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Monday, December 23, 2019

The Mandalorian Chapter 7 (The Reckoning) Review - THIS is the Show I Signed Up For

The Mandalorian: Chapter 7 (The Reckoning) Review - THIS is the Show I Signed Up For








Initial Air Date: December 18th, 2019

Directed by: Deborah Chow

**The episode reviews will contain no major spoilers, but be warned that I will be dropping little plot details and moments throughout the review. You have been warned.**

The Review

Forgot what I said last week. This is BY FAR the BEST episode of the Mandalorian that they've released. And it's not even CLOSE.

Deborah Chow returns to helm the penultimate episode of the Disney+ show, and she absolutely kills it. She nails everything; the action is spectacular and it's tense because it's purely character driven. She nails the character moments. She finds a convincing reason to bring back the entire cast for one last curtain call. And most importantly, she NAILS the ending. I could not be any more excited for the season finale in a few days.

From the get-go, you can tell something's bothering the Mandalorian. He receives a transmission and immediately his whole situation is turned upside down. The irony is that had he not received that transmission, he probably would have gone on another mission to get money. But Car Weathers's character calls him in for one last job. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That's the main mantra of the episode, and it works. 

The level of intrigue that takes place as the characters begin to realize what they've REALLY been dealing with all along is captivating. There are reveals, twists, turns, forced allegiances. All of this goes to create tension and drama that permeates beyond the last frame of the episode. 

Mando recruits of the help of his Ughnaut friend as well as Cara Dune for one final mission. He and the crew return, and immediately, you can tell we're entering dire straits. Because he is severely outnumbered and outgunned. Which hasn't been a problem for him before, so the fact that the episode conveys the dramatic weight of the situation is impressive. Ex-imperials litter the streets and all eyes are on them.

And the episode truly does provide surprises along the way as well. There are genuine twists and turns. You expect the episode to go a certain way and then when that derails, you're left wondering what happens next, until a figure comes and promises doom and gloom for our heroes.

The ONE problem I have with the episode really has nothing to do with the episode itself and rather with the placement. If the rest of the season prior had been this good, I would've thought this to be a fitting conclusion to the show, but the fact that I feel less strongly about some of the previous episodes gives me pause. It almost feels like Favreau took off a little too little too late.

Regardless, we got this episode and the finale to look forward. And if episode 7 was any indication, we are in for one heck of a season finale. 

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