More Mandalorian, Less Empathy

 

Chapter 10 (Season 2, Episode 2): "The Passenger"

I don't know how it is that the authors of this episode thought that having Baby Yoda not only eat the eggs of a sentient species trying desperately to save itself from extinction would be funny, but they were wrong.  And Disney's pathetic response about fertilization and chicken eggs is complete nonsense, as chickens are neither endangered nor sentient.

If you are not a creepy person with no empathy who would like to see how a SF series can produce a show about an alien species trying to reproduce and running into trouble with both comedy and compassion, I recommend watching "Ephraim and Dot," from the second season of Short Treks.  One wonders if the Mandalorian writers were deliberately dissing Star Trek's concern for non-human life forms...but one suspects they aren't even aware of it.

In any case, I was rooting for the ice spiders.

Chapter 11 (Season 2, Episode 3): "The Heiress"

The Mandalorian is still trying to find another of his kind in order to lead him to the Jedi, which is really a very indirect way of going about things.  In any case, as per usual, he goes to a bar where he meets a Mon Calamari who tells him about someone who can lead him to other Mandalorians.

And I am wondering, my friends, if the writers of this episode had Baby Yoda attempt to eat a squid-octopus creature as a deliberate pun on "Mon Calamari."  Given that we established after the last episode that they lack a sense of humor, one must conclude that they thought this was a real thigh-slapper.

Perhaps because the Mon Calamari do have sense of humor, or at least of dignity, they lead the Mandalorian to a group of people who attempt to feed him and Baby Yoda to a sea monster so that they can claim his armor.  One would like to think that this experience would teach Baby Yoda some damned empathy, but one suspects that not only won't that happen, but that the cliché "eat or be eaten" will become a tedious metaphor running throughout the entire series.

Someone, some where, will call this being "dark" or "realistic."  Meanwhile, over on Star Trek Discovery, Cleveland "Book" Booker is a trader in a harsh, post-Burn galaxy, who nevertheless risks his life to save endangered species like the tranceworm named Molly.

Moving right along, the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda are rescued by a bunch of Mandalorians with decorated helmets and bad ass moves!  Also, their leader is female, and could it be...?  Yes, she removes her helmet, and it is Bo Katan, the last holder of the Darksaber, played by Katee Sackoff, of Battlestar Galactica fame.  But what is this?  She and her companions remove their helmets, and the Mandalorian is all shocked and horrified and claims they are not real Mandalorians---Fool!  You fool!  Bo Katan is THE Mandalorian, compared to which you are only a pseudo-Mandalorian.

To prove that, she rescues his arrogant ass a second time, and tries to explain to him that he is part of an underground cult of extremists and has never even been to Mandalore, so get off his high horse, thank you very much.  Anyway, she knows where to find the jedi.

This is a big relief to me, dearest readers, for I could not figure out how Sabine Wren and Bo Katan were of the same tradition as the Pseudo-Mandalorian of this series, and knowing he's just part of some post-disaster religious cult makes everything much clearer.

Bo Katan says she will help Pseudo-Mandalorian find a jedi if he helps her steal some weapons from the Empire-ish group, as she eventually plans to retake Mandalore.  He agrees, and in a horrific scene, they leave Baby Yoda with the couple whose eggs he kept eating last episode, and..I'm just not going to talk about that anymore.

There are a number of exciting action scenes aboard the ship with the weapons which confirm that storm troopers still can't shoot worth a damn, but that Mandalorian helmets have heat-detecting vision.  My favorite moment, though, is when Bo Katan reveals that she's not there just to steal the weapons, but the whole ship.  Pseudo-Mandalorian objects that she's "changing the deal," and she replies "This is the way."

Now that was funny.

They succeed, but when Bo Katan tries to interrogate the ship's captain to find Moff Gideon and retrieve the dark saber, he swallows poison.  Nevertheless, Pseudo-Mandalorian was great in the fight, and Bo Katan tells him where to find...yes!...Ahsoka Tano.  

Amusingly, the Mon Calamari have done a crappy job repairing the Razorcrest, but since the episode ends with Baby Yoda eating another squid-octopus thing, one can hardy blame them.

Chapter 12 (Season 2, Episode 4): "The Siege"

There are a few interesting plot developments in this episode, but here are the most pertinent facts:

• Gina Carrano returns as the Alderaanian fighter Cara Dune, who admits to having lost everyone when Alderaan was destroyed.
• Shortly before this episode aired, Carrano shared a meme making fun of (democrats) requiring people to wear masks to help control the spread of the coronavirus.
• As of this date, over 250, 000 Americans have died of Covid-19

Nothing that happens in this episode was sufficient to distract me from the appalling behavior of someone who would politicize and make light of attempts to control this disease.  

A new season of the Expanse begins on December 19.