‘The Mandalorian’ Recap – ‘Chapter 22: Guns for Hire’

4/6/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 306 of ‘The Mandalorian’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

Now, and again in life… we will be presented with seemingly impossible tasks. The kind that oft involve, putting the pieces back together of something quite important. For some, that involves getting their life in order because things aren’t great there. For others, it involves caring for others who also need to repair their life in some capacity, and sometimes… it’s all about fixing someone else’s big mess at work. And truly, those tasks seem impossible. Because how does one rebuild a life? And how does one rebuild a corner of industry that was once solid and sound? Well at it turns out, the answer to those questions is far simpler than we give it credit, as evidenced by this week’s episode of The Mandalorian on Disney+.

For ‘Chapter 22: Guns for Hire’ featured quite the impossible task for Bo-Katan Kryze and Din Djarin. In that, they had to reunite their people and that was going to be a seemingly impossible task. Since so many no longer had faith in their former leader, Bo-Katan, and they certainly didn’t think much of the old ways. But our heroes were tasked to try to make this happen none the less and that brought them to the idyllic world of Plazir-15. A peaceful place that hired Bo’s former army as their muscle and featured quite the eccentric pair of royals, played by Lizzo and Jack Black in an epic manner. And it was the hope of our heroes that they could be granted court with the royals and talk them into letting them talk with the Mandalorian Mercenaries on this particular world.

Which was agreed to with one condition. In that, our heroes had to figure out why reprogrammed Imperial and Clone War era droids were malfunctioning on this world and causing trouble. Which led to a fascinating search for clues on the planet, one that informed our heroes of the answer to those questions. For this was also an impossible task. But if we are to solve one, buckling down, staying the course, and putting in the work, will often lead to improvement and resolution, and reveal the simple solution we seek, and that’s what happened here in more ways than one. Since their determination proved who was behind the droid problem. Which just so happened to be a Separatist constable (played by screen legend Christopher Lloyd) that wanted to sow chaos and well, with him out of the way, Bo-Katan and Din, had their simple solution in hand to solve bringing their people home.

Of course, they still had to put in the work. Which meant challenging Axe Woves for leadership, and that was of course, a violent and angry fight filled with vitriol over the past. But of course… Bo-Katan was victorious but still faced great odds without having everything in place to lead them. Which is where the simple solution came into play courtesy of Din. Who admitted he was defeated on Mandalore and that Bo-Katan saved his life with the Darksaber. Making it rightfully hers, and once that was confirmed by the group… he returned it to her and just like that… the problem wasn’t so tough. For these Mandalorians were ready to fall in behind a true leader, one that now could bring them home and rebuild the world they lost.

All of which made, for one epic tale. One that took us on quite the adventure and featured some lovely call backs to Star Wars history. Since it’s been a long time since we’ve seen Separatist droids in live action Star Wars storytelling, plus… this was also a story that featured a lot of fun. Because Jack Black and Lizzo were amazing here, as was Christopher Lloyd, and the action and adventure just added to the delight. But really what made this episode truly worth our while, was Bo-Katan’s redemption as a leader. For she once again has what she needs to help her people chart a course forward, and now it can be done right and done differently so their world is never broken again, and it will be interesting to see what comes next for the children of Mandalore now that they are one step closer to healing their world. Until next time.

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