S02.E07: Chapter Fifteen - The Believer

[rwlevin]

I thought it was hilarious Mayfield mentioned those damn TPS reports to get away from his former boss. All of a sudden, the Empire enters the world of Office Space.

[Sakura12]

10 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Wasn't it word-for-word what Moff Gideon said to Mando?  It wasn't just a reflection, it was using his own exact words back against him.  Powerful.

Except for replacing it with he. It was the same speech. Only Mando's had a lot more behind it since it wiped the smirk off Gideon's face real quick. 

[Emily Thrace]

15 hours ago, Ottis said:

Too early, IMO. It was just another thing that was set up to be sacred and then discarded at the first opportunity.

Most religions agree breaking technical rules by doing things like eating a bacon sandwich or removing a hijab are perfectly fine in service of saving someone's life. Din was bending a rule in service of protecting a foundling. Basically Din was following the spirit of the way rather than the rule. I'm sure the Armorer would be okay with it.

[Chyromaniac]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

I think it’s more like the no fly list. It scanned for known enemies. 

I suppose- although that still seems a bit counter intuitive for a security measure on a data terminal.  Granted, the Empire is pretty hit or miss when it comes to protecting sensitive systems (looking at you, Death Star tractor beam controls) - but I would think it would be simpler to only grant access to relatively few people, instead of forbidding everyone who they want to keep out.  And this thing was just sitting in the break room!  Din was able to get the highly classified information he needed before anyone even questioned it - and as far as anyone knew, he was just some random truck driver.  I know this is a pedantic thing to get hung up on, from an otherwise good episode- but it’s just weird.

[Blue Castle]

13 hours ago, Msample said:

After Mando delivered his monologue, it’s the first time we’ve seen Gideon have anything less than a smug confident look on his face.

Yes, I thought the exact same thing!  He's never been scared before.  I liked it too, because I think he previously wrote Din Djarin off as being not a big threat but the message showed that this random bounty hunter has what it takes to find him.  I think he was really surprised.

This show often has ridiculous plot devices (the whole imperial facial recognition system made no sense) but I don't even care because the character development and the action sequences are so good.  I really hope Din finds Grogu next week, though. I would be so unhappy if they end on a cliff hanger where those two aren't a clan of two again.

Quote

Wasn't it word-for-word what Moff Gideon said to Mando?  It wasn't just a reflection, it was using his own exact words back against him.  Powerful.

It was except Gideon said "It means more to me" and Din changed it to "he means more to me" (naturally).  Made it even more powerful!

PS.  Hi, everyone.  I used to post on TWoP but haven't really been at the new site much.   The Mandalorian makes me want to read everyone's thoughts, though!

[wanderingstar]

Oh hey, Din Djarin! Nice to see Pedro's face for the first time this season!

Bill Burr was so good in this episode! I knew he was going to take out his old commander, but the look he gave just before he did was poignant - like he was reliving the battle in that moment. Totally didn't expect that!

ETA: I don't know how they do it, but this show has some awesome action sequences. I was on the edge of my seat when those pirates were chasing Mando and Mayfeld.

Edited December 12, 2020 by Gillian Rosh

[formerlyfreedom]

I FREAKING LOVED THIS EPISODE.

Ahem.

Don't get me wrong. I missed Grogu. But there was so much story in this episode. And great character advancement. When I realized last ep that Mayfeld would be back, I thought, "Whhhhhy?" But damn if it didn't pan out into a great extension of the character. Such a great save by Mayfeld - basically 'he can't really hear you', and that was reflected in almost all of Din's reactions -- about 5 seconds behind everyone, 'What the hell are you saying?' And I was 100% positive that once he saw Mando's face, he was going to die. I mean, that's how this works, right? I've seen this story so many times, and then...THEY DIDN'T KILL HIM. Sure, he's "dead" but we all know that he's just air quotes dead.

So much more in this episode, I'm going to re-watch and probably be back with more. But for now...okay, going to fan-gurl here, but we got to see PEDRO'S FACE. Okay. That's kinda big for me. Love the man's voice, but watching his face punches it up for me. And for more than a hot minute. I loved it.

I so loved this episode, and I'm so glad others did as well.

[callmebetty]

I rewatched the episode already. 

I think not having Grogu on really made it made it more emotional and when you get to the last scene you can just feel that threat, that promise. It held more weight because we have no idea what is happening with Grogu. Moff Gideon's face showed that this man underestimated what the bond was between those two. 

