WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the second episode of The Mandalorian, "The Child," streaming now on Disney+.
The Mandalorian has proved himself a fearsome bounty hunter, skilled enough to take on a bunker filled with mercenaries, with the help a single, scene-stealing ally. However, the first two episodes of the Star Wars live-action series have highlighted a glaring flaw to his combat skills: He's useless when confronted by animals.
ANIMAL CONTROL
When we first meet the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is on an icy planet, where he apprehends a bounty and brings him back to his ship. Along the way, his ship is almost brought down by a massive sea monster called a Ravinak. It grabs onto the Mandalorian's ship, the Razor Crest, and almost drags it down into the icy waters below. But the Mandalorian is barely able to electrocute it and force it to release the landing gear.
Blurrgs, cow-sized reptilian creatures that can be ridden, are introduced next. On the desert planet of Arvala-7, you need one just to cross the sands without dying. But when the Mandalorian isn't paying attention, one gets up close and personal with him. Despite all his technology and weapons, the Mandalorian can't escape the creature's grasp. It takes the arrival of Kuiil, who is used to the creatures, to save the Mandalorian from the Star Wars equivalent of a camel attack.
None of that compares to the Mud Horn, a large creature that resembles a rhino and becomes his target at the behest of the Jawas. To recover the parts of his ship that they stole at the beginning of the episode "Chapter 2: The Child", he has to steal an egg from the creature.
BORN TO BE WILD
It's kind of hilarious that the Mandalorian, who has been nothing but skilled when it comes to bringing down humanoid aliens, can't seem to handle creatures. He casually shoots humanoids down or captures them to gain a bounty. His armor protects him from most attacks, and he can easily win even when surrounded and ambushed. But the second an animal gets involved, all of his skills and weapons are useless. Even the Blurrg, a minor and domesticated beast, was able to get the drop on him and throw him around like a rag doll.
It's logical to make the character fallible. The Mandalorian isn't a Jedi or even some kind of war ace. He's just a man trying to make his way in the galaxy and regularly finds himself in unexpected and dangerous situations. But even when his skirmishes turn out to be tough and he has to struggle to survive, he still manages just fine. Put him up against a wild beast though and he's useless. He's 0-3 going up against such creatures by the end of the second episode, which isn't a great showing for the bounty hunter against wild animals.