The Mandalorian season 1, episode 5 review – Chapter Five: The Gunslinger

“Hand over the child Mando. I might let you live.” Spoilers for The Mandalorian season 1, episode 5 follow.

Not able to settle down like planned, The Mandalorian makes a pit stop on a familiar planet after being attacked by another bounty hunter.

While there, he takes on a job with a young bounty hunter looking to find his way into the guild.

On the run

After his plans to hide baby Yoda last episode backfired, The Mandalorian is back on the run and this episode immediately makes that clear. Starting off the episode with the titular character immediately being chased by another bounty hunter, causing some serious damage to his ship, is a great opening. It sets the tone immediately, creating stakes that are expanded upon in the climax of the episode.

Once back on the ground though, this is where we really get to see his desperation, even though he’s still acting like he’s not. He’s willing to take on a job with an inexperienced bounty hunter simply because he needs it, even though he walks away at first. This also helps show the softer side of the character, that is quickly dashed, by showing him teaching this kid, as well as having a nice bartering session with Tusken Raider. His fear and desperation to protect baby Yoda is most obvious when he returns to his ship and can’t find him. He responds with violent instinct, but it’s really sweet when he simply says, “Thank you,” to the hangar caretaker. It’s a great moment that shows development for the character.

With the title of the episode though, “The Gunslinger,” it really did feel like there was going to be more of a solo gunslinger feeling in this episode. That very much isn’t the case, which is neither a detriment to the episode or a plus, but it felt like there was going to be a different vibe. Rather than being directly similar to Stephen King’s The Gunslinger though (Read that series of novels if you haven’t), there’s not that lonesome feeling that is ever present in those types of stories. Seriously though, the general premise of the episode is the first line of The Gunslinger, “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed,” just replace “man” with “woman.”

Wretched hive of scum and villainy

Now to get down to where The Mandalorian landed, Mos Eisley, one of the most recognizable places in Star Wars. It’s impossible to not geek out when you hear that name mentioned so early on. But how is it actually used though? Thankfully, it’s used well and very much in accordance with previous appearances. And hey, they let droids into the cantina now. Even the way its shot, probably because the episode is directed by Dave Filoni, is perfectly reminiscent of the way that Mos Eisley is shot in A New Hope.

More from TV

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episodes 1 and 2 review: Aftermath
• The 9 best (and 8 worst) Arrowverse characters
• 10 things nobody wants to admit about The Walking Dead
• Harley Quinn renewed for a fifth season on Max (and it’s well-deserved)
• The Walking Dead: Every TWD spinoff show coming in 2024 and beyond

Other than simply having familiar visuals though, everything that happens in this episode feels to draw from the most singular descriptive line in all of Star Wars (The line used as the header). Just starting off with the bounty makes this place once again feel like it’s a place that criminals feel safe. Moving further on in the episode though, when the young bounty hunter, unsurprisingly, betrays The Mandalorian, which is perfect for someone in who’s in Mos Eisley.

Does the episode rely a bit too much on the nostalgia and fan service at times? Yes it does, but the episode as a whole is never overwhelmed by that sentiment and makes for an exciting watch throughout.

The odd side of the universe

One of the things that Star Wars hasn’t embraced much in recent years is the absolutely bonkers stylings and humor that it’s had over the years. Storytellers often take this material very seriously, as they should, but this often loses the wackiness that has made Star Wars so endearing.

The first ten minutes of this episode embrace that wackiness very much so in the hangar engineer introduced in this episode. She’s weird and her droids are odd as well, which at first is jarring given this hasn’t really happened in this series, but it ends working. Filoni, who also wrote this episode, knows this universe incredibly well and knows how to effectively use its wackiness to generate a great amount of heart at times. This is exactly what happened here, at first, it was a bit much, but it organically evolved in a heartwarming aspect of the episode as it got more intertwined to the plot. Honestly though, you’re going to either love or hate that aspect of the episode.

The Mandalorian gets back to its roots in this episode with a much smaller scale story filled with fan service.