Breaking Rules and Lots of Explosions

Migs Mayfield (Bill Burr) returns to The Mandalorian in a more comical episode. Chapter Fifteen, “The Believer”, has Mando (Pedro Pascal) and his newly formed rescue brigade infiltrating an Imperial refinery on the planet Morak. Mando and Mayfield work together to access a computer terminal. The goal being to track the location of Moff Gideon’s light cruiser. The pair work surprisingly well together, as does Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), and New Republic Marshall Cara Dune (Gina Carano). It’s all hands on deck to rescue Grogu from the Empire.

“The Believer” begins in a New Republic prison scrap yard. A guard droid orders “inmate 34667” to stop working. Migs Mayfield is stunned to be remanded into the custody of Marshall Dune. She leads him to Slave I. He sees Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, “For a second I thought you were this other guy.” Mando walks down the landing platform. Mayfield stops smiling. Cara Dune bent a lot of rules to get him. They need his “Imperial codes and protocols.”

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The Slave 1 takes off. Mando demands coordinates for Moff Gideon’s cruiser. Mayfield laughs, “Take me back to the scrap yard.” Cara Dune tells him they have “his kid.” Mayfield won’t be freed for his help, but he will get a “better view.” Mayfield replies there’s a secret Imperial mining operation on Morak. He can access a computer terminal there.

Boba Fett pulls up a holo of the refinery. The Imperials are mining the highly volatile starship fuel, Rhydonium. Mayfield cracks a joke, but no one laughs. The Slave lands on the forest planet of Morak. The crew watches a Juggernaut transport from a hill. Boba Fett will be in the air above. He’ll pick them up from the roof. Mayfield has to drive the transport. The Imperials use genetic registers. Mando volunteers to go with him, “But I won’t be showing my face.”

Mando, Mayfield, and Cara Dune jump on top of Juggernaut 5 as it enters a tunnel. Cara knocks out the two stormtrooper drivers. Mayfield and Mando put on the armor. Mayfield laughs at Mando’s new helmet, “Oh the shame, that right there is worth the price of admission.” Mando gives his Beskar armor to Cara Dune. He orders her to take out the rooftop gunners with Fennec Shand.

In the Juggernaut transport, Mayfield tries to make small talk. He takes off his helmet. Mando ignores him. Fennec radios to Boba, “Phase one is complete.” They pass the wreckage of other transports. A panel monitors the stability of the Rhydonium. They see forlorn villagers on the side of the road. Mayfield comments that the Empire and New Republic is all the same to these people. Mando is not amused, “You and I are nothing alike.” Mayfield counters that Mando’s rules change when he needs them to. He’s now wearing a stormtrooper helmet.

The radio blares of an attack ahead. They see an explosion as Juggernaut 4 is destroyed. They are ordered to “proceed with caution” as Juggernaut 3 is also blown up. Pirates on a skiff pull up behind their transport. Mando shoots at them. Mayfield sceams, “Are you seriously shooting a blaster near Rhydonium!” The pirates have thermal detonators.

Mando wipes out the first skiff, but three more are behind them. Mando’s blaster fails. He fights them on top of the moving transport. Mando yells for Mayfield to drive faster. The Rhydonium gauge turns red. Mayfield has to slow down. Mando doesn’t have his Beskar. His stormtrooper shoulder guard is shattered by a pirate. Mando tosses him off. He throws a thermal grenade and destroys two skiffs.

The Juggernaut races to the refinery bridge. Four pirate skiffs are now in pursuit. Two TIE fighters swoop down and blow them up. Cara Dune and Fennec Shand are still watching from above. Stormtroopers finish off the pirates. The Juggernaut enters the refinery to cheers and salutes from the Imperials.

Mando and Mayfield exit the vehicle. They’re hailed as heroes. Mayfield spots a terminal in the officers mess hall. But there’s a problem, the commander is Valin Hess (Richard Brake), Mayfield used to serve under him as a “field officer.” He won’t take the chance. Mando grabs the data stick. Mayfield warns him, “In order to access the network…the terminal has to access your face.”

Mando proceeds anyway. He salutes, and walks past the officers to the terminal. He inserts the rod, then surprisingly takes off his helmet. Din Djarin is revealed. He allows his face to be scanned. The computer recognizes him. He downloads the location of Moff Gideon’s cruiser. Valin Hess approaches him, “Trooper, what’s your designation?”

“What’s your TK number?” Valin Hess demands. Mayfield rescues Mando. He gives his TK number, then claims his “superior is deaf” after losing pressure in space. “We call him Brown Eyes. C’mon let’s go fill out those TPS reports,” Mayfield and Mando try to exit. Hess stops them. He wants to drink with the only transport drivers that made it today.

Mando, Mayfield, and Valin Hess sit at a table. Meanwhile, on the adjacent hill, Fennec Shand and Cara Dune divide up targets on the roof. As Hess pours their drinks, Mayfield wants to toast to Operation Cinder. He raises a glass to the ten thousand men and civilians that died. He was there, “I lived it.” Hess gloats about his hard decisions that day. Mayfield winces, but Hess laughs that people need order, “We grow stronger. They will turn to us once again.”

Mayfield shoots Valin Hess in the chest. The other officers are caught off guard. He guns them down, then hands a helmet back to Mando. “You did what you had to do. I never saw your face,” Mayfield promises. The men shoot at the stormtroopers pouring into the mess hall. They kick out the panel windows and walk onto a ledge above the refinery waterfall. Fennec and Cara snipe the soldiers behind them.

They climb to the roof. Boba Fett flies toward the refinery in the Slave. Fennec takes out the rooftop anti-air guns. Cara dispatches the shooters. The Slave swoops down. Mayfield and Mando leap on the landing platform. Mayfield grabs a rifle. He takes a crack shot and shoots the Rhydonium on a transport. The refinery begins to explode.

Two TIE fighters chase the Slave into the air. Boba Fett releases a sonic charge. It blows up the fighters with a distinctive sound. On the ground, everyone regroups. Mando is back in his Beskar armor. He thanks Mayfield for helping. “Well, back to the scrap heap,” Mayfield sighs. Cara Dune comments, “That was some nice shooting.” She turns to Mando, “You know…it’s too bad Mayfield didn’t make it out alive. Looks to me like prisoner 34667 died in the refinery explosion.” The Slave I takes off as a grateful Mayfield watches from the Morak woods.

In space, Moff Gideon’s lieutenant brings him a message. The holo activates. Mando’s image looms menacingly, “Moff Gideon, you have something I want. You may think you have an idea of what you’re in possession of, but you do not. Soon…he will be back with me. He means more to me than you will ever know.” Moff Gideon glowers at the threat.

“The Believer” did not have the thrills of previous episodes, but was interesting. We finally see Din Djarin for an extended period of time without his helmet. It was also revealed that at one time he must have served the Empire, otherwise the terminal would not have recognized his face. Bill Burr’s lighthearted tone was somewhat refreshing. I loved the quip about TPS reports from Office Space. We’ll see where Mayfield pops up again. Mando’s direct threat to Moff Gideon was a tactic. He let his enemy know that nothing will stop him from getting Grogu back. The Mandalorian returns next Friday on Disney+.

Topics: The Mandalorian, Disney Plus, Streaming, Star Wars

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