The Mandalorian

1 BESKAR

James Dyer: When Mando agrees to take on a job tracking down The Child, he isn’t paid in credits, but rather in pristine ingots of dull, grey metal worth more than diamonds — beskar. Colloquially known as ‘Mandalorian steel’, beskar is the Star Wars universe’s answer to adamantium, a rare alloy that is traditionally used to forge Mandalorian armour. Once smelted and shaped, beskar can withstand a colossal amount of damage, keeping its occupant safe from heavy-duty blaster fire and even lightsaber blows (Jango Fett might still have a head if his armour had been forged from it). Due to that rather handy property, the Mandalorians were able to successfully take on the Jedi order, during a number of wars, and thanks to the immense value of beskar, suits of armour were passed down through generations of Mandalorians as heirlooms. An enticing bounty indeed, just for tracking down one little green kid.

2 THE CLIENT

Existentialist filmmaker and documentarian Werner Herzogfilm. He was also unfamiliar with the oeuvre of Jon Favreau when approached by the director a couple of years back for . Yet even so, unpredictable as ever, the man who once ate a shoe and (on a different occasion) shrugged off being shot by a pellet mid-interview agreed to appear in Favreau’s TV show. Thank goodness he did, because Herzog rocks it as shadowy powerbroker The Client, hell-bent on getting his hands on a certain green alien for nefarious means. It’s inspired casting: the indie icon brings an air of wearied gravitas and peculiar menace to the role, and it’s just downright fun to see the man behind flanked by stormtroopers, or pronouncing the word “blaster”. Next season, we’re hoping Favreau gives a supporting role to Jim Jarmusch.