“The night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” - Romans 13:12
Premiered on November 12th as the first-ever Star Wars television series, The Mandalorian brings forth new stories and characters to the ever-expanding world of Star Wars.
The show follows the travails of a Mandalorian, a character who struggles to find his belonging and identity to his warrior culture of Mandalore, a planet purged by the once-prosperous Galactic Empire. With the Empire destroyed at the Battle of Endor, the New Republic tries to find its footing as the galaxy is left in a period of disarray.
In this post, I’ll briefly review and analyze the first three chapters of The Mandalorian. I’ll cover some key points, with a few Biblical themes you may not have noticed.
** Spoilers ahead! **
Chapter 1 introduces us to the Mandalorian’s character. As we’ve seen in the flashbacks to his childhood, the Separatist forces from the Clone Wars separated him from his parents. It’s likely he hardened his exterior because of this sort of trauma he experienced as a child.
Now a bounty hunter, perhaps he’s looking for a sense of purpose, to simply get by or to fulfill his warrior culture.
Although his comments seem to imply that his character is morally gray, taking his bounties “warm or cold,” he does also seem to shy away from the Empire and anything that resembles it. This is likely because of what the Empire did to his parents and his people.
This aspect from his past reminds me of the Roman Empire and how they treated the occupied Jewish people and how they also treated Christ and his early followers.
I think this episode highlights the “Mando’s” character very well. It explores themes of identity and the desire to hide under both a literal and figurative helmet. The world portrayed by this chapter shows that not everything is as black and white as we’ve seen before; some struggle with their moral compass more than others.
With a lighter tone than the previous chapter, Chapter 2 explores more of Mando’s struggles for maintaining his rather “complicated” bounty hunting profession. This episode got some giggles out of me and I think it caters well to the essence of Star Wars that has always been humorous and full of situational irony.
Looking back, one thing that stood out to me, in particular, was the mudhorn beast (the creature Mando goes up against). In Scripture, God points Job to one of the two mightiest creatures: the Behemoth, which is often interpreted as a rhinoceros-like beast. God uses this creature to put into perspective how the pride and glory of man truly paled in comparison to the masterful, untamable strength of the Behemoth. I see some parallels between Job and Mando and how both of them suffer time and time again.
I also see some parallels between baby Jesus and the young, force-sensitive “baby Yoda.” Without the divine, all-powerful help from baby Yoda, Mando would have surely perished. Like Jesus, baby Yoda is a powerful child being hunted down, perhaps coming to help save Mando, his people, and/or the New Republic (soon to be the Resistance). Makes me think of King Harod trying to track down Jesus. It’s possible baby Yoda plays a more important role that we are not yet aware of.
Mando probably sees himself in the child in that he really does have a moral compass buried underneath. As a whole, the mudhorn battle was a test of sorts for Mando, showing him the true nature of the Force and its power to intervene. The polarization between a hardened warrior and a child pure of heart demonstrates a contrast that is almost Biblical.
So far, Chapter 3 has been my favorite. A third of the way in, we see the Mandalorian experience a turning point. He looks past his job as a bounty hunter, feeling a true connection towards the value of an innocent life. Even when he receives praise and a shiny reward for accomplishing his task, he risks his life to retrieve baby Yoda and keep him safe.
When Mando comes back to his tribe to upgrade his armor, the Mandalorians surround him. Paz Vizsla, the burly Mandalorian, confronts Mando for working with the Imperial remnants. They break into a fight, only to be reminded by the armorer of their unity. In unison, they declare,
“This is the Way.”
In the early years of Christianity, Christians were called followers of “The Way.”
“The Lord will give you bread in adversity and water in affliction. No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you: This is the way; walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or the left.” - Isaiah 30:20-21
Baby Yoda has yet to speak, but perhaps he has already been a “Teacher” in that he has taught Mando something about himself. Baby Yoda gives him bread in adversity and water in affliction.
Overall, I can’t stress enough just how much I enjoyed these first three chapters. It’s good to finally have Star Wars mythologies that are fresh and new, and I look forward to whatever Favreau has yet to reveal in this visionary series.