Recap: Origins Are Discovered in ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2, Episode 5: “The Jedi”
Last week on The Mandalorian, Din returned to Nevarro to have the Razor Crest repaired and met up with some familiar faces upon his arrival — Greef Karga and Cara Dune. While the Child had his “first day at school,” Din, Greef, and Cara infiltrated what they thought was an abandoned Imperial base. In doing so, they learned that Moff Gideon is still alive and has been conducting experiments using a blood sample taken from the Child. In the final moments of the episode, it was revealed that Gideon had a tracking device planted on Din’s ship. Keep reading to find out what happened in episode 5, “The Jedi.”
The episode opens on the forest planet of Corvus during an intense battle between a band of guards and none other than Ahsoka Tano. Duel-wielding both of her lightsabers, Ahsoka effortlessly takes out her opponents and approaches the walls guarding the city in front of her. A woman standing atop the wall addresses her; she’s been expecting Ahsoka. The two exchange remarks, as Ahsoka is looking to learn something from her, but the woman refuses, instead threatening the lives of the townsfolk. Ahsoka leaves, giving the woman one day to decide to surrender before facing the consequences.
Meanwhile, Din and the Child land on the planet the next day and they approach the same city walls, the city of Calodan. After gaining entrance, Din attempts to speak to the residents milling about to get information on Ahsoka’s whereabouts, but they’re too scared to talk to him. The guards approach him, informing him that the Magistrate — the woman from atop the wall — wants to see him. The Magistrate asks him to kill the Jedi that is plaguing her in exchange for her spear, which is made of pure beskar.
Din traverses the sad remains of the forest planet in search of Ahsoka, who ends up sneaking up on him instead (and in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter egg, Ahsoka’s convor companion Morai appears to be sitting on a branch in a tree). The two go toe-to-toe, as the blades of Ahsoka’s lightsabers are unable to pierce Din’s beskar amor. Before the battle can go on any further, Din hurriedly informs her that Bo-Katan sent him because they need to talk. Ahsoka looks beyond him at the Child, who’s sitting on a rock, and responds, “I hope it’s about him.”
Night falls and Ahsoka and the Child sit, communicating telepathically, while Din paces anxiously as he waits. Looking over to Din, Ahsoka brings the Child over to him and the three sit back down together. While confirming with Din that she is communicating with the Child in a way, she also reveals a monumental piece of information, “Grogu and I can feel each other’s thoughts.” The mystery has finally been revealed (and Star Wars fans from all over collectively let out a breath that they’ve all been holding in for over a year now). Din tests out the name and the Child is pleased, perking up and looking over at him expectantly at the sound of his name. Ahsoka goes on to explain that Grogu was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and many Masters trained him over the years. When the Empire rose to power in the wake of the Clone Wars, someone took him from the Temple and hid him. She notes that the only other being that she knew of like Grogu was the wise Jedi Master Yoda. Din asks Ahsoka to help him, despite the fact that the Jedi Order has long since fallen.
The next morning, to test his abilities, Ahsoka passes a rock to Grogu using the Force and requests that he return it to her in the same manner. Grogu, however, simply drops the stone to the ground. Ahsoka approaches him and takes his hand, and she explains that she senses much fear in him, he’s hidden his abilities to survive over the years. She urges Din to try instead of her, reminding him to use the Child’s real name in the process. Though Grogu is hesitant to respond to the rock again, Din remembers that he has the Razor Crest knob in his pocket. After a bit of encouragement, Grogu easily uses the Force to call the knob into the palm of his hand and Din is delighted. Ahsoka watches on, commenting that Grogu has formed a strong attachment to Din. It is because of this connection that she cannot train him, as the attachment makes him vulnerable to his fears and his anger. Likely thinking back on her former Master Anakin Skywalker, she tells Din that she’s seen what those feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight … to the best of them. Because of this, it’s better for Grogu to let his abilities fade.
