The Mandalorian: An Old-Fashioned Prison Break...In Space
Sometimes simpler is better, and this piece of storytelling wisdom proves true in the sixth episode of The Mandalorian, titled "The Prisoner."
Fresh from his exploits on Tatooine last week, the Mando is still on the search for money (Yogurt would be so proud). This leads Mando to take on a job with some old "friends," or at the very least previous (illegal) business associates. From there, things explode into one of the best space adventures ever set in the Star Wars universe.
⚠️There will absolutely be spoilers below, so don't continue if you haven't seen the show yet.
With Friends Like These...
"The Prisoner" is the best episode of the season so far, and its strength comes mainly from the cast that showrunner Jon Favreau assembles together. First, we meet Ranzar "Ran" Malk, an old gun-running criminal who use to do jobs with Mando way back when. Ran is expertly played by Mark Boone Junior, who perfectly captures the surly leader of a space gang who's glory days are likely in the rearview.
Then there's Mayfield, the up-and-coming leader, played by Bill Burr. Yes, that Bill Burr. He's the short-tempered, wise-cracking gunman and director Rick Famuyiwa puts his comedic talents to work with some excellently timed quips throughout the episode.
We soon meet Xi'an (Natalie Tena), a Twi'lek who might have had a thing for Mando some years back is now a (borderline unstable) assassin, and there's Burg (Clancy Brown), a Devaronian with a bad attitude who's brute strength is enough to get him through most scraps. To round out the crew there's Q9-0, also known as Zero, a no-nonsense droid bounty hunter that operates with precise mechanical efficiency. Zero serves as the navigator/hacker of the operation rather than a hired gun.
But what's most important is that this crew feels like a crew. There's real chemistry on display here and dialogue helps to further fill in Mando's largely unknown backstory. In fact, the show does such a good job, you almost want to stay with this crew for the rest of the season.
Of course, once Mando receives his mission to retrieve an "associate" who's been captured, things don't go entirely as planned.
Welcome To Space Prison
That's because the "associate" was captured by The New Republic and tossed away inside a prison transport ship, protected by at least a dozen armed droids. This is the first visual representation of The New Republic that we've seen thus far. They've been mentioned in passing (mostly just derided by Mando), but it's our first look at how the galaxy is trying to get on post-Empire.
The concept of the space prison is also somewhat terrifying. The prison ship is essentially just floating in space with dangerous criminals locked away in cells. The episode doesn't explore exactly how the ship itself works, but it certainly doesn't feel humane. In fact, if feel more like an Imperial tactic than one you'd hope to see from a New Republic.
From there, things play out like you'd expect (a lot of shooting and punching). Everything seems to be going without a hitch until the crew stumbles upon a New Republic soldier, a flesh-and-blood soldier that is. After a tense standoff, Xi'an quickly dispatches him with a deadly knife throw—but not before he presses a distress signal alerting the New Republic to the prison break in progress.
Now, the episode receives its much-needed ticking clock as the crew runs to set their comrade free, who turns out to be Xi'an's brother, Qin, and someone who isn't particularly happy to see Mando. With such bad blood, the inevitable double cross ensues as Mando gets kicked into the prison cell and left to rot.
But seeing as this is The Mandalorian and not The Random Group of People I Don't Know, our main character finds an ingenious method for escaping his conundrum and slowly exacts his revenge on the hapless criminals.
The Mandalorian does a great job of making its titular character feel like a force of nature when he's angry, kind of like a chromed out Hulk. Once Mando is freed from his cell, the episode turns into what feels like a horror film (for the criminals, that is) as Mando slowly picks off his prey one-by-one until finally dispatching Zero onboard his ship.
With Qin in tow, Mando returns to Ran's base and collects his payment before Ran tries to turn the tables by killing Mando as he blasts off from his base. Of course, privy to the double-crossing nature of this particular outfit, Mando left behind the New Republic transponder, and a fleet of X-Wings show up to finish the job.
An A+ Star Wars Tale
From start to finish, "The Prisoner" gives me real hope for The Mandalorian and really just Star Wars in general, post Skywalker-era. Every character feels dynamic and the universe feels like one I desperately want to explore. Add in that the set design, effects (digital and practical), and Baby Yoda, and you've got a show that continues to surprise.
They're also holding on to their most popular characters. Most of the gang from this episode are still alive as the credits role, so it's unlikely we've seen the last of them and the supporting crew for the show is only getting stronger (bring back Kuiil, you cowards!).
The only real mystery about The Mandalorian is its structure. The first two or three episodes set up the expectation that the main concern for the show would be Baby Yoda, figuring out what the former Empire wants with him and where he came from. But since episode three, we've instead been treated to stories that don't really have anything to do with Baby Yoda (or very little, at least). The Mandalorian has started many threads that still need explaining in only two more episodes.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
A Few Stray Thoughts:
Love seeing all the different species finally making an appearance. Xi'an the Twi'lek and Burg the Devaronian were great additions.
Loved Baby Yoda and Zero's deadly game of hide-and-seek. This episode didn't have much of the little green guy, but what it did have was awesome.
Dave Filoni cameo is a must, the guy deserves it.
Was great to see X-Wings again, easily my favorite ship from the Star Wars universe.
Hats off to Bill Burr, he totally killed it in this episode. Definitely loved the "I wasn't a stormtrooper, wiseass" quip.
I also loved that Zero wasn't comedic relief. Star Wars often uses droids for laughs, but Zero was deadly serious (channeling a bit of HK-47). It was a nice change.
Don't forget, next week's episode comes out Wednesday (because of that whole Rise of Skywalker thing).
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