Warning: major spoilers ahead for the fourth episode of The Mandalorian Season 1 on Disney+. Be sure to catch up on the latest live-action Star Wars TV action before you proceed!
After the Mandalorian of The Mandalorian made his daring escape with Baby Yoda in tow in the third episode of Disney+'s first live-action Star Wars series, he had some big choices to make. While the first three episodes of The Mandalorian featured Mando trying to get his hands on Baby Yoda as his quarry, Episode 4 tasked the bounty hunter-turned-babysitter with finding a place to lay low and avoid their pursuers.
In true Star Wars style, the hero didn't find peace for long, as he and former Rebel soldier Cara Dune were recruited to save a remote village from a group of savage bandits with an AT-ST. The episode was nevertheless the most peaceful of the series so far, and even answered some questions, but there are still plenty of mysteries to be solved. So, read on for a rundown of six big questions after Episode 4 of The Mandalorian!
How Do The Tracking Fobs Work?
Mando's plan to leave Baby Yoda behind with the friendly villagers rather than keep risking his little life as his sidekick was ruined when another bounty hunter showed up, using a tracking fob to find the youngster, and the goal was clearly kill rather than capture. Cara Dune was fortunately on hand to kill the bounty hunter before Baby Yoda was blasted, but the question remains: how exactly do the tracking fobs work that the bounty hunter found them in such a remote location?
Admittedly, this has been a question from the very beginning of the series, as it's never been clear what the fobs are actually able to track. Is it the DNA of the targets? If so, how did the guild (or off-book clients) get the DNA? Is it something more complicated? If it was something that could simply be disabled or neutralized, Mando surely would have already done it to Baby Yoda, as he knew all the other hunters had fobs as well. So how are the bounty hunters finding Baby Yoda, and is there anything Mando can do about it?
When Will Mando Show His Face?
Well, Episode 4 of The Mandalorian dropped some details that mean fans can stop speculating and/or joking about how Mando eats, drinks, and probably grooms his Pedro Pascal facial hair. Mandalorian culture doesn't require that Mandalorians never remove their helmets, but rather that they can't remove their helmets and show their faces to any others, or else they can never put their helmets back on. Mando actually removed his helmet in Episode 4, although the camera discreetly kept his face out of frame.
So when will he show his face? Omera, a lovely widow who formed a bond with Mando and really deserves some credit for seemingly falling for him without even knowing that he looks like Pedro Pascal, got close enough to almost begin removing the helmet, and Cara Dune suggested he lose the helmet and take up a quiet life with Omera, Baby Yoda, and the villagers. He refused, though, and the question remains: when will he show his face? It has to happen sometime, right? The stage is now set!
Is The Mandalorian Even Mandalorian?
The Mandalorian did confirm that Mando eats and drinks like a normal person when alone and free to remove his helmet, but Episode 4 also introduced a larger question about Mando. While fans have had every reason to assume that the hero of The Mandalorian is indeed a native Mandalorian, Mando revealed in Episode 4 that the Mandalorians "took care" of him after his parents died, and he was happy that they took him in, even though it means he hasn't shown his face since he was a kid.
So is The Mandalorian's Mandalorian even a Mandalorian from birth? As Jango and Boba Fett prove, one doesn't have to be Mandalorian to wear Mandalorian armor, and Mando's comments in Episode 4 suggest that the flashbacks to his childhood didn't take place on Mandalore, but rather wherever he lived pre-helmet with his parents. He did repeat the "This is the way" mantra, so was he taken in specifically by people devoted to a Mandalorian religion, or was he talking about Mandalorians in general as those who took him in?
How Fast Does Baby Yoda Age?
Although the first episode of The Mandalorian established that Baby Yoda is actually fifty years old, his size and behavior all indicate that he's still a baby or toddler at most by his species' standard. This means a super cute puppet (currently not available in mass merchandising) as one of the stars of the show and some shenanigans between a baby and a bounty hunter, but Baby Yoda remaining a baby could prove inconvenient.
So when does Baby Yoda become Child Yoda or Adolescent Yoda? The kid can walk, handle solid foods, swallow live frogs, and use the Force to save his bounty hunter buddy, and he seems to have some grasp on understanding language (other than what it means to "stay"), but he doesn't speak. Yoda is proof that his species can certainly speak, even if his speech patterns were atypical. Baby Yoda is already fifty; how quickly does he develop as he ages?
What Exactly Is Mando's Plan?
As much fun as it could be to just watch Mando and Baby Yoda explore the galaxy and get into shenanigans on every planet they visit, the arrival of the bounty hunter at the end of Episode 4 is proof that Mando really needs a plan. If he has no way of disabling the tracking fob, which seems likely since he hasn't done it already and bounty hunting would surely be an even more complicated profession if people could just disable fobs, then he and Baby Yoda will presumably be hunted indefinitely.
How The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal Feels About Being 'Ruthlessly Outshined' By Baby Yoda
And even if the tracking fob could be disabled, The Mandalorian has made it pretty clear that Mando is new to the role of parent, especially to a kid with a power he doesn't understand. Baby Yoda needs more than just food and basic protection, and Mando doesn't even have the handy floating bassinet anymore. What is Mando's plan to avoid the other bounty hunters, keep him and Baby Yoda alive, and actually raise Baby Yoda? Hopefully he has at least part of one!
What Happened To Other Rebel Soldiers?
Episode 4 of The Mandalorian introduced Cara Dune, who fought for the Rebellion in the civil war against the Empire. Once the Empire was defeated, however, the Rebellion soldiers were tasked with bodyguard work and other less intense tasks in the New Republic, and Cara preferred moving on to the life of a mercenary rather than continuing to work for the New Republic. This raises the question of what happened to other Rebel soldiers who lost their purpose after the events of the original Star Wars trilogy.
While the sequel trilogy has delivered answers about what happened for Luke Sywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo after the end of the Galactic Civil War, there were a lot of soldiers who helped win the war, and not just the Ewoks. Could these former Rebel warriors have further parts to play in The Mandalorian? There are relics of the Empire around, so it stands to reason there could be relics of the Rebellion who chose rogue lives over work in the New Republic.
These are only some of the questions raised by The Mandalorian after Episode 4, on top of all those questions raised by the first three episodes that have yet to receive definitive answers. Mando and Baby Yoda were off in search of safety again by the end of the episode, so viewers can count on the plot continuing to thicken in the weeks to come. The first season of The Mandalorian runs for eight episodes, and this batch of episodes is only half over, and fans can count on another season, which is already filming.
There are another couple of live-action Star Wars series in the works, including one starring Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi once more. Following The Mandalorian, the next big Star Wars project on Disney+ will be the long-awaited revival of The Clone Wars. Check out Disney+ on Fridays at 3:01 a.m. ET for new episodes of The Mandalorian, and don't forget to swing by our 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule for more upcoming TV options.
