The first season of The Mandalorian was a good set-up, introducing Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin, a bounty hunter with an honor code. He found a child, one with Force powers, commonly know as Baby Yoda, and he had a mission to return the Child to his people.
Part of it was, set as the show is not long after Return of the Jedi, neither Mando, as he’s known, or the other Mandalorians know much about the Jedi, the Child’s people. Season two tells the story of Mando’s quest to even find a Jedi.
Running as it does over eight episodes, many of which are stand-alone adventures, season two of The Mandalorian did something that will be important, if not for this show, than for Disney+’s efforts to create more Star Wars on the small screen. If season one was to establish the character of the Mandalorian and his path, The Way, then season two was to expand the universe of the Mandalorian and connect it to the greater Star Wars universe. Much was made of Rosario Dawson’s casting as Ashoka Tano, but she isn’t the only one. I won’t really say which ones because if you’re reading this you either A) already know or B) you haven’t seen it and the surprises are part of the fun.
However, connecting to existing characters from various movies and animated series is one thing, but The Mandalorian also remembers where it came from, bringing back characters from season one that make for a more satisfying setting and story. We may not need Bill Burr’s sharpshooting Migs Mayfield in every episode, but writer/producer Jon Favreau know just how much he needs a character like that for.
Besides, Pascal as an actor can get so much across with just his voice since the character often keeps his helmet on.
The end result is a season that seems to wrap up the first storyarc involving the Child in an epic and exciting way. I found The Mandalorian‘s first season to be fine popcorn TV, not particularly deep but generally exciting, and while season two is still basically popcorn TV, it’s a lot more exciting and seems to have learned from whatever it did in season one to make for even better television. We may never know exactly what makes Din Djarin tick, but time spent with him is always welcome. And, quite frankly, if this show is meant to be something of a springboard for more Star Wars on TV, then they picked a good one to go with.
Grade: A
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