I’ll be honest, I don’t have all that much to say about this week’s episode of The Mandalorian, but that’s because the episode did its job. Yes, we got another excellent heist episode that utilized a number of good characters. Yes, there was a big, momentous moment in the arc of the series (more on that in a minute). But “The Believer” was a classic penultimate episode in that it checked off the necessary boxes to get everyone in place for the big grand finale. And there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when a show has been hitting on all cylinders like The Mandalorian has been this season.
While this was the first episode without little Grogu in a good long while, his fate hung over everything that occurred. From Cara Dune bending a whole lot of rules to ensure our little buddy gets rescued to Mayfield being willing to risk his own life and limb to help (which is saying something for a character like him), everyone in the episode was focused on doing everything in their power to make sure Mando’s child made it back to him in one piece. And, if they managed to stick it to the Empire along the way, well, that’s just an added bonus. But no one was willing to go as far as Mando did, and that says a hell of a lot about how much he’s grown as a character – and how much little Grogu truly means to him.
After fifteen episodes of characters asking Mando to remove his helmet, the moment finally happened – and I suspect no one had “to use an Imperial terminal” on their Bingo cards. It was such a seemingly insignificant moment – there wasn’t a big reveal to someone, there wasn’t a medically necessary reason. It was simply to avoid triggering an alarm on a terminal. But that choice – a life altering decision for someone who genuinely believes part of his code is to keep his face from being seen at all costs – speaks volumes about how much Grogu means to Mando. And, just in case you didn’t figure that out from the big reveal of Pedro Pascal, the episode drove the point home once more with his hologram message to Moff Gideon at the close of the episode. Grogu means more to Mando than his Mandalorian code. This child is the most important thing in the universe to Mando and he will do whatever and take out whomever he needs to in order to make sure Grogu is safe. We didn’t need to see Pascal emoting to understand that message.
And that’s the sort of moment I’ve been waiting to see from Mando since the pilot of the series. We need a reason to root for Mando outside of the general “well, he’s one of the good guys.” We’ve seen bits of his personality emerge this season – almost always around Grogu – and that’s been great. But this huge gesture, well, it speaks volumes. And it’s a major turning point in the series. The Mando we knew is gone. The new Mando is one with a true purpose outside of the Mandalorian Way he followed for so long. His love for Grogu is his driving force and I pity those who get in his way. That being said, I cannot wait for the Moff Gideon confrontation next week.
Final Thoughts:
— I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the huge Disney+ news from yesterday. I’m wary of the host of Star Wars shows coming to the streaming site in the coming months, as I’m a firm believer that too much of a good thing ends up making everyone annoyed and disappointed. That being said, since I’ve written multiple times that I would watch spin-offs of several of The Mandalorian‘s supporting characters, and it appears that’s just what I’m going to get, well, I guess I’m happy that I’ll be seeing more Ahsoka (and likely more Cara Dune) in the future. But when I asked for these shows I didn’t expect to get them all at once. Maybe we can space them out over a year or two?
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