Are there two more loved characters in the Star Wars cannon than Mando and Yiddle (that’s the nicknames I’m using) at the moment?
These two have taken the internet by storm with a mix of cuteness and epic badassery. While these two things are not enough to keep these characters interesting for an entire season of episodes, Jon Favreau and company keep finding new ways to make them compelling. That is no different in “The Sin,” the best episode yet (something I feel I’ll be saying with each passing week)!
The episode begins with Mando giving his package away, receiving the reward he was promised back in Episode 1. Early on it’s nearly impossible for your heart to not skip a beat, as The Kid (as Mando calls him) is taken away by the client and a doctor, presumably to be experimented on. Credit needs to go to the cinematographer, because their use of focus, angles and zooms show a pain in Mando that we would never have gotten with a Fett. Pascal’s body language is also not to be ignored; the way he holds himself is an expert case of acting with the body instead of the face, and he nails it.
I could do what everyone else has done and gush about the acting and visuals in this show, but I need to get what we’re all here for: the plot of “The Sin”, which is essentially takes another well-known genre and puts it in the Star Wars universe. The first episode was a western, the second a chase film (similar to Mad Max) and this, an epic action noir. I won’t be the first to compare this episode to the John Wick series. Without getting too spoiler heavy, there is something about watching a killer walking through a room of fellow killers who want to kill him. One could say it…killer (I’ll stop). The ending sequence, while short, is awesome enough that it literally got a “holy crap” from both parties watching, as we see bounty hunters fighting to the death.
Aside from the fantastic action, the episode also has an emotional punch. We learn a little about Mando’s backstory through flashback, as he remember his traumatic childhood as his new armor is being forged. We meet fellow Mandalorians, all of whom want a shot at glory, but are exiled to a life of hiding. But most importantly, we get to see Mando as a soft soul. Mandalorians are traditionally uncaring, but as we see in the scene where The Kid is strapped to a hospital table, he cares very much. Again, credit goes to the cinematography for capturing pain and fear on a faceless face, and Pascal’s emphasis on his words.
I wasn’t kidding when I said “The Sin” is the best episode yet. So much emotion, action and story is packed into 38-minutes, and masterfully so. Complaints have been made about the runtimes, but this episode was everything it needed to be in that time. I don’t give grades, but it’s an A+ episode if I’ve ever seen one.
