Main cast: Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Carl Weathers (Greef Karga), Gina Carano (Cara Dune), Nick Nolte (Kuiil), Taika Waititi (IG-11), Werner Herzog (The Client), and Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon)
Director: Deborah Chow
Oh, Greef Karga is alive! Thought he was died by the end of The Sin, but guess not, and hence, no, that’s not a spoiler for that episode, so hush.
So yes, he is back, and this time, he has a final proposition for Mandy. You see, the fellow who wanted Baby Yoda is not too pleased that Mandy has absconded with it, so he is making life hell for Greef and his people. Greef wants Mandy to come back to Nevarro and use Baby as a bait to lure out the Client. Once the Client shows up, Mandy kills him, and Greef will consider them equal and Mandy will have his slate cleared, allowing him to live in peace with Baby, whom Greef says Mandy can keep once this is done. The fact that he calls Mandy “honorable” even after Mandy backstabbed them all over Mandy should be a red flag, but still, there will be no episode if Mandy had given him the finger.
Also, the show has paid Nick Nolte and Gina Carano ample money, so their characters are back as Mandy’s back-up muscle as Mandy takes on the Client. Boo-yah!
Oh, and I am given a back story of Kuill’s droid, before he tags along with the gang too. So, I know it is going to play a big part in the next episode. That’s subtle script-writing for you.
The Reckoning is a case of an episode that appears too late in the season. At last, we have some character development for Cara and Kuill, and it’s nicely done via a nice balance of show as well as tell. Mandy and the two get along really well – they all have good chemistry – and, hence, I will adore this episode had it shown up earlier in the season. Even Greef has his moments, while Baby gets to deus-ex-machina up stuff with its powers. As it is, my reaction is basically, “Finally! What took you all so long?” With only one episode left in the series, it feels like the party is going to end just after it is starting to heat up.
The episode itself is nothing out of the ordinary. The twists can be seen coming from a mile away, and honestly, these twists are more like patterns after so many episodes with such “twists”. The villain is more like Moff Exposition, and the Stormtroopers hit their targets only when the plot needed them to. I’ve seen this story many times before, and sadly, I’ve seen it done more interestingly too. Still, this episode ends on a cliffhanger – a predictable one, but hey, better than nothing, I guess – so maybe the season will end on a high note. Let’s watch and see.
