THE MANDALORIAN Seeks Refuge from the Storm in Compelling Fourth Chapter

**Note: The following article contains spoilers for Episode 4 of The Mandalorian, “Sanctuary.”

Hey everyone–it’s Bryan here with The Plotaholics’ weekly recap of the Disney+ exclusive, The Mandalorian. This week, we are discussing Chapter 4 of the series, entitled “Sanctuary.” 

This episode takes place soon after the events of last week’s episode, yet the cold open takes place on the quiet planet of Sorgan where we meet Omera (played by one of the most under-appreciated actresses in Hollywood, Julia Jones) and other members of what appears to be a farming community. The people here seem happy. They are going through their daily routine until raiders attack from the forest. Omera and her daughter hide in one of the pools where they harvest their crop of groovy blue fish with a wicker basket over them. I have to say that the anxiety for their safety was there. I was waiting on one of the raiders to kick that basket and open fire on them. I really was. Damn, this show has me sucked in! 

After the obligatory title card, we see The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda (still, for lack of a better term) now on the run and attempting to find a safe place to go to catch their collective breaths.  

They land on Sorgan and make their way to a nearby Cantina. I have to take a moment to fawn over how cute Baby Yoda looks walking along with The Mandalorian. As they enter the Cantina, one of the two things I’m excited for takes place: we are introduced to Gina Carano’s Cara Dune. We knew that Carano was cast in the series (she was even seen briefly in the first teaser trailer), but we didn’t know much about her character. After this episode? Man, oh man, Gina Carano!  

When the Mandalorian and Cara Dune discover one another, they each mistakenly believe the other is after them, which leads to a brief battle before they realize that they both want the same thing: to be away from the Bounty Hunter Guilds, and to just be left alone. However, as Cara Dune so politely put it: “I was here first. You’ve got to go.”

The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda make the trip back to their ship to prepare to find some other off-the-grid planet to call home. They are approached by two members of the farming village (from the cold open). After seeing his ship fly over their village, they have sought him out for protection against the dreaded raiders. With the promise of being far away from other individuals more valuable than the money they offer him, the Mandalorian agrees. He enlists the help of Cara Dune, and the trio (Dune, Mando, and Baby Yoda) are taken back to the village where the Mandalorian meets Omera. Soon, they find out that the raiders pose a greater threat than originally thought: they also have an Imperial AT-ST. Yikes! 

Before we got a very interesting training montage of the bad ass bounty hunters training the fish farmers to become bad asses themselves we also see Baby Yoda being even more adorable, and also enjoying life among the other children and establishing himself a place in the village. The way the narrative puts it out there, it seems as though the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda had been there for some time so BY has really just become so beloved by everyone in this village.  

Then, it’s time for the big-time action sequence, and the villagers kick the ass of the raiders with the help of our bounty hunters after Cara Dune gets the AT-ST to step into a deep watery ditch-trap and drop. The most heart-stopping moments come at the viewer like a one-two punch from Mike Tyson. 

After the raiders are repelled, it seems the Mandalorian is willing to leave Baby Yoda with Omera and her daughter, for her to raise him as her own. The Mandalorian does not want this cute, innocent young one to be in danger, and he knows that being with him isn’t good for his overall safety. Then the audience is switched to the point-of-view of a sniper that has Baby Yoda in his crosshairs. If it wasn’t for Cara Dune eliminating this threat, the most lovable new character in fiction would have been plastered by a blaster bolt. It’s then that the Mandalorian realizes that he has to keep Baby Yoda with him for his safety. Baby Yoda’s bounty fob is still in play, and they are not safe. So, the Mandalorian, with a heavy heart, has to leave Sorgan and Cara Dune with Baby Yoda in tow.

We have a lot to learn from this episode of The Madalorian about what kind of series this will be:

The Mandalorian has a major heart

Obviously, the heart of the Mandalorian was shown when he decided to risk everything to save Baby Yoda, which was very touching. In this episode, though, the Mandalorian and Omera have a lot of romantic chemistry that again shows how amazing Pedro Pascal is in this role. He is able to bring so much to this role and we never see his face, or see him out of his armor. He even mentions to Omera that he has never taken the helmet or armor off because he can never put it back on. That is not something that a Mandalorian would tell anyone! Those are trade secrets! You do not just tell anyone that! There were moments in their interaction though, where he was truly contemplating removing his armor and staying with her. Then, he considered leaving Baby Yoda there with her, which would give him an excuse to come back and spend time with her.  

Gina Carano is a good actress

Now this is just my own humble opinion, but I like Gina Carano as an actress. She’s not just a beautiful woman with an undeniably powerful physical presence, she is a really talented actress. We have seen her grow in roles over the last few years with her roles in Deadpool and The Fast and the Furious franchise. In those roles she showed promise, although to be fair it’s difficult to show you can act in a Fast and the Furious movie because they aren’t known for great writing. But here, she is allowed to shine.

Julia Jones needs to return to this series 

I did not know that Julia Jones would have a guest spot in this show, but I am glad that she did. I’ve had a soft spot for her since her role as Leah Clearwater in The Twilight Saga. She brings a lot of charisma to the table, and she did that very well in this episode. She grew from a loving, yet meek and mild farmer into a true leader among her people, and a capable warrior and it felt so organic and real. Even in her growth, she never lost that loving nature that almost brought our titular hero to the point of giving up his lifestyle. While I continue to praise Pedro Pascal for being able to portray his character so well while we never see his face, it’s also not easy to interact with someone whose face is constantly covered. Kudos Julia. Kudos.  

The danger is real 

Even when the Mandalorian thinks he and Baby Yoda are safe, and they begin to get comfortable, it does not take long for danger to rear its head forcing them on the run again. The ramifications of his actions are very real, and they won’t be able to get away with it anytime soon. That means more compelling television.  

Looking forward

I can’t wait until Ming-Na Wen and Giancarlo Esposito make their appearances on the show. I’m telling you this show is just getting better and better every week. Each episode continues with what made the episode before it great, and then raises the bar a bit more. I deeply look forward to Fridays now, even more than I used to at the end of a long work week.  

The Mandalorian is truly a work of art, and some of the greatest bit of television I have seen in a long time. This show is also among the greatest bit of Star Wars lore to come out in years. As much as I’m clamoring for some Knights of the Old Republic television programing, The Mandalorian sates my appetite very, very well.  

Stay tuned for next week as I will give you my unsolicited two cents in my breakdown of The Mandalorian, Chapter 5! Take care everyone!

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