‘The Mandalorian’: Season 2 Review
This is the way.
Every episode of season 2 of The Mandalorian is now streaming on Disney+. I loved season 1 of the show, and I think many of us were very excited to see what season 2 would have to offer. So I am now going to give a brief review of each episode with MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
Chapter 9: The Marshal
I thought this was a pretty enjoyable season premiere. We go back to Tatooine in this episode, and we get Timothy Olyphant in a Star Wars project. He plays Cobb Vanth, a character from the Aftermath trilogy, and he wears Boba Fett’s armor.
This is a thrilling premiere that feels like a stand-alone story for much of its runtime, with an exhilarating sequence where characters fight the dragon, and it all gets even better when we have our final shot. We see Temeura Morrison as Boba Fett, paying off the setup from the ending of Chapter 5, and it was great to see him again.
Chapter 10: The Passenger
Out of every episode in the season, this is easily my least favorite episode. It remains an entertaining, watchable episode, but the storyline about Din helping a Frog Lady isn’t interesting. It’s the most inconsequential episode of the season, and there isn’t much to appreciate.
The gag where The Child eats the lady’s eggs is very dark humor. While there is some fun in the spider sequence (which reminded me of that scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), it’s not a particularly memorable episode.
Chapter 11: The Heiress
This was a major step up from the first two episodes. The reveal of Bo-Katan was spoiled for me by the subtitles, but it was such a welcome surprise to see Katee Sackhoff reprise her role in live-action after previously voicing the character in The Clone Wars and Rebels.
We have such an incredible action setpiece on a Stardestroyer, and it is very entertaining. And the ending, when Bo-Katan tells Din to find Ahsoka Tano, I freaked out.
Chapter 12: The Siege
This episode saw the return of Cara Dune and Greef Karga, and it was directed by Carl Weathers, Greef himself. This is one of the less memorable episodes of the season, but it boasts many exciting action sequences, particularly the chase scene which Weathers directs spectacularly.
Overall, it’s not the greatest episode, but there is a lot to enjoy.
Chapter 13: The Jedi
The opening scene of this episode made me holler. We finally got to see fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano kicking ass in live-action, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. This was a fantastic incarnation of the character, and the battle at the end with Elsbeth is amazing.
We discover that she is trying to locate Grand Admiral Thrawn from Rebels, which would imply that he may be making an appearance later on in the show. We finally get The Child’s name, Grogu, and his backstory. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite episodes of the show.
Chapter 14: The Tragedy
Robert Rodriguez directs this episode, and it was awesome. Much of the episode is very action-packed and this is the episode where I finally understood the cult following behind Boba Fett. I never got behind it, since he has such a minor role in the original trilogy, but this episode shows him in badass form.
Grogu calls out to a Jedi with the Force, and the Dark Troopers kidnap him. And the episode ends with a nice cliffhanger, as Din begins to gather a group of people to find Moff Gideon and get Grogu back. The fights are awesome, and the way the story leaves off sets up the finale perfectly.
Chapter 15: The Believer
This episode did a great job of not feeling like its sole purpose was to set up the season finale. It brings back Bill Burr as Migs Mayfeld, which I wasn’t too sure about since he was an unremarkable character in Chapter 6. But this episode fleshes him out more, giving him an arc and a very intense scene with Valin Hess.
And when Din and Mayfeld are crawling up the building with the supporting characters giving them cover with The Mandalorian theme playing at full blast, that brought the biggest smile to my face. It was then when I realized this is one of my favorite TV series ever.
Chapter 16: The Rescue
My new favorite episode. Right here. I usually watch The Mandalorian on Friday nights, but I knew that I couldn’t wait that long for this finale, so when I had an hour away from my daily Zoom calls, I quickly watched this episode and I was blown away.
Bo-Katan and Koska return in this episode, and it was this episode when I realized that we’re finally getting a group of badass female Star Wars characters working together to fight the Empire. It was amazing to see such fantastic female representation in Star Wars.
And I love the Dark Troopers. It’s basically a joke at this point that Stormtroopers barely hit anything throughout any movie or show, which takes away from their villainous presence. But this show gave us Dark Troopers, and it was crazy to see Din have a difficult time fighting them off. You feel their power and it is frightening.
And we get LUKE SKYWALKER! Before the premiere of the episode, I believed it was going to be Ezra Bridger from Rebels. When the X-wing arrived, I was torn between whether it was Ahsoka or Luke. And when I saw the green lightsaber, I screamed.
Watching Luke tear down the Darktroopers with ease was badass. And when we finally see Luke and R2-D2, that made me squeal even more. Mark Hamill returned to voice Luke, whose likeness was added through CGI. It doesn’t look perfect, but it worked well enough.
And the final moments when Grogu and Din say goodbye is one of the most touching moments in the series. Din takes his helmet off so that Grogu can see his face, and we see how much he has grown as a character and the effect Grogu had on him.
If I were to nitpick this episode, they never resolve what happens with Bo-Katan and her quest for the Darksaber. And the idea that the Darksaber needs to be won from its former master in order to work feels very derivative of the Elder Wand from the Harry Potter series.
But I correctly predicted that Din would have a battle with Moff Gideon, with Din using the beskar and Gideon using the Darksaber. And it did not disappoint. This was my favorite episode of the show and honestly, I loved season 2 even more than season 1.
This is because as someone who loved The Clone Wars and Rebels, I get the references and the importance of characters like Ahsoka and Bo-Katan. And while I’m not quite sure where this show will go, I am very excited for The Book of Boba Fett, coming December 2021.
The Mandalorian is one of my favorite shows ever. It is everything that Star Wars should be, offering amazing action sequences, characters filled with depth, and well-written stories. I like how they incorporate existing Star Wars content into the show, while also not alienating those who are unfamiliar with other Star Wars media.
And in a year full of misery, watching this show has been one of my bright spots. I cannot wait to see the rest of Disney’s upcoming Star Wars projects because I have yet to dislike any of the Disney-era Star Wars films and shows.
