"This is the way."
Hello everyone!
Because it IS cool.
When the show premiered in 2019 there was a lot of anticipation riding on its shoulders because of all the discourse surrounding Star Wars, Disney, and the Sequel Trilogy. I won't be getting into that in this post, but suffice to say fans were skeptical, thinking that they would once again be let down.
And then Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni delivered.
They delivered BIG TIME.
With 2020 being the way it was, I suppose it would be fair to assume that, well, we needed something as good as this. We really, truly needed to lose ourselves in a galaxy far, far away.
And season two of the critically acclaimed show The Mandalorian came and went with a bang.
You will find the link to the first season recap at the bottom of my page, along with the rest of the Star Wars-related things which I've already seen and taken a look at.
But very briefly: The Mandalorian tells the story of lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin, known colloquially simply as Mando, and what happens when he finds a target he doesn't want to hand in or kill, namely one Baby Yoda (officially named the Child, that name isn't usually used because the little guy looks like Yoda and he's adorable and Baby Yoda just works, okay?). After going through hell and back again with the kid, as Moff Gideon (of Imperial fame) also wants him, Mando is quested to deliver the little one to his kind, or more specifically, to the Jedi.
This is where season two kicks back in.
🎵 I believe I can fly ... 🎵
The galaxy's best known father figure after Darth Vader shows up in a sketchy town with the baby's egg carrier next to him, searching for information that could lead him to other Mandalorians, because he figures that's a good first step to getting the kid back home. Mandalorians had always fought against the Jedi, who he's tasked to find, so obviously they'd know something, right? Right.
Of course he lands himself in the middle of an illegal fight club, destroys everyone in it, and leaves the owner out to be eaten by whatever lurks in the night because he (and the kid) get threatened.
As you do.
Returning to Tatooine (also as you do) he gets information about a desert town, Mos Pelgo, where he might find another Mandalorian. Well, joke's on him because he finds Mandalorian armour, but no Mando inside, as the marshal of Mos Pelgo, Cobb Vanth, explains he bought the set off Jawas in the desert, and has used it to protect the town with the Mandalorian reputation ever since.
Oh and also, if Mando wants it back, he needs to help him destroy the krayt dragon antagonizing it.
🎵 A little less talk and a lot more action ... 🎵
This essentially sets the tone for the rest of the season because the chances of Mando landing himself in some brilliantly hilarious situation or other just to continue his own mission are sky-high.
He does team up with Vanth, the villagers, and the Tusken raiders, and eventually ends up dragon chow before exploding the thing from inside out. You need to have serious skills for this kind of stuff, let me tell you.
You also need to have skills negotiating, but Mando fails spectacularly in that one as he takes on yet another passenger, simply named Frog Lady, who will guide him to other Mandalorians in exchange for passage to a system hospitable for her and her as yet unborn brood of froglets (what a frog was even doing on a desert planet like Tatooine is a question for the ages).
If you think having a guide makes things go smoothly, think again, because Mando gets into an altercation with New Republic ships and crash-lands the Razor Crest on a glacier planet. This in itself would be bad enough as, one, the frog eggs need warmth to survive, two, he's literally freezing around the corners as the Beskar armour he wears reacts like any metal when cold, and three ... there are ice spiders.
I mean, it's already been going pretty badly, so why not have ice spiders too, right?
"We're in segment 202, lateral grid 9, site 15H32 - give or take a few yards.
Baby Yoda, who's been munching on frog eggs all episode when not sternly told no by his father, finds a new source of protein in spider eggs, which enrages the entire colony and brings them out in droves - including a massive one that's about the size of their whole ship. Mando, Frog Lady and the kid are about ready to meet their doom when the spider that's perched on top of the Crest is shot dead, almost flattening the Razor Crest beneath it.
Turns out the two New Republic fighters have a conscience, and also they weren't going to take Mando in anywhere because he secured some dangerous prisoners back in season one, so essentially, you stupid Mandalorian, if you'd STAYED AND TALKED, you wouldn't have a limping ship.
Life's lessons.
But he delivers the Frog Lady to her husband (managing to spectacularly botch a landing even though he ALMOST has it - until the Razor Crest decides it doesn't want to sit pretty and dumps itself into the sea instead, Mando and baby on it) AND is now on a quest to actually find the Mandalorians ... until the fishermen tasked to bring him to them attack him and Baby Yoda.
How come his armour's shinier than ours???
LUCKILY other Mandalorians actually show up, and it's there we get two important things. One, Bo-Katan is in the house, and she's on a hunt for the Darksaber that would give her the right to rule Mandalore and unite it once again. Naturally, this means Mando has to help her abscond with an Imperial freighter, because ... well.
Two, we learn that Mando was raised by religious zealots, the Watch, who don't exactly comprise all of Mandalore people, but just the extremist edge, trying to return to the ancient ways of Mandalore, whereas Bo-Katan and her ilk just want to return home to their planet, but don't necessarily think they have to keep their helmets on at all times.
When all is said and done, the freighter is secured, Bo-Katan very obviously hints she's going for Moff Gideon next, and Mando has directions to an actual Jedi this time, parting with the others in peace.
Except, remember that the Crest is a bit of a limping noodle at the moment? Yeah, it kind of needs repairs before they can reach said Jedi, so Mando makes a pit-stop on Nevarro, asking for help from Cara Dune and Greef Karga ... and of course once he hears there's an Imperial Base on the planet, he's tagged into trailing along to destroy it.
The good, the bad, and the ... suave?
It's there we learn Moff Gideon is actually STILL conducting his experiments with blood from Baby Yoda, because said baby has an incredibly high M-count, and we all know what that means, because midichlorians are a thing in the galaxy. Mando races back to town for the kid, helping to destroy said base and save his friends in the process before taking off again, this time more determined than ever to find his Jedi.
