TV News

The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 3 – Review

Published

3 years ago

November 14, 2020

The Mandalorian bo katan image — _{Disney Plus}

Well, that set up a lot of cool stuff. Episode Three of Season Two is out for The Mandalorian. This episode is called ‘The Heiress’, it’s chapter 11 in the story and it’s a corker.

SPOILERS: If you’re reading this then you’ve probably seen the episode, but if not there are spoilers ahead.

This episode was directed by Bryce Dallas Howard. It was a much stronger entry for her than Episode Four in Season One.

We pick up straight from the previous episode. After surviving the spider attacks the Razor Crest limps its way towards the planet Trask.

The landing is set up to be a close call and you think Mando has nailed it until a last-minute blow-out shoots the craft into the water. We get a great audio Easter Egg with the sound of the AT-AT walker from The Empire Strikes Back. It’s replicated with dockyards crane walker hauling the ship out of the sea as Mon Calamari look on.

Welcome to Trask

After leaving the ship for repairs The Mandalorian Season Two Episode Three gives us a couple of the scenes from the trailer. This includes the first glimpse of WWE’s Sasha Banks confirmed as a new character Koska Reeves (not Sabine Wren as rumoured).

As Mando and The Child head to a Cantina to get some food we get a little Alien style face sucker joke with Baby Yoda, who’s told not to play with his food.

After getting some questionable information about the location of fellow Mandalorian’s they head off to sea with a Quarren crew. Only to be set up and trapped with a Sarlacc type creature in the ships hull. This is the point where they’re rescued by the Night Owl group of Mandalorian’s lead by Bo-Katan Kryze. this character is played by Katee Sackhoff. Sackhoff resumes her role from The Clone Wars and Rebels animated TV shows. It’s the first time we see the character brought to live-action.

The Night Owls

Bo-Katan Kryze was the last known leader of the Mandalorian clans before the Imperial purge. She is the last known holder of the Dark Sabre before we saw it in the hands of Moff Gideon at the end of The Mandalorian Season One.

It’s Bo-Katan who explains to us about helmet lore. The ‘Death Watch’ creed with which Din Djarin grew up is revealed to be a more traditional branch of the order. This explains a lot towards why he frowns upon helmet removal, but the Night Owls are ok with it.

We discover that Bo-Katan are on a secret mission to retake their home world Mandalore and you would assume recover the Dark Sabre.

She lets him know that she knows exactly where to find a Jedi. She will tell him the information he seeks in exchange for help on an assault on an Imperial supply ship.

Pirates

The Mandalorian’s cut through the team of Stormtroopers like butter. Easily making their way through to take over control of the ship.

We see the first return of Moff Gideon of the season via hologram as he instructs the ship’s captain to crash the craft to prevent it falling into the hands of these ‘pirates’.

Bo-Katan reveals that she’s looking for something to help her reunite the Mandalorian clans. This is clearly the Dark Sabre and suggests that this episode won’t be the last we see of the Night Owls.

Then a tease to what fans have been waiting for the first mention of Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano. Bo-Katan shares the information on where to find Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan with Mando in payment for his help.

It’s assumed that the next episode will likely be a filler on the way to meet Ahsoka. We know already that Episode 5 is the one directed by Producer Dave Filoni so it’s possible they will hold the reveal back a week until then.

CULTURE CROSSING SCORE 9/10

Thanks for reading our Season Two Episode Three review for The Mandalorian. Do you agree or disagree with our points or have anything to add? If so, leave us a comment below.

Read more of our Mandalorian Episode Two Review HERE.

Read IMDB information about The Mandalorian HERE.

The Mandalorian is streaming now on Disney Plus.

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TV News

Cobra Kai Season 4 – Review

Published

1 year ago

January 1, 2022

Jennifer Noffke

Cobra Kai season four is out now on Netflix and the All Valley is back and better than ever. Here’s our review.

SPOILERS: If you’re reading this then you’ve probably seen the show, but if not there are spoilers ahead.

