The Mandalorian has spent a very long time trying to deny to its audience that it is Star Wars in disguise. For the entire first season, the show was just a space-themed western with the only real connection to true Star Wars lore being Baby Yoda. Then, very slowly, Star Wars began to leak into the seams of the show. It started with Boba Fett’s armor appearing in “The Marshall,” a quiet reference to satisfy fans who are more than just casual viewers. It grew slightly in “The Heiress,” with Bo Katan showing up to shoot stormtroopers with Mando. However, it became most noticeable in last week’s episode “The Jedi,” which featured Ahsoka Tano, Galactic Republic history, and references to both Yoda and Grand Admiral Thrawn. But nothing has yet to compare to this week’s episode. “The Tragedy,” the fourteenth episode of the series, is a lightsaber or two away from being Star Wars fanfiction: The episode featured Boba Fett taking down stormtroopers with a Tusken Raider staff, and Grogu sitting on a magical rock surrounded by a Jedi-forcefield and flying robot stormtroopers. I could not make this stuff up even if I tried. 

But the most surprising thing is that I didn’t dislike “The Tragedy;” I kind of loved it. Despite the pacing being a little off, and the return of assassin Fennec Shand adding close to nothing to the story, the episode was just so weird that it is nearly impossible to dislike it. Also, there is something so fascinating about John Favreau just letting loose and making this episode a bonkers Star Wars fan-service parade, especially after last week’s beautifully reserved adventure slowed down the show’s light-speed pace.

Considering most of “The Tragedy”takes place in real time, I am pretty sure this episode counts as The Mandalorian’s first bottle episode. It begins with possibly the saddest scene in the show, where viewers finally get to see just how much Mando does not want to say goodbye to Grogu. After playing around with the tiny Jedi for a couple of minutes, he realizes how powerful this creature really is with the Force. Mando knows this means he will have to eventually let Grogu go with the Jedi. It is a heartbreaking moment, and the gravity of this scene hangs over the rest of the episode. The two soon land on Tython, the planet they had been sent to by Ahsoka Tano. Mando jetpacks up a mountain with Grogu in his hands, and he places the child on the rock in the center of the stone temple at the top. When nothing happens, Mando is just about ready to give up, until we see a very familiar ship fly down from the horizon.

The ship, Slave 1, is the iconic ride of Star Wars legend Boba Fett. After his bitter farewell via the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi, fans have eagerly awaited to see this bounty hunter back in action. He approaches Mando asking for his armor back, which was taken by Mando at the start of the season; this moment is great for two reasons: It gives “The Marshall” some actual purpose in the storyline, and it acts as the reunion of Boba Fett to his awesome green armor. Before the two bounty hunters– and Fennec Shand, who was just there for the ride– can continue their discussion, two imperial shuttles packed wall-to-wall with stormtroopers land on Tython. Mando immediately runs to protect Grogu, leaving Boba and Fennec to fend off the new enemies. Now, this scene could have gone wrong in a lot of ways, but I can genuinely say that seeing Boba Fett fly down from the sky and demolish an entire league of stormtroopers was one of the greatest things I have seen in the Star Wars medium. The extended stormtrooper fight goes on for about ten minutes, and just when it looks like the group has successfully defeated all their enemies, a fiery blast comes down from the clouds and blows up Mando’s ship.

It is here when viewers first get to see Moff Gideon’s master plan; he is perched in an Imperial star destroyer up in the sky, where he orders an officer to “deploy the dark troopers.” Then, out of the blue, four robot stormtroopers with red eyes fall from the sky, pick up Grogu from his stone, and fly away before Mando can do anything. I am still not sure I can believe that this happened in a Star Wars television show. As the dark troopers fly back into the clouds, Mando looks around to survey the damage. Over the course of just two minutes, he has lost everything in his life that was important to him. He decides that he must rescue Grogu from the imperials, and Boba Fett quickly agrees to help. The two bounty hunters– and Fennec– quickly board Slave 1 and take off into the sky.

The ship lands on Nevarro, where Mando meets with Cara Dune, now an officer of the New Republic. Mando explains that he needs her help to break someone out of prison. An image of this prisoner reveals that it is Mayfeld, who was last seen in Season One’s “The Prisoner.” It is an intriguing cliffhanger, and one that is only made better by the final scene between Gideon and Grogu. A second glimpse of his darksaber is a great final shot, fitting for a great episode. It looks like The Mandalorian is ramping up to a final fight of Mando and friends against Moff Gideon and the entire Empire. And now more than ever before, I cannot wait to see what lies in store.

Final Grade:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

5 out of 5 stars

OTHER NOTES:

• I previously believed that season two was going to have ten episodes, but after checking the Wookiepedia page online I have been corrected. This is an eight-episode season, which means that there are only two episodes left. I have spoken a lot in these reviews about my overall unhappiness with chapters 9-12, but it looks like the back half of season two might be the show’s best run yet.
• The director of “The Tragedy” is listed as Robert Rodriguez, who has never directed an episode of the show before. Nice job, Robert Rodriguez. 
• Was it just me, or was Boba Fett’s takedown of stormtroopers with the Tusken Raider staff especially gruesome?
• My predictions for the final team that is almost definitely going to be put together in the next episode: Mando, Boba Fett, Fennec, Cara Dune, Greef Karga, Mayfeld, Ahsoka, and possibly Cobb Vanth.
• I have been reading some fan theories online that speculate that Luke Skywalker may make an appearance in the final episodes of the season. But, given how Mark Hamill is pushing 70, I just do not see how this is possible.