The Mandalorian Chapter Eleven and Twelve Review

*Spoilers for The Mandalorian Chapter 11 and 12 ahead!*

So I wanted to write a review for Chapter Eleven of The Mandalorian as soon as it came out because it was THAT good! Unfortunately, real-life things get in the way and I didn't have any time to write a new blog post until now. I also didn't want to get any further behind so I'm just combining my review for the past two episodes. I promise I will not create spoiler thumbnails for posts in the future I was just trying out a new format and since I'm behind by a few days I figured most people have already seen the episodes. No unavoidable spoilers in any future posts though so don't worry! I guess I'll finally get to expressing my excitement with these episodes!

Chapter Eleven was undoubtedly my favorite episode of the entire series so far. Chapter Nine started off with a bang and was one of my favorites, but I have to say this one was just so exciting for me that it took that number one spot. I have been a big fan of The Clone Wars since it came out in 2008 when I was just a new and young Star Wars fan. The ending of season seven that came out this year was arguably some of the best content to come out of the entire show, so I admit I have a special admiration for Bo-Katan that may make me biased. But as soon as she came on the screen and introduced herself, I was sold on the episode completely. I don't think there could have been a better entrance into live-action for THE Bo-Katan Kryze, last of her line.

Bo-Katan was a really complex character in The Clone Wars because she was part of a questionable group that made her a wild card in some episodes, but she ultimately had such a great character arc throughout the series which ended so masterfully. In fact, one of the quotes from The Clone Wars that always sticks out to me is when Obi-Wan Kenobi tells her that informing the Republic of the situation with Maul would likely lead to a Republic invasion of Mandalore. Bo-Katan responds, "Yes, and Maul will die but Mandalore will survive. We always survive." I think that quote just sums up the strength of her character and her connection to Mandalore so well and it's just a pretty powerful quote overall. She also essentially exudes the type of confidence that makes you not want to pick a fight with her so those scenes on the Imperial freighter were perfect in capturing that. The freighter scenes as a whole were incredible action scenes and I loved every minute of it. Basically, I'm a big fan of Bo-Katan so seeing such an incredible "animation to live-action" transition for the character was really exciting for me. I really hope we get to see Katee Sackhoff playing her beloved character in live-action again in the future.

Now onto another one of the moments that shocked me and left me excited in Chapter Eleven... that mention of Ahsoka Tano! So I've explained how much of a fan I am of The Clone Wars and Bo-Katan so you can only imagine how much I love Ahsoka. She was one of the characters that really drew me into this entire franchise when I was a kid. Both Princess Leia and Padme were two of my favorites from the movies because they were two beautiful, yet strong women that held their own among a lot of men. So when I got into The Clone Wars, seeing a young girl like Ahsoka wielding a lightsaber and using the force was enough to make my young heart adore her for life. I can confirm, 12 years later, that is exactly what happened. I love Ahsoka's character now as much as I did then. My jaw dropped and I got so excited when Bo-Katan mentioned Ahsoka and her location in this episode because that basically confirms that we will be seeing a live-action Ahsoka. However, I am a little apprehensive about seeing this character in live-action probably because I do adore her so much. To me, Ashley Eckstein embodies the character and it is going to be weird hearing a different voice playing Ahsoka. So much of who Ahsoka is has been the way Ashley Eckstein delivers her lines. Ahsoka has a heart of gold and strives for good in everything she does. I think Eckstein has been able to drive that home and make it convincing with her voice acting. I'm a little nervous that Ahsoka may not translate to live-action quite as well as Bo-Katan. I am going to remain hopeful that since Dave Filoni is involved with The Mandalorian, Ahsoka will still be the lovable character we all know, though I do think there is potential for the character to fall a little short in live-action.

I could actually go on about this episode forever because I enjoyed it so much. I really liked Koska Reeves as well, I think she has a lot of potential as a character and I hope to see her more in the future. She was very mysterious and intriguing so I feel like there is an interesting story to tell there. Sasha Banks had the perfect demeanor when playing Koska Reeves and I'd love to see her be able to expand upon that character! I will stop with this episode for now but can't guarantee I won't bring it up again in every remaining blog post for the rest of the season!

Finally, I am onto Chapter Twelve! Chapter Twelve definitely wasn't my favorite of the season because the storyline just wasn't as intriguing or entertaining as some of the previous episodes. It was still an enjoyable watch and I liked the fact that it started to explain some of the biggest questions from season one. First of all, can we talk about how adorable The Child was in this episode? Every single scene with The Child was ADORABLE, especially him sitting in a desk like a little school kid! Plus there are at least three new gifs of The Child from this episode that I will be using regularly. Okay, I promise I'm done with my daily dose of gushing over The Child's cuteness, I will get into the actual review.

I was shocked that they revealed a bit of the reason why they needed The Child in this episode because that has been an unanswered question for the entirety of the series. They are clearly trying to engineer some perfect killing machines in those tubes and that was a pretty big reveal that will likely be prevalent in most of the upcoming episodes. I've seen rumors that these tubes contain the failed Palpatine clones, Snoke himself, or Dark Troopers. It seems like most people are leaning towards the experiment being the creation of Dark Troopers. I don't know much about the Dark Troopers so I am curious to learn more about them since so many people seem thrilled by the possibility. Additionally, although some people have argued this was a pointless filler episode, I have to disagree. Sure we didn't get to see Ahsoka right away and it felt like a random mission at first, but there were actually some major plot points revealed in this episode. I also think it's so awesome that Carl Weathers was the director of the episode and I am so looking forward to the continuation of the season!

So what are your thoughts on these two episodes? Were you satisfied with Bo-Katan's live-action reveal or were you hoping for more? Are you excited to see a live-action Ahsoka or are you a little hesitant? Do you know much about the Dark Troopers, and if so, would you like to see them in The Mandalorian?

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