056: Rabbit Recaps- The Mandalorian Season Two

Welcome back to my review and recap of The Mandalorian! If you missed my first post in this series, you can find it here:

030: Rabbit Recaps- The Mandalorian Season One

As expected, the second season continues the plotlines and conflicts established in the first season and expands on the show’s universe in a meaningful way. Just as with the first post, I plan to summarize the plot rather than give a full description, mostly focusing on what happened, how it related to what came before, and how it may impact what comes next. As always, spoilers follow, so use care if you have not yet watched the season.

Background

The Mandalorian Season Two aired in 2020 on Disney+. The series takes place roughly five years after Return of the Jedi and shares continuity with the Star Wars franchise as a whole. This season in particular ties in elements from the movies and the animated series Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Bad Batch.

Fanboy squee. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Glossary

In this section I will talk about new terms and concepts, and not reiterate those mentioned in the first post.

Children of the Watch: This is the fringe sect of Mandalorians that Din Djarin belongs to. According to Bo-Katan, the Children of the Watch are religious extremists who believe strictly in the purity of the Mandalorian line. They refuse to remove their helmets when not alone.

The Nite Owls: This is the group of mercenary Mandalorians led by Bo-Katan. They have been active since the Clone Wars and their current objective is to retake the planet of Mandalore and restore it to its past glory.

Dark Troopers: The Dark Troopers are highly advanced and lethal droid soldiers created to defend the Imperial remnant. This is the third generation of Dark Troopers, and are fully mechanical. (Previous models were suits that Troopers wore.)

Cruising in style. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Returning Characters

The Mandalorian is the main character. His real name is Din Djarin, but most refer to him as The Mandalorian or Mando. He follows a strict Mandalorian code, refusing to remove his helmet in front of others. At this point in the series, he has only removed his helmet once, in the season finale, so that he could be treated by the droid IG-11. Although he is a Bounty Hunter, he’s not necessarily as ruthless and cold as those we’ve seen in other Star Wars media. He considers himself the adoptive father or caretaker of the Child.

Grogu is the baby of Yoda’s species that Mando rescued in the first season. We learn a bit more of his past in this season, but he’s still a very enigmatic character. He was referred to as “the Child” in Season One but his name is revealed this season. (Following this I will continue to refer to him as “the Child” until we get to that point in the plot summary.) He is a very powerful Force wielder, but has not yet learned how to control his power as of yet. He is immature and selfish, but clearly looks up to Din, who has become a father figure to him.

They’re having fun. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Greef Karga is the head of the Bounty Hunter Guild on Planet Nevarro. While first being at odds with Mando, they worked together to escape the Empire at the end of the first season. He is now working as the Magistrate of Nevarro and attempting to make it into a trade route.

Cara Dune is a survivor of Alderaan and a former shock trooper of the Alliance. She is currently the marshal of Nevarro, working to clean it up alongside Greef.

The Mythrol is the blue-skinned amphibious alien that Mando took into custody in Episode 1 of the series. He is working as a clerk for Greef as punishment for stealing from him. (Hence the bounty in Episode 1.) The Mythrol is cowardly and used as comic relief. He has not been named, oddly enough.

Peli babysitting. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Peli Motto is a sassy mechanic who lives in Mos Eisley on Tatooine. She is a good example of not knowing how important a character would become. (I had her listed in the minor characters in my post on Season One.) She is very fond of Grogu and droids.

Moff Gideon is the mysterious leader of the one of the remnants of the mostly disbanded Galactic Empire. At the end of the previous season it was revealed that he is the one who sent the Bounty Hunters after Grogu and that he possesses the Darksaber, an ancient lightsaber artifact from Mandalore.

Doctor Pershing is the scientist reporting to Gideon and conducting tests on Grogu’s blood. In this season it is revealed he’s a clone engineer.

Fennec is a badass. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Fennec Shand is a Bounty Hunter, mercenary, and assassin. She was hunted by Mando in Season One and left for dead before being found (and saved by) Boba Fett. She is another example of a minor character getting promoted. I figured the way they left her on Season One that she would return. Her backstory is elaborated on in the animated series The Bad Batch. (Which I will absolutely review someday, once I’m done with the Clone Wars series.)