Seemingly finished with her dealings with the Mandalorian and the Child, Ahsoka goes to leave, ready to follow up on said consequences to the Magistrate. Din quickly chimes in that the Magistrate sent him to kill her, but he didn’t agree to it. He makes an offer to assist her if she will in turn train Grogu. As the two head back to Calodan, Ahsoka explains that the Magistrate’s name is Morgan Elsbeth. After her people were massacred during the Clone Wars, her anger eventually fueled an industry that helped build the Imperial Starfleet. She would then go on to plunder worlds, destroying them in the process — the barren landscape of Corvus being a prime example of that.
“A Mandalorian and a Jedi? They’ll never see it coming.”
Ahsoka scales the city wall, taking out the guards along the top swiftly, and finds that the Magistrate and her guards are waiting for her. She holds up Din’s pauldron and informs the Magistrate that the bounty hunter failed, demanding once more to learn the information that she seeks — “Where is your master?” Rather than answer, the Magistrate instructs her guards to kill Ahsoka, and so a battle begins. Din arrives shortly after, saving the prisoners from their imminent execution, while Ahsoka stalks the guards through the narrow city streets, picking them off one by one. While Ahsoka hops over the next set of gates behind which the Magistrate is hiding, Din blocks her human guard — Lang — from getting to her.
Ahsoka and the Magistrate, armed with her beskar spear, begin to battle. It quickly becomes clear why Ahsoka told Din not to underestimate the woman, because she’s managing to hold her own in the battle. As with Din’s armor, the lightsabers are incapable of cutting through the spear, and the two exchange continuous blows back and forth. Ahsoka eventually manages to disarm her, even after losing one of her lightsabers. Lang, having been heckling Din all throughout the battle, attempts to lure the Mandalorian into a false sense of security as he slowly places his weapon on the ground when he hears the telltale sound of the Magistrate’s spear dropping to the ground in defeat. However, he then begins to reach for the smaller weapon holstered at his side. The Mandalorian, always ten steps ahead and lightning fast with his blaster, catches on to the subtle movement and shoots him down between one breath and the next. Din always shoots first.
As Ahsoka holds her lightsaber to the Magistrate’s throat, she demands once more to know where her master is … Grand Admiral Thrawn. Later, after releasing the Magistrate’s hold on the city, the citizens celebrate their freedom. Ahsoka offers the spear to Din but, ever a man of honor and code, he doesn’t want to accept it because he didn’t finish the job. Using a different tactic, she then insists that the beskar belongs with a Mandalorian, and that’s a statement that the bounty hunter cannot deny. He then heads back to the Razor Crest to get Grogu, who is peacefully sleeping. Din tells him to wake up, because it’s time to say goodbye (cue the waterworks). When he exits the ship carrying Grogu, he finds Ahsoka waiting for him. She plainly states, “You’re like a father to him. I cannot train him.” However, she tells Din that there is an option for Grogu to choose his own path. He can take him to the planet Tython, to the ancient ruins of a temple that has a strong connection to the Force. When he places Grogu on top of the seeing stone at the top of the mountain, he will be able to reach out through the Force, at which point a Jedi might sense his presence and come searching for him.
“Then again, there aren’t many Jedi left …”
This was, without a doubt, one of the best episodes of The Mandalorian to date. Written and directed by none other than Dave Filoni, “The Jedi” felt like a love letter not only to Star Wars fans, but specifically to fans of The Clone Wars and Rebels. It serves as a reminder of how many rich stories exist within the Star Wars universe, both live-action and animated, and the limitless potential of intertwining them. The promise of new adventure, backed by callbacks large and small and an overall sense of familiarity, is exactly what makes The Mandalorian one of the best things that has ever happened to this beloved franchise.
Episodes 1-5 of season 2 of The Mandalorian are now streaming exclusively on Disney+. Check out the rest of our recaps here. Episode 6 will premiere Friday, December 4.