The Mandalorian Ties Multiple Plot Threads In 'The Pirate'

I have had my disagreements with this man, but he risked his life to save my son. And Bo-Katan Kryze did not give up on my child’s life even when the rest of us did.
– Paz Visla

This season has found its footing.

If you’re like me and you were left wondering why The Mandalorian felt like it had such a stop-and-go pacing to it, this is the episode for you. Not only is the viewer rewarded for sticking with this season, but they also see a lot of plot threads it has set up in the past few episodes (and in the past seasons for that matter) tied together beautifully, sticking the landing.

I’ve got a lot of ground to cover, including a character cameo from Star Wars: Rebels, so without further ado, here’s the synopsis.

Warning: The following review contains spoilers. Be sure to check out our reviews of the first, second, third, and fourth episodes.

Synopsis

Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) plans Nevarro’s infrastructure over a holo display with talk of trade districts and shipping terminals. It’s clear that Karga want’s to get Nevarro’s exports on track. Also, it’s worth noting that the recap for this episode reminds the viewer of the tract of land he offered Din Dijarin (Pedro Pescal). That’ll be more important later.

It’s not long before Gorian Shard (Nonso Anozie) interrupts the High Magistrate.

Gorian Shard hovers over the city in his Corsair. The High Magistrate’s droid asks if it should begin negotiations. Karga declines and says that if they buy them off, it’ll set a bad precedent.

With cannons aimed at the city and firing on civilians, we transition to Adelphi Base. This is a rebel base in the New Republic. Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) receives Karga’s distress call. This is also the scene with the cameo I mentioned earlier. Zeb Orrelios from Star Wars: Rebels makes his live-action debut.

From left to right: Captain Carson Teva and Zeb Orrelios. (**Image Credit:** Lucasfilm via Tor)

Captain Teva makes his way to a Coruscant Requisitions office building to request back up for assistance with the pirates attacking Nevarro. Colonel Tuttle (Tim Meadows) isn’t able to offer any resources. Officer G68 (or Elia Kane who we learned more about a couple of weeks ago (Katy O’Brian)) suggests letting the actions run their course. There is a close up of her badge. Teva won’t stand for it and sets out to find the Madalorians in his X-Wing.

Dijarin tells the other Mandalorians that Teva helped him out of a rough spot a while back. Captain Teva and Dijarin discuss the dire situation back on Nevarro and before Teva takes off he swears that he will not reveal the location of the Mandalorians.

Dijarin, Paz Visla (Tait Fletcher), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and The Armorer (Emily Swallow) sway the Mandalorians into helping Karga despite their past and set a course for Nevarro.

Nevarro. A humble planet in the outer rim. Ripe for the taking.

Not today, though. The Mandalorians storm the planet with a two-step attack plan to liberate it.

You lived there once, hiding in the sewers. But now, you can be heroes.”
– Bo-Katan Kryze

Step one of their attack plan is a diversion in the N-1 piloted by Dijarin. Step two is a deployment. Bo-Katan will drop Mandalorians into the city from her Kom’rk Class Transport once all of the Snubfighters are lured out of the Corsair.

Dijarin successfully lures all six Snubfighters and takes down four of them. One is taken down by a Mandalorian with a jetpack. The Snubfighter piloted by Vane (Marti Matulis) is the only one that gets away. Paz Visla gets a moment to shine as he prevents the Mandalorians from being boxed in with his blaster cannon.

The Armorer gets a chance to shine as well. She takes down a sniper nest where pirates have mounted a gun on Karga’s balcony. She does so in true Armorer fashion with just her tongs and her hammer.

Dijarin and Bo-Katan circle back to deliver the final blows to Shard’s Corsair. They blow up his last engine before his blasters can get in range of the evacuees and Shard goes down in an epic fireball.

High Magistrate Karga adresses the evacuees and the Mandalorians and provides a new home for the Mandalorians on Nevarro.

The Armorer takes Bo-Katan aside in the old forge on Nevarro and tells her that her sighting of the Mythosaur is the sign of a new beginnings and sends her off to find other exiled Mandalorians so they can regroup on Nevarro. She even allows her to take off her helmet to do so, claiming that “she walks both worlds.”

Before the episode ends, it’s revealed that Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) never made it to trial and was extracted from a prison transport ship. Teva comes across the wreckage of the ship and scans it with a probe from his R7 droid. The last thing the R7 probe picks up is a piece of Beskar armor lodged in the cabin wall.

Breakdown

There are many fan theories as to the species of Gorian Shard. The theory that holds the most water is that Shard is a Drengir. Drengir’s make an appearance in the High Republic literary series as an alien species made up of anthropomorphic plant-like beings.

In their exchange in Karga’s office Shard mentions how Karga shot at his helmsman, leaving only Vane to escape in their first standoff in episode one. Karga quips back with, “he shot first.” This might be a throwaway line, but if you ask me, this feels like a nod to the often re-edited encounter between Greedo and Han Solo in A New Hope.

**Image Credit:** Lucasfilm (via Looper)

This is not the first time Captain Teva has made an appearance in the show. Captain Teva and Trapper Wolf served as the deus ex machina in the episode “The Passenger.” They helped kill ice spiders.

I am the most curious about Vane. Will he get a spin-off show? Will he appear in Ahsoka? I’m still a little upset about Cad Bane’s death in The Book of Boba Fett, even though I haven’t even seen the show he’s from yet. I wouldn’t mind a spin-off show featuring either of them. I wouldn’t mind if they worked together either. I feel like those two would get along. But, this is coming from a guy who wishes Maz Kanata would get her own spin-off show so take that with a grain of salt.

Back to Vane, I have to say I love his redesign — even if he does look more like a traditional pirate. Vane also appears in “The Passenger.” He helps set up the trip wire for Mando’s speeder. Nasty guy. I’d love to see more of him.

Final Score (5 out of 5 stars)

What can I say? This episode was everything I was looking for. I don’t mind the Moff Gideon tease at the end. It calls Mando’s moral compass back into question. Just what will Din Djarin do when he’s face to face with him again? Will he kill Gideon once and for all?

As for the Zeb cameo, I haven’t seen Rebels, so I can’t really comment on it.

This episode brings Moff Gideon back into the equation and nips Gorian Shard in the bud. And I was one hundred percent here for it. It’s hard to complain when there’s space pirates fighting.

I can’t wait for the finale. It could be a series ender, but we still have two episodes to go until then.

Are you as hyped as we are for the finale? Let us know your theories over on the Boss Rush Discord.

The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, LeRon, Stephanie, Edward, and their friends from around the internet come together to talk their week in games, entertainment, and more while also bringing topics for conversation, answer listener and community questions, and cover major news and events happening in the video game industry. Watch The Boss Rush Podcast live on Wednesday Nights on Twitch at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT or on Monday mornings at 7 a.m. ET on YouTube and podcast services everywhere. Thanks for listening! You can also get this episode one week early on Patreon.