The Mandalorian - Season 2 Ep 5: The Jedi
disney+Coming as the follow up to an episode plagued with the failure to evolve, The Mandalorian Chapter 13: The Jedi feels like a breath of fresh air for the series. Serving as Dave Filoni's return to the series, The Jedi introduces The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) to fan-favorite Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and forces him to chose between killing her, which he has been hired to do, or helping her, as she seems to be able to communicate with The Child.
Up to this point, Dave Filoni has been one of the more inconsistent directors in The Mandalorian. Whilst he introduced the series with a solid first episode, he then returned for arguably the worst episode of the entire series so far. What feels striking about The Jedi is simply how different it feels from anything else within the show, including Filoni's previous directorial outings with the series. Though the darker color scheme is nothing new for the series, the incredibly serious and dry tone that the episode takes feels fresh and thrilling. The Jedi features both some of the production design and action the series has seen up to this point, with Filoni crafting a brutal episode filled with combat and death. The series historically, to a fault, has played it safe when it comes to consequences, even for background characters: episodes like Chapter 6: The Prisoner has danced with the idea of serious consequence for characters and episodes like Chapter 9: The Marshal have suggested death, but The Jedi is the first to truly embrace a more mature outlook on violence and death.
There is death and legitimate violence around every corner of the episode's conflict, which immediately gives the episode a more mature edge. Not just does this stand out due to the graphic death which rarely is seen in Star Wars but also due to the directing from Filoni. There is a substantial amount of craft that went into the directing of this episode that feels reminiscent of other blockbuster action films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Rather than crafting large CGI battles with a soaring score, The Jedi features focused shootouts that are strikingly quiet without nearly any score. It is grounded action rarely seen from the show but immediately stands out as some of the best. It also helps that the visuals are as solid as they are. Whilst, again, the color schemes are nothing new, the environment and physical location is so well built and feels so unique, largely due to the cinematography from Barry Baz Idoine, that it feels immediately memorable.
Not only does the episode have extremely solid action at its core, but it also serves a purpose. This isn't just some random meaningless filler episode but rather blends a more episodic adventure with the continuation of the larger plot within the show. The Mandalorian has continually struggled with this balance, often resulting in a lack of momentum from episode to episode. The Jedi is a perfect example of how to handle this relationship and hopefully future episodes will look back at this as an almost blueprint of how to blend episodic adventure, established Star Wars lore, new characters and the evolution of the larger plot. If there is one flaw to be found with The Jedi it is more an issue with the show overall. Season 2 of The Mandalorian has continued the show's tradition of feeling like a disentangled collection of voices sewed together into one show. Where the fact that every episode feels so different is a positive in the sense that every episode feels fresh and if there is a weaker voice it is likely that the next episode will move on rather quickly, it doesn't lead to a well put together season of television. Whilst The Jedi is a really solid episode of the show, it feels completely different within its core from any other episode this season, which will be distracting for many.
Whilst that is a fundamental issue with the series, focusing back on the context of just this episode it is clear that Dave Filoni has crafted one of the best episodes of the show so far. This is a thrilling and grounded action-adventure that is sure to have hardcore Star Wars fans engaged, with the established lore making its way onto the screen, while casuals will be invested due to the strength of the episode's action.
