Critics’ Corner: TV Review

The Mandalorian, Season 2

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Daniel O'Keefe, Staff Reporter, Sophomore

We live in the era of the streaming service, and with dozens of services at our fingertips, Disney+ has taken the cake. With great movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, along with some great original shows, it is no wonder why Disney + has been such a hit. One of these shows, The Mandalorian, has become a fan and cult favorite and has come back with a second season more action-packed and thrilling than ever. 

In this season, the adventure continues of Mando, aka Din Djarin, (played by Game of Thrones actor Pedro Pascal), and The Child (widely known as Baby Yoda) as they travel across the Star Wars Galaxy to find the remaining Mandalorian forces in order to find the home world of Baby Yoda’s species. During their journey, they travel to planets both new and familiar to Star Wars fans, including the desert planet of Tatooine, the watery planet of Mon Calamari, the rocky molten planet of Nevarro, and the forest world of Corvus.

The second season takes place immediately following the first chronologically, which is five years after the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the fall of the Galactic Empire. An underworld army of Imperial Forces is rising to the brim, and Mando leaves the planet Nevarro with Baby Yoda. At the same time, after believing he defeated Moff Gideon, the show’s main villain, in an epic TIE (Twin Ion Engine)  fighter battle, Mando finds Gideon survived the crash and is still trying to search for Baby Yoda in order to help the Empire rise from its ashes.

Mando and Baby Yoda are accompanied by bounty hunter leader Greef Karga (played by Apollo Creed actor, Carl Weathers) and former Rebel trooper, Cara Dune (Gina Carano) as they fight against the remaining forces of the Imperial army and their leader Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). 

The show also brings back some familiar Star Wars characters including the silent bounty hunter, Boba Fett (Temura Morrison), who after looking like his fate was sealed in the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi managed to escape death and become a wanderer on Tatooine. The show also brings in characters from the animated Star Wars shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, such as Jedi and former Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Mandalorian warrior Bo Katan (Katee Sackhoff). 

Directed by John Favreau, Dave Filoni, Taika Watiti, and a few others, The Mandalorian’s second season lives up to the enormous hype from its predecessor by delivering excellent storylines, stunning action sequences, great performances, and as always, comical moments from the show — obviously including show-stealing Baby Yoda. From a battle with Tusken Raiders to a fantastic dogfight against Imperial TIE Fighters, the show manages to bring nostalgic moments from both the original and prequel trilogy.

With many more exciting plotlines in the years to come of this acclaimed show, the galaxy far, far away proves that it can work on the small screen just as it did on the big screen. As The Mandalorian says, “This is the Way”.