I really really hope the last episode is almost an hour and that Din and Grogu are reunited. I don't think I could handle a whole year of them apart.

[Zuleikha]

Burr/Mayfield's slow but constantly rising cold rage.

I was very impressed by Burr's facial acting here. I felt like I was watching a rage temperature gauge steadily rise. 

I missed Grogu, but this was an excellent episode. 

[AnimeMania]

Most of Mayfield's problems would have been avoided if he just would have kept his helmet on until he reached the Imperial data terminal, but nobody wants to watch someone acting for long periods of time in a helmet (except all of us), especially not the Film Director. Mayfield's old commander might not have even realized he was the one driving the truck if Mayfield had left his helmet on, it would be like trying to spot the card in a game of Three-Card Monte.

[paigow]

Note to Pirates: Try using the tunnel as a kill box.

Note to Empire: Try escorting the trucks all the way from the mine to the refinery with those Tie Fighters.

[Rambler]

The pirates were caught by surprise when a "Stormtrooper" actually started hitting what he was aiming for.

Obviously the same guy that designed the Death Star designed that refinery. One shot straight down the exhaust port and KABOOM!!!

[merylinkid]

10 hours ago, Chyromaniac said:

I suppose- although that still seems a bit counter intuitive for a security measure on a data terminal.  Granted, the Empire is pretty hit or miss when it comes to protecting sensitive systems (looking at you, Death Star tractor beam controls) - but I would think it would be simpler to only grant access to relatively few people, instead of forbidding everyone who they want to keep out.  And this thing was just sitting in the break room!  Din was able to get the highly classified information he needed before anyone even questioned it - and as far as anyone knew, he was just some random truck driver.  I know this is a pedantic thing to get hung up on, from an otherwise good episode- but it’s just weird.

I think I have it.   Remember, Mayfield had the imperial codes.   He just needed to get to a data terminal.   So the data terminal is basically a computer, you can use it to check your email, send messages (and what a message was sent, etc.).    the face scan is just tracking who uses which terminal.   It will trip if a criminal is dumb enough to try to check his email.    Brown Eyes was able to access the classified data like ship movements because he had the codes on the stick that Mayfield handed him.    

Nobody thought anything of a regular old trooper using the data terminal, until it started sounding off because of the failed facial scan, so it must be pretty common to see everyone and his brother using it.

[Morrigan2575]

12 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Wasn't it word-for-word what Moff Gideon said to Mando?  It wasn't just a reflection, it was using his own exact words back against him.  Powerful.

Thank you. I wasn't sure. I knew it was a call back but, I wasn't sure if it was word for word or just similar. I like that. Mando was totally trolling 😂

On another subject, I missed what Boba Fett said about why he couldn't go in. Did he say they would/wouldn't recognize his face? 

[FnkyChkn34]

9 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Thank you. I wasn't sure. I knew it was a call back but, I wasn't sure if it was word for word or just similar. I like that. Mando was totally trolling 😂

On another subject, I missed what Boba Fett said about why he couldn't go in. Did he say they would/wouldn't recognize his face? 

He said they would recognize his face.  Boba Fett's father is Jango Fett, who was used as the original stormtrooper model.  The first armies of stormtroopers were clones - so they all looked exactly like Jango Fett.  As far as I know, Boba was a clone too rather than Jango's son, so he looked exactly like Jango as well - but he was raised as his son and never a stormtrooper.  The actor, Temuera Morrison, played Jango Fett in two of the prequel movies. 

Someone else can probably explain this better, but it's my understanding that we're now in a time period where all of those original clone stormtroopers have been replaced, but someone would still recognize Boba and definitely question it.  IMO, his comment was mostly tongue-in-cheek lip service for the die-hard Star Wars fans.  He'd be recognized because at one point in time, every single stormtrooper had his same face.

[WatchrTina]

On 12/11/2020 at 8:08 AM, Browncoat said:

and shades of Raiders of the Lost Ark

I get what you are saying (what with the fight on top of a moving vehicle) but to me the strongest movie reference was the classic French film "The Wages of Fear".  In it, the central character is hired to drive a load of nitroglycerin through a jungle.

Great episode!  I was confident that Din and Mayfield would get out of that situation but I could NOT anticipate how.  I loved that Mando was willing to break his most sacred vow and show his face for the sake of the child.  After two seasons I understood what it took for him to bare his face, not just to one person but to a whole room full of enemies.  So of course I loved it when, shortly thereafter, all but one of the people who saw his face were no longer "a living thing."  And I trust that Mayfield will choose to "forget" that he ever saw Mando's face.  (Dead men tell no tales.)  But most of all, I CHEERED (out loud, all alone in my socially distant living room) at the end when the projection of Din repeats Mof Gideon's speech back to him.  That was AWESOME.

