‘The Mandalorian’ Season One Recap: Chapters 1-3

Time for a Din Djarin and Baby Yoda fandom roll call! Today might be a Monday, but we won’t let that dampen our anticipation for The Mandalorian season 2! Before we take a gander into the territory of Friday’s premiere on Disney+, let’s take a look back at how we got here—starting with the first three episodes!

Chapter 1: “The Mandalorian”

Right out of the gate, we meet a mysterious, masked character whose deep voice alone is guaranteed to keep up us swooning on the edge of our seats for eight chapters. Clearly not the eloquent conversationist, Mando comes off as a person who knows how to use his fists better than his words.

Image: Disney/Lucasfilm

His nonchalant dealing with his first bounty victim, the blue being Mythrol, exposes his limited emotional range that Hermione Granger might compare to the size of a teaspoon. Neither a sea monster nor a bar full of ruffians is enough to ruffle his feathers, as his monotone voice carries a consistent tone void of inflection or fear. After picking a bar fight, we discover that the lonesome gunslinger is a bounty hunter, perusing the galaxy for scoundrels and bail jumpers. Mando adds Mythrol to his Carbonite collection after the space Smurf tries to escape, and then meets with Greef Karga, an agent of the Bounty Hunter’s Guild.

During their exchange, it appears that Mando’s passion for his job is solely dependent on its ability to provide wages. Desiring the most lucrative bounty Karga has in his pool, Mando meets with the client requiring his services. Mando’s reputation as a bounty hunter precedes him, and, in return for the asset, he is guaranteed quite a handsome lot of Beskar steel and given one piece with which a fellow Mandalorian Armorer crafts a new pauldron. During the making of the armor, we see our first flashback of an attack on Mando’s hometown that rendered him a foundling.

Image: Disney/Lucasfilm

On his journey across a desert region, creatures called Blurrgs attack Mando, who must learn how to ride them from a local Ugnaught named Kuiil. We met rockified Taika Waititi in Thor: Ragnarok, and now we meet droidified Taika Waititi as IG-11, who takes a break from threatening to initiate a self-destruct sequence to help take down the Nikto guarding the asset. 

Unfortunately, droid Taika IG-11 only lasts a few more minutes as Mando destroys him to protect the biggest interest sensation of 2019: the Child Baby Yoda. Outside of the flashback, this is the first moment we feel a pang of sympathy for Mando, whose moral decision to keep the Child alive proves the hidden humanity behind his helmet.

Chapter 2: “The Child”

Now traveling with a 50-year-old infant, Mando journeys back to deliver the asset to his mysterious hirer known only as The Client. Caught in a fight with other pursuers of the prestigious bounty, Mando realizes he was not alone in his search. After the skirmish, we see the Child utter unintelligible cries and try to use the Force to heal Mando’s arm.

Image: Disney/Lucasfilm

Upon returning to his ship, the Razor Crest, Mando and the Child watch as Jawas loot the mode of transportation. Also noteworthy—the Child tests Mando’s parenting skills by eating a frog, and it’s adorable. The Jawas try to touch the Child, which quickly triggers protective dad Mando mode.

Mando gets help from Kuiil to negotiate a trade—Mando’s ship parts for a rhino egg. Entering a dark cave in search of the egg, Mando gets promptly ejected by a rhino who is in it for the kill. The Child helplessly looks on as Mando gets trounced by vicious blows from the rhino. Before the rhino lays the final strike, the not-so-helpless asset lifts his hand, using the Force to suspend the rhino in midair and save Mando’s life.

Image: Disney/Lucasfilm

The Child passes out from exhaustion in the process, but Mando is able to retrieve the egg and regain ownership of his ship parts. Together, Mando and Kuiil repair the vessel that will deliver the Child to The Client. Though Mando’s eyes are hidden behind his helmet as he watches the Child slumber, he has a gaze of curiosity and doubt that led us to believe these two would have more than just a hunter-bounty relationship.

Chapter 3: “The Sin”

While Mando receives a message from Karga to deliver the package directly to the antsy client, the Child is busy stealing our hearts and Mando’s patience by playing with joysticks and buttons on the ship. As Mando leads the Child into The Client’s hideout, Mando becomes increasingly protective of the asset to the point of sacrificing his reputation. Apparently, interrogating The Client’s dealings and intentions with the Child is bounty hunter cardinal sin number one. Despite the palpable villainous undertones of The Client, Mando drops off the Child at the suspicious daycare and claims his Beskar steel.

Image: Disney/Lucasfilm

Mando returns to the Mandalorian underground liar to forge more armor, where a clan member questions him about his dedication to the Mandalorian way. After confirming that he has not removed his helmet in front of someone, the Armorer crafts more armor for Mando, triggering another set of flashbacks. In this rewind, we see a new perspective on the story of the attack on Mando’s hometown. Two individuals, clearly his parents, rush him to the safety of a cellar. His mother gives her son one last hug as an expression of honor and pain melt through her brave persona.

Mando returns to see Karga, who the gunslinger berates for handing out an abundance of tracking fobs and demands another job. He asks Karga if he knows what the Client and his Imperial posse are going to do with the Child. Mando notices a lever knob the Child once played with the moment he gets back to his ship and instantly makes up his mind to retrieve the asset. This chapter is titled “The Sin,” but realistically, the proper title is “the chapter where Mando angrily questions people about his son.”

Image: Disney/Lucasfilm

After infiltrating the hideout and blowing through stormtroopers, Mando finds the Child sedated by Pershing, the doctor, who pleads honest intentions and gets to keep his life. Cradling the Child in his arms, Mando makes his way out of the Client’s hideout, where Karga and members of the town ambush him. Thankfully, fellow Mandalorians come to his rescue, leaving Mando to deal with Karga. Using a smokescreen tactic, Mando is able to distract Karga and zap him out of the Razor Crest. The Child once again reaches for the level knob—only this time Dad Mando lets him play with it.

Be sure to look out for a recap of chapters 4-6 tomorrow and check out our site for articles on all things Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and more! What were your favorite moments in the first three chapters? Let us know @capeandcastle on Twitter!