Delivering the Asset

Piloted by the Mandalorian, the Razor Crest exits hyperspace over Nevarro. The Mandalorian flies the starship with Grogu in his cradle. The Mandalorian is contacted via Holographic projector by Greef Karga who has received his transmission. He orders him to deliver his quarry directly to the Client. Karga does not care about what the Client wants to do with it, but says the Client is very anxious. He reminds the Mandalorian about their prearranged venue. The Child picks up a ball but the Mandalorian takes it away, telling him it is not a toy. He puts the Child back in his cradle before taking the ship down to the planet below.

He lands the ship in the settlement’s spaceport and disembarks with the Child in a cradle as another ship lands nearby. The two move through the streets, walking past humanoids, droids and aliens. The Mandalorian takes the Child back to the Imperial remnant facility. They are greeted by the TT-8L/Y7 gatekeeper droid whom the Mandalorian shows a disc as proof of identity. The Child reacts in surprise as the droid retracts.

Shortly later, a pair of Remnant Stormtroopers exit the house. The Child lowers its ears and head. Inside the corridor, one of the stormtroopers roughly yanks the Child’s cradle. The Mandalorian tells him to take it easy, but the stormtrooper tells him to take it easy. The stormtroopers lead the Child and the Mandalorian to the Client and Doctor Pershing, who are delighted to see him. Pershing scans the Child with a glowing red device while the Mandalorian watches.

Pershing remarks that the Child is very healthy. The Client tells the Mandalorian that his reputation is not unwarranted. When the Mandalorian asked how many tracking fobs he gave out, the Client tells him that the Asset was of extreme importance to him. He had to insure its delivery. but promises the spoils to the winner: a container containing several bars of beskar. The Client remarks that the Asset is “such a large bounty, for such a small package”.

The Child cries as Pershing leads him into an adjacent room. When the Mandalorian asks the Client what are his plans for the Child, the Client say that it is uncharacteristic for one of his reputation and commission to ask such a question, since it is the code of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild that such events are “forgotten” once they have been delivered. The Client says that the beskar is enough to make a handsome replacement for his armor, but that finding a Mandalorian able to forge it is more difficult than finding the steel.

An Icy Homecoming

The Mandalorian walks through the marketplace and returns to the underground lair of the Tribe with his reward. The other Mandalorians look at him with silence and disdain. He brings the container with the beskar to the female Mandalorian armorer. She looks at the beskar while the other Mandalorians congregate.

She explains that this beskar can be shaped many ways. The Mandalorian says that his armor, damaged during the mission to Arvala-7, had lost its integrity, and that it might need to be reforged. The armorer says she can forge a full pair, which would be in order for his station. He says that it would be a great honor, though she warns him that it will draw many eyes.

A large Mandalorian male named Paz Vizsla examines one of the beskar bars and concludes it was forged in an Imperial smelter, based on the Imperial symbol. He says that this is one of the spoils of the Great Purge, and the reason that they live in hiding, “like sand rats”. The female Mandalorian armorer responds that their secrecy is their survival, and that their survival is their strength. Vizla responds that their strength was once in their numbers and laments that they now sneak above ground one at a time. He says that their world was shattered by the Empire with whom this “coward” shares tables.

A small alteracation erupts between the Mandalorian and Vizla; the latter attempts to rip the Mandalorian’s helmet off, but the Mandalorian fights back with his knife. Vizla also draws his knife. The female armorer responds that the beskar has returned, as the Empire has fallen. She reminds them that when one chooses to walk the way of the Mandalorian, they are both “hunter and prey”. She asks how can one be a coward if one chooses this way of life. She asks the Mandalorian if he has ever removed his helmet, and if it has been removed by others, and he says no. The Mandalorians, including Vizla, chant “this is the way”.

The female armorer then asks the Mandalorian what caused the damage to his armor. He replies that it was a mudhorn, and the female armorer replies that he has earned the mudhorn as his signet, and that she will craft the new armor. The Mandalorian declines to do so, because it was not a noble kill, since he was helped by an enemy. When she asks why an enemy would help him in battle, he explains that it did not know it was his enemy.

