SERIES: Star Wars: The Mandalorian
EPISODE: S3:E6 – “Chapter 22: Guns For Hire”
STARRING: Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff, Lizzo, Jack Black, Christopher Lloyd
WRITERS: Jon Favreau
DIRECTOR: Bryce Dallas Howard
PREMIERE DATE: April 5, 2023
SYNOPSIS: Din Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze face a hidden threat on Plazir-15.

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Did we need Lizzo and Jack Black in this episode as the Duchess and Captain Bombadier? No. We didn’t. It’s stunt casting. But I’ll say this much: It’s good stunt casting. Lizzo is believable as a duchess, and Jack Black does just fine as a quirky ex-Imperial. I doubt we’ll see more of them any time soon. But I wouldn’t be opposed to it, per se.

Christopher Lloyd, meanwhile, plays Helgait, the head of security on Plazir-15. Lizzo and Jack Black play royalty in this episode. But as far as I’m concerned, Lloyd is Hollywood royalty. It’s a lot of fun seeing him in a Star Wars project. Especially once we get to the twist toward the end involving his character…

This is Bryce Dallas Howard’s third time directing an episode of The Mandalorian, having done “Sanctuary” and “The Heiress.” She also directed “Return of the Mandalorian” for The Book of Boba Fett. So she was very much in her element here. Apparently, after this episode aired there were fans calling for her to direct a Star Wars movie. You’d get no complaints from me on that front. She clearly has her footing in the Star Wars universe, and has inherited her father’s knack for directing. I say bring her on.

The purple glow of the city made for a cool, memorable visual. Ideally, a Star Wars location stands out and is distinct in its own way. It’s not nearly as easy to do in 2023 as it was in, say, the early 80s. It can be done, though.

Have we seen a droid bar on a live-action Star Wars show before? I feel like we have, I just can’t remember when. Either way, it makes for, again, a really distinct and cool visual. Mando’s line “I don’t think they get many of our kind here” is a nice little callback to the “We don’t serve their kind here!” line from the Mos Eisley Cantina scene in A New Hope.

Toward the end of the episode, Grogu is made a knight of the “Ancient Order of Independent Regencies.”  That’s cool and all, but they missed an opportunity to revel in the cuteness of Lizzo calling the little guy “Sir Grogu.”

The logic they used to move the Darksaber from Mando’s possession Bo’s was clever. It never occurred to me that they’d use Bo saving him in “The Mines of Mandalore” for that purpose. It’s one of those things that, in hindsight, seems obvious.

Still, the show might have missed an opportunity to give us a Mando vs. Bo fight. One that would have been that much more emotionally charged, given what they’ve been through this season. We’ll have to see if what they do with Bo and the Darksaber makes for a worthwhile ending to the season.

Mrs. Primary Ignition wound up falling asleep during the latter half of this episode.  When I came to bed I told her that Bo had the Darksaber now. Her words back to me? “Oh, that’s good. Where did she find it?”

*sigh*

Hard to believe there are only two episodes left this season. And we still haven’t seen Migs Mayfeld yet!

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.