Star Wars: The Mandalorian "The Sin" Review

Spoiler Alert!

"The Sin" picks up right where we left off last week, with the Mandalorian and little baby Yiddle on the Razor Crest heading back to pick up the reward for our little bounty. The Client (Warner Herzog) and Dr. Pershing, happy and impressed with the Mandalorian's ability to deliver, hand over an entire case of beskar steel as a reward. Concerned about the well-being of Yiddle he reluctantly takes the reward and against the code of The Guild, asks what is to become of his new friend. Met with hostility, the Mandalorian lets it go, and takes the beskar to The Armorer to be made into a new set of armor. After a sudden change of heart, the Mandalorian breaks into The Client's base and saves Yiddle from the nefarious clutches of these would-be Imperials, only to be met by every bounty hunter in the system. Pinned down and surrounded on all sides, his fellow Mandalorians come out of hiding and save the day, allowing for our hero to escape with his new little green friend.

I feel like every week I just gush about how wonderful and epic the show is and for good reason, it’s wonderful and epic, and this week is no different.

I love the way they’re slowly, but surely revealing more about the state of Mandalorian culture after the fall of the Empire. While we don’t have a full picture just yet, it’s such an interesting way to deal with their losses over the years. They’ve essentially gone into hiding on different systems, never truly revealing their numbers, and seemingly only going out one at a time. It’s completely different than what we’ve come to know about the Mandalorians throughout canon and as we can see with the Mandalorian Heavy, some aren't too happy what's become of them. This is the way for them!

Speaking of that Mandalorian Heavy, he provides a great piece of connective tissue between this series and The Clone Wars. This Mandalorian is voiced by series creator and writer, Jon Favreau who also voiced Pre Vizla, the leader of Death Watch during The Clone Wars. This new character's name? Paz Vizsla. A clear indication that Clan Vizsla still lives and a small nod to what Favreau and Filoni have worked on before.

We finally get a better look at the event that made the Mandalorian an orphan and it not only provides a little more context on that traumatic event but also serves as a motivating factor for when he decides to save little Yiddle. The series has been setting up the Mandalorian having a change of heart and saving Yiddle but I was impressed by how they took something predictable and turned its resolution into something spectacular. All while giving the Mandalorian a compelling reason to risk everything to save his new friend. There are very purposeful shots that mirror the Mandalorian as a child and him saving Yiddle now as an adult. Once again, it shows that the Mandalorian has a heart and takes the Mandalorian concept of honor very seriously. He sees himself in little Yiddle and doesn’t want to leave him.

While his overarching reason to save Yiddle came from seeing himself in the little green kid, I thought that what sent him over the edge to save him was subtle and sweet. The Mandalorian taking one look at the knob that Yiddle tried to play with and immediately powering down his ship to go save him shows us exactly who the bounty hunter is. This episode, in particular, does a fantastic job of giving us these small interactions and having them pay off big time later down the line.

I think the reason all these smaller, more intimate moments work for me is the direction of Deborah Chow. If you had any kind of reservations about her helming the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, fear no more. She excels in the more subtle moments like Yiddle and the Mandalorian on the Razor Crest, but also does an awesome job building tension, and filming action. I just could not be more impressed with her introduction to Star Wars

The last 20 minutes of the episode, once again provide us with some excellent Star Wars-y action and entertainment. Showcasing the Mandalorian’s new armor and abilities, easily taking down every stormtrooper in his path to Yiddle. Every fight you feel every punch, kick, and flamethrower to the face. There’s a moment in almost every fight where I just have a big smile on my face and this week there were three. The Mandalorian using the Whistling Birds, using his rifle against the bounty hunters, and the Mandalorian’s saving the day.

The sequence right after he saves Yiddle, where every bounty hunter on the planet has the Mandalorian in their sights does a great job of building tension. Every step of the way for the Mandalorian, the beeps from the tracker get closer and closer, with aliens going in alleys, and looking for an advantage to take him in for the huge bounty. It truly is the Mandalorian versus everyone, including his friend Greef. That western aesthetic and vibe shine through once again, a lone gunman going against the world until he’s finally saved by his kind.

While we've gotten Mandalorian's saving the day before in animated shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels, this is their first live-action sequence where we've seen them in action, and what an entrance. Not only is it awesome to see them fight for each other, but it's also significant because it goes against the way the Mandalorian's operate now. They've all been seen now, the planet has an idea of their numbers again, it means that they have to relocate to a new planet, there are stakes and consequences for this rescue and it just adds so much depth the series and the Mandalorians as a whole. Plus it just feels awesome to see Mandalorians kick ass.

The end of the episode sees the Mandalorian make his escape and now he's presumably on the run from the entire Bounty Hunters Guild and The Client aka what's left of the Empire. A jet-packed Mandalorian salutes him goodbye and sets up his eventual use of a jet-pack later in the series. Our final shot is the Mandalorian handing Yiddle the toy that set off his rescue and them going into hyperspace.

Overall, I think this episode is very much in line with the two previous episodes in terms of quality. There's a ton of great story beats about the state of the Mandalorians, some backstory about the Mandalorian, and all in all, I love the character development we continue to get each episode. We all love the Star Wars parts of this show, and the terrific nods and connective tissue, but the heart of this show has been these smaller, more intimate moments and this episode has them in spades. Every episode I wake up and it feels like Christmas and so far, there have been plenty of incredibly presents under the tree.

Rating: 9.5/10

Godspeed Rebels!

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