My only regret:  Din's face has now been scanned and is in the Imperial Database.  For him, that must feel like finding out that someone has taken pictures of you in the shower and posted them on the internet.

ETA:  I've just realized that Mayfield calling Din "Brown Eyes" -- rubbing it in to Din that everyone can now see his face -- was just MEAN (in a petty, boys-will-be-boys kind of way.)  But he did redeem himself a bit later when he avoided looking directly at Din after their escape.

Edited December 13, 2020 by WatchrTina

[WatchrTina]

10 hours ago, callmebetty said:

I really really hope the last episode is almost an hour and that Din and Grogu are reunited. I don't think I could handle a whole year of them apart.

Yeah, well just remember how "The Empire Strikes Back" ended (details deleted in case there are younglings on this board who have not seen it yet.)  This franchise is not afraid of cliff-hanger endings.

[Sakura12]

While they're are no clone troopers anymore. Some of those people there were probably in the clone wars, like the that Hess guy. So Boba's face would be recognized. 

I wonder if he would've overloaded the scanner. It would be like 9 million matches found. Lol 

[bethy]

14 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

he let out a big sigh as he stood there with his fist up ready to fight before they got to the bridge.

That reminded me of Steve Rogers: “I can do this all day.” 
 

[Ottis]

12 hours ago, Emily Thrace said:

Most religions agree breaking technical rules by doing things like eating a bacon sandwich or removing a hijab are perfectly fine in service of saving someone's life. Din was bending a rule in service of protecting a foundling. Basically Din was following the spirit of the way rather than the rule. I'm sure the Armorer would be okay with it.

Except, given his line of work, and likely the line of work of any Mando, there are likely many occasions when talking off the helmet might contribute to saving a life. Which means the show making the helmet thing a core tenet of a fanatical belief was kind of pointless. The actual reason it came off was to show the actor’s face, to make him more relatable and marketable.

[Penman61]

1 hour ago, WatchrTina said:

Yeah, well just remember how "The Empire Strikes Back" ended (details deleted in case there are younglings on this board who have not seen it yet.)  This franchise is not afraid of cliff-hanger endings.

There's a difference between leaving story lines open and HARMING A PRECIOUS HAIR ON BABY YODA'S HOARY LITTLE HEAD!!

(Sorry, I'm still a bit anxious...) 

Anyway, open story lines, fine. Not rescuing Baby Yoda, not fine. YMMV.

[Babalooie]

18 hours ago, paigow said:

Grogu goes to a fancy private school and struggles to fit in....

...and steals the expensive macarons from all the rich kids.

[Llywela]

44 minutes ago, Ottis said:

Except, given his line of work, and likely the line of work of any Mando, there are likely many occasions when talking off the helmet might contribute to saving a life. Which means the show making the helmet thing a core tenet of a fanatical belief was kind of pointless. The actual reason it came off was to show the actor’s face, to make him more relatable and marketable.

No. We have seen clearly over the last two seasons that there are most definitely not many occasions when Din would remove the helmet to save a life. What we have seen, however, are many occasions when removing the helmet would have made Din's life a hell of a lot easier and more comfortable but he still chose not to do it, no matter what - heck, we've seen that he was prepared to die of a treatable injury rather than have another living being see his face. The show has gone out of its way to show us how important it is to him to not let anyone see his face, ever, and it did that so that we would understand the full weight of the moment when he finally did. Far from being pointless, that was in fact the entire point. It's a narrative trope. The pay-off is the point of the set-up, not vice versa. 

Sometimes you just have to meet a story halfway and buy into what it is selling in order to have a good time, instead of getting yourself all tangled up in the gears, which only exist in the first place to get the story where it needs to go.

If the show wanted us to see Din's face purely to make him more relatable and marketable, they wouldn't have kept his face hidden for almost two full seasons. He's a popular actor that the audience has been dying to get a proper look at. They kept his face hidden all that time so that the moment he finally let himself be seen would be given additional weight. It was a powerful character moment.

[LittleIggy]

Officer Hess must have been from the Western part of the Empire. 😆

I want my Baby back, Baby back, Baby back!

Why were the “pirates” blowing up the cargo instead of stealing it? Don’t pirates steal stuff?

Loved motormouth Mayfield. Hope he shows up again.

