The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6 recap – “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”

This recap of The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6, “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”, contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.

In a much shorter episode than usual in this excellent second season, “Chapter 14: The Tragedy” leans into its video game storytelling structure more than ever in a lean half-hour built around a standoff that also manages to really get the overarching plot moving. With several major developments, a lot of fun stuff for long-time Star Wars fans and a good deal of connective tissue with the first season, this isn’t the biggest, showiest episode, but it’s an extremely competent middle chapter designed to shift things around for the back half of the season.

So, as advised by Ahsoka last week, Mando and Grogu — still doesn’t feel right — arrive at the ruined Jedi Temple on Tython. Two things are obvious in the cute little opener aboard the Razor Crest: Mando is developing a much more obvious fatherly instinct, showing clear emotion in the development of Grogu’s Force powers; and Grogu’s powers are indeed developing, as is, on some level, his understanding of who he is and why he’s important, although the exact reason for that remains one of the season’s overarching mysteries.

The game logic kicks in when Grogu finally figures out how to interact with the Temple’s seeing stone. It locks him in a swirly blue forcefield, meaning Mando can’t interrupt whatever process is underway here, which is bad news when a very familiar ship breaches the atmosphere. That ship is Slave I, the famous vessel of Boba Fett, who many of us had forgotten about in all the fuss surrounding Ahsoka. Nevertheless, here he is, and “Chapter 14: The Tragedy” is his big official reveal after his cameo at the end of the premiere.

Boba wants his armor back, understandably, but Mando thinks it’d be a violation of the Creed, so there’s a bit of a standoff during which Boba reveals he has a sharpshooter on the ridge taking aim at Grogu. The sharpshooter is also familiar: Fennec Shand from the first season. This testy exchange is interrupted by the arrival of an Imperial shuttle which holds an implausibly generous helping of Stormtroopers, like a clown car. Mando attempts to grab Grogu but is flung away by the forcefield, leaving Boba and Shennec to fight off the Imperials. Turns out Temuera Morrison has still very much got it, and this is a great showcase for Boba’s deadliness, especially once he’s able to retrieve his armor during all the commotion.

Protecting a vulnerable character against waves of enemies is, as I say, very game-y. But there’s also a fair amount of overarching plot development here, making “Chapter 14: The Tragedy” feel like a much more serialized episode of television than usual. After Boba chases off the Stormtroopers, the Razor Crest is destroyed from orbit by Moff Gideon’s Imperial Cruiser. Paying off the brief glimpse of Gideon’s pet project we saw earlier in the season, he deploys his Dark Troopers, experimental combat droids that debuted in the Legends continuity in the very popular game Star Wars: Dark Forces and in the official canon in the mobile strategy title Star Wars: Commander. They manage to grab a sleepy Grogu — using the Force tires him out — before Mando can get back to the Temple, and spirit him away to Moff Gideon.

Luckily, after proving his lineage and officially claiming his armor, Boba is in debt to Mando, since he promised to help protect Grogu in exchange. Since Fennec is indebted to Boba, that gives Mando two very useful new allies. He returns to another one, Cara Dune, now the New Republic’s official Marshall on Navarro, in order to get her to look up Migs Mayfeld, the mercenary sharpshooter from last season. Mando needs him to locate Gideon’s cruiser, which means we’re very probably getting some Bill Burr action next week. And Bill Burr action is always good.

Speaking of Gideon’s cruiser, we end “Chapter 14: The Tragedy” there, with Grogu choking out Stormtroopers, much to Gideon’s amusement. While he begins to Force choke a couple, he eventually non-lethally slams them together — a subtle continuation of Ahsoka’s fears from last week about how his emotions and powers together make him susceptible to the Dark Side. Gideon seems to recognize this. Kneeling in front of him, he shows him the Darksaber, before ordering him to be stunned and shackled and returned to Dr. Pershing.

Thanks for reading our recap of The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6, “Chapter 14”.