In a galaxy far, far away: Mandalorian season two
Editor’s note: this review contains spoilers for chapter 10 of “The Mandalorian.”
In the continuation of George Lucas’ and Disney’s revolutionary “Star Wars” trilogies, Disney+ released season two of its smash hit, “The Mandalorian.” Airing one episode per week, it is reminiscent of the time when we had to wait an entire week to watch the next episode, not just wait for the episode to automatically start. In other words, “The Mandalorian” is making watching TV an event again, instead of just a bad habit or guilty pleasure.
“The Mandalorian” has kicked off its second season with two episodes that have delivered on its legacy of success, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats while they wait for each new plot development. The first episode offered a wonderful dive directly back into the world of “Star Wars” with an entirely new goal: reuniting the Child — Baby Yoda, as he has been so lovingly rebranded — with other members of his species. While the quest trope can feel cheesy, predictable or campy, and even at times all three, “The Mandalorian” offers a genuinely entertaining spin.
The first episode of the second season sets up the Mandalorian-turned-cowboy in an intergalactic Western. In the attempt to reunite Baby Yoda with his kind, we return with the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) to Tatooine to connect with a fellow Mandalorian, in the hopes they will be able to provide assistance. After a brief reunion with the brash, if ever generous, mechanic Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), the Mandalorian is directed to an uncomfortably quiet ghost town called Mos Pelgo. Thought to be destroyed in the chaos after the fall of the Empire, a sense of foreboding hangs heavy over our stroll through the town.
Eventually stumbling across the other Mandalorian in a deserted bar, we are struck with a close-up of Boba Fett’s battered armor, last seen in “Return of the Jedi.” Worn by the town marshal, Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), and very obviously not another Mandalorian, the threat of violence between the two is only broken by earthquake-like rumblings rippling through the sand. After witnessing an attack, we learn the livestock in Mos Pelgo has been periodically terrorized by a giant Alaskan Bull Worm called a Greater Krayt Dragon. In the moments following, Vanth and the Mandalorian strike up a deal: if the Mandalorian helps defeat the dragon, Vanth promises to relinquish the armor.
National Public Radio critic Eric Deggans wrote, “there is no greater Western trope than the story of a scrappy, dusty frontier town threatened by a grand danger, depending on a stalwart sheriff and mysterious, gunslinging stranger to help save the day.”
The Mandalorian exceeds expectations in the coalition formed with Vanth, the townspeople and even Tusken Raiders.
Disney+ has been offered a unique opportunity to expand the “Star Wars” universe outside of the critically controversial sequel trilogy. The Mandalorian has successfully maintained and expanded the fanbase in a way the last three movies didn’t, with a promise of a new deep dive into the “Star Wars” universe. Writer-director Jon Favreau seems to be delivering on that promise — knock on wood.
Sage Souza is a junior studying political science and Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys long walks on the beach, making too many playlists on Spotify, and retweeting karl marx fancams.
—sage.souza@usu.edu
@sagesouza