Disney Plus’ The Mandalorian chapter seven recap: The Reckoning

The Mandalorian receives a proposal that could end his life on the run and secure the Child’s safety. What could possibly go wrong?

Baby Yoda has a price on his head and the Mandalorian has been flying across the galaxy in an effort to protect the Child. In the penultimate episode of the show’s first season, Mando receives an offer he can’t refuse. But he’s going to need some backup if he is to succeed.

The Proposal

Greef Karga sends a transmission to Mando with a new proposal – ever since Mando shot up the Guild outpost on Nevarro and escaped with the Child, the Client has increased the number of Imperial guards in the city, thereby making it impossible for Karga to run his business. He reaches out to Mando with a plan to help them both.

Karga requests Mando to land on Nevarro and offer the Child as bait to the Client. Once he’s close enough, Mando can kill the Client. Karga gets his city back, and once he clears Mando’s name in the Guild records, Mando can go back to his bounty hunting ways with the Child by his side.

Mando agrees, but he’s not an idiot. He returns to Sorgan and asks Cara Dune to join him on the mission. Mando is willing to share his rewards with her, giving her a life of peace. Cara isn’t convinced, though. She’s enjoying her retirement on Sorgan, even though jobs are scarce and money is non-existent. Cara is making a quick buck by getting into fights and placing bets. But she’s liked by all, even her competitor who pays her for winning. Just when it seems Mando might be unable to convince her, he mentions that the target is an Imperial. That’s all the incentive Cara needs. She’s in.

The Journey

Cara and Mando head towards Nevarro on the Razor Crest and they’re raring for a fight. Mando takes Cara below deck so she can choose some weapons from his armory. As they leave, Cara wonders aloud if it’s a good idea to leave the Child on his own in the cockpit. It isn’t.

Suddenly the ship is in freefall and Mando rushes to the cockpit to find the Child fiddling with the controls. Apparently, they’re going to need a babysitter for their mission. One would have expected Mando to return to Tatooine and ask Peli Motto to take care of the Child (since she was very caring towards it, despite only acting out of greed), but Mando turns to Kuill instead.

Kuill was an Ugnaught who was enslaved by the Empire; he has paid his dues since and is grateful for the peace that Mando brought to his valley. As Mando and Cara inform him of their plan, the bounty hunter IG-11 walks into his hut. But, there’s nothing to worry about apparently.

Kuill eloquently recounts how he found a lifeless IG-11 after Mando had shot him. He then repaired the droid and slowly nursed him back to being a functioning machine. IG-11 had no neural functions, so Kuill had to teach him everything from scratch. Now IG-11 serves Kuill, but is he really trustworthy? Mando is hesitant to let IG-11 near the Child, after all, the former bounty hunter was sent to kill the baby. Kuill assures him that the droid has changed. There’s plenty of screen time and exposition given to IG-11’s resurrection, which makes me wonder what the significance of it could be? Will IG-11 turn on them?

Kuill accepts the mission, but refuses to take any payment. He, IG-11 and three blurggs come aboard the ship. To pass the time on their journey, Mando and Cara arm wrestle. The Child misunderstands their actions and begins to Force choke Cara. Realizing what’s happening Mando pleads with the Child to stop because Cara is a friend. Understandably, Cara is horrified and angry. Her trust in this mission continues to nosedive. It’s interesting that Baby Yoda has the ability to Force choke people. We have only ever seen Sith Lords use this power, but it can be controlled by any Force wielder, which means a young and inexperienced creature like the Child can accidentally misuse it. Assuming it was a simple accident.

Returning to Nevarro

Mando and the others land on Nevarro and meet Karga on the outskirts of the city. Karga is not alone – he’s brought three other bounty hunters with him. To even the odds, Mando has Kuill, Cara and three blurggs to back him up.