Which he does.
And her name is Ahsoka Tano.
The internet may very well have crumbled that day when Rosario Dawson was revealed in full, and trying to take down a corrupt official on the planet at that; said official tasks Mando to destroy the Jedi, but obviously he has other plans and so he and Ahsoka team up. He'll help her if she agrees to train Baby Yoda, who actually gets a name at this point: Grogu. Not only that, but he was trained at the temple on Coruscant until the Jedi Purge, after which it all goes dark.
But he does need more training, so Mando and Ahsoka go do their thing, and we get ANOTHER bomb dropped on us during all the dueling: the corrupt official is working for none other than Grand Admiral Thrawn.
"Shall I describe it to you? Or would you like me to find you a box?"
Oh yeah. You take a moment to chew on THAT.
After the shock of another well-known Legends name, the Jedi and the Mandalorian free the planet and set it to rights, but Ahsoka declines training Grogu as she can see the bond he's formed with Mando, which means he's susceptible to fears and doubts now - and she's seen what all of that can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight, considering her former Master became none other than Darth Vader.
But if Mando really wants to, he can take Grogu to Tython, from where the kid might send out a Force call that COULD bring a Jedi to him, if he chooses to do it. They then part ways amicably with Ahsoka gifting Mando the Beskar staff that had been found on the planet earlier, and disappearing into the mist so that she can helm her own one-season show.
With an actual target now in sight, Mando does in fact get Grogu to the seeing stone - only for Grogu to get snatched by Moff Gideon and his Dark Troopers (after having a tracker planted on the Crest earlier and later ka-booming it) while Dadalorian is busy elsewhere.
With what, you ask?
Boba Fett, I answer.
Gets eaten by a Sarlacc - finally gets a new paintjob.
Yes, THAT BOBA FETT. He's back (so is the Empire, in his own words), and he has Ming-Na Wen's Fennec with him, who he turned into a part-cyborg apparently; also he wants his armour, thank you VERY much, and once he has it on, lemme tell you, he is a beast. Temuera Morrison also plays him to perfection and you can see just how much he genuinely enjoys being back in this universe, which is probably why I had something in my eye watching this ep.
I'm not crying, you're crying!
But with Grogu in enemy hands, Fett promises Mando they are sworn to him until the kid is back safely, so the next step is to gather a team and find Gideon before he does something really bad (as if shackling a kid with Force-dampening cuffs isn't bad enough). So Mando goes for Cara first, then they free Mayfield and head for an Imperial mining base so they can get information on Gideon's location.
Things do NOT go smoothly, however, and naturally they end up in a shoot-out (because Imperial officers are the scum of the galaxy no matter what iteration), but most importantly at this time is Mando taking his helmet off to get the needed information, signalling that he will do WHATEVER THE HELL IT TAKES to get Grogu back. This is exactly what he sends in a warning message to Gideon, telling the guy to best prepare himself: Mando's coming for the Child. And he's pissed.
"You have something I want."
He's also smart enough to recruit Bo-Katan, telling her she can have Imperial space puppies if she wants because all he wants is Grogu, but seeing as she'd like a shot at Moff Gideon, she can tag along.
Which she does, and the all-female warrior team of Fennec, Cara, and the two Mandalorians tears through the Imperial Cruiser while Mando goes directly to the holding cells for Grogu, where Gideon reveals himself - and the Darksaber - and proves that he's three steps ahead of all of them as he duels Mando, eventually losing since Mando has that Beskar spear, the only item that can withstand any kind of lightsaber attack, and drags Gideon to the bridge to the others.
... where he's told he's the ruler of Mandalore now because he won the Darksaber, and he can't just give it to Bo-Katan because that's not how it works.
Mando: what do you mean I can't give it to her, IT'S JUST A SWORD!
Before he can have a nervous breakdown, the Dark Troopers he previously yeeted into space come back, because droids, and our ragtag team might have even been pulverized if not for the timely arrival of one sole X-wing.
Moff Gideon knows what time it is. You can see it on his terrified face.
"Yippee Ki Yay, m***s."
Because a green lightsaber is revealed in a gloved hand to cut through the droids, and none other than LUKE FREAKING SKYWALKER steps onto the bridge of the cruiser, answering Grogu's call from back on Tython.
If you weren't screaming at this reveal, then you're not watching this right, but on top of THAT it's time to say goodbye ... and I swear I was crying buckets when Mando took off his helmet one more time so that Grogu got to see his face before he left with Luke. And in a rather full circle move from Favreau and Filoni (because Anakin's mother sent the boy with the Jedi way back when, starting the entire debacle that later followed), Mando stands watching, trying desperately not to cry, as Luke and R2-D2 (who PROBABLY threatens Grogu that if he bangs on him with a stick, he's outta there) take Grogu with them.
This is where we leave our heroes to take a mini break on Tatooine, where Boba Fett returns to take his place at the top of the foodchain - and helm his own spin-off series, The Book of Boba Fett.
Never fear, however, because Pedro Pascal WILL return as the Mandalorian for season three!
And DAMN but this show is bringing all the best back to Star Wars AND I AM LOVING IT.
But everyone just wants to see the father-son duo of Mando and Grogu reunite, potentially BEFORE Ben Solo decides to decimate Luke's Jedi Academy - and oh, also, there's that small matter of ruling Mandalore.
Can anyone imagine Mando on a throne somewhere?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Explosive, dramatic, emotional and undoubtedly as true to Star Wars as the creators can make it - and George Lucas himself has signed off an approval on this one - it's a show you don't want to miss, because it might be the best thing Disney put out into the world after acquiring rights to the franchise.
This is the way!
xx
*images and video not mine
No comments:
Post a Comment