Finally, the Mandalorian managed an act worthy of a signet, even if he may never get one. For those not aware, a Mandalorian receives a signet when he or she has completed a task of significance. Saving Baby Yoda, the most MEME-able character in Star Wars history, should earn him a signet, but Mando declines the honor.
In episode three of Disney+’s The Mandalorian titled, “The Sin,” Mando (Pedro Pascal) seems to be on the verge of establishing himself within his tribe — though perhaps in the wrong ways. He delivers Baby Yoda to The Client (Werner Herzog) and takes the reward, which is a hefty portion of Beskar. It seems briefly that Mando believes that the end has justified the means, no matter the cost. And yet when the armorer offers him a signet on his new getup (made from the rewarded Beskar) after Mando defeated a mudhorn, he declines the offer, relaying that an “enemy” helped him in the battle, which seems to lead to the realization that Baby Yoda isn’t an enemy at all. Ultimately, Mando completes a rescue operation — with help from other Mandalorians — and saves Baby Yoda from The Client.
So here’s hoping Mando eventually ends up with Baby Yoda signet on his breast plate. In the meantime, here’s what we learned in the episode.
1. Mando does care!
There were subtle ambiguities in Mando’s behavior toward Baby Yoda in the previous episode, like when he checked on the napping Baby Yoda, who needed rest after an epic display of force power. There were questions about Mando’s motives. Was Mando monitoring the child’s well-being because he cared or because he knew he’d make more money if he delivered the child alive? It was probably both. In this episode, Mando delivered Baby Yoda but he ultimately used his rewards to save Baby Yoda from his captors.
It seemed Mando couldn’t sit with a guilty conscience about bringing Baby Yoda into the wrong hands. Mando sees the light (side of The Force).
2. “Him.”
That’s right: Baby Yoda is a him.
At least, that’s what a doctor from The Empire said: “Him.” That’s one of the few facts we know about Yoda Jr.
3. The empire wants to “extract the necessary materials” from Baby Yoda.
The Mandalorian overhears an important conversation between The Client and Dr. Pershing.
“Extract the necessary material and be done with it,” The Client says.
What materials?
Genetic materials? For cloning?
Midichlorians? For extraction and study?
Or another material, which could aid in Emperor Palpatine’s comeback? (Think in terms of how Voldemort made a comeback with unicorn blood, horcruxes and the deathly hallows. These sorts of magic substances are obviously conceptually transferrable.)
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4. We get a closer look at Mandalorian culture.
An important revelation: Mandalorians have a lot in common with luchadores, who are the actors/wrestlers that work in the Mexican version of WWE. So what makes luchadores different than American wrestles? Luchadores wear masks, and it’s their code that, so long as they win, they cannot be unmasked. When they lose, they lose their mask. So Mando is basically a luchadore.
We also learned the Mandalorian catchphrase: “This is the way.”
And the Mandalorians have a major beef with The Empire, due to The Purge, a moment in Mandalorian history when The Empire forcefully stole Beskar from their species. It sounds like Stormtroopers killed many in the process. That’s why Mando and another Mandalorian dueled over Mando taking Beskar from what appeared to be former Empire employees.
That’s also probably why those Mandalorians were so quick to aid Mando when he does the right thing and saves Baby Yoda. How did those Mandalorians know Mando needed help? Unclear. But it made for an epic battle scene. It was like watching Iron Men with blasters and flamethrowers, and I couldn’t have been happier about it.
5. The Mando and Baby Yoda are facing a life on the run.
The first few episodes have stablished the basic plot points and characters in this story. Essentially, we’ve got a buddy cop drama, starring Mando and Baby Yoda. We know very little about both of them. Surely, their identities will become clear through the coming trials and tribulations.
But what will those look like?
It’s easy to imagine The Client and Greef Carga (Carl Weathers) will attempt to track down them down. (Let’s not even talk about how ridiculous of a coincidence it was that Greef had Beskar in the perfect pocket to save himself from Mando’s blast in the final moments of the episode.) That will probably be one of their first obstacles. But the show suddenly feels very open ended now that Mando is probably done with bounty hunting. Considering how well it has been crafted to this point, that infinite opportunity shouldn’t be a problem.
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