Since the Mandalorian has forgone a signet, the armorer decides to use the beskar to forge whistling birds. The Mandalorian agrees to this and says they should reserve some for the foundlings. The armorer agrees and says as it should always be. She adds that the foundlings are the future, for “this is the way”. The other Mandalorians also chant “for this is the way” as well. She places the beskar bars inside the smelter, where they are melted.

The female armorer explains that whistling birds are a powerful defense against multiple enemies. She tells the Mandalorian to use them sparingly, for they are rare. As she forges a replacement chest piece, the Mandalorian experiences a flashback of Separatist forces including a HMP droid gunship and battle droids bombarding his hometown as a child. His parents reach a bunker and lower him inside before sealing it. The Mandalorian finds himself staring into the face of a B2-series super battle droid. The flashback ends as the chest piece is forged.

A Hollow Reward

At the Nevarro cantina, Karga berates a bounty hunter, who had presumably failed his mission, and tells him to leave. Shortly later, the Mandalorian enters the cantina, which silences its patrons as everyone gazes at him. Karga greets him and tells the Mandalorian that everyone hates him, because he is a legend.

When the Mandalorian asks how many of them have tracking fobs, Karga says all of them, but that none of them closed the deal. Karga congratulates him for winning the richest reward in this parsec and invites him to sit down. The Mandalorian takes off his blaster and sits down. Karga tells him that the others are weighing the beskar but that he celebrates the Mandalorian’s success because it is his success as well. He boasts that he is rich and asks how he can show his gratitude to his most valuable partner.

The Mandalorian requests his next job. This surprises Karga, who suggests that the Mandalorian taking some time off to enjoy himself and offers to taking him to the Twi’lek healing baths. However, the Mandalorian insists on his next job. Karga grants his request, since Mandalorian hunters “like to keep busy”. Karga tells him that the targets are all far away, and tells him he can choose, since he has earned his pick. The Mandalorian opts for a faraway job, which turns out to be an unidentified Mon Calamari nobleman’s son who skipped bail. Karga remarks that the Mandalorian is headed to the ocean dunes of Karnac.

Before leaving, the Mandalorian asks what they are going to do with the Child. Karga says he did not ask because it is against the Guild code. The Mandalorian tells him that the men worked for the Empire and asks what are they doing at Nevarro. Karga says that the Empire is gone, and that all that are left are mercenaries and warlords; should it bother him, Karga tells the Mandalorian to go back to the Core Worlds and report the matter to the New Republic. However, the Mandalorian shrugs it off, saying that is a “joke”. Karga tells the Mandalorian to enjoy his rewards, and buy a camtono of spice. He quips that he would have forgotten all about it by the time he has come out of hyperspace.

A Change of Heart

The Mandalorian boards the Razor’s Crest and prepares the ship for takeoff. However, he sees the ball that the Child was playing with and screws it back to the lever. This causes him to reconsider his decision to hand the Child to the Imperial remnant and switch off the ship’s engines. He walks back to the Imperial outpost and approaches the green gate.

The Mandalorian walks to a nearby alley where he sees the Child’s floating cradle dumped into a skip bin. The Mandalorian takes up position on a nearby roof. Using his trident to listen to his targets, he hears the Client telling Pershing that he does not care and to extract the necessary material hastily. Pershing protests that he was ordered to bring the asset back alive. The Client tells him to hurry up, for he can no longer guarantee his safety.

Rescuing the Child

The Mandalorian bangs on the green door and is greeted by the gatekeeper droid. However, the Mandalorian violently rips off the droid’s head, causing a short circuit. Two stormtroopers come out to investigate. One of them tells the other to check out the perimeter. The Mandalorian plants a detonator on a nearby wall, which blows a hole in the Imperial compound.

Two stormtroopers come out to investigate, but the Mandalorian shoots them from behind. Another stormtrooper enters the corridor and finds his fallen comrades, one of whom has a smoking hole in his chest. The Mandalorian knocks him down with his blaster and shoots him as well. He ventures deeper into the compound where he traps a fourth stormtrooper with his grappling cable and stabs him.