Karga recommends they walk through the lava valley till sunset and then camp out till sunrise. Karga is confident his plan will work because the Client only has four Imperial stormtroopers guarding him. You should never press your luck, however, which Karga realizes to his own shock. Giant pterodactyl-like creatures swoop in and attack the party in the dead of night. Two blurggs are lost, as well as one of Karga’s goons. Karga is also gravely injured. Though Cara attempts to patch him up with the med-kit she happened to have at hand, the poison from the wound continues to spread.

When it seems that Karga may be breathing his last, the Child appears and places his hand over the wound. Karga briefly fears that the Child is planning to eat him, but instead, Baby Yoda heals him completely. We are all aware of Force healing, though it hasn’t been used in any of the on-screen properties. The complete reversal of such a deathly wound is a surprise. The Child is extremely powerful, but some of his powers do veer towards the Dark Side of the Force. The only person known to have the power to recreate life was Darth Plagueis the Wise, and his story didn’t end too well. Could the Child be a secret Sith weapon? Or is the Child Yoda reincarnated as evil?

Change of Plans

In the morning, the group makes their way towards the city. As they reach the periphery, Karga’s two remaining goons prepare to shoot Mando and Cara – thankfully, Karga is a quick shot and blasts them first. Apparently, the original plan was for Karga and his people to kill Mando and steal the Child. Having seen the power and goodness of the Child first hand, Karga refuses to hand him over to the Client. They need to come up with a new plan if they are to protect the baby.

Mando suggests Karga cuffs him and bring him in as Karga’s captive. But Cara refuses to leave so they decide that Cara will pretend that she captured Mando and has come for her paycheck. The trio enters the city with an empty pram, while Kuill races to the Crest with the Child in his arms. The blurgg Kuill is riding isn’t very fast and the journey is endless.

The city is packed with Imperial stormtroopers and scout troopers. They’re manning the gates but don’t seem interested in messing with Karga or his captive. There are no barriers for Karga to meet the Client. He is pleased to see Mando again, admiring the beautiful beskar armor he’s wearing. The Client is effusive, but that’s because he’s deflecting from his real feelings – his anger that Mandalore rejected the Empire despite the Empire’s goal is to improve every facet of society. The Client believes there are anarchy and death in this post-Imperial galaxy. The point of his monologue is to mock the ‘white savior’ trope as well as the historically destructive acts of self-proclaimed superior countries ‘liberating’ other lands.

The Client gets a call just as he insists on seeing the Child. It’s a lucky escape for Mando. Karga uses the distraction to hand Mando his blaster. The Client speaks to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) who asks the Client to ensure that the Child actually is in his possession. But before the Client can make a move, his lair is fired upon.

The Moff lands on Nevarro in a TIE fighter and surrounds the Client’s location. He demands Mando and the others bring out the Child. This seems to be a conflicting move on the Moff’s part – he must have known the Child was missing, because why else would he shoot up the place? If he didn’t know, then why risk accidentally killing the asset?

As the Moff continues to threaten, Mando contacts Kuill, urging him to escape with the Child. But Kuill is still rushing to the ship. Somehow the scout troopers outside catch Mando’s signal; this might be because Mando’s communicator belonged to Kuill, and it transmits on Imperial frequencies. Two scouts pursue Kuill’s location as Mando desperately pleads for an update on the Child’s location.

The episode ends with Mando, Karga and Cara trapped in the Client’s office, while a scout trooper swoops up a prone Baby Yoda from the ground and rides away with him. In the distance, we see Kuill and his blurgg, dead from blaster shots. The baby has been captured by the Imperials. How will Mando save the Child in the finale?

Deborah Chow is a phenomenal director and deserves all the projects! She has an excellent understanding of pacing and tension, which she ramped up to the maximum in this episode. The cliff hanger has us excited for the finale. After far too many filler episodes, The Mandalorian returns to its original storyline and attempts to tie up the many plot points introduced so far.

What did you think of this episode of The Mandalorian? Be sure to tell us in the comment section below!