It’s January, and new shows are popping up everywhere. This brings us to the show that I and my friends have been holding our breaths for: the fourth season of the hit Netflix series Cobra Kai! After three seasons, I wondered if there was anything left to mine from the Karate Kid lore or the Johnny/Daniel dynamic. I am happy to report that this might be my favourite season yet! It manages to not only expand upon the universe it has created, but to bring in a new villain, who is so bad that he threatens to outdo even John Kreese!

Alliance

Season four sets us off where the third left off, with Johnny and Daniel having joined forces to fight Cobra Kai. Their friendship arc is the glue that holds this season together. The story focuses largely on whether they will be able to pull it together and make their partnership work. As in previous seasons, their relationship has its ups and downs. The stakes are heightened, however, as the season leads up to the All-Valley Tournament. A bet between the three senseis – Kreese, Daniel, and Johnny – means that losing the All Valley is losing the title of sensei.

This season explores the ways that both Johnny and Daniel work with the kids. It also examines the kids’ struggles as they prepare for the All Valley while dealing with conflict within the ever-changing network of friends and enemies in the dojos. Robbie has left juvenile hall and decided to join up with Cobra Kai as a means of inflicting revenge on both his dad and Daniel. Tori and Sam continue their rivalry. And John Reese’s old friend Terry Silver (of Karate Kid 3 fame) shows up to kick Cobra Kai into high gear.

Daniel’s son, Anthony, who has largely been absent until now, faces his own dilemma when his friends begin bullying Kenny, the new kid in town. This soft-spoken middle school character brings us into the world of the younger kids, setting up yet another storyline. Kenny becomes the victim of a gang of kids (including Anthony), enduring round after round of bullying before Robbie takes him under his wing. After his induction into Cobra Kai, the formerly shy middle-schooler becomes a bully himself.

Shades of grey

This brings me to one of my favourite things about the show. The constant back and forth dynamic between characters makes us feel that anything is possible. There is no black and white in the world of Cobra Kai. Where the Karate Kid told us that Daniel was good, and Johnny was bad, this show gives us a very different point of view. It’s a world where we’re never sure who to root for. In this season, we even see Hawk make a return to the “good guys” side after giving up his spot at Cobra Kai.

With Eagle Fang (Johnny’s new dojo) and Miyagi-Do teaming up, the kids – and the adults – have to learn to work together. Of course, complications ensue. Johnny becomes jealous of what he perceives as Miguel’s preference for Daniel over him. Sam wants to learn both her dad’s karate style and Johnny’s, despite her father’s discouragement. Meanwhile, at Cobra Kai, Kreese is losing his grip on the dojo. His former war buddy, Terry Silver, puts off a rather benign appearance in episode one, growing more and more evil with each episode.

This season is lacking in many of the big fight scenes of the previous seasons, instead choosing to focus their energy on the characters. The All Valley Tournament features several great karate matches and offers a satisfying conclusion to Johnny and Daniel’s arc. In the end, Cobra Kai takes the tournament win, but Johnny and Daniel have reached an understanding.

New champions

Tori defeats Sam to take the women’s All Valley trophy but later overhears her sensei paying off one of the referees. It’s clear that Cobra Kai has pulled yet another fast one. But the season ends on an even more ominous – and unexpected – note. Terry Silver assaults the over-aged former Cobra Kai member, Stingray, sending him to the hospital. He then makes a deal with Stingray to blame the crime on Kreese. We end the season with Kreese in handcuffs, Terry Silver set to take over Cobra Kai, and the future of Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do uncertain. In a last shocking twist, Miguel leaves town in search of his biological father.

Although some may miss the school hallway throw downs, I found this one satisfying in a different way. It just goes to show that the ever-expanding Cobra Kai universe can keep bringing surprises season after season.

CULTURE CROSSING SCORE 9/10

Thank you for reading our review of Cobra Kai season four. Do you agree or disagree with our points or have anything to add? If so, leave us a comment below.

Check out our Hawkeye episode one and two review HERE.

Read IMDB information about Spider-Man: No Way Home HERE.