THE MANDALORIAN Season Two
In The Armour Now
US/UK Disney+, streaming now Showrunner Jon Favreau
Cast Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano,
Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers
There is a great disturbance in the Force. After more than four decades as a big-screen behemoth, the Star Wars franchise suddenly looks more at home on TV – and it’s all thanks to a guy in a metal helmet and his cute green pal.
2020 was the first year without a Star Wars movie since The Force Awakens landed in 2015, but it’s unlikely anyone was that bothered. While The Last Jedi, Solo and The Rise Of Skywalker left the fanbase divided, The Mandalorian quickly felt like the best thing to come out of that galaxy far, far away in decades. Mando’s brilliant second outing confirms what we already knew.
Where the eponymous bounty hunter spent most of the first season exploring previously unseen backwaters of the Star Wars galaxy, this time around he crosses paths with some more familiar faces.
With Mando’s mission to reunite the Child with his people now the show’s priority, there’s a concerted effort to tie the story into wider Star Wars mythology, whether it originated in movies, animated series, books or comics. There’s also greater emphasis on exploring the state of the galaxy after the Emperor’s (apparent) demise in Return Of The Jedi – it’s an absolute dream for fans.
That said, even a Star Wars newbie could enjoy a second season that’s even more consistent in quality than its predecessor. Sure, the show’s structure is formulaic to the point of parody – almost every episode fits a “Mando teams up with unlikely allies to complete mission” template – but its minimalistic approach to storytelling totally sucks you in. Pedro Pascal also makes the Mandalorian incredibly human, despite the fact his face is (almost) always hidden under a tin can. It’s pretty obvious why Disney has already announced several Mandalorian spin-off series – big-screen Star Wars has a lot of catching up to do.
“The Marshal” isn’t the first time you’ve seen a krayt dragon: C-3PO walks past a giant skeleton in the original movie.