He shoots a door open and shoots the two stormtroopers inside the laboratory. He also finds Dr Pershing. The Mandalorian is about to shoot him but Dr Pershing pleads for his life. The Mandalorian shoots an IT-O Interrogation Unit instead. The Child is being scanned in a machine. Pershing pleads for the Mandalorian not to hurt the Child. The Mandalorian instead throws him to the ground. The Mandalorian asks what he did to the Child. Pershing responds that if it wasn’t for him, the Child would be dead. Pershing pleads for his life, only to find that the Mandalorian has left the laboratory with the Child.

The Mandalorian takes the Child into a storeroom. Several stormtroopers enter the storeroom with flashlights attached to their armor, intending to flush him out. The Mandalorian hides behind the crates and knocks out a stormtrooper, who had told him to give up, because there is nowhere to hide. He knocks down a second stormtrooper before stunning a third.

The Mandalorian and Child exit the storeroom only to run into a stormtrooper. The Mandalorian and the stormtrooper exchange gunfire. The Mandalorian shoots him down and then unleashes his flamethrower on a second stormtrooper, scorching him. The Child looks away as this happens. The charred stormtrooper falls to the ground.

The Mandalorian enters the meeting room with the Child, but is cornered by four more stormtroopers, who order him to surrender. The Mandalorian tells them that what he is holding is very valuable, and gently lowers his gun and the Child. They order the Mandalorian to kneel, but he unleashes whistling birds which take out all of the stormtroopers. He walks out of the Imperial remnant compound.

Enemy of the Guild

Later at the cantina, several tracking fobs are activated, including Greef Karga’s. The Mandalorian walks through the streets with the Child. He is soon surrounded by several armed bounty hunters. Karga welcomes the Mandalorian back and orders him to put the “package” down. The Mandalorian tells him to step aside, because he is going back to his ship. Karga reiterates his order to put the bounty down, and perhaps he will let him walk.

The Mandalorian says the Child is coming with him. Karga says that if he truly cares about the Child, he would put in on the speeder, and will discuss terms. An R6 astromech droid, on the speeder, turns its head. When the Mandalorian asks how he knows if he can trust him, Karga replies that he is his “only hope”.

The Mandalorian looks at the sleeping Child, then shoots at the other bounty hunters, jumping onto a repulsorlift vehicle carrying luggage. A gunfight breaks out, and the Mandalorian forces the astromech droid to drive the repulsorlift vehicle. The Mandalorian exchanges fire with his fellow Guild members and takes down several. The droid is soon hit and the speeder comes to a grinding halt.

The bounty hunters converge on the Mandalorian, but he uses his trident to incinerate two hunters, including a Rodian. Karga remarks that the Mandalorian has an “impressive weapon”. The Mandalorian issues Karga an ultimatum: he is going to let him walk with the Child, back to his ship. Karga issues a counter-ultimatum: the Guild takes the Child, and if he tries to stop them, they kill him and strip his body for parts. The Mandalorian refuses, and take out several hostiles with his trident and blaster. The Mandalorian manages to drive back the bounty hunters for a while with his flamethrower but it soon runs out. The Mandalorian looks at the Child before preparing for his last stand.

Redemption and Escape

Fortunately, several fellow members of the Tribe, donning jetpacks, come to his aid, taking out several bounty hunters. Karga realizes that the battle has turned against him, and flees. Paz Vizsla tells him to escape while they provide covering fire. The Mandalorian says that they will have to relocate the community, but Vizla says that “this is the way”. The Mandalorians echo in unison.

The Mandalorian boards the Razor Crest, but is soon cornered by Greef Karga, who tells him that he broke the Bounty Hunter’s Code. The Mandalorian unleashes some tibanna gas in an attempt to blind him. The Mandalorian shoots Karga with his blaster and removes him from his ship before taking off. As the Razor Crest takes off, the other Mandalorians provide covering fire.

Karga survives the blaster wound, since a beskar bar caught the blaster bolt. The Mandalorian flies his ship into the skies of Nevarro. Paz Vizsla flies beside his ship and salutes him before flying off. The Mandalorian remarks that he has to get a jetpack. The Child is seated beside his lap. The Mandalorian gives him a ball to play with – the ball he had unscrewed earlier – before taking the Razor Crest into space.