Migs Mayfeld is a mercenary and former Imperial sharpshooter. Although snarky and jaded, he does have a sense of right and wrong that is at odds with the Imperial viewpoint. He teamed up with Mando in Season One during a heist to save one of his crew. (I dropped the ball on this one, since I didn’t even list him in my minor characters last time. But I did warn you that was the danger of doing posts on ongoing series. You never know who will become important.)

Cobb doesn’t wear that armor well. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

New Characters

Cobb Vanth is the marshal of Mos Pelgo. He is hard but fair, and protective of his people. In his first appearance, Cobb is wearing a familiar suit of armor. Who’s armor?

The boss is back. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Boba Fett. That’s right, they went there! Glimpsed at the end of an episode in Season One, the most notorious Bounty Hunter in Star Wars history is confirmed to have survived his untimely meeting with a Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi. Boba Fett, being the son of Jango Fett, who was the template for the Clone Troopers, is played by Temuera Morrison, who played Jango and the Clones in the prequels. In this season, Boba is revealed to be heavily scarred from his time in the Sarlacc pit, and is revealed to be a second generation Mandalorian, as his father was a foundling. (This contradicts dialog in the Clone Wars, but that makes sense, as not much was known about Jango at that time.)

Non-animated Ahsoka. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Ahsoka Tano is a disgraced Jedi who served as Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice during the Clone Wars. While feisty and impetuous as a child, here she is shown as quiet and wise, and clearly has not forgotten her training. Due to some unfortunate events in the Clone Wars (which I have not covered in that series of posts yet) Ahsoka was removed from the Jedi Order and so survived Order 66, which caused the extermination of most of the Jedi. She is searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn, following the events of the series Rebels.

Hey wait, Starbuck? (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Bo-Katan Kryze is the heir of Mandalore, and the younger sister of Satine Kryze, the Duchess of Mandalore, who we met in the Clone Wars. She is currently working on liberating Mandalore from the Empire.

Minor Characters

Minor characters in this season include Axe Woves and Koska Reeves, the two Mandalorian warriors who accompany Bo-Katan as members of the Nite Owls. Morgan Elsbeth is an Imperial Magistrate on the planet of Corvus. Lang is her lieutenant. Captain Carson Teva is an officer of the New Republic who recruits Cara Dune.

Just a Tusken out for a ride. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Plot Summary

The season begins with Din and the Child hunting down information on where other Mandalorians may be hiding. Din’s belief is that they can help him find the Child’s people, which is the quest that was given to him by the Armorer in Season 1. He is pointed to Tatooine, because of course he is. Everything seems to have to revolve around Tatooine these days. The upside to visiting the old dust bowl is that we get to see Peli Motto, who’s always a delight. She points the duo to the distant settlement of Mos Pelgo, which she believes was wiped out by bandits.

More like Boba Fake, am I right? (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Mos Pelgo is a cliché Old West ghost town, complete with a marshal. The marshal, Cobb Vanth, is wearing the old dinged up armor of the bounty hunter Boba Fett. He admits he’s not a Mandalorian, he just bought the armor from some Jawas and used it to liberate his town from a mining company that took over after the second Death Star was destroyed. Din is angry at him for having the armor, stating that it belongs with Mandalorians.

After showing that he knows how to use the armor and the rocket launcher, Vanth promises to give the armor to Mando in exchange for his help destroying the krayt dragon, which periodically burrows under the town and eats their livestock. The dragon is very formidable and apparently lives in an abandoned Sarlacc pit— after eating the Sarlacc. They secure the help of not only the villagers, but also the local Tusken tribe, who are also plagued by the dragon. Din translates for them using a combination of sounds and sign language. (He was shown to know the Tusken language in Season One.) As payment for their help, the Tuskens ask for the dragon’s carcass and promise to not raid the town anymore. The villagers and Vanth, while suspicious of the Tuskens, agree to the terms.

After an extended battle using explosives, a Bantha as bait, and more explosives, Mando gets swallowed by the krayt dragon and has to shock his way out. The dragon falls and everyone rejoices. There will be peace between the people and the Tuskens, and they’ve gained new appreciation for each other. As promised Cobb gives Mando the armor and the Tuskens give him a chunk of dragon meat. As Din and the Child speed off for more adventures, a man in a robe watches from the distance. He has a rifle and a Tusken Gaffi stick.

