Spoilers below for the latest episode of The Mandalorian, so be warned!
After several weeks of intense, ass-kicking episodes featuring returns from major Star Wars characters, The Mandalorian pulled back on the reins slightly to deliver an episode that was just as heavy on the laughs as the action. The episode featured comedian and Star Wars non-enthusiast Bill Burr reprising his role of Mayfield, who was first introduced in Chapter 6, "The Prisoner," and previously said he wouldn't be returning for Season 2. The joke's on us!
Below are the eight funniest moments from "The Believer," with many of them tying back to Bill Burr, since he's such a naturally comedic presence within this sometimes stiff universe. Let's start things off with one of Mayfield's first lines in the opening sequence.
Mayfield's Reunion With Mando
After Mayfield was initially confused about why he was being taken away from his standard prisoner duties, he was startled at the sight of Boba Fett, first believing him to be Mando. But just when he got comfortable after realizing his mistake, down came Mando to destroy all of that comfort. The look on Mayfield's face really said it all in that moment.
"His Gloves Are Still Wet"
After Cara Dune somehow knocked those two Imperial soldiers out, despite only using her bare hands and arms, Mayfield and Mando had to change clothes Scooby-Doo-style to keep their plan going. But it sounded like Mando got the better end of the deal, as Mayfield complained that his guy reeked, and that his "gloves are still wet." I don't want to know why the gloves were wet, though I am perfectly content knowing that they were.
Mayfield Waxing Philosophical To Mando
Admittedly, this scene was "funny" more in the sense of something being unexpectedly sound in logic, as opposed to something extremely hilarious. But it was wild to hear Mayfield speaking to various belief systems of now-gone cultures, and speaking so aloofly about Mando's helmet beliefs. Considering so many things about Star Wars are accepted at face value – even when that face is hidden 95% of the time – it's nice to have a character take a moment to bring some real-world insight into the fantasticalness.
Mando's Blaster Malfunction
Instead of asking all kinds of questions about all those "pirates" attacking the transport ships, I'll instead celebrate this episode's hilarious moment where Mando's blaster just stopped working all of the sudden, just as he was taking out some of the pirates. It was great not only because it's something that barely happens in this universe, if ever, but also because it felt like a knowing nod to just how useless blasters can be in this universe, especially when Stormtroopers are wielding them.
That Pirate Bouncing Off A Tire
As fun as the broken blaster was, my favorite moment during Mando's battle atop the transport vehicle came when he whooped up on that one pirate creature before throwing him off of the side and into the rolling tire. One, it was an awesome move that presumably would have been painful AF for that character . And two, while it's not the easiest to hear, that pirate lets loose with a hilarious high-pitched scream as he hits the tire and falls to the ground. The fact that it's not more pronounced in the sound mixing makes it all the more amusing.
Valin Hess Falling For Mayfield's Ruse
No one in Star Wars history is worse at reading a room than Richard Blake's Valin Hess, and his blind faith in Mayfield's lies makes me wonder how in the hell he rose in the Empire's ranks. In any case, the best moment during Hess' sequence came after Mayfield fed him the lie about Mando having hearing problems, and Hess very loudly asks, "WHAT'S YOUR NAME, OFFICER?" The sincerity behind the question almost made me feel sorry for him, but only after I laughed at him judgmentally, of course.
That Office Space Reference
After Mayfield fooled Valin Hess with his lies, he attempted to take Mando out of the situation by saying the following...
Let's go fill out those TPS reports, so we can go recharge the power coils.
While obviously another one of Mayfield's lies, this one is actually an unexpected pop culture reference. TPS reports – or "Test Procedure Specification" reports – were the dreaded and outwardly pointless job duty that was spoken about multiple times in Mike Judge's classic 1999 satire Office Space. Let's just hope Mayfield would have remembered to make a cover sheet before sending his reports in.
The Moments After Mayfield Shot Hess
To speak again of Valin Hess' inability to grasp the mood of others around him, he was clearly unaware of Mayfield's growing anger over their conversation about Operation Cinder, and thus was not set up to avoid being shot to death. As dark as that moment could have been, The Mandalorian followed it up with a few seconds of chuckle-worthy confusion passing from Mando to Mayfield and then onto the trooper that cluelessly walked into the mess hall. Dude was probably thinking he was about to sit down for a meal and maybe some coffee to help get him through the day, but he instead got immediately blasted.
Did everyone else think this episode was as amusing as I did? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for The Mandalorian's big Season 2 finale hitting Disney+ on Friday, December 18, at 3:01 a.m. ET. While waiting to see more, head to our Fall 2020 TV premiere schedule and our 2021 Winter and Spring TV rundown to see everything on the way in the near future.
