With the Fourth episode of Star Wars: The Mandalorian now hitting Disney Plus, it’s time to go back to a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.
Throughout this, we’ll be breaking down everything that you need to know about the latest episode’s overall plot, the Easter Eggs and our theories on what could be happening in the future.
There will be heavy spoilers here so if you haven’t had a chance to watch episode four yet and don’t want to know what happens then I highly suggest that you turn off now. Make sure you subscribe to the channel for breakdowns like this every day and weekly coverage on The Mandalorian. I have spoken!
With that out the way I just wanna give a huge thank you for clicking this video, now let’s get into our breakdown of The Mandalorian.
The Mandalorian Episode 4 Recap
Ok so episode 4 opens on the planet of Sorgan, namely a small fishing village that we see in the middle of a raid from Klantoonian’s. This location becomes the main staying point of the episode and this introduction sort of plays into the overall arc of episode four.
We do see for a split second in the episode that Sorgan has two moons, which may echo the two Suns of Tattooine and this is a nice little easter egg for fans of the force.
During the raid, we see a character known as Omera and her daughter Winta hiding out much in the same way that Mando had to hide out as a child. Though the settings are different there still are similarities and this lets us know that things no matter what, things suck in the Galaxy. The collapse of the Empire has sort of destabilized everything and we need order…Order 66 #MakeTheGalaxyGreatAgain
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For me, this is a beautiful introduction and it really shows how much effort Disney are putting into their productions. Throughout there are metaphors for the Battle Of Endor with an organic, natural location being taken over by cold, hard and imperial-esque figures.
We jump to the Razor’s Crest which has sort of become a Kindergarten for Baby Yoda who gets cuter by the minute, touching things and getting told off by his newly adopted dad, our Mando.
This scene is adorable and you really get the care that he has over the creature which is what is really the backbone of the series…you little womp rat.
Mando picks up Sorgan and decides that after last weeks big ordeal that they need to hide out from Bounty Hunters and this backwater planet is the perfect place to pick. The famous last words are ‘No one’s gonna find us here’ and they land on the planet which Mando says he will scout out by himself. You can’t leave a little Baby Yoda behind though and he quickly joins him on this adventure.
The Mandalorian And Baby Yoda
Now I love how they are slowly starting to build their relationship and this opener of the episode really fleshes out their attachment. It’s amazing that the creative team have managed to convey such emotion and attachment between what is basically a guy who’s face we can’t see and a puppet. There’s not all that much dialogue but watching Dynjarring say ‘Oh what the hell…come on’ is a moment that really solidifies their relationship with one another.
When exploring the settlement we get our first introduction to Cara Dune who we learn is an ex shock trooper that was part of the Rebel Alliance. We also see A Loth Cat which hisses at Baby Yoda and these creatures were big mainstays in Rebels.
No Females!!!!
Now all those people who were complaining that the Mandalorian didn’t have any female characters can shut up and go and find something else completely pointless to complain about because Cara is a badass and early on she goes head to head with Mando, showing that she’s a clear match for the character.
I loved the scene where he follows her out, using Detective Vision to track her footprints and just as he thinks he’s closing the net, she pops up with a nice surprise. Mando may be able to take a blaster bolt to the head without flinching but one of Cara’s punches puts him out faster than Disney managed to get Baby Yoda toys out.
Just as it looks like the two are about to shoot one another, Baby Yoda pops up, instantly calming the situation and subtly saying hello to his new mum and dad.
Cara Dune Explained
Cara divulges that since the events of The Return Of The Jedi that the rebels have been hunting down the Imperial Warlords and that she was a member of the assassination team that tracked them down. This is a very clear metaphor on the Second World War when Jewish Forces tracked down surviving members of the Reich that had gone into hiding in countries like Brazil and Argentina and this has made Cara cold to the Galaxy.
Cara has a very small Rebel Alliance Tattoo on her cheek that we catch glimpses of throughout the episode and this lets you know just how loyal she was to the group.
She ended up going into early retirement, finding a home on Sorgan and she initially was wary of our Boy Mando because she believed that he was a Bounty Hunter for Imperial Forces that were out for revenge. All I can say is Thank God for Baby Yoda, I don’t just mean in the show I mean thank God cos Star Wars was looking dead till it showed up.
I’m still using it as a pronoun for it because we don’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl, however, I have seen some people say that it is in fact a girl in the script though I’ve been unable to verify this. Plot twist of the century though, guess those people who said there are no females in The Mandalorian are feeling pretty stupid right now.
After this exposition dump, Cara says that Mando and Baby Yoda have to move on because it will draw attention to her hiding place and the two look like they’re gonna be back on the road again until two people from the village at the start recruit The Mandalorian to protect their home. Initially, he’s put off by the idea but quickly Mando realises just how good of a hiding place this could be for the characters.
The Village
With the help of Cara, they go to the village and we rejoin Winta and other kids who fall head over heels with Baby Yoda. This would be the perfect advert for kid’s Christmas presents but Disney didn’t get the toys out in time so well done guys…great job.
Now throughout this episode, I really got flashes of the classic Seven Samurai and a lot of the atmosphere throughout this entry I think apes that. The way the huts were designed had an almost ancient Japenese feeling to them and if you’re gonna steal you might as well steal from the best right?
Let me know if you disagree or agree with me in the comments below but personally I saw a lot of similarities.
