Still, there were a lot of thrilling moments here. Seeing Tristan and those Mandalorians flying forward, simultaneously firing their rockets was one of those moments every kid admiring Boba Fett’s armor could only imagine with their action figures. Of course the real highlight was the lightsaber fight between Sabine and Gar Saxon, which I believe may be the first canon lightsaber fight were neither participant was Force sensitive. Having seen Kanan train Sabine in the last episode, it was incredibly cool when Ezra threw her his lightsaber to use and she ignited it. I loved that the fight played fair too, as far as Sabine and Saxon being skilled, but not Jedi-skilled - especially when Sabine needed to use her shield, not her lightsaber, to defend herself against lightsaber blasts. While Fenn Rau (Kevin McKidd) was present, we ultimately didn't have one Rome alum-voiced character kill another here, as Gar Saxon (Ray Stevenson) met his demise - that kill was given to Ursa, in a satisfying "Don't mess with my daughter" moment.
I mentioned finding Ursa and Tristan’s decisions to be a bit predictable, but I was genuinely surprised by Sabine’s at the end. Having her decide to stay and help her family was not something that seemed likely on this series given the original Ghost crew have stuck together until now, and it was a powerful beat and genuinely sad to see her part ways with Kanan and Ezra. I assume she’ll re-join the Ghost crew eventually, but I kind of hope they wait until next season to give this decision the weight it deserves.
Meanwhile, there were some intriguing elements set up in this Mandalorian world, including learning about Sabine’s “captive in everything but name” father. Also, it was interesting to discover Sabine did not embrace becoming the new Mandalorian leader, but believes they’ll find the right person out there. Could it be her dad? Or perhaps Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Bo-Katan? Look, I’ll admit to being one of those who was (incorrectly) sure Bo was Sabine’s mom, but now I just want to see her again!
Lastly, anyone else geek out about Saxon describing himself as the Emperor's Hand?! There's a term we hadn't heard in a canon story until now. Hmm, I wonder if a certain other, red-headed female Hand might be out there after all...?