Chapter 14: The Tragedy

"Chapter 14: The Tragedy" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American streaming television series The Mandalorian.[2] It was written by showrunner Jon Favreau and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It was released on Disney+ on December 4, 2020.[3]

"Chapter 14: The Tragedy"
The Mandalorian episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 6
Directed byRobert Rodriguez
Written byJon Favreau
Produced byJon Favreau
Cinematography byDavid Klein[1]
Editing byAndrew S. Eisen
Original release dateDecember 4, 2020 (2020-12-04)
Running time30 minutes
Co-starring

Plot

The Mandalorian arrives with Grogu on Tython, and finds the ancient temple on top of a mountain. He seats Grogu at the center so that he may choose his path. Grogu meditates, and a protective Force field appears around him. Boba Fett arrives with the mercenary Fennec Shand, whose life he saved on Tatooine, and demands the return of his Mandalorian armor.[lower-alpha 1] Following a tense confrontation, the Mandalorian agrees to trade the armor for the safety of Grogu. Two Imperial troop carriers arrive, carrying stormtroopers who attempt to capture Grogu. Honoring their agreement, Fett, Shand, and the Mandalorian join forces to fend off the advancing stormtroopers, inflicting heavy casualties. Boba Fett retrieves his armor and uses it to wipe out many stormtroopers before firing a rocket that destroys the fleeing troop ships. As the Force field surrounding him disappears, Grogu collapses from exhaustion.

Moff Gideon arrives in an Imperial light cruiser and destroys the Mandalorian's ship Razor Crest from high overhead. Gideon sends out four Dark Troopers, who capture Grogu and take him back to the cruiser. Fett and Shand agree to help the Mandalorian save Grogu to honor their debt. The Mandalorian seeks the now New Republic Marshal Cara Dune's help in breaking out the criminal Mayfeld to help track Gideon and rescue Grogu. Impressed with the Force powers Grogu exhibits against stormtroopers, Moff Gideon shows Grogu the Darksaber and has a stormtrooper stun and shackle him. After, Gideon informs Dr. Pershing that they have the donor.

Production

Development

The episode was written by the series' creator Jon Favreau and directed by Robert Rodriguez, whose involvement in the second season was confirmed on May 4, 2020.[4] Rodriguez was not the first choice to direct the episode. Before directing The Mandalorian, Rodriguez worked with Pedro Pascal on the Netflix film We Can Be Heroes.[5] Rodriguez was surprised at the short length of the script and asked Favreau "Is it okay that my script is only 19 pages? Because I cut really fast and it's probably going to end up being 16 minutes" but Favreau explained that Rodriguez was there to fill out the action scenes and make the battle longer. He praised the script saying "It had all the good stuff in it. It was like a 'Greatest Hits' of all the good stuff; I couldn't believe it. To go play in Star Wars with all the toys and to get to play with Boba Fett." Not knowing if Boba Fett would be appearing in the series again, Rodriguez took the opportunity to "make him super badass in this moment [and] be that character that I imagined him being when I heard about him when I was 12. That was my mission, just to go satisfy that 12-year-old fascination with the character."[6] Rodriguez described the experience: "it's fulfilled all my... it's beyond my expectations, I mean, it was SO fun".[5]

Only six of the stormtroopers were real, the others were digitally added to the scene.[7]

Casting
Temuera Morrison portrays Boba Fett in the episode.

The co-starring actors cast for this episode are all returning from previous episodes, and include Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett,[8] Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, and Gina Carano as Cara Dune.[9] Additional guest starring actors cast for this episode include Gabriel Ebert as an Imperial Gunner Officer and Katy O'Brian returning as an Imperial Comms Officer.[9] Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, and Barry Lowin are credited as stunt doubles for the Mandalorian. Kirk Jenkins and Lauren Kim are credited as stunt doubles for Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, respectively. Grogu was performed by various puppeteers.

Music

Ludwig Göransson composed the musical score for the episode. The featured tracks were released on December 18, 2020 in the second volume of the season two soundtrack.[10]

Göransson and Rodriguez had music sessions over Zoom where they played with raw sound effects to develop a guide for what would become Boba Fett's theme. Rodriguez wanted Fett to be primal, like a barbarian and included a war horn, which Göransson took inspiration from and distorted that sound with a didgeridoo and another unique sound. Göransson also added breathing sounds to the track "to make it feel like he's in your head".[11]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode received an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 42 critics, with an average rating of 8.75/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Thrilling, confident, and utterly heartbreaking, "The Tragedy" is breathtaking television brilliantly realized by director Robert Rodriguez."[12]

IGN's Laura Prudom gave the episode 10 out of 10, calling it "action-packed, mythology-heavy, and emotionally stirring" and praised Robert Rodriguez for his confident direction and eye for action.[13] Keith Phipps of Vulture gave the episode four out of five stars, praising Boba Fett's characterization and calling the action sequence between Fett, Shand, and the stormtroopers "spectacular" and "smartly choreographed".[14] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone called it "a thrilling episode, and a lovely but rare instance of fact and legend finally merging into the same thing."[15]

Notes
  1. The Mandalorian confiscated the armor from Cobb Vanth in Chapter 9: The Marshal

References
  1. Jirak, Jamie (December 4, 2020). "The Mandalorian: Kevin Smith Reacts to Clerks Cinematographer Filming Chapter 14". Comicbook.com/.
  2. Razor Close (2020-12-04). "The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6 recap – "Chapter 14: The Tragedy"". ReadySteadyCut.com. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  3. Abdulbaki, Mae (2020-12-03). "The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 6: Release date". Inverse. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  4. Pedersen, Erik (May 4, 2020). "'The Mandalorian' Season 2: Robert Rodriguez Confirmed As Director". Deadline Hollywood.
  5. Shepherd, Jack; Scott, Darren (December 4, 2020). "The Mandalorian: Robert Rodriguez discusses directing one of the Star Wars show's best episodes yet". SFX – via Games Radar.
  6. Gemmill, Allie (7 December 2020). "'The Mandalorian' Season 2 Director Robert Rodriguez on the Joy of Reviving Boba Fett". Collider.
  7. IAN FAILES (22 December 2020). "VFX notes from the ICG 'Mandalorian' s2 panel". befores & afters.
  8. Itzkoff, Dave (7 December 2020). "Being Boba Fett: Temuera Morrison Discusses 'The Mandalorian'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07.
  9. Dumaraog, Ana (December 4, 2020). "The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 6 Cast & Cameos Guide". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  10. "The Mandalorian: Season 2 - Vol. 2 (Chapters 13-16) [Original Score]". Apple Music. Apple Inc. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  11. Guerrasio, Jason (December 21, 2020). "'The Mandalorian' composer reveals how he used classic 'Star Wars' themes to create the dramatic season 2 finale score". Insider.
  12. "The Mandalorian - Season 2 Episode 6". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  13. Prudom, Laura (4 Dec 2020). "The Mandalorian: Season 2, Episode 6 Review". IGN.
  14. Phipps, Keith (2020-12-04). "The Mandalorian Recap: A Bad Day To Be Mando". Vulture. New York. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  15. Sepinwall, Alan (4 December 2020). "'The Mandalorian' Recap: The Bounty Hunter Strikes Back". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
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