The Mandalorian Helmet
Omera sparks up a conversation with Mando at one point in the episode as she notices that he doesn’t remove his helmet at all even when others are eating around him. Mando confirms that he hasn’t removed his helmet in front of anyone since he was a child. I bet it smells like Bantha Poo Doo in there. Anyway, this is the Mandalorian way as we saw in episode 3 and though initially it was stated that the character would never take it off throughout the entire series, we do see him remove it in this episode.
Though we don’t see his face he does take it off in order to eat and this scene echoes the moment in The Empire Strikes Back where Vader removes his helmet and we get a glimpse at the character from behind.
In Star Wars helmets are almost used to separate the humanity of the character from what’s really going on and the fact that Mando removes his helmet at one point, right next to a window could show that he is opening up to the galaxy. He talks a lot more in this episode and as far as character development goes it’s hard to really fault how far he’s come.
Later on, he mentions that once you take the helmet off you can’t really put it back on again and this highlights that when you open up that it’s difficult to close yourself off. The helmet really acts as a wall for the character throughout the episode with Omera desperately trying to remove it because she knows that if she does the two will finally have a connection, even if Mando rebuffs this and leaves it on for the finale to show that he is a man of the code, putting his duties above all else.
We know that Mando did at one point live life helmet free to me suggests that the fan theory that he was found and rescued by the Mandalorians during the great purge has a lot of weight to it. There’s some lip service paid to this and we did see last time that the character came face to gun with a super battle droid and it is possible that during this moment, Mandalorians came to the rescue and he ended up joining them.
There’s also theories that he was saved by a Jedi, most namely Yoda and this is why he gained such an attachment to the young critter that he now has as a best friend.
Though this episode doesn’t offer up any answers in terms of what really happened I am leaning more towards the first theory now as Mando did not have any awareness of The Force and thus he probably didn’t know about the Jedi which would have been the case during the original trilogy as they were all but extinct.
We’re Gonna Need A Montage
When out scouting, Cara and Mando discover the tracks of an At-St or as we used to call them back in the day, Chicken Walkers, and this highlights that since the fall of the Empire, a lot of their materials have become scavenged and hoarded by criminals, most namely the group of Klantoonian Raiders.
Cara and ma man ma Mando return to Omera and tell them that they need to leave but they refuse to and in order for them to survive what’s to come, we’re gonna need a montage.
After everyone gets trained up they lay out the plan where they’ll use a ditch to trap the Chicken Walker…sorry AT-ST and during this the villagers will fight back against the raiders.
It’s an awesome action scene and I love this sort of Mad Max tone that the show has slowly evolved into. Even the ending echoes that series of a man on the road going from location to location helping people and this big fight for the second half of the episode really doesn’t disappoint.
The AT-ST
Mando and Cara sneak into the raider camp and blow up their favorite tent which lulls them into activating the AT-ST complete with evil-looking red eyes and it follows them back to the camp. There was a feeling here of The War Of The Worlds for me with the tree line shuffling about as the huge machine lurched forward. This episode definitely showcases how intimidating they are and if you’d found them slightly laughable after they got beat so bad by Ewoks then this will definitely return them as one of the coolest crafts in Star Wars.
Unfortunately for the two, the trap doesn’t work right away and the walker doesn’t walk..a into the trap. It fires from a distance whilst raiders rush the group. Eventually, the AT-ST does fall into the trap after Cara ruses at it with a rifle and Dynjarring blows it up by throwing a bomb into the cockpit.
RAIDERS RETREAT and it looks like the villagers have won. The battle is over and it looks like they got through by the skin of their teeth, if only they’d had someone extremely strong with the force that could’ve destroyed that walker in a second…
The Mandalorian Episode 4 Ending
Anyway speaking of Baby Yoda, Mando has a tough decision to make, he can either return back to life on the road after the ruckus he has caused or he can retire and live in peace. He doesn’t want to remain but he realises that this would be an amazing place for Baby Yoda to grow and have a normal childhood.
Out in the forest, a Bounty Hunter has tracked down the character and Omera tries to get him to finally remove his helmet, accepting his place in the village. He refuses and this saves his life as he unknowingly being watched by the Hunter who potentially has a sniper shot for the character.
The Hunter aims for Baby Yoda but he’s shot last second by Cara which is when it’s revealed that the hunter has been tracking the kid.
Though Mando destroys this locator, we know there will be others and Cara and Mando part ways until their path’s cross with the Lone Wolf and his Pup heading back out into the galaxy, ending the episode.
Episode 5 Theories
Now, going forward Mando basically only has two choices, he can either keep running, hoping to evade the long arm of both the empire and the bounty hunters or he can take them head-on in order to stop them tracking him.
It looks like the character goes with the former over the latter with the synopsis for episode 5 saying:
The Mandalorian helps a rookie bounty hunter who is in over his head.
This could be someone who is trying to track him down that simply can’t match up with the bounty hunter so he decides to help him out and build his own network rather than constantly having to look over his shoulder. This is kinda backed up by the synopsis for episode 6 which reads:
The Mandalorian joins a crew of mercenaries on a dangerous mission.
And even though it may not be intentional, it does look like our characters are building a group that they can at least rely on should things with the Empire heat up which no doubt they will as everyone, including my Grandma wants a Baby Yoda.
I’m surprised that we didn’t get any more backstory this episode but I do have a feeling that sooner, rather than later, we will get an episode that centers heavily on Mando’s past and answers more questions about the character.
Overall though I had a great time with this week’s entry and it feels like another solid episode in a show that is slowly becoming one of the best Star Wars properties in years.
Your Thoughts
Now obviously I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Mandalorian Episode Four as well as what your theories for the future are. Make sure you leave them in the comments section below!
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