[Morrigan2575]

3 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

He said they would recognize his face.  Boba Fett's father is Jango Fett, who was used as the original stormtrooper model.  The first armies of stormtroopers were clones - so they all looked exactly like Jango Fett.  As far as I know, Boba was a clone too rather than Jango's son, so he looked exactly like Jango as well - but he was raised as his son and never a stormtrooper.  The actor, Temuera Morrison, played Jango Fett in two of the prequel movies. 

Thanks. I watched the Prequels and The Clone Wars so I'm familiar with Jengo/Boba Fett origins. I just woke up this morning thinking he said they "wouldn't recognize" his face and, I couldn't figure out why he said that...he didn't 😄

Of course now I wonder if it would ultimately have made a difference. All/most of the closes must be dead by now, either through war or age. 

[callmebetty]

Once Brown Eyes gets Grogu back, I would like him to work on his BS fast talking skills.  He's use to his strength getting him out of situations,  but he needs to work on cover stories and deflection banter. 

[Kel Varnsen]

16 hours ago, rwlevin said:

I thought it was hilarious Mayfield mentioned those damn TPS reports to get away from his former boss. All of a sudden, the Empire enters the world of Office Space.

On the behind the scenes series I learned that Dave Filoni got his start as an animator on King of the Hill (like office space also created by Mike Judge). TPS also showed up there so it was a nice shout out.

One weird thing though was how Boba Fett's ship had a weird pivot thing inside for the passengers. I am not sure why they would need that when they have artificial gravity and there is no up in space. Especially with how unreliable space ships are in Star Wars that is something just asking to fall apart.

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Of course now I wonder if it would ultimately have made a difference. All/most of the closes must be dead by now, either through war or age. 

Yeah. It was a fun line that really doesn’t work for the plot. If Mayfield could walk in without a problem Boba should have been able to do the same. At this point the clones should have been out of the Empire for at least 20 years and Boba was on good terms with them in the original trilogy. It shouldn’t have been a problem if he was recognized or scanned.

16 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

One weird thing though was how Boba Fett's ship had a weird pivot thing inside for the passengers. I am not sure why they would need that when they have artificial gravity and there is no up in space. Especially with how unreliable space ships are in Star Wars that is something just asking to fall apart.

Wouldn’t anti-gravity be exactly the reason why the pivot would be useful? To keep the passengers in the same position no matter what the ship does. I imagine the real reason for it is the way the ship moves during takeoff. Otherwise the passengers would have to sit facing up like Boba. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by Guest

[Captain Stable]

18 minutes ago, Dani said:

Yeah. It was a fun line that really doesn’t work for the plot. If Mayfield could walk in without a problem Boba should have been able to do the same. At this point the clones should have been out of the Empire for at least 20 years and Boba was on good terms with them in the original trilogy. It shouldn’t have been a problem if he was recognized or scanned.

 

Mayfield only had a problem because of one person inside who may identify him. For Boba, any older serving Imperial would most likely recognise his face. 
As for being on good terms with the Troopers in the OT - We're only 4 years on from there in this story, so either the Clone Troopers have been out of service for 20 years (Unlikely, IMO, as they only came into being about 31 years ago (AotC is 22BBY, while Mandalorian is 9ABY)).
 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Captain Stable said:

Mayfield only had a problem because of one person inside who may identify him. For Boba, any older serving Imperial would most likely recognise his face. 
As for being on good terms with the Troopers in the OT - We're only 4 years on from there in this story, so either the Clone Troopers have been out of service for 20 years (Unlikely, IMO, as they only came into being about 31 years ago (AotC is 22BBY, while Mandalorian is 9ABY)).
 

I’m basing the 20 years thing on Rebels which showed some clones 13 years before The Mandalorian. They had been forced out of the Empire for a while at that point.

I actually was referring to Boba himself being on good terms with the Empire in RotJ. 

[paigow]

Just now, Dani said:

I actually was referring to Boba himself being on good terms with the Empire in RotJ. 

He would have the same issue as Tom Hanks in Castaway - He has been declared dead, suddenly showing up at a secret base would raise red flags...

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, paigow said:

He would have the same issue as Tom Hanks in Castaway - He has been declared dead, suddenly showing up at a secret base would raise red flags...

Somehow I doubt that the record keeping is that good. 

[paigow]

24 minutes ago, Dani said:

Somehow I doubt that the record keeping is that good. 

