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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
The fourth episode of The Mandalorian, titled “Chapter 4: Sanctuary,” was released earlier today, November 29, following the normal format of releasing a week after the episode prior. This episode was again written by Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book 2016) and directed by Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom). There will be spoilers from past episodes so be sure to watch them and catch up before reading.
This is probably my favorite episode of the series so far. The show introduced us to a new planet, Sorgan, and another new character, Cara Dune, played wonderfully by former MMA fighter Gina Carano. Dune is a great addition to the episode and is actually crucial to the plot of this episode. Dune is a former Rebel Shock-Trooper-turned-mercenary who fought for the Rebel Alliance during the civil war.
The episode begins with a group of Klatoonian raiders doing what they do best to helpless people, raiding and taking food and supplies that aren’t theirs. The people they steal from are just quiet farmers trying to make a life after the war with the Empire was won and people are now free to be people. When we cut to the Mando in his ship with baby Yoda, he figures that because the planet is so un-populated and small that he’ll be fine to shack up there for a few months. He’s wrong but I’ll get to that later on.
Upon landing they make their way to a bar and the Mando spots Cara Dune and he senses something is wrong. So after having the bartender get some food for the kid, he makes his way outside after seeing the table where Dune was sitting now empty. After a brief duel that ends in a stalemate and realizing they are both trying to lay low and not actually hunt each other down, they share some stories. Once the Mandalorian realizes it isn’t smart that they both stay on that planet and because Dune was there first, he agrees to leave. The farmers, however, have other plans for the Mandalorian.
After making their way to his ship, two of the farmers ask for his help to stop the raiders with little payment but once they tell him they have lodging, he agrees. Once he convinces Cara Dune to help him out, their fate is sealed with these poor people. Eventually, the Mando has a brief conversation with Omera, a villager played by Julia Jones, and viewers learn while religiously Dyn is a Mandalorian, he may not actually be a Mandalorian. He tells Omera he only takes his armor off to eat, if he’s alone, and hasn’t taken it off since he was a child after he was taken in by the Mandalorian people when his parents died. I love that we are continually learning more about the Mandalorian and his background as the series progresses and viewers can tell he really is more than just a man in armor.
Once they’ve settled and hung out for a bit, they begin a scouting mission to see what these raiders have to go against two skilled fighters. The raiders have more than the Mando and Dune bargained for, as usual. Once they figured out the farmers somehow forgot to tell them about the giant AT-ST they’d be dealing with the deal between them seems forgotten and Dune and the Mando would be on their way. However, everyone can learn to fight, even with a pointy stick, right?
So, once they have trained the farmers enough and set a trap for the AT-ST, Cara and Dyn make their way to the raider’s encampment to bring the fighting to them and the farmers. At one point the drivers of the AT-ST realize they have set a trap due to how far out the farmers are actually positioned and somehow they seem more prepared, so it stops literally right before the trap and begins to fire. So, with the farmers fighting on the ground, Cara takes Dyn’s Pulse Rifle and finally gets the AT-ST into the trap and the raiders then retreat.
Once the raiders have been dealt with and after spending what seems like a couple weeks with the farmers, the Mando is ready to leave, without the kid. During a conversation with Omera, his helmet is almost taken off but at the last minute he pulls it back on, letting us know he is a deeply religious man. During all this however, the camera pans to a bounty hunter with a tracking fob that is linked to baby Yoda. Then at the last possible second when you think the bounty hunter has taken out the precious baby Yoda, Cara is the one who actually took the shot to kill the bounty hunter.
Realizing neither him nor baby Yoda can stay there and be safe, they gather their things and head off. As he packs, he shakes hands with Cara Dune, tells the nice villagers goodbye and they take off in a slow speeder and in typical Star Wars-ending fashion, the camera circles in on baby Yoda and the screen goes black.
This was a great episode. Using her Jurassic World knowledge, Howard helped create great tension with different angles and shots to make the AT-ST look a lot more menacing to normal people than it should be. Through her shots, she made the planet look almost Endor-like and I loved the parallels this episode had with Return of the Jedi.
The Mandalorian‘s fifth episode releases next Friday, December 6, so stay tuned for our review and here are the links to our reviews of The Mandalorian‘s first, second and third episodes if you’d like to check those out as well!
How are you feeling about The Mandalorian so far? How did you like this episode? Let us know down in the comments and keep it right here for more Star Wars related reviews and news!
Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
