Star Wars: The Mandalorian - Disney+.

At the end of season 1, we see the pile of Mandalorian armor in the sewer, and assume Gideon's forces came in and killed the Covert. But the Armorer never says the Covert was attacked - she says the Imperials came, and that the pile of armor was the result.

So what if the Armorer wasn't a traitor, but was betrayed, by the Covert, because Gideon used the Darksaber to invoke rulership over Mandalore, and recruited everyone from the Covert out from under her. She doesn't tell Din about the betrayal because she doesn't want to lose anyone else.

It would explain why Paz and her were the only ones left - they cared more about following the Way than who owns the Darksaber. It would explain how Gideon has obtained the secrets of manufacturing Beskar. It would explain how his troops are so skilled with Mandalorian-style weapons and equipment.

The only way it doesn't work is that it makes a liar of Paz Viszla who, in his recent campfire speech, said that he watched his brothers and sisters fall to Gideon's Imperial butchers hunting them in the sewers of Nevarro.

JJ Abrams has a lot to answer for. They've been hemmed into a position where they have to create the First Order (which was a half-arsed copy of the Empire) and the frankly ridiculous Palpatine cloning story from RoS. Both were differing levels of shite but now have to be the end point for any content between Jedi and Force Awakens.

The many fight scenes for everyone - Din, Grogu, Bo, the Mandalorians in general - were all excellently choreographed, and had weight to them. Their survival and victories all felt well earned, everybody had a hard time, and everybody worked together so well. The aerial combat was like something ripped from an episode of the Clone Wars, or the pages of a comic. Very pleased.

My expectation that a Mind Flayer, and a heartbreaking end, awaited the Din/Grogu and Din/Bo partnerships, was wrong, fortunately or unfortunately, as too were expectations that one of the Mandalorians was a turncoat. The latter I am particularly glad didn't happen, but I'm also glad that we didn't lose Bo.

R5 getting to shine is one of the several standout moments of the series. First, in it being brave enough to enter the base on its own, and scomp in to help Din, and then in its little fight with the Mouse Droid cops. Absolutely adorable, pure Star Wars droid magic.

Gideon clones! Holy balls, properly made age-accelerated clones! The eyes opening got me, despite the obviousness of it. And, while I know Din destroyed the lot, I wouldn't put it past the writers to have one survive to menace our heroes in the next season(s). A Gideon with Force powers would be a grave threat.

The expository scene showing how the survivors managed to eke out a living in near-surface caves, where native flora was reestablishing itself, I liked a lot. It provides an ecological basis for Mandalore's long term habitability. I know that real world-ish science-adjacent things aren't suited to space wizard jetpack fun time, but, it's nice to get a bit sprinkled in here and there. It does add to the believability of the experience, and I appreciated its inclusion in an episode where it could so easily have been cut.

Axe's race to the fleet, taking the helm and doing whatever he could to bring down incoming TIEs before ploughing the ship into the base, that was so badass. As the ship dropped through the clouds, you could see his body tense with fear in that command chair. Anyone would be scared shitless. So many people have had him wrong - his Muggleborn gooseberry fool is problematic as hell, indicative of the deep animosity that still divides Mandalorian tribes, but, he's no Imp spy, and he's a damn hero for what he did in this episode. I was happy to see him bail from the ship and not die needlessly, I hope we see him again.

I am big enough to admit that I have been wrong about the Armorer, it seems like she's grown enough to accept other tribes' ways, to a degree, and put her planet first. But, helmet cult leader still gives me bad vibes. I just really want to know more about her! Give me that backstory.

Bo's fight with Gideon had me so worried. Ever since another character death in another recent Star Wars show, hell even before that, I've been afraid that she might get fridged to serve Din's story. I'm relieved to see that that didn't happen.

The Darksaber has been broken! I am curious to see how it'll get fixed - whether it'll require a trip to see Luke, or if the Armorer and Grogu will be able to work together in restoring it.

Gideon is such a fantastic bad guy, I've really enjoyed him. It would've been nice to see him more, but I suppose they wanted to have the mystery of his whereabouts hang around a little before bringing him back in. I know he's gone for now, but, I half expect to see him return, somehow - maybe a clone, maybe the OG. Imagine a crazed Force sensitive Gideon clone hunting Din and Grogu down.

Also, so nice to see Din finally get a place of his own to live. It's been a long time coming. Plus, IG-11 is back, as the Marshall! Hooray!

Next season is going to be interesting. Back to the monster of the week format, maybe, but with an Imperial flare? I'm in.

The mouse-droids were great fun.