Hehe Frog Lady. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

After a minor skirmish with raiders, Din gets a tip from Peli on someone who is willing to give info on Mandalorians in exchange for a ride. That’s right, it’s an escort quest! The hitch is that they can only travel sub-light speed. The passenger is an alien frog Muppet lady who needs to get her eggs to a moon called Trask in order to have her husband frog guy fertilize them. (I guess that makes Mando her wingman? Sorry, that was terrible. Terrible, but technically accurate.) This starts a very strange subplot where the Child eats the eggs of a dying species every chance he can. (It’s just as weird as it sounds.)

Some New Republic X-Wing pilots demand proof from Din that he’s not an Imperial. He runs and after a chase scene ends up landing on the nearby planet. The ice breaks and they crash into a cavern where he has to make repairs on the Razor Crest. In the cavern, the Frog Lady (no, they didn’t bother giving her a name) repairs the head of the droid Q9-0 to translate her language into one Mando can understand. She implores he make the repairs quickly or her eggs will die in the cold. (The droid almost killed the Child in Season One before Mando deactivated it.)

While Din is busy making repairs and the Frog Lady is bathing with her eggs in a hot spring, the Child eats some random cave eggs, which turn out to be baby nightmare ice spiders which immediately swarm our heroes along with Momma Nightmare Ice Spider

They have to fight their way back to the Razor Crest, which is also overrun by spiders. Frog Lady shows she’s handy with a blaster, saving the Child from a spider in the nick of time. Just when things look grim, the X-Wing pilots return and blast Momma Spider. They reveal there is an arrest warrant out for Mando due to the prison ship heist from Season One. But since he apprehended the other prisoners and protected the New Republic guard, they let him go with a warning.

After the repairs are finished (the ship looks to be held together with chewing gum and duct tape) they manage to make it to Trask. After a rough landing, the Frog Lady is reunited with Frog Husband. Since it’s a water type moon, we see Mon Calamari. (RIP Admiral Ackbar.) We also see the squid guy and prune faces (like the ones in Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi.) (No, don’t take my nerd license away. Their actual races are Quarren and Weequay.) The Frog Husband points them to an inn where a shifty guy in a hood who couldn’t possibly be up to anything nefarious says that others wearing Beskar have been through the port. He quickly arranges passage on a fishing barge where Din is obviously betrayed and has to have a fight scene. The Child’s carriage is swallowed by a monster.

Yay more Mandalorians! (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Din and the Child are saved by the sudden appearance of three Mandalorians. They turn out to be part of the Nite Owls, Bo-Katan Kryze, Axe Woves, and Koska Reeves. Din is shocked to see them remove their helmets and we get some important game-changing information here. Not all Mandalorians are so strict about removing their helmets. (Which I sort of figured after seeing some Mandalorians on the Clone Wars and knowing that Sabine from Rebels often removed hers.) Mando’s tribe are referred to as the Children of the Watch, who are religious zealots who cling stubbornly to the old ways of Mandalore. The lead Mandalorian (with the elaborately painted helmet) was born on Mandalore and fought in the Clone Wars during the Purge (where Mandalore fell to the Empire). She is Bo-Katan Kryze and she’s the Duchess of Mandalore. Unable to reconcile what they’re saying to what he’s known all his life, Mando flies off.

More side history— Bo-Katan is the sister of Satine Kryze, who I talked about in my second Clone Wars post. (She was Obi-Wan Kenobi’s ex… allegedly. He won’t admit it but we all know it’s true.) Bo-Katan appeared in the Clone Wars series as well, but I haven’t gotten to her episodes yet.

After another brief fight scene, the Mandalorians all talk in a bar. Their plan is to seize a cache of weapons and retake Mandalore. In order to get Mando’s help in the freighter heist, Bo-Katan promises to lead him to a Jedi. (Yes, it’s another side quest!) He leaves the Child with the Frog Family and forbids him from eating any more eggs.

