TV Review: THE MANDALORIAN: Season 2, Episode 7: The Believer [Disney+]

The Mandalorian The Believer Review

Disney+’s The Mandalorian: Season 2, Episode 7: The Believer Review. First appearing in The Prisoner, the sixth episode of the first season (director Rick Famuyiwa, who both directed and wrote this episode, also directed that installment), Migs Mayfeld (comedian Bill Burr, who famously hated Star Wars before being involved in the franchise) was the breakout character of the breakout episode, a sardonic, brash, hard-edged former Imperial sharpshooter that actually backed up his reputation with a blaster. He was an intriguing character, one that with his ex-Imperial background, was a character that deserved to be explored a bit more. Fortunately, The Believer marks his successful  return to the show, giving him and Mando much needed character development, all while smoothly integrating a good sense of action.

But first, the crew aboard the Slave I has to get Mayfeld. The cold open is an establishing shot of the Chop Fields of Karthon, a planet full of industry, with sparks, scattered machinery, and  guard robots, the camera following one of these walking giants as it strides over to Mayfeld, who is drilling. Referring to him as inmate 34467, it remands him to Marshal Cara Dune (Gina Carano), who tells him he has a job, and when he protests, the guard robot humorously tells him that he has three seconds to comply, under threat of being stunned with an electro-prod. Repeatedly asking where she’s taking him, Mayfeld stops when he sees Fett, joking to him “For a sec, I thought you were this other guy.” Cue a brief reprise of the main theme, as Mando descends down the walkway, and Mayfeld’s grin sharply disappears, and when Mayfeld asks why he’s being freed, Mando states that it’s because you still “know your Imperial clearances and protocols, don’t you?”, walking up the ramp. It’s an effective, quick cold open that quickly gets Migs onto the crew, instead of the possibility of another jailbreak premise that seemed possible at the close of the last episode.

Aboard Slave I, Mando tells Migs that he needs coordinates for Moff Gideon’s cruiser, in order to track down and rescue Grogu, to which Migs replies that he needs access to an internal Imperial terminal, the nearest one located on a secret Imperial mining hub on the jungle planet Morak. When they arrive, Mayfeld notes that because Fett, Dune and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), would all be recognized by Imperial forces, it means that him and Mando have to be the ones to infiltrate the base, though Mando initially claims “I’ll be going, but I won’t be showing my face”, appearing to continue to  adhere strictly to his fundamentalist upbringing.

Overpowering a pair of troopers and donning their uniforms,  Mando and Migs drive a transport containing rhydonium, an explosive and fragile chemical that will explode if they drive too fast in the dense jungle. Ironically, this whole sequence is an homage to acclaimed director William Friedkin’s 1977 film Sorcerer, about four men of different nationalities each transporting a volatile load of nitroglycerin through the Latin American jungle, which had the unfortunate fate of being released a week after the original Star Wars, ensuring that it became a commercial failure. But Famuyiwa not only visually links the films of the 70’s, he also references the main American military conflict of that era: the Vietnam War. This is signified by explosions in the jungle, an oppressed native populace that looks at the transport with nervous eyes, and the whole idea of the remnant of the Imperial forces occupying a planet, exploiting and stripping the land away for use. Mayfeld makes this idea explicit when he comments “Empire, New Republic. It’s all the same to these people. Invaders on their land is all we are. Somewhere someone  in this galaxy is ruling and others are being ruled.”

This is a really interesting and fascinating observation that Mayfeld makes, as for the most part, Star Wars is predicated on the idea of simple good vs evil- Rebellion vs Empire, Jedi vs Sith, Final Order vs The Resistance, etc. But what if its actually a bit more complicated than that, that both sides might be committing atrocities in the name of a cause? Mayfeld points out that the combatants on Mandalore that fought in various wars didn’t have a choice, “so how are they any different than the Empire?” He emphasizes that in the end, every soldier is the same, to which Mando responds that they are not alike, especially because of his fundamentalist “Way” of not revealing his face. However, before they can engage in more banter, here comes the usual action scene.

