The Mandalorian: Season 2, Episode 3 'The Heiress' Recap and Review
It would seem, we finally have the true beginning of Season 2 of The Mandalorian
Up to this point in the season, I’ve been critical of The Mandalorian’s overall story arc for the series or more specifically lack thereof. Episode 1 felt self-contained and Episode 2 felt like a false-start but this week’s episode, titled ‘The Heiress’, delivered those juicy story beats that I’ve been craving in a fun, pirate-themed episode full of action and lore. Bryce Dallas Howard directs this episode and sets the season down a path of intrigue and gravitas.
The episode begins on the Din Djarin’s ship the Razor Crest as it limps down to the planet Trask to complete the transportation of “Frog Lady” and her container of eggs. The planet is some sort of port populated by mostly Mon Calamari, the species of one Admiral Ackbar, and The Quarren, which are the other squid people of Star Wars. As always, Din’s search for his people leads to a Cantina where a shady Quarren offers to sail the Mandalorian to the rest of his people for a fee, but to no one’s surprise, it was a trap! But just as things looked bleak for Din and the Child, he is saved by the titular Heiress, Bo-Katan Kryze, played by her original voice actor and Battlestar Galactica alum Katee Sackoff. Bo-Katan is flanked by two other Mandalorians, Koska Reeves played by WWE Superstar Sasha Banks who’s real name is Mercedes Varnado, and Axe Woves played by Simon Kassianides. Although Bo-Katan is a true-blooded Mandalorian, she is not as extreme in her beliefs as Din and this throws Din for a loop but eventually, he converses with the group and finds his path to the mythical Jedi. Of course, this information has a price, and the price of this information is an Imperial ship filled with weapons and Stormtroopers with terrible aim. The four Mandalorians slice through the Stormtroopers with military precision in a showcase of how much trouble a handful can be to the Empire. The Captain of the Empire vessel is played by Titus Welliver who can play menacing as easily as it is to breathe and with very little convincing from Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon, attempts to crash the ship and kill the group that has been tormenting them for a while. But the Mandalorian group managed to overtake the ship with some late-game heroics by Din. In the end, Din and Bo-Katan seem to understand each other and she finally points Din in the direction of the highly anticipated Ahsoka Tano.
Buried in the piracy, gunfights, and traps is a well of story and lore to unpack. When Din meets the Mandalorian group the first thing they do is remove their helmets. As seen in previous episodes, this is forbidden by the group that saved and raised Din. This group is called The Watch, they adhere to a strict interpretation of the Way of Mandalore which confuses Din into thinking that their way is the only way. But throughout the episode, Din’s eyes slowly open to the greater interpretation of the Way of Mandalore. Bo-Katan immediately views Din as a religious zealot and all but criticizes Din’s narrow beliefs. This adds great depth to Din as a character as shows his naivety of ways of his people and shows there is still much to learn about the group that has adopted him as their own. As for Bo-Katan, she is a member of House Kryze, the de facto royal family of Mandalore. As she talks with Din, she outlines her goal to retake their home and see a new Mand’alor rise and unite their people. To do so, she needs to reclaim something that has been stolen from her and her people. The something she is referring to is the Darksaber, the black lightsaber currently held by Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon. In Star Wars lore, the Darksaber was created by the first-ever Mandalorian to join the Jedi Order, Tarre Vizsla, and is the symbol of the ruler of the Mandalorians, the Mand’alor. Bo-Katan is the heir to the Mandalorian throne and puts her in direct conflict with Moff Gideon. Bo-Katan’s mission creates a web of conflict that makes her and Din allies against Moff Gideon and promises that all their paths will eventually collide again.
As a series, The Mandalorian has relied on action-heavy episodes to hide the episode’s deficiencies in storytelling. ‘The Heiress’ is an episode that uses action in the exact opposite manner. The action weaves deep lore within the dialogue and sets up the greater story quite elegantly. Din’s path is now intertwined with the heiress of Mandalore, he knows where to find a member of the mythic Jedi Order, and his character is deepened by mere interaction with a more diverse group of Mandalorians. ‘The Heiress’ gave me everything I’ve been waiting for in this series that doesn’t wield a lightsaber. I just hope this momentum continues into the next episode and beyond.