«The Mandalorian», Season 2: «Chapter 11: The Heiress»

First off: this discussion of the episode includes spoilers! So watch «The Mandalorian – Chapter 11: The Heiress» before you read on.

So, what's happened so far? Din Djarin, the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) has to return the Child – who fans affectionately call Baby Yoda – to his own kind, the Jedi. Mando hopes to find out via the underground network of other Mandalorian clans where they could be.

This journey first led him to Tatooine. While he didn’t find any Mandalorians, he did get his hands on Boba Fett’s armour. And the information that there are Mandalorians on the estuary moon Trask. The flight there involved an encounter with X-wing pilots from the New Republic, then a crash landing on an ice planet and, finally, an attack from ice spiders.

Stressful, right? Things don't get any less stressful in the Bryce Dallas Howard-directed episode Chapter 11 – «The Heiress». The Mandalorian is betrayed, then saved, then recruited, then a bit betrayed and then finally gets another tip. And the tip is something else!

Those are the episode's best WTF moments and Easter eggs.

Estuary moon Trask: a «Star Wars»-esque feast for the eyes

There’s one thing I love about «Star Wars» more than anything else. The «used future» look. It defines «Star Wars» like no other stylistic element. Always has. And there had never been anything like it at the time. Because the future in 1970s science fiction films and series is often clean, polished, brilliantly white and perfect. Futuristic. Not in George Lucas’ «Star Wars». His universe is dirty, rusty and broken. In other words, used.

George Lucas drew inspiration from NASA's first Apollo missions. The carrier rockets and manned capsules may have been new and fresh before takeoff. But when they returned, they were completely filthy and dented. There were junk, litter and empty cans all over the insides. Lucas adopted all of this. Because his sci-fi fantasy epic «Star Wars» had to be realistic and tangible.

The estuary moon Trask is just as dirty and tangible. A grimy place with a port that couldn't look more nefarious. The unforgiving sea conditions gnaw at spaceships and houses. Fishers – primarily big Mon Calamari and Quarren – sweep in and out with their boats. And the black market is flourishing. I can almost smell the stench of the nearby fish market from my apartment. And the rain hammers down onto the Mandalorian's beskar armour.

This shows that, even in a series format, «Star Wars» stays true to itself. This «rough sea» setting is new, but it couldn't be in any other universe with its dereliction and alien residents. This episode adds even more to «The Mandalorian»'s mythology.

The heiress' entrance

So Mando lands on Trask. A mysterious hooded woman watches him from the shadows. We've seen this shot numerous times before in the trailers. The mysterious woman is played by Sasha Banks. Do you remember my tip from the last discussion? Sabine Wren. Well. I was wrong.

Banks plays one of three Mandalorians. She comes to the rescue of Din Djarin, who had been betrayed on the fishing boat. The disappointment that it's not Sabine soon gives way to delight. Because the leader of the three Mandalorians – not Banks – is a familiar face from animated series «The Clone Wars» and «Rebels», just like Sabine.

It's Bo-Katan Kryze.

Bo-Katan is played by «Battlestar Galactica» actress Katee Sackhoff. She already voices Bo-Katan in the animated series. It's a nice detail. And anyway, Bo-Katan has an eventful «Star Wars» past. Including as the titular heiress.

She's the younger sister of Satine Kryze, duchess during the Clone Wars and with it ruler of Mandalore, the Mandalorian's home planet. But unlike her older sister, Bo-Katan followed the example of her ancestors' martial past and joined Death Watch, which upholds the «old ways». «This is the Way». Sound familiar?

But Death Watch was corrupted and manipulated from the inside by Count Dooku and, after his death, by Darth Maul. Together with Death Watch and other underworld organisations like Crimson Dawn from «Solo: A Star Wars Story», Maul founded the Shadow Collective, killed Satine Kryze and took control of Mandalore.

Shaken by Maul's betrayal and her sister's death, Bo-Katan left Death Watch and asked the Galactic Empire and Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano for help. In a decisive battle, she freed Mandalore from Death Watch and Maul's influence. It went down as the last battle of the Clone Wars in the history books of the galaxy far, far away.

