by Tanner Kocher
Chapter 4: Sanctuary
If ever there was a doubt, this episode perfectly encapsulates the western dynamic of life outside the Core of the Star Wars galaxy. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, and I have very few bad things to say about it (the keywords here are ‘very few’).
[Spoiler Warning Ahead]
First, I want to talk about the Bechdel test. For those of you who don’t know, this test is used as a benchmark for female representation in media. The test is very short: the piece of media must have two female characters, those characters must share a conversation, and that conversation must be about something other than a man. There’s a bonus rule, about the two women being named, but that isn’t always included. As an example, 28 Days Later (2002) passes the Bechdel test, whereas Up (2009) does not.
This is the first episode of the series that even introduces a female character, unless you count Mando’s mother, who gets a total 15 seconds of screen time, and no speaking lines. In this episode, we are introduced to Omera, a widow and mother on a ‘farm in the middle of nowhere’. She has a daughter named Winta, and they speak together a few times throughout the episode. The other woman we are introduced to is Cara Dune, a rebel turned mercenary, hiding out in self-imposed retirement. Now, I liked both of these characters, so I’m being very generous when I say they had a conversation. During the group discussion about the coming battle with the Raiders, they share words, but the conversation is dominated by the townspeople shouting, and Mando setting up the montage, where Cara gets as much screen time as Mando. Reluctantly, I’m going to give this episode a passing grade on the Bechdel test, but we’ll talk more about that later.
Now, enough about inclusion, onto that battle. Tactically, I think it was very sound; the two mercenaries go in, take out a few of the guys, and bait the AT-ST into the open. There’s a great callback to the Empire Strikes Back in this scene, too: just like the AT-ATs on Hoth, these walkers need to be knocked down before they can be blown up. It doesn’t make much sense, but it fits the logic of the universe, and that’s what I really care about.
The last thing I wanted to talk about is the general western tone of the episode. While it generates a feeling of lawlessness, letting us view this world of science fantasy through the dusty lens of familiarity, it causes me to lose my suspension of disbelief. It can add to the ambiance, showing the decrepit spaceports as boomtowns, whereas, in Solo, similar areas are presented as seedier parts of New York City, keeping with the gangster/heist movie motif. Though, Mando also says “this planet isn’t big enough for the two of us,” a classic callback to spaghetti westerns, even though that makes no sense. Because it’s a planet. In space.
This one gets a 9 out of 10 from me. Honestly, this is the type of thing they should have focused on from the beginning. Introducing the collapsing remnants of the Empire as the main antagonists in the first episode may have been the wrong way to go. The conflict between different bounty hunters and other groups reaching for control in the power vacuum is far more interesting, at least at this point in time.