The Gunslinger is the definition of a filler episode. Chapter 5 doesn’t provide additional backstory for Mando (Pedro Pascal), Baby Yoda or dive deeper into Star Wars lore. Neither does the episode move the story forward in a meaningful way.
Instead, the Dave Filoni directed episode decides to explore a side story that’s predictable, full of characters that take you out of the episode and the worst acting I’ve seen in a tv series in years. The Gunslinger isn’t a total loss. There are some great action beats, a great guest-starring performance that almost balances the poor acting and the return to Tatooine for the first time since the Prequels.
Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of the weakest episode thus far.
Dave Filoni and his handling of The Gunslinger
Episode 5 is Filoni’s 2nd stint in the director’s chair and while Filoni’s knowledge of Star Wars is unquestionable, between The Gunslinger and the Pilot, he’s responsible for two of the lesser installments in the series. He does a great job handling the action scenes, but his inability to bring out acceptable performances from secondary cast members is a weakness that comes around again. He’s also responsible for writing the episode so the success and failures in the episode rests squarely on his shoulders.
There’s a great action scene in this episode at night that features Mando and a bounty hunter teaming up to take down an assassin (Ming-Na Wen). In the scene, the tandem races across the desert at night and use flares to temporarily blind the assassin. The setpiece is my favorite in the series and is easily the episode’s highlight.
Outside of that one scene, the episode feels almost lifeless. Remember, in Star Wars: A New Hope, when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker entered the cantina on Tatooine? The establishment is teeming with different creatures, offered colorful visuals that immersed you in the world and was tension-filled almost to the point that one false move could lead to a quickly deteriorating situation. In The Gunslinger, the cantina has a bright sheen that looks out of place and is quite sparse. The lack of different languages in these types of scenes is a missed opportunity to fully capture the Star Wars feel.
“Hey, Mando”
This is the phrase the bounty hunter played by Jake Cannavale uses to address our title character in a New York accent. The character simply doesn’t work. Cannavale’s delivers a subpar performance that wouldn’t be too big of an issue. However, the character is on-screen just as much as if not more than Mando, which unfortunately results in a black hole that pulls down the rest of the episode.
Amy Sedaris, a talented comedic actress, is also featured in the episode. Similarly to the waitress from episode 4, Sedaris just doesn’t fit the tone of the episode. She essentially serves as a babysitter for Baby Yoda after the youngling sneaks out of Mando’s ship. Yes, Mando decides to leave Baby Yoda stowed away in his ship, which is bad parenting and also rids the viewer of seeing the makeshift father-son relationship develop.
Ming Na Wen delivers not only the best performance in the episode but even eclipses Werner Herzog as the best guest-starring performance in the series. The character is clever, owns the action scenes and feels like a natural fit for the Star Wars universe. Unfortunately, her arc deserved a better conclusion and she doesn’t share any meaningful scenes with Mando. Filoni makes the decision to pair Cannavale with Wen for a long portion of the episode, which works better than the Cannavale-Mando pairing because Wen is the one doing the talking during most of their scenes together.
Final Thoughts
While The Gunslinger isn’t a complete misfire, there’s little reason to watch this episode. You’re probably better off going straight from Chapter 4: The Sanctuary to Chapter 6: The Prisoner.
What did you think of the episode? If you liked the episode, please sound off in the comments, maybe there’s something I missed. My goal is to deliver a positive outlook whenever possible, but there’s just not much to like about this episode.
The Review
Chapter 5: The Gunslinger
PROS
- Ming-Na Wen is terrific and deserved a better episode.
- The action scenes are outstanding.
CONS
- Jake Cannavale and Amy Sedaris just don't fit tone of the show.
- The epitome of a filler episode. You can easily skip this episode
- The cantina scene is a sparse, lifeless experience. The cantina scene in A New Hope was the 1st scene that made me connect emotionally with the Star Wars universe, so to see it brought back in this uninspired manner was disappointing.