Said action scene, involving the transport being besieged by rogue pirates, is a mixture of madcap Mad Max style explosions and pulpy Indiana Jones punch-outs aboard a moving vehicle, which makes for a nice spectacle. When Mando loses his blaster, he quickly disposes of it, takes one of the enemies’ spears, and offers a thrashing, expertly throwing off the fierce warriors off the transport and onto the road. Composer Ludwig Göransson’s  electronic score also really helps accentuate the tension, especially using an electronica variant of the main Mandalorian theme. But as Mando is only an individual, the pirates keep on coming, and they  prepare to use their thermal detonators to finish off the transport ship.

Cue the cavalry, though this time it’s the Empire: TIE fighters and stormtroopers repel the raiders with weaponry, as Mayfeld mutters “Never thought I’d be glad to see stormtroopers.” It’s a bit surreal seeing stormtroopers and other Imperial officers greet our heroes with salutes and raised guns, because it turns out that they were the only successful pair of rhydonium drivers to successfully deposit their payload to the base. All seems to be in order, as Mayfeld sees the terminal that can be used to track down Moff Gideon’s ship and begins to approach it. But the appearance of his former commanding officer Valin Hess (Richard Brake) throws a wrench into the process, and he’s not going to risk the off-hand chance that Hess may recognize him, despite being a lowly field operative. Besides, the terminal needs someone to provide a facial scan for it to access the network, and given Mando’s stubborn beliefs, it seems that the whole mission might be a wash.

But then something astonishing happens: desperate to retrieve his adoptive son no matter the risk, Mando decides to finally take his helmet off for the first time in front of other humans, and Pedro Pascal  wonderfully captures the nervousness and anxiety using his face, closing his eyes as Hess approaches him suspiciously. It shows how much Mando has changed, from being stubborn about “The Way” throughout the series, to being flexible when push comes to shove, the titular Believer who will go against his tenets if it means he can save those whom he loves.

Therefore, the dark counterpart to Mando’s love is Hess’s fanaticism and fascistic devotion to the Empire’s cause, as when Mayfeld swoops in and appears to save Mando’s butt, Hess invites them for a drink, causing Mayfeld to reveal that he was part of Operation Cinder, a campaign that razed planets like Burnin Konn, a mining planet that he narrowly escaped from. Hess brushes off Mayfeld’s trauma, explaining that on that day, he “had to make many unpleasant decisions”, losing five to ten thousand soldiers, along with countless civilians. “Heroes of the Empire… it’s a small sacrifice for the greater good, son.” Mayfeld retorts that it wasn’t good for any of the victims, whether it be civilians, soldiers, or their families, because in the end they all shared the same fate of being dead.” It’s no wonder that Brake’s character is named after high level Nazi leader Rudolf Hess, based on his assurance that “Everybody thinks they want freedom. But what they really want is order. And when they realize that, they’re gonna welcome us back with open arms.” It’s a disturbing yet effective contrast to Mando’s actions, and fortunately Mayfeld has had enough, shooting him with a blaster.

The escape and subsequent destruction of the base is pretty typical blaster shooting and destruction-filled mayhem, but when Slave I uses seismic charges to destroy pursuing TIE fighters, its a nice visual callback to Jango Fett using that same weaponry while pursuing Obi-Wan in Attack of the Clones. Once safe from the Empire, Cara Dune opts to free Mayfeld for his efforts in helping locate the child, allowing him to start a new life, andhe episode ends with Mando warning Moff Gideon that he is coming for him to rescue Grogu.

Overall, The Believer, unlike an episode such as The Siege, is a worthwhile detour from the main storyline, because it demonstrates change in Mando’s orthodoxy, provides character development for Mayfeld, and asks some thought-provoking questions about war, duty, and justice. Mayfeld may be free, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill Burr shows up again next season.

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