MANDO SPOILERS

Ran out of tweets so continuing my Mando Meta thread here! Rlly did not expect this thread to be so long but @RickFamuyiwa gave us so much delicious meta food this week & I’m having the best time savouring it all.

Ok, let’s continue! 24/ https://twitter.com/laura_k_a/status/1337920968904290310

But what we’re also seeing is Mayfeld being forced to reckon with his past when he recognises Valin Hess, who, as we quickly learn, symbolises the Imperial sins of Mayfeld’s past. You can see how panicked & scared Mayfeld is to face that & his fear forces Din to take action. 25/

And propels Din towards the decision that everything that has happened this ep, and this series, has been leading towards — Daddy Din redefining his identity/soul via his relationship with Grogu. 26/

He tries his luck but to no avail & so, with no options left, and having claimed Grogu as the most important thing to him, the thing he’s willing to compromise his lifelong identity as a Tribe Mandalorian for, the thing he believes in above all else, he removes his helmet. 27/

I need to take a moment to talk about @PedroPascal1’s performance here because it’s so beautiful, subtle & nuanced. Notice how his mouth winces as the helmet comes off — this is a painful, potently loaded moment for Din — but he also has a job to do & has to keep it together. 28/

Adding to the stress of this moment is the fact that DIN’S FACE IS NOW IN THE IMPERIAL SYSTEM!!!

So, despite the fact that everyone in the room who sees his face ends up dead, he’s still busted in the long run & adds to the complexity of Din showing his face in the future 29/

I spoke in last week’s thread about how the destruction of the Razor Crest, immediately followed by the loss of Grogu, represented the loss of Din’s sense of home, the external symbol of Din’s missing feminine and his identity.

Din is now redefining these things for himself. 30/ https://twitter.com/laura_k_a/status/1335107087643381760

When his ship, his armour & his helmet are stripped away from him, what is left? It’s Grogu. He fully accepts how much Grogu means to him & internally adopts him as his son. This is the biggest, most important step Din has taken in redefining his identity as ‘Grogu’s father’. 31/

Now, enter the dragon: Valin Hess. He’s the dragon who guards the treasure — standing in the way of Din getting to Grogu. He’s also therefore a stand-in for/prelude to Moff.

He also guards the sins of Mayfeld’s past & is the obstacle that blocks his path towards redemption. 32/

Again, @PedroPascal1 does great work here. His performance works on 2 levels — sweet & funny himbo energy (he rlly said “HELMET OFF, HEAD EMPTY”) but also portraying how utterly naked & lost Din is without his helmet. He can barely function let alone lie under extreme stress. 33/

He goes from cool, calm, collected badass in complete control to fumbling, frazzled puppy about to pee all over the floor.

Or as this tumblr user put it... 34/

He quite literally does not know what to do with his face or what to say with his mouth, so he does & says as little as possible.

Remember, this is the first time anyone has seen his face since he was a KID & it’s in the MOST STRESSFUL CIRCUMSTANCES. He is having a MELTDOWN. 35/

Finally he’s rescued by Mayfeld who, moved perhaps by seeing that Din was willing to remove his helmet for his cause, but also by Himbo Din about to *hnnnggg *error code: no output* them both into an early grave, faces his fears & steps in to do what he’s good at: bullshit. 36/

Moment of appreciation for @PedroPascal1, Daddy Din ‘Brown Eyes’ Djarin, doing THIS 37/

Now we get to Mayfeld’s big moment. The line he’s willing to cross. The first step from dehumanised number in the system/cog in the machine/cynic towards restoring his soul/humanity. Sat face to face with the sins of his past & the evil of the empire, he makes a choice. 38/

He brings up the incident that Valin Hess represents to him & which haunts him: Operation Cinder & Burnin Konn.

@RickFamuyiwa gives us Fascism 101 via Valin & asks us to empathise with Mayfeld’s fellow stormtroopers who died — more cogs in the machine, sacrificial lambs. 39/

This is the line that Mayfeld discovers he’s willing to cross, and crossing it provides hope for redemption & the restoration of his soul/humanity. He’s facing his trauma, his shadow self, and taking a step towards the light. He both proves & contradicts his earlier speech. 40/

He proves his point that everyone has rules they’re willing to break for what they believe in. He discovers what he believes in & breaks his cynical view that there is no good or bad side, decides that this particular shade of grey is too dark even for him & smokes that mfer! 41/

Also let’s talk about how @PedroPascal1 conveys the fact that Din isn’t used to relying on peripheral vision, having worn a helmet most of his life, and so always turns his whole head toward what he’s looking at. Go back & watch, it’s so cool. Now that’s craftsmanship baybee! 42/

It also highlights how Din has zero poker face without his helmet. He’s a soft, vulnerable baby, like Grogu, and he has a lot to learn in terms of navigating what it means to be perceived by the gaze of others & to gaze upon others/the world without the filter of his helmet. 43/ https://twitter.com/woodlandslady/status/1337434434962862084

Their cover blown, Mayfeld takes a moment to acknowledge the significance of Din taking off his helmet. He’s gone from mocking & goading Din about it to respecting what it meant for him to do that, and promises to keep his secret. He is capable of empathy! REDEMPTION FOR ALL! 44/

They both literally emerge out of the cold heart of darkness into the light where they can be helped by Din’s new family/community.

And we get Mayfeld’s act of atonement — blowing up the refinery. Again, morally grey as he’s presumably killing a bunch of stormtroopers... 45/

... but hey, that’s Star Wars for ya! At least he’s stopping the Empire from using that rhydonium to commit another Burnin Konn & atoning somewhat for the dead guerrillas/rebels by helping to achieve their goal.

And he’s rewarded with his freedom & the chance to start over! 46/

Back in his Mando helmet, Din delivers his badass, I’M COMING FOR YOUR ASS speech — DAD POWER ACTIVATED! Hell hath no fury like a Daddy Din scorned!

This is ofc Moff’s own speech from end of s1 delivered back to him, but importantly referring to Grogu as ‘he’, not ‘it’. 47/

This is, however, an undoubtedly bad move tactically. It lets Moff know he’s coming, eliminating the element of surprise & allowing Moff to prepare. Mando & his fam aren’t stupid which leads me to believe this is a purposeful decoy.

Which brings me to THEORIES/SPECULATION! 48/

So, in the finale, WHAT IF:

Din sneaks onto Moff’s ship without his helmet/armour on, with the assumption that no one knows what he looks like. This also allows Boba to wear Din’s helmet/armour to act as a decoy to distract Moff whilst Din attempts to rescue Grogu... 49/

This allows for HELMETLESS REUNION WITH GROGU! Which is literally ALL I WANT!

Imagine Grogu’s initial confusion & then he recognises Din’s voice & Din gives him the metal ball & his tiny hand touches Din’s face & Din SMILES WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES!

I WILL DIE FROM FEELS! 50/

HOWEVER, Din’s face is now in the Imperial system (the price he’s paid for removing his helmet) & some sort of scanner alerts Moff???

Cue Din vs Moff, Beskar spear vs Dark Saber, but with Din vulnerable without his armour, Moff stabs him, tying into @black_tym’s theory. 51/ https://twitter.com/laura_k_a/status/1335791038443745285

Grogu then HEALS Din, but in the process Moff learns that Grogu has this healing ability which is bad news for the experiments/uses for Grogu’s powers that Moff has in mind

The season ends with Din & Grogu reunited but captured by Moff & in dire danger. DUN-DUN-DUUUNNN!!! 52/

And then s3 centres around revealing more about what Moff’s experiments involve & Din’s new family/community rallying together to rescue Din & Grogu & defeat Moff — allowing for the Republic to get involved & Bo-Katan to help her Mando bro out & get the Dark Saber back 53/

(Obvs the above is pure speculation!)

OK I’M DONE!

This has been one of my absolute fave eps to watch & analyse, and one of my fave meta threads to write.

Shout out to @RickFamuyiwa & @PedroPascal1 for providing such rich, smart, layered, beautiful & powerful work 54/54