The Mandalorian season 1, episode 6 review – Chapter Six: The Prisoner

“Just like the good old days Mando.” Spoilers for The Mandalorian season 1, episode 6 follow.

After being contacted by an old partner, the Mandalorian heads out on a jail break mission with several other mercenaries.

Trust doesn’t go far on this mission as it quickly goes wrong and events begin to get out hand for the entire crew.

On the job

To put it simply, this is the best episode of The Mandalorian so far. It’s just fantastic. There was bound to be a prison heist episode sooner or later on this show and it’s hard to do better than how this episode handled it. This is a tense, exciting, extremely well-directed episode that manages to introduce several new, interesting characters and bring the show into the larger universe.

One of the reasons that this episode is so great is the immediate sense of uneasiness that is presented. Immediately arriving on unfamiliar terrain throws you off-guard and unsure of the safety for the Mandalorian.

This feeling doesn’t let up for the entire episode either as it’s impossible to trust any of the mercenaries that the Mandalorian is partnered up with. This crew consists of former Imperial sharpshooter named Mayfeld, a Twi’lek named Xi’an, a Devaronian jughead named Burr, and a droid named Zero and none of them are exactly trustworthy. Xi’an has a past with the Mandalorian, Mayfeld is a twitchy, unsure leader, Burr has it out for everyone, and Zero’s a droid so you can’t exactly trust his programming.

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This episode also does a great job of quickly setting up each character and why you shouldn’t trust any of them, which makes the entire episode even more uneasy. The best of this crew though has to be Xi’an, played with sadistic glee by Harry Potter alum Natalia Tena. She brings an entirely different vibe to this episode and manages to keep a fresh take on these characters. It’s also just wonderful to see a Twi’lek get such a prominent role in live action after having keep roles in The Clone Wars and Rebels.

The majority of this episode is the heist though and it’s an incredibly tense, extended set piece. Starting in the ship and quickly moving in the New Republic prison vessel, events quickly turn on the crew and this creates an exciting episode with several stand out scenes and arguably one of the most brutal (near) deaths in the entirety of Star Wars. Dave Filoni also gets a cameo at the end of the episode which is really fun and it’s always great to see Clancy Brown in the Star Wars universe.

The Mandalorian legend

The other most notable thing about this episode is how awesome the Mandalorian truly is in the episode. He’s smart, resourceful, compassionate, and violent when he needs to be. He’s been shown to be a great fighter and this episode has some of the best action scenes in the entire series so far. There’s one scene where he’s fighting several security droids (think K-2SO) that is absolutely incredible and the best display of his fighting prowess yet. Then, at the end of the episode when he’s hunting down the crew after they betray him, there’s a portion where he pops in and out of the flashing light, making him seem almost like a horror villain. It’s excellent.

Then there’s the scene where the crew confronts the lone New Republic guard on board. This is the tensest scene in the entire episode and really demonstrates the honor code that he has. He doesn’t kill unless he has to and will refuse to even compromise with others. It’s some great character work that builds on every ounce of his compassion that has previously been built.

There’s also the way that Xi’an talks about the Mandalorian. She talks about him like he’s a living legend and even tries to coax an old war story out of him, to no avail. However, she does provide insight into who he was in a previous life, hinting at how much the character has grown and more possible flashback sequences.

Where’s baby Yoda?

One big question for the first portion of this episode will be, “Where’s baby Yoda?” He’s become the breakout star of the show and everyone wants to see him. Well, the question about where he is quickly is answered as the mission starts. He’s hiding. This brings another layer of uneasiness to the episode because if the Mandalorian doesn’t trust these mercenaries around baby Yoda, then we shouldn’t trust them at all.

He does have a larger role in the back-half of the episode though as he’s alone on the ship with Zero, who begins hunting baby Yoda just as the Mandalorian is hunting the rest of the crew. This is an incredibly tense sequence that somehow also manages to be cute. When Zero finds baby Yoda in his hiding spot, he begins to attempt to use the Force like he did to save the Mandalorian, and then he thinks it does, looking at his hand after Zero’s blaster explodes. It’s an extremely cute even as it reveals that the Mandalorian shot Zero. Even in an episode as uneasy and tense as this, it still manages to make you go, “Awwwwwww.”

The Mandalorian has its best episode yet with the establishment of great new characters and an excellent prison heist.