1x03 Chapter 3: The Sin

[8.4/10] What’s going to stand out in this episode is the bombast. It’s pretty badass when Mando blasts his way into the Imperial compound, takes out stormtrooper after stormtrooper on the way in, rescues Baby Yoda, and sneaks and shoots his way out in the open. It’s ominous and then tense when all of the other bounty hunters’ fobs start to go off, and Mando blasts who he can and disintegrates whomever’s left. And it’s rousing as hell when his fellow Mandolorians get their Big Damn Heroes moment with jetpacks and laser blasts to get our protagonist the hell out of there.

But what I really liked about the episode were all the great setups and payoffs that set the stakes and made the moments of bombast meaningful. I’ll admit, I felt like the scene in the Mandalorian forge was a little on the nose, and that the exposition on that group’s backstory was clumsy. What’s more, the scuffle with the more brutish Mandalorian warrior and resolving refrain of “This is the way” was a bit much. And yet, it’s a scene that helps sell the ways in which Mando is pulled between his self-interest and his honor here, and it makes that Big Damn Heroes moment at the end that much more thrilling when the guys who were once at Mando’s throats are the ones coming to his defense. It sells the bonds of brotherhood and devotion to that honor that overrides individual grievances and recognizes doing the right thing.

I like how that confrontation is set up by the exchange at the cantina between Mando and Greef Carga, letting him and the audience know that (a.) all of the other bounty hunters had trackers and (b.) that they too all hate his guts for beating them to the punch in completing the job. It makes things fall into place perfectly when Mando has to go from fending off a small cadre of Stormtroopers to fending off every bounty hunter within the system.

Hell, I even like the setup and payoff of the “whistling birds.” Let’s be frank, as soon as the Armorer told Mando that they were rare and should be used cautiously, you knew he was going to use them to save Baby Yoda. But it’s still a damn good set piece and a nice way to show how much the little imp means to our hardscrabble hero, even if he’s decked out in shiny new armor.

But my favorite of these is the simple visual focus put on the lever bulb in Mando’s ship. Baby Yoda trying to nab it early in the episode sets up Mando’s mild annoyance with The Child. His reaching for it and seeing it absence in the middle of the episode establishes it as a visual cue for Mando thinking of The Child and motivating his change of heart. And him handing the bulb to Baby Yoda at the end firmly establishes that Mando has made his choice and is looking after this little (fifty-year-old) kid from here on out.

It’s a simple arc, but a really nicely-conveyed one. Mando himself knows what it’s like to be an orphan. (And in flashbacks we come to understand why he doesn't like droids.) He has sympathy for the foundlings, for innocent kids swept up by the Empire and treated like they don’t matter, and it makes him want to protect Baby Yoda like he himself wanted to be protected as a child. The arc was predictable from moment one of “The Sin”, but the act of Mando making the mistake of turning him over to the remnants of the Empire, changing his mind and risking everything to rescue him, and putting a target on his back from here on out, has real weight from everything we’re told and, much more importantly, see from Mando himself and the world around him.

For a show that’s light on words and heavy on visuals, it can be tough to pull that sort of internal life off. But damnit if The Mandalorian doesn't pull it off with flying colors (no pun intended). Three episodes in, and this show has been everything fans hoped for, with tight scripts and impressive, meaningful visuals that give the viewers what they need from this story.

(Oh, and a little prediction: [spoiler]My bet is that at the end of this season, Mando will receive his signet, and it'll be of Baby Yoda.[spoiler])

"The Sin" is where The Mandalorian truly elevates itself from quest-driven romp through a couple of planets to bond-stricken story; this episode effectively weaves in the context of the titular characters, establishes a meaningful relationship between co-stars (yes, Baby Yoda obviously is), and features the most stylish and exhilarating action featured thus far. It's an episode of ramifications, and the best The Mandalorian has to offer thus far.

What's so interesting is how much is portrayed from a character that can't emote, and another that can't speak; yet, it's the realization of their bond that really sells the soul of "The Sin." The episode first contextualizes the rules and mythos of the central bounty-hunter, noting their vast importance...because recognizing that some relationships are more important. It's half drama, half action, and even though those two are on opposite sides of the episode, both are done so well that they're equally entertaining.

What also elevates the action itself is the Mandalorian's fill usage of tools; it's great to see them weave together in a chaotic firefight, fully bringing about the scope of what he's capable of. It feels desperate, and even has a few surprises tucked here and there. The episode ends by wrapping up the initial arc of the series, and now begging the question: Where in the universe do you go now?

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Sin," feeling like a true look into the violence, deception, intrigue, and heart of what lies within the Star Wars universe. If I was not invested in a steel bounty hunter and little green dude by now (I was), "The Sin" sells everything one needs to become invested in the characters, and this series.

The episode was rather engrossing and suspenseful, with lots of turns and twists. First the Mandalorian goes back to his employer to receive the payment, and gives up the baby for a huge amount of the legendary precious metal, it seems that he hesitates a bit but in the end his desire to possess the metal (which apparently is the heirloom of his nation) wins and he accepts the award, abandoning the baby. He has some equisite armour made out of it, and we get another glimpse of the Mandalorian culture. However, as soon as he is on his spaceship, the Mandalorian begins to have some pangs of conscience as he remembers the baby playing with some ship equipment, and returns to retrieve it. He has to fight his way to the room where the baby is kept and on his way out, and the struggle is very intense. At the very end a group of people - I think maybe other bounty hunters since they are together with his employer? - all want to kill him and take the baby from him, but at the last moment when he is cornered and in a quite desperate situation, his compatriots come literally from the sky to save him, so everything end happily as both the Mandalorian and the baby survive the fight. However, he burned all the bridges as he fought with his employer and even though he did not kill him, he would not get any more jobs from this man and so has to find a new employer or maybe a new way of earning a living since he broke the bounty hunter code. This shows how much he started to care about the baby. I guess the eponymous sin refers to his accepting the award and leaving the baby.