Gus knows everything about Cara and Greef - relative nobodies compared to Boba

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, paigow said:

Gus knows everything about Cara and Greef - relative nobodies compared to Boba

Ok. I’m just saying that with the setup given it seems unlikely to me that Boba would have raised a red flag. As with everything Star Wars the Empire has to be more than a little bit incompetent for the plot to work. They’re on the ball enough to identify all the others but not enough to change their access codes in the years since Mayfield left or require that facial recognition actually recognizes someone’s face. It doesn’t bother me but setup did feel contrived. 

[magdalene]

4 hours ago, Penman61 said:

There's a difference between leaving story lines open and HARMING A PRECIOUS HAIR ON BABY YODA'S HOARY LITTLE HEAD!!

(Sorry, I'm still a bit anxious...) 

Anyway, open story lines, fine. Not rescuing Baby Yoda, not fine. YMMV.

Yes, the two things I really don't want is Din and Grogu remaining separated while I get to envision Grogu being experimented on and tortured for an entire year, or Grogu being rescued but Din is killed off.   A big no to those two options.

You can still have open story and even a gigantic cliffhanger - they ended the first season with open story threads and a cliffhanger after all.

They can bring in some new super villain or that mysterious Jedi in the last minute of the season.  I am not fussy.  As long as the baby is unharmed and reunited with his Mando daddy.

[Capricasix]

6 hours ago, bethy said:

That reminded me of Steve Rogers: “I can do this all day.” 
 

Yes! I had the same thought 😄

[Joimiaroxeu]

Mando and Boba got their Beskar armors cleaned up, looking all nice and shiny.

"Never thought you'd be happy to see stormtroopers." Yeah, that's a hard never.

Pedro! (Over on reddit someone posted that Pedro has to show his face at least once a season to be physically recognized and eligible for Emmy nomination as the character.)

Was anyone waiting for Hess to say, "I love the smell of Rhydonium in the morning."? No? Just me?

Uh oh, hologram Mando just threw down with Moff Gideon. Ding! Don't worry Grogu, Daddy Mando's coming and he's about to kick Imperial a$$ and take Imperial names.

[Morrigan2575]

4 hours ago, Captain Stable said:

(Unlikely, IMO, as they only came into being about 31 years ago (AotC is 22BBY, while Mandalorian is 9ABY)).

Yeah but clones age fast. Rex was pretty old (although in good shape) in Rebels.

4 hours ago, Dani said:

I’m basing the 20 years thing on Rebels which showed some clones 13 years before The Mandalorian. They had been forced out of the Empire for a while at that point.

Those clones were out because they removed their chips...well Ahsoka removed Rex's chip. I don't think that has anything to do with the Clones that enacted Order 66. I doubt the Empire gave them retirement packages.😂  However, I do think most/all of the original clones from the Clone Wars are dead at this point. I don't know if it's official but, I know Feloni said that Rex was the old man/Rebel with the white beard in the battle on Endor.  So, I guess Rex could still be around.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Those clones were out because they removed their chips...well Ahsoka removed Rex's chip. I don't think that has anything to do with the Clones that enacted Order 66. I doubt the Empire gave them retirement packages.😂  However, I do think most/all of the original clones from the Clone Wars are dead at this point. I don't know if it's official but, I know Feloni said that Rex was the old man/Rebel with the white beard in the battle on Endor.  So, I guess Rex could still be around.

Not according to Rebels. Rex says that the clones were retired by the Emperor and talks about working for the Empire after the clone wars. All three who appeared in Rebels were part of the Imperial Army. 

[Morrigan2575]

27 minutes ago, Dani said:

Not according to Rebels. Rex says that the clones were retired by the Emperor and talks about working for the Empire after the clone wars. All three who appeared in Rebels were part of the Imperial Army. 

Taking it to Star Wars Universe Thread (in Mandalorian Forum.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Morrigan2575

[Samwise979]

I'm confused about the stormtroopers. They're not clones of Jango Fett anymore?  I was totally expecting Mando or Mayfield to be like, uh, Boba why do these guys look like you? And then I was even more confused when Mayfield kept his helmet off at the base because I was expecting all the troopers to be like, hey it's an imposter!

[paigow]

7 minutes ago, Samwise979 said:

I'm confused about the stormtroopers. They're not clones of Jango Fett anymore?  I was totally expecting Mando or Mayfield to be like, uh, Boba why do these guys look like you? And then I was even more confused when Mayfield kept his helmet off at the base because I was expecting all the troopers to be like, hey it's an imposter!

