The Mandalorian Chapter 4: Sanctuary dropped, and we’re already looking forward to the next one. That’s the formula for episodic television. This chapter sure felt like an episode, but unlike the first three chapters, this one didn’t reveal much about our hero, the as yet unnamed Mandalorian. Though, there was plenty of action in Sanctuary, the chapter itself didn’t uncover much of anything new on the surface. Or did it? Did we learn some things?
Jon Favreau worked closely with George Lucas, and has undeniably made an effort to emulate what Lucas strive for in the original trilogy. Poetry. Rhyming. Before getting into it, let this be a reminder. The following text contains spoilers for chapters 1-4 and unfettered speculation for the remainder of the season.
I said unfettered. Un-Fett-ered. Get it? No? Okay, I haven’t had coffee yet. Thanksgiving is over, and so many of us woke at 3:00 AM (lucky east coast can wake at a more reasonable 6:00 am) to see the new episode first. By 3:40 AM, I turned to myself and thought “Well, that was fun, but nothing happened.” Yes, I have a clone and we have a psychic connection. Deal with it. “Nothing happened? Are you crazy? They took down an AT-ST!” other me said. “Yeah, there was plenty of action,” I told myself, “but what did we learn about Mando? What did we learn about Baby Yoda?” Yes, I’ve given up calling the little green womprat YoMama and YoBaby. The inter webs have spoken, and the kid is to be called Baby Yoda until further notice. “Duality,” I told me. “There are things happening in this episode that actually reflect Mando’s past and future.” I politely told myself, “That’s not duality.” Other me just swiveled his head backward in his best Tony Stark eye roll meme impression. “You know what I mean.”
Hanging so closely with the Maker himself, Jon Favreau picked up quite a bit of George Lucas’ fondness for leaving mysterious characters mysterious, no matter how much fans may think the talent behind the mask is wasted (see Gwendolyn Christie as Captain Phasma). Fans these days would have seen The Empire Strikes Back and fumed at only catching a glimpse of the scarred bald head of a helm-free Darth Vader. Removing the mask is removing the obscurity that keeps us peering so close. We want a gander, but if the exposure appears only briefly or happens off camera that only makes it more enticing and fascinating.
Mando took off his helmet today. It’s only been one episode since we learned he never removes his helmet. My wife told me he better have pus and sores when he finally takes it off. I reminded her that Mandalorians took their helmets off all the time in The Clone Wars animated series and on Rebels. There had to be more to this rule. This week, in a Bryce Dallas Howard-directed chapter, we got the softer side of Mando.
I’d speculated that her episode would have a gentler story to tell, especially with Cara Dune (played by Gina Carano) being introduced in this one. That’s sort of a joke. I knew the ex-rebel shock trooper would be badass, and she was. But I admit I thought maybe this could be the episode they reveal Baby Yoda is a girl. Okay, I was wrong. I’m having a hard time with that because I went all in on that idea and now I’ve lost my freighter at the Sabacc table. But what do you have up your sleeve, Lando? Er, Mando.
Someone pointed out to me that Dr. Pershing called Baby Yoda “him” in his panic during the rescue scene in Chapter 3. The closed caption said “him,” but I thought I distinctly heard “her.” Sometimes closed captions make mistakes. No, it was I who made the mistake. This week’s episode hammered it home relentlessly. Baby Yoda was referred to as he, him, and your boy often enough that it felt like someone trying to convince me. Man, I really am having a hard time with this. I mean, Dr. Pershing would know if the little bugger was a boy or girl. “Maybe he drew blood but never looked Baby Yoda’s parts,” I said to me. “Maybe it would be a woman who reveals it to Mando that the little green Gizmo is a girl.” Nope. I’ll let the past die here and now. I was wrong. Bryce Dallas Howard’s episode was about revealing the lonesome side of the man behind the mask not the sex of Baby Yoda. Mando’s got more than just a conscience. He has the feels sometimes.
