The Mandalorian and his young charge join an ex-soldier in protecting a farming community from raiders.

For a show that has never hidden its western roots, The Mandalorian doubles up on the references this week with a plot ripped from The Magnificent Seven, and having a great time in playing with the most familiar of gunslinger tropes.

From The Clone Wars’ Bounty Hunters to Battlestar Galactica’s The Lost Warrior to Doctor Who’s The Girl Who Died (and countless episodes of 70s and 80s episodic genre TV), the story of the rural community hiring a mysterious stranger to protect them from a better-armed foe has been done to death, the difference here being the raiders are orc-like Klatooinians and their artillery is an AT-ST raider.

The farmers are harvesting krill, blue prawn-like crustaceans, our point of focus being single mum Omera (Julia Jones – Westworld), who asks Mando some of the questions we’ve been pondering about his warrior way of life. There’s also fine support from ex-Shock Trooper Cara Dune (played by Deadpool’s Gina Carano), initially as a sparring adversary and then as a partner.

Bryce Dallas Howard (The Lost World) joins father Ron (Solo) in directing a gig within the Star Wars universe, handling the action scenes well. She also gives us maximum cuteness with Yoda Jr – good luck to the Disney lawyers trying to get all the inevitable new gifs and memes taken down!

Verdict: Quality, traditional TV with a healthy budget, The Mandalorian continues to embrace its old school origins, mixing Star Wars lore with familiar conventions and creating something that’s a joy to watch. 8/10

Nick Joy

Searching for somewhere to lay low from all the attention he and his tiny charge are garnering, the Mandalorian instead walks into more trouble.

If there’s one constant so far in The Mandalorian, it’s that its plotlines won’t be winning many awards for originality. The setup here is glaringly obvious from the very opening scene, involving an attack by vicious raiders on a defenceless group of farmers. What’s clever is that in spite of quite how obvious that plot line might be, the episode really makes the viewer care about what’s happening on screen.

As ever, it’s fairly minimalist with its dialogue, our hero not being the most talkative of people, but what it does have lands well. There’s a little more revelation about the question I’d certainly been asking myself about how exactly a Mandalorian does quite a lot of things if they can’t ever take off their helmet, some character development and the introduction of more recognisable elements from the Star Wars universe, including a new character portrayed by the (in my opinion) always underrated Gina Carano.

There’s also more Baby Yoda of course, rapidly becoming the internet’s biggest celebrity and the focal point of most fans’ love of the show. He’s cute, but also quite mischievous, and the opening scene of him and the Mandalorian sitting in the ship is a playful delight.

It doesn’t shy from action either – we finally get to see one of the iconic vehicles of the franchise realised in full, impressive CGI-assisted motion rather than stop motion animation, and it’s every bit as amazing as you might hope while also emphasising just what a dangerous bit of kit it is. The action scenes themselves – whether it’s a one-on-one fist fight or an all-out battle, are all well-shot, clearly delineated and pacy. Director Bryce Dallas Howard (yes that one) showcases an excellent eye behind the camera, whether in quiet, contemplative scenes or all out action, and I look forward to seeing more work from her going forward.

Verdict: Easily the strongest episode to date. A hackneyed central narrative which is telegraphed from the opening scene is immaterial against fantastic performances and superbly crafted action scenes and visuals. This is what Star Wars can be at its best. More please. 10/10

Greg D. Smith