Mando and his team infiltrate an Imperial refinery to access secret codes.

Essentially ‘Star War does The Wages of Fear/Sorcerer’ in a side mission that may not be vital to the plot but is still a thrilling half hour of television.

Grogu takes the week off as temporarily-released prisoner Mayfeld (Bill Burr, Breaking Bad) from Season 1’s The Prisoner is enlisted to obtain Imperial codes that will locate Moff Gideon’s cruiser. To access the codes, a secret refinery needs to be entered, and to do that they will need to drive a shipment of volatile material into the dragon’s lair.

Part of the joy of The Mandalorian is its unabashed desire to tap into the episodic Republic serials so frequently referenced by the Star Wars movies. No action cliche is left untouched, and this week we get a variation on ‘Indians attacking a train’. But it’s all done so well, with writer/director Rick Famuyiwa’s script hitting all the action beats, supported by excellent visual effects.

It also makes some valid points about how/where people will cross the line, and Mando has to take an action that’s against his beliefs. Richard Brake (Game of Thrones) is also great value as sneering Imperial officer Valin Hess, who you just know is going to get what’s coming to him. Oh, and did I mention that they all now fly round in Slave 1, with Boba Fett at the helm?

Verdict: Setting things up nicely for the season finale, this break from the main storyline is no less welcome and is an impressive 33 minutes. 8/10