The Mandalorian: Ranking Every Episode From Worst To Best
5. Chapter 6: The Prisoner
Rick Famuyiwa's second turn at-bat directing never quite reaches the euphoric heights of his first episode, but it's still one hell of a ride.
Essentially acting as a standalone bottle episode which digs into Mando's past, this is pretty much a straight prison-break-gone-wrong story just set in the Star Wars universe. But thanks to Famuyiwa's stellar direction, it also happens to feature some of the very best action sequences in the entire season. The setpieces early on in the episode that sees Mando singlehandedly taking out several of the New Republic security droids is thrillingly constructed, utilizing tension and suspense masterfully to build from simple setups to incredibly satisfying payoffs.
Famuyiwa and Christopher Yost's script also features one of the strongest arcs for Mando in the entire season. Leaning in on his penchant for murder leading up to this episode as a character flaw he must overcome is a brilliant choice and it makes it that much more compelling to see him having to learn from his mistakes here and make smarter choices for his and Baby Yoda's future.