The Mandalorian Chapter 22 – Guns For Hire [Review]

*WARNING* THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE MANDALORIAN CHAPTER 22.

If you don’t want a mind flayer to be used on you, you should probably watch the episode before reading.

Wrestling fans should be happy to see Mercedes Varnado (FKA Sasha Banks, CKA Mercedes Mone) back on the show. We’re in that gray area of Star Wars between the Rebel/New Republic and Empire/First Order.

Also, that crosses off a dream Star Wars casting with Jack Black making his way to a Galaxy Far, Far Away. Seeing Jack Black next to Grogu is magnificent. Well, that does it. We’ve got a trifecta of awesome castings with Christopher Lloyd joining The Mandalorian with this episode.

Big Blade Runner vibes from Bo-Katan and Din having to chase down recommissioned battle droids. Finally, we get to see what droids are doing for fun in their off time. We also get some “good-cop/bad-cop” from the two of them. They’re asking an interesting question about the droids and how they fit into the society of Star Wars.

In the end, it was a loony Count Dooku fan that was the cause of all of the droid issues.

A Bit Side-Questy, But A Big Moment At The End

This episode felt like a side quest in the main story. We went to a new planet and did something that probably doesn’t end up meaning a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. Sure, this one planet will now help Mandalore be recognized as an independent planet. It was cool to see Jack Black and Christopher Lloyd in Star Wars for sure. Outside of the feel of the episode pulling from other works of science fiction, this was really all about the last scene involving Bo-Katan and Din Djarin.

They finally figured out how to resolve the issue of the Darksaber. That’s the biggest thing coming out of this. We don’t need to see a conflict between Bo-Katan and Din about the saber because she already earned it by saving him previously. Now, we’ll have to see where she goes from here. She’s gathering forces of Mandalorians for some sort of campaign, but what exactly will it lead to?

I really enjoyed the vibes of the episode and Bryce Dallas Howard did a great job with the material here. The Mandalorian feels like its pulling in two different directions here. Does it want to be the serialized Flash Gordon-style episodes or does it want to connect to a larger overall plot? It can do both for sure, but we’re gonna need more from that larger overall plot soon.

For more on Star Wars, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

Keep Reading:

New ‘Star Wars’ Movie Finds Screenwriter After Damon Lindelof’s Exit