‘The Mandalorian’ Recap – ‘Chapter 11: The Heiress’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Chapter 11 of ‘The Mandalorian’.
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One particular element that Star Wars fans love about the franchise, is how well everything in the galaxy, far, far away ties together. Because it doesn’t matter which part of this saga’s rich history you’re watching, somehow it ties into another story and that is quite the huge feat storytelling wise. Since it requires some incredible behind the scenes work to accomplish. But while we often enjoy discussing our favorite tie-in moments from satellite films and shows, something that we don’t discuss enough… is that there is one exception to this respective rule, specifically… The Mandalorian. Because when one takes a moment to truly think about it, this particular show has made great efforts to avoid completely attaching itself into the rich history of the Star Wars Universe.

Granted, it's definitely offered up some familiar faces and moments, the kind that inform us exactly where it takes place in the timeline and that we're enjoying a Star Wars show. But for the most part, season one worked hard to steer clear of attaching Din to well-known characters in an effort to let the show stand on its own. But we all knew deep down that the last holdout in regard to tie-ins would eventually have to work its way into the connective tissue of the SWU , and it just so happens that this week’s episode served as the perfect time to make that happen. But it sure didn’t seem like that was going to be the case at first. Because early on, ‘Chapter 11: The Heiress’, felt like any other episode in this magnificent series. For Din and the Child and his passenger arrived on Trask and life went on, with Din once again working to find his Mandalorian family.

Something that did happen when he got into a bit of trouble, and that’s when this show finally merged with the rest of the franchise. Because Din ran into some Mandalorians that just so happened to have some oddly familiar armor and as it turns out, they were members of Clan Kryze and led by none other than Bo-Katan from The Clone Wars and Rebels and this… well this was pretty freakin’ awesome. Because not only did Katee Sackoff reprise the role in live action form for the first time, she’s still working to get her hands on the Darksaber in order to take control of Mandalore when we catch up with her in this tale. Which adds wonderful continuity to her animated journeys and of course, this storytelling decision also plunges Din Djarin into the SWU like never before and that’s just amazing to say the least. Since it gives the show a brand-new vibe and builds excitement for an imminent meeting between Din and Ahsoka Tano. 

However, while it is quite wonderful to geek out over this incredible moment and the possibilities, we would be foolish to not discuss the quality of this particular tale. Because in order to set the stage for a meeting between Tano and Din, our favorite Mandalorian had to help Bo out with quite the important task. Specifically, capturing an Imperial Remnant ship and all of the spoils that it had to offer, and this led to one badass sequence of storytelling. One that saw Din and his new Mandalorian friends simply lay waste to ‘well-trained’ Imperial troops in a smooth manner and it was just cool to watch these dynamic characters work together in a seamless fashion and embarrass the Imperial Remnant and set the stage for future confrontations down the line. Since clearly, Bo and Moff Gideon have the quite the past, one that could be potentially settled this season if all goes well.

But what matters more, is that this series has now finally merged with the Star Wars Universe in a proper and organic manner, and who knows what other surprise encounters await us down the line. But before we get ahead of ourselves speculation wise, it’s best we celebrate one awesome episode. One that made fans happy in every way imaginable and offered up some incredible action and adventure through and through, and now that this one has indeed come to a close. It is time to focus upon this all-important meeting between Din and Ahsoka Tano, since that should hopefully lead us to The Child’s kind and more geek out moments as Din Djarin finally becomes a proper fixture in the rich and magnificent story of a galaxy, far, far away. Until next time.  

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