#Show Mando vying for her attention as she muscles through a couple of thugs who are about to start a fight. him trying to keep up but

[corellianhounds]

The jetpack thing bugs me because they made it a point to have Fett tell him to take it off, but without even acknowledging it in that final sequence it feels like a story point that was introduced without being resolved, and if they hadn’t shown in the beginning of “The Passenger” that he was able to recall and control it when he wasn’t wearing it, I wouldn’t have any complaints. If they couldn’t afford to do another flying sequence (which to me is silly if Disney does use that justification, they have more money than they know what to do with and they storyboard the entire episode prior to filming and CGI half of it anyway) they should have had Din do some sick long range rifle trick shot or something in “The Passenger” so him not having it in “The Tragedy” didn’t feel like a loose thread

But also, if they HAD wanted Din to be panicking to the point he’s not thinking straight, they should have framed it that way and played it out. The scene that comes to mind that feels pretty similar is the one at the end of The Incredibles when Syndrome is flying away with the baby and Helen and Bob are on the ground panicking and trying to figure out what to do within the span of five seconds, and you really feel the desperation and fear in the characters’ actions and voices. I think if they’d been able to show more distinctly that Mando was too far away for the jetpack to even get to him in time, or if his vambrace had been damaged in the fight and it literally isn’t working so he CAN’T recall it anyway, that panic could have had a chance to really build, and we could have seen Fennec realizing just how bad things are before she’s comming Boba to go get the kid. As it is, Mando just sort of… watches, and the pitch in his voice isn’t all that different from how he normally sounds, and the showrunners have already shown that they’re capable of telling a good story through voice and body language with a main character whose face is entirely hidden

Anyway yeah, I do also agree that the script is a little clunky in regards to Boba verifying that it’s the Empire 😆 I don’t have any immediate suggestions for how to change it but the actual dialogue doesn’t quite fit. Though I love so many parts of the episode the last ten minutes don’t really do it for me

Though I love “The Tragedy” episode in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, one element that’s always bugged me is Mando not retrieving his jetpack and flying up after the Dark Troopers to save the kid

They establish in that season that Mando is able to control the jetpack from his vambrace and call it back to him, so even if he removed it in the standoff with Boba Fett, they’ve already set up his ability to retrieve it. Him not doing so makes it look like he didn’t do absolutely everything he could have to get the kid back, even though we as the audience know that’s what that character should/would do

Have Mando recall the jetpack to him and take a running leap off of the closest ledge, jetting up after the Dark Troopers as fast as he possibly can. We see him catch up to the droids before they get to the Star Destroyer, but then one of the Dark Troopers not holding the kid falls back to halt his ascent midair. The two of them start to fight, grappling with one another as the child sees Mando falling behind, desperately trying to fight this terrifying, impersonal machine in an effort to save him

And then the Dark Trooper grabs the Mandalorian by the throat with one hand and tears the jetpack off his back.

The next thing we see is the Mandalorian in free fall, looking upwards at the retreating figures of the Dark Troopers in silhouette against the Star Destroyer as he plummets towards the ground, the child he’s protected for so long in their grasp with him unable to do a single thing to save him

Though Boba Fett will manage to save the Mandalorian as he falls, either with his ship or with the use of his own jet pack, the child is still lost and those on Tython can see the clear evidence of the Empire’s continued existence hovering a mile above them, tangible and menacing. As the Mandalorians return to the surface, the Star Destroy shoots the Razor Crest, destroying it completely.

Mando has little to nothing of his own left that will help him save his child. This is the point where he should be at his absolute lowest because it’s that desperation that will force him to break a tenet of his own Creed just for the possibility of getting his child back.