It’s like shooting Stormtroopers in a corridor. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

What follows is an action-packed scene where the four Mandalorians beat up a bunch of Stormtroopers. (We know from Season One that the Empire, while fractured, is still operating in some capacity.) The heist goes smoothly, showing the Nite Owls trio are efficient warriors. It turns out that Bo-Katan didn’t tell the whole story. They don’t just want the weapons, they want the ship. Moff Gideon, appearing in a hologram, refuses to give support to the crew of the ship. The Captain shoots the pilots and tries to crash the ship, but is stopped. Bo-Katan asks the Captain the location of the Darksaber. Rather than tell her, he commits suicide.

Bo-Katan again tries to recruit Mando, but he’s too focused on his quest. She tells him to look on the Planet Corvus. There he’ll find a Jedi named Ahsoka Tano. (Another fanboy squee!) Din returns to the Child to find him helping give the newly hatched Frog baby a bath. (He actually didn’t try to eat him!) They head off for Corvus, but since the Razor Crest is held together by fishing nets, there’s no way it’ll make it. So it’s time for a layover on Nevarro.

Everybody has to hold the baby when they see him. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Things have changed since we last visited Nevarro. Cara Dune is now the marshal and Greef Karga is the Magistrate. They’re working together to clean up the planet and open it up as a trade route. They’ve even opened a school, which is where they leave the Child while they set about their business. One of the kids is eating blue space macarons and won’t share them, so the Child uses the Force to steal them.

Of course Greef needs help. There is an old Imperial Base on Nevarro and they need help taking it out. It’s mostly abandoned, but the fact that it’s there is scaring people away from trading. In return for repairing the Razor Crest, Din agrees to assist. The blue-skinned Mithrol from the very first episode is working off his debt as a bookkeeper for Greef and he is forced to come along, much to his snarky annoyance.

Space macarons. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The base is not nearly as abandoned as they thought, but the four are able to infiltrate it easily. In the base they find bodies suspended in pods and a hologram of Doctor Pershing. He talks about how the bodies are rejecting the blood. This leads us to the revelation that they’re injecting the Child’s blood into people (whether they’re unwilling or volunteers, it’s not clear) and whatever Moff Gideon is after has to do with that. The Child’s blood has a high M-Count (which obviously stands for macaron… kidding, it’s Midichlorians, which is, I guess, Force Juice.) He also states that they’re out of the samples and so they will need access to the source… which means that they’re not done with the Child. Din also learns, to his shock, that this is a recent message and it was addressed to Moff Gideon, meaning that he survived the TIE crash in Season One. They set the base to explode and have to flee, taking out Troopers on speeders and TIE fighters. As they head off to their next stop on Planet Corvus, we learn that Moff Gideon had a spy place a tracking beacon on the Razor Crest. And also he has a startling number of droids in charging stations. Uh oh.

A side note: At the end of this episode a New Republic officer is investigating the destruction of the Imperial base and talks with Cara about it. He says he knows something is going on and tells Cara they could use her help. He leaves a New Republic badge behind for her. This seemed to me to be setup for the show Rangers of the New Republic, which may now be cancelled. (Gina Carano was fired after saying some tone-deaf things on Twitter, to put it lightly.) This plot point will likely just come back back in Season Three of the Mandalorian. (Possibly leading to a team up between the New Republic pilots and Din against Admiral Thrawn? Maaaybe…)

Ahsoka emerges. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

On Corvus, Ahsoka Tano is fighting a one-person rebellion against a corrupt Imperial Magistrate named Morgan Elsbeth and her lieutenant Lang. When Din lands, he’s taken to Elsbeth, who offers him a spear of salvaged Beskar in return for killing the Jedi. He quickly finds her and they fight briefly before he explains he’s not there to kill her, just to get her help. She is clearly surprised to see a Baby Yoda… remember she knew Master Yoda during the Clone Wars. We learn a lot in the following scenes. She is able to communicate with the Child using the Force and reveals that his name is Grogu. The power she’s displaying seems to be a form of telepathy, but she explains they can feel each other’s thoughts. So, yeah, 13 episodes in and we finally get the name of one of our main characters and some of his backstory. He was raised at the Jedi Temple in Coruscant as a Youngling, training with several Masters. When the Order fell, someone smuggled him out and since then he’s been suppressing his powers in order to hide. