, the two beats of stunned silence in between Mayfeld killing Hess and the shoretrooper made me literally LOL. So good.

 

Alphabet Squadron helps shed some light on that. A lot of imperial defectors went through a camp, on a pretty rough world, where the New Republic would have a lot of processing and questions to see who they were, what they did in the Empire, why they defected, could they serve the New Republic, are they actually still loyal to the Empire, etc.

Mayfeld may have gone through there after and let through. or, being assumed KIA, he may have found a way around it and into one of the Outer Territories.

 

Yeah, he was really great! All his scenes were outstanding.

 

He was great in Season One, and here he brings a totally new dimension to his character. I was really pleasantly surprised not just by his acting, but by the character's arc.

 

Check out this book!


One of my favorite star wars novels

 

YES. Still one of my favorite pieces of new canon. Been meaning to re-read it sometime soon.


On an unrelated note: How do we feel about Boba's paint job? It doesn't look bad, but I honestly miss the more "used universe" look. The scratches and stains feel so fundamentally Boba.

 

I love it, it's about time that armour got some love. Looks way better than it did IMO.

 

I am believer....

that fixing/repairing would require a Mandalorian Armorer. So, I'm also pleased that the creative team left those blemishes alone. And maybe the messy appearance (carbon scoring, sarlaac guts and dragon acid) was just surface crap that Fett scrubbed clean. Looking closely at the edges, makes me think it wasn't repainted. But what do I know.

 

I like either style for Boba. Badass looking whichever way