As Star Wars prepares to take The Mandalorian to the big screen in their next movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, it’s absolutely crucial that they implement two key lessons from the live-action TV show’s best episode. While the title of The Mandalorian‘s best episode can certainly be debated, there’s no doubt that season 2, episode 7 “Chapter 15: The Believer” is a strong contender. From thrilling action to perfectly dense dialogue, this episode has always stood apart for good reason.
What makes it so excellent is that “The Believer” is very different from any other episode of The Mandalorian, especially those it was surrounded by. The Mandalorian season 2 is notorious for its frequent use of cameos, bringing not only two exclusively animated Star Wars characters into live-action for the first time, but also featuring the famed return of Boba Fett himself. “The Believer,” however, broke this pattern, and also utilized another key element that the next Star Wars movie also needs to emulate.
The Believer Thrived With No New Cameos (& Even No Grogu)
Its Contained Story Is A Breath Of Fresh Air
The cast of “The Believer” was unbelievably stacked, as Din Djarin’s assembled crew of allies consisted of none other than Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Cara Dune, and Bill Burr’s Migs Mayfeld, but none of these character appearances can be considered “cameos” in this episode, given the fact they had all made their debuts in earlier episodes of The Mandalorian. To make this episode even more unique, it’s the only one of the entire TV show to this day that doesn’t include Grogu whatsoever.
Of course, Grogu’s presence is heavily felt, as Din Djarin’s mission in this episode has everything to do with the little green guy and his rescue, but his physical absence allows for “The Believer” to focus entirely on Din Djarin and the other supporting characters. After six prior episodes in that same season spent meeting new characters and completing side quests, this focus on Din and his Mandalorian beliefs is nothing short of refreshing.
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This move by Star Wars was also a necessity at that point in The Mandalorian season 2’s storyline. It returned to the familiar formula of the live-action Star Wars TV show that felt as if it had been largely missing for most of that season. Rather than focusing on characters rich with Star Wars lore, “The Believer” maintained its focus on original characters from The Mandalorian, even with Boba Fett in tow.
The Mandalorian Is At Its Best When It Focuses On Its Own Characters
It Needs Distance From The Greater Star Wars Story
“The Believer” proves that The Mandalorian is indeed at its best when it dives deeper into its own characters and their motivations. The Mandalorian season 1’s massive success is largely because of this, as it took the time to develop Din Djarin, Grogu, Greef Karga, and more brand-new characters without any recognizable Star Wars faces making an appearance. It truly felt like a new, disconnected story taking place in the Star Wars galaxy.
The Mandalorian season 2 took a large step away from that approach up until “The Believer.” This episode went back to its highly successful character exploration, showing Din Djarin’s struggle with the rules and bounds of his Mandalorian Creed as he fought tooth and nail to find the coordinates for Grogu’s rescue. This self-discovery was catalyzed by none other than Mayfeld, an original The Mandalorian character who got an unexpected yet earned redemption arc out of this storyline.
It truly felt like a new, disconnected story taking place in the Star Wars galaxy.
There’s a reason why I personally consider the conversation in the mess hall of the Morak refinery as one of The Mandalorian‘s, and Star Wars as a whole’s, best scenes to date. It’s three original characters from The Mandalorian, notably a Mandalorian, a former Imperial, and a member of the Imperial Remnant, tensely discussing the cruelty of the Empire’s methodology. This scene alone is what makes “The Believer” such a fantastic episode, with one other important factor further adding to it.
We Simply Have To See Pedro Pascal’s Face As Din Djarin Again
His Performance In This Episode Proves That It’s Essential
Pedro Pascal has the chance to truly act as Din Djarin for the first time in The Mandalorian during the events of “The Believer” once he removes his helmet at the Imperial terminal. Despite having less than five lines of dialogue, Pascal spends several precious minutes of screen time unmasked, and he gives an impressive performance using just his facial expressions during this tense conversation at the table.
While Pascal’s more well-known helmet-less scene would take place in the next episode, this moment, at least to me, is what really proves that the actor’s face absolutely has to be seen again in the future of The Mandalorian. It’s been nearly 5 years since “The Believer” and “Chapter 16: The Rescue” premiered, which will make it 5 years since we last saw Pascal’s face in the role of Din Djarin.
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This, in my opinion, had a profound effect on the events of The Mandalorian season 3, which received mixed reviews. While it’s not a necessity that we see Din Djarin’s face often, it certainly hurt the story of season 3 for it not to be shown at least once, breaking the previous trend set by The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2. This is why I firmly believe that The Mandalorian and Grogu movie has to bring this trend back.
The Mandalorian And Grogu Has To Remember These Key Lessons
Its Success Could Very Well Hinge Upon This
It’s absolutely essential that The Mandalorian and Grogu remembers the success of “The Believer” due to the absence of huge, notable cameos and a brief appearance from Pedro Pascal’s face as Din Djarin – and that it adapts these two lessons into its own story. We already know that Zeb Orrelios of Star Wars Rebels will be making an appearance in the movie, though given the fact he’s already cameoed in The Mandalorian season 3, I don’t see this as too high-profile a cameo in the movie.
Anything more than that could risk this movie repeating a problematic cameo trend from earlier in season 2, and could be just as harmful as the movie lacking a single scene of Pascal without Din Djarin’s helmet. Since Pascal was on the set of the movie for at least a brief duration, as confirmed by Din Djarin stuntman Lateef Crowder, I doubt this movie won’t make use of a new helmet-less scene, but “The Believer” continues to prove just how crucial the inclusion of one really is.
As a Star Wars movie, it does indeed need to have some big screen-worthy moments, but those cannot overshadow Din Djarin and Grogu themselves.
If The Mandalorian and Grogu wants to achieve the same kind of success in its story that it has, in my opinion, not reached ever since “The Believer,” then it must abide by these two key lessons from the TV show’s best episode. As a Star Wars movie, it does indeed need to have some big screen-worthy moments, but those cannot overshadow Din Djarin and Grogu themselves. The Mandalorian‘s best episode remains exemplary for its future story, and I can only hope that the movie gives me the same feeling that episode gave me nearly 5 years ago.
The Mandalorian
8/10
- Release Date
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November 12, 2019
- Network
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Disney+
- Directors
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Rick Famuyiwa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dave Filoni, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed, Deborah Chow, Jon Favreau, Peter Ramsey, Robert Rodriguez, Taika Waititi, Lee Isaac Chung
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Carey Jones
Gorian Shard (Performance Artist)