Bo-Katan became the new ruler of Mandalore. At least until the newly founded Galactic Empire deposed her again. Years later, shortly before the events of «Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope», she returned to Mandalore with Sabine Wren, who had the Darksaber. Together, they fought for Mandalore's freedom. Sabine handed over the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, making her the ruler of Mandalore again.

For years, the Empire tried to regain control of Mandalore to no avail. So they resorted to radical methods: if they couldn't control Mandalore, no-one should. The result was the Great Purge. The exact year is unknown, but the Mandalorian race was almost wiped out, its beskar steel was stolen and the planet was made uninhabitable.

Mandalore has been cursed ever since, Din Djarin tells us in this episode, and anyone who returns to the planet will die. Bo-Katan contradicts him. He shouldn't believe everything he's told. But she doesn't say any more.

What’s the Darksaber all about?

In any case, the purge is responsible for the few surviving Mandalorians living hidden in the shadows, forging their armour from what's left of the beskar and following the old ways of the Mand’alor.

Mand’alor. It's an awe-inspiring title given to the leader of warrior Mandalorians. Over a thousand years ago, Tarre Vizsla held it too, and was simultaneously the first Mandalorian to be inducted into the Jedi Order. According to legend, it was he who forged the Darksaber: a black-bladed lightsaber filled with dark energy, which can even withstand Jedi lightsabers. The fate of the Mand’alor has been closely intertwined with the Darksaber's ever since: whoever wields the Darksaber carries the symbol of the power of the Mand’alor and therefore leads the Mandalorian people.

So. Now you know why the Darksaber, which is currently in the hands of Imperial Moff Gideon, is so damn important. He probably acquired it during the purge. We don't know any more.

In any case, it's no wonder that it's so important to Bo-Katan to find out where the Darksaber is and get it back. She could use it to unite the scattered Mandalorian clans and restore them to their former strength. What's not as clear is whether Din Djarin is really one of the good guys. Bo-Katan calls him «a Child of the Watch», a cult of religious zealots that wants to re-establish the ancient way – never taking off their helmets.

Is she talking about Death Watch? Is Din Djarin part of Death Watch, knowingly or unknowingly?

What happens next is just awesome. Bo-Katan, her two Mandalorian companions and Din Djarin storm an Imperial freighter. It's four versus what feels like 100. Coldly and ruthlessly, she blazes a trail through the freighter's corridors. Badass level over 9000. This is how I'd imagined Mandalorians. The galaxy's ultimate warriors, armed to the teeth, every last one of them a one-person army. You're best off getting out of their way rather than the expressionless helmet of a Mandalorian being the last thing you see.

The tip that flips me out

At the end, Bo-Katan gets the information she was looking for from the Imperial freighter's officer: the Darksaber is actually in the possession of Moff Gideon. She now knows her next target.

And so does Din Djarin, the Mandalorian. He turns down Bo-Katan's offer to accompany her on her search for the Darksaber. He says he follows another path. Namely to take the Child to the Jedi. Bo-Katan knows the location of a Jedi – a well-known veteran from «Clone Wars» and «Rebels» – and reveals it. Mando has to go to Calodan on the forest planet Corvus.

«There you'll find Ahsoka Tano,» says Bo-Katan.

I watched the scene about 20 times before I could write this. The hype is real.

Verdict: more of this please!

Yep, «Chapter 11: The Heiress» made me very happy. First there's the new and never-before-seen setting of a rough «North Sea», including the fishing village and fishing boats. The used future concept is really beautifully showcased here. That's how I like «Star Wars».

Then there's fearless leader Bo-Katan, perfectly played by Katee Sackhoff. She and her two Mandalorian friends put on a real action fireworks display. Director Bryce Dallas Howard, who delivered a pretty weak episode in season one with «Chapter 4: Sanctuary», has created a real work of art here – it's one of the best episodes in the whole series. Others view her staging of the Mandalorian action as too unfussy, powerful and brutal.

What did you think of this episode? Are there any more Easter eggs I've missed? Let me know in the comments! See you next Friday for the «Chapter 12» episode discussion. I can hardly wait to finally get a look at Ahsoka Tano.