The cloning project ended when Mace killed Jango. The troopers from Original Trilogy onwards are not clones.

[Samwise979]

44 minutes ago, paigow said:

The cloning project ended when Mace killed Jango. The troopers from Original Trilogy onwards are not clones.

Oooooohhhhhh thanks for the clarification.  I thought they were all Jango clones until the newer trilogy.

[j5cochran]

On 12/11/2020 at 11:32 PM, Emily Thrace said:

Most religions agree breaking technical rules by doing things like eating a bacon sandwich or removing a hijab are perfectly fine in service of saving someone's life. Din was bending a rule in service of protecting a foundling. Basically Din was following the spirit of the way rather than the rule. I'm sure the Armorer would be okay with it.

He was not just protecting a foundling, apparently a very important part of the Mandalorian culture. He is also protecting the only other member of his clan, the Mudhorn Clan. This is the Way.

 

I have spoken.

 

 

[MissLucas]

On 12/12/2020 at 10:35 AM, AnimeMania said:

Most of Mayfield's problems would have been avoided if he just would have kept his helmet on until he reached the Imperial data terminal, but nobody wants to watch someone acting for long periods of time in a helmet (except all of us), especially not the Film Director. Mayfield's old commander might not have even realized he was the one driving the truck if Mayfield had left his helmet on, it would be like trying to spot the card in a game of Three-Card Monte.

Well spotted. At least they made sure we were given a somewhat plausible explanation for the helmet removal, although you'd think as an ex-Imperial Mayfield would be used to the damned thing.

Just like @bethy I'm still wondering how much meeting Bo Katan and her team and her revelation that he was part of a fundamentalist group has shaken Din. Even if he hasn't talked about it (which would be OOC for his character/trope) it must be gnawing at him. At the very least it must have been a facilitating factor in his decision to remove the helmet and playing fast and lose with the rules of the way. (Old Mando might have just forced Mayfield to go along and risk detection.)

[WatchrTina]

21 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Why were the “pirates” blowing up the cargo instead of stealing it? Don’t pirates steal stuff?

<blink blink>  Huh.  I hadn't thought of that.  And that really IS the right question.

While watching the episode for the first time I had assumed that the pirates were locals who just wanted to make the mining of that substance unprofitable so that the occupying force would leave their planet.  But now I think that my first impression was wrong.  We were shown pretty clearly that the pirates were NOT locals.  So yeah . . . why WERE they blowing up the valuable cargo?

Okay I'm gonna fan-wank that using the cargo to blow up the transports was simply the most efficient way to disable the transports (they come equipped with their own self-destruction method!) and that the cargo is so valuable (and so explosive) that the containers are relatively explosion-proof -- so that one canister exploding would not necessarily blow up ALL the canisters on the same transport (even though the transport itself would be thoroughly disabled by such an explosion).  Thus, the pirates could salvage what remained from the wrecks left behind.

But don't ask me why the Empire does not have tie-fighters escorting the transports (from a safe distance) given that these raids by pirates seem to be a regular occurrence.  I've got no fan-wank for that.

 

Edited December 13, 2020 by WatchrTina

[skipnjump]

On 12/12/2020 at 11:04 AM, WatchrTina said:

I get what you are saying (what with the fight on top of a moving vehicle) but to me the strongest movie reference was the classic French film "The Wages of Fear".  In it, the central character is hired to drive a load of nitroglycerin through a jungle.

.

I was thinking of "The Wages of Fear" as well when they were driving the transport.  I just couldn't remember the name and I even saw the movie. 

[WatchrTina]

6 minutes ago, skipnjump said:

I just couldn't remember the name and I even saw the movie. 

Oh I struggled too!  That film was considered a classic back when I saw it three or four decades ago.  Coming up with that movie reference from the depths of my brain was akin to solving the last clue in a crossword puzzle.  That being said, I'm almost certain this episode was a direct homage.  This whole series has been a bonanza of classic movie tropes and subtle references.  And why not?  It worked before.  The original "Star Wars" movie is said to be an "homage" to the classic Japanese film "The Hidden Fortress."

[LittleIggy]

54 minutes ago, skipnjump said:

I was thinking of "The Wages of Fear" as well when they were driving the transport.  I just couldn't remember the name and I even saw the movie. 

There was a great 1977 remake titled “Sorcerer.” It was directed by William Friedkin and starred Roy Scheider. The Tangerine Dream soundtrack was awesome.

[Capricasix]

I thought at first the mine planet was called Morag (like the MCU planet), but it’s actually called Morak.