“The Mandalorian” – Season 2, Episode 5: “The Jedi” Review

Audio/Story posted November 30, 2020 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by Colton Pleslusky

SPOILER WARNING: Both this article and podcast feature heavy spoilers for "The Mandalorian." Read at your own discretion.

In the fifth episode of the This Is the Way Weekly podcast, Colton Pleslusky reviews "The Jedi," the fifth episode of season two of "The Mandalorian."

“The Mandalorian” has continued to wow fans throughout the entirety of the second season, and the newest episode “The Jedi” is no exception.

Finally on track to find the Jedi that Bo-Katan informed him of two episodes ago, Mando makes landfall on the planet Corvus, which has certainly seen better days.

The reveal of the Jedi is not necessarily what was expected, as the episode starts off with the mysterious being fighting off a militia like a “Star Wars” Rambo. The reason this comes off as unexpected is due to the usual “epic reveal” that “Star Wars” tends to stick with.

That being said, it was still great, especially since said Jedi is fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano. That ends up being no surprise, due to the speculation and the reveal from Bo-Katan, as well as Dave Filoni who helped create the character about 12 years ago, being the director for the episode.

The episode itself contains a lot of reveals, with a particularly exciting one toward the end of the 50 minutes, making this yet another undeniably important episode to the grand plot of “The Mandalorian.”

Once again, the cinematography is phenomenal. There are many scenes that are oh-so screenshot-worthy and represent the epicness that “Star Wars” has in the eyes of the viewer.

There is even more body language in this episode that represents the ability of the actors to play their characters. Mando is not necessarily a man of few words, but everything he says has a purpose and is amplified by his posture. Whether it is actor Pedro Pascal or one of his stunt doubles, they all do a fantastic job of bringing this character’s personality to life on screen.

The same can be said about Rosario Dawson playing Ahsoka Tano. Her ability to showcase Tano’s nature, the most mature iteration of her yet, is exemplary. For her first live action appearance, everything that goes into Ahsoka Tano is to be commended.

The choreography in the fighting scenes is also well done. In analyzing the fight between Ahsoka and the town’s tyrant, it feels like every swing of the lightsaber has a true purpose to it. Nothing is too flashy, but it is fun to watch while also maintaining a serious tone to the duel. It is life or death, after all.

The combo of Mando and Ahsoka is exhilarating to watch. In the history of the fictional universe, it is no secret that Mandalorians and Jedi don’t get along very well, typically taking the form of full on wars. Seeing two fan favorites, one old and one new, teaming up despite their very differences is not only cool but also inspiring in the eyes of the right viewer.

To top it all off, Mando’s adventure continues to a new planet with ties to the Jedi. This episode is a fun ride for new fans with a particular nod of the head to older fans of the universe.

“The Jedi” presented new information that may change the theories on how the series will unfold, and the viewer can only imagine what may come with the season two finale, which is just three weeks away, and what may come going into season three next fall.

 

Colton Pleslusky is a junior majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email csp5289@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

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Sam Roberts

Sophomore / Telecommunications

Sam Roberts is a sophomore majoring in telecommunications who is a member in the Commradio arts department. He is usually writing reviews for singles, albums, movies, and TV shows.

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David Fortunato

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

David Fortunato is an aspiring broadcast journalist with a passion for both sports and the arts at Penn State. Along with being one of the directors for the CommRadio arts & entertainment department, he has written articles, participated in podcasts and even done a live show for the CommRadio sports department. In addition to his work for CommRadio, David is also involved in PSNTV’s Penn State Sports Night. David was also an intern for the Penn State men’s club hockey team, where he did player interviews, produced live streams, did camerawork and even did some play-by-play. He can be contacted at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Colton Pleslusky's photo

Colton Pleslusky

Fourth-Year / Telecommunications

Colton S. Pleslusky is a fourth-year from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania majoring in telecommunications at Penn State. He is a director and writer for the CommRadio Arts & Entertainment Department as well as the host on Nittany Stories and a co-host on Nittany Record Club alongside Emily McGlynn. He does behind the scenes tasks, including directing, producing, programming and more for the Centre County Report. To contact him, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).