He’s only been addressed so far as Bounty Hunter, Mandalorian, and Mando. The name Dyn Jarren, or Din Jarron, is still just a slip up by Pedro Pascal in a video interview. The story itself has kept character names and planet names close the the chest. Maybe there is a reason. Is something being kept from us by design? Maybe it’s just for the sake of keeping things simple. I’m not buying that though. Am I wrong again? Is Sorgan the first planet to be mentioned by name in this series? I checked Wookieepedia for Sorgan, and it’s not listed yet. I’m sure it will be published soon so we can learn more about this backwater planet. For now it’s just the place where Mando felt tempted to allow himself to almost fall in love. He didn’t actually get there, but he contemplated it. Fate and fobs for Baby Yoda discouraged it, but the viewer was given a reflection of Mando’s origins.
The widow with child in a peaceful village attacked by Klatoonian Raiders reminded him of his mother. We’ve already learned through flashbacks that his parents were likely killed by the Separatist Droid Army. The Mando himself confirms they were killed but he doesn’t say by whom. In the trailers the opening scene of a mother cradling her child in a pond after an attack were indistinguishable from his flashback scenes that appeared in the same promos. That’s not an accident. He compares his own truncated childhood to the children in the village. He sees the potential to resume the life he knew before war.
Omera, the widow and her daughter, Winta remind him of the simple life, but one of the first intimate moments between Mando and Omera has her asking, “How long has it been since you’ve taken that off?” His answer is “Yesterday.” We learn from that answer that he is either being more honest with this stranger than he is to the Mandalorian Armorer and his oath to the clan, or it’s simpler than that. When he says he “never” removes his helmet he means he never removes it in front of someone else. That would mesh better with what we’ve seen on Rebels and The Clone Wars, but things are different for Mandalorians now. They were beaten down by the Empire in the Purge. They were driven from Mandalore and live as underground refugees. For some reason, even after the fall of the Empire they must hide their numbers. Keeping the helmet on emphasizes anonymity and helps keep their numbers a secret. In plain sight of Omera and a group of children, Mando removes his helmet to watch them from his window as he eats. We don’t get to see his face, but it implies he would consider abandoning the culture that raised him for a prolonged respite living the simple life. Eating Honeycomb cereal. Anyone else noting the plate of food Omera gave him included Honeycomb cereal? Big, big taste and a big, big bite.
Cara Dune represents the unmasked, uninhibited embodiment of the acceptance of war. She trains the villagers for combat. She was a hard soldier. She openly embraces the lifestyle. For this Mandalorian, the mask represents the way he views the galaxy. It’s dangerous, and he can’t face it without the protection of the mask. While they are both warriors she accepts the reality of war. Even when the war is over war has not ended. Removing the helmet is his hesitation. It’s reflecting on what might be if there was no war. Cara Dune is the Mando’s mirror in this episode.
Mando says the Mandalorians raised him, but he doesn’t say who rescued him. Masked warriors? It might be simpler if it was just Mandalorians, and maybe that’s why the next episode is directed by Dave Filoni, the architect of most of what we know about Mandalore. Maybe we get to see some more Mandalore next week. Or maybe…
Maybe we do get to see more Mandalore next week. I’d bet on it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not Clone Troopers who stop the Super Battle Droid from killing Mando as a boy. Clone troopers in the company of Jedi maybe? Having been rescued by Yoda would explain Mando’s soft side for Baby Yoda. It seems like a reveal of Yoda rescuing him would make a lot of sense. But since we know there is a Disney+ Obi-Wan series coming, I can imagine Disney would insist on a Ewan McGregor cameo. Maybe he’s rescued by Jedi but adopted by Mandalorians.
In the facebook group The Alliance of Star Wars Fanatics, member Taylor Field claims, “During the end of the flashback the Battle droid is aimed at the [soon to be adopted] Mandalorian boy in the cellar. You can briefly hear the sound of a Jedi Starfighter zooming in…” He compared the sound to Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter and the sound effects matched. Hey, my dogs know the sound of my car vs the sound of my wife’s car. Engine sounds can be very specific. This is all the evidence I need to cling to the crazy idea that we’ll be knocked over with a bump of fan service next week.
For a second, he contemplated returning to the life he knew before war, before the Empire. He was ready to let it go, but the galaxy has other plans. After playing mercenary for what could have been a permanent sanctuary Mando is forced to leave and face reality again. A new bounty hunter appears on the scene to kill Baby Yoda. Cara Dune dispatches the would be assassin easily, but fobs are locked in on the most wanted character in the galaxy. There would be more coming. Mando’s gotta go.