"This is The Way" Ranking The Episodes of Mandalorian s1

For the past month since the release of the Disney+ streaming platform, the driving reason to own it hasn't been its massive collection of classic content but instead has been the first Star Wars original series, The Mandalorian. It's an interesting thing that despite the recent release of the most recent and final installation to the Skywalker saga, it is far from the biggest thing Star Wars going on right now. "This is the way" and Baby Yoda has swept the internet by storm. From memes and fan art to a massive demand for the release of collectible figures, The Mandalorian is looking to be the most profitable property released from the brand since the release of the Prequels in the early 2000s. With as big as this series has been, I am sure people have wondered where our reviews on each episode have been, but Here' ns The Thing, I decided that patience would be the best thing as I am going to rank the episodes from my least favorite episodes to my favorite episodes. Before I start this list, I want to say that I loved each episode of this show, I don't think I'd rank any episode lower than an 8 out of 10, that being said, there were episodes that I enjoyed more than others, so with that said, let's dig in.

8. Episode 7: The Reckoning

I almost feel that this is unfair. Penultimate episodes are a tough thing to nail and they are always going to have the harsh task of setting up the finale. The Reckoning does a fantastic job setting up the finale and had it and episode 8 been released as a 2 part finale on the same day, it would rank as the absolute best episode of the series. That being said, the charm of Mandalorian has been the fact that even though there is the main story, each episode, even the first 3, stand alone as their own vignettes. There is a resolution at the end of each episode, that we just don't get from episode 7. As such, even though it is EXACTLY what it's supposed to be, Episode 7 was the episode I enjoyed least of this pilot season. 

7. Episode 4: Sanctuary 

It has been no secret that The Mandalorian pays respect to old school spaghetti Westerns in tone and feel. This was established immediately in the first episode as the opening feels like a sequence from Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name trilogy. That being said, while influence has been present, it has never been more on the nose than with Episode 4 of The Mandalorian. I didn't even have to get past the title sequence to know where they were going as the episode opens up with a small village getting ransacked by raiders, and that moment I knew: "We are gonna see a Mandalorian version of the Magnificent 7." Sure enough, that's exactly what I got, except where once there were seven, here there were 2. Now don't get me wrong, I love this film. I love the 7 Samurai that serves as the inspiration for the Western. That being said, there are only so many times you can see this before it feels played out and overdone. That being said, it was still a fantastic episode and watching the 2 mercenaries take on a whole bunch of raiders in a stealth op, or taking down the walker, it's still probably the most formulaic episode of the series tied maybe with Episode 6: The Prisoner. 

6. Episode 2: The Child

This one also falls victim to circumstances of narrative storytelling. The show's second episode is a fantastic bridge for the show's initial arc. The Jawas negotiations are hilarious and the struggle Mando has in this episode humanizes him to the audience a great deal. That being said, the episode also serves as a vehicle of exposition and as such has some pacing issues that come with being a bridge episode of the initial arc. 

5. Episode 5: Gunslinger

I realize that this episode placement is going to earn me a LOT of flack. It is probably the only episode of the show that I have seen that people actively did not like. However, this earns its place in my top five of the season because of a lot of small details and the fact that it's a love letter to one of my favorite Westerns, The Gunfighter. I almost wrote an entire piece on this episode after seeing the backlash to it because people missed the point. The outrage over some cocky upstart killing such a badass character played by none other than Mulan herself, Ming-Na Wen, is 100 percent the point. Reputation in the underworld may come with the higher paying contracts and the respect/ fear of your peers, but it also comes with a giant target on your back for people trying to gain a reputation with not much of care on how they get there. The old classic The Gunfighter shows this by the titular character being gunned down by some young wannabe while his back was turned and was getting on a horse to leave the town, and so too does this episode illustrate that same point when Wen's character tries to manipulate this young up and coming bounty hunter's own ego against him. Instead of aiding the young man in his double cross, or the more likely option of her escaping by killing the naive gunslinger, he shoots her in the stomach while her hands are cuffed, giving a terrible death to this infamous outlaw. At the end of the day, there is a bullet reserved for any one of them and if they're lucky enough, they can outrun by dying on their own terms before it catches them. Pair this with the small details like giving substance to the Tuscan Raiders (I loved how this episode gave them personality and used them as the equivalent of the Plains Indians' role in Westerns, an obstacle that can be reasoned with through trade and negotiation), is why I absolutely adore this episode. It also helps that it opens up with a fantastic space ship dog fight. 

4. Episode 6: The Prisoner

From a narrative standpoint, The Prisoner is nothing special. It's a formulaic heist story. The crew gets put together to break into a super-secure facility to acquire a VIP. It's very generic, and simple, however, where this episode excels is in its use of visuals. The film, after all, is a visual medium and this episode easily has some of the best cinematography out of the entire show. The fight scenes are well choreographed and well shot, but probably the highlight of the episode was the Mandolorian sneaking up on Bo Burnham's character in a way that felt like a horror movie. For a brief moment, it was like we were watching Predator. 

3. Episode 1: The Mandalorian 

I realize that this might be on the verge of hyperbole, but I truly think that the pilot of The Mandalorian set a golden precedent for the perfect pilot. The score was amazing and felt like a sci-fi take on iconic Western themes from movies like Good the Bad and the Ugly, or Magnificent 7. I don't believe I can think of a pilot that more perfectly showcasing everything that a show is trying to be than the first episode of The Mandalorian. The opening bar fight is easily in my top 3 favorite moments in the series so far. The entire episode repeatedly establishes the lawlessness of the setting as this chaotic and anarchistic universe after the fall of the Empire. Honestly, The Mandalorian delivered, for many fans, the first true taste of Star Wars that fans have had in a long time. 

2. Episode 3: The Sin

We are getting to the 2 best episodes of the series and I could honestly write pages gushing about each and every one of them. When it comes down to Episode 3: The Sin, this episode did everything the pilot did and one-upped it. The way they designed each Mandalorian in the covert to be unique and showcase their individual personalities through armor design, the expansion and exposure to the Mandalorian culture, and even the short glimpses into the backstory of our protagonist, get the audience all the more invested. The action sequences in the show are fantastic, starting off with the stealth driven infiltration of an enemy headquarters to a city-wide shoot out to punctuate the episode. This was the episode that also coined: "This is the Way," which may be the most badass thing to go viral since "This is Sparta."

  

1. Episode 8: Redemption

The two most difficult tasks of a story are starting it, and ending it. In a series, the final task is especially difficult as the ending isn't just the end. The finale of a season must provide a conclusion to the story arc while simultaneously allowing for the set up of the next arc in a way that feels organic. Just as it accomplished with its pilot, The Mandalorian provides another gold standard in creating a finale to a show. Not a single minute of screen time is wasted and the result is the emotionally gripping display that has the audience on the edge of their seat the entire way. In addition to providing a conclusion to this initial story of going back on the bounty and saving the baby Yoda, the show establishes completed character arcs for not just the Mandalorian (who in the time of this episode has his helmet removed, and has his signet revealed and glyphed onto one of his pauldrons, and receiving his jetpack) but for its side characters as well. While the finale may close this initial chapter, it also seamlessly establishes the direction of the narrative for its second season. All in all Redemption is a masterful episode that earns its place on the number one spot of this list.

The Mandalorian is the first Star Wars property since the Disney acquisition to truly bring all fans together. It's dramatic, visually stunning, but more than that is exceptionally directed and written. Ranking each episode in this way was honestly one of the more difficult things I have had to do because there isn't a single episode that stands out in particular as being subpar. I know that people will have different opinions on this, so please leave a comment about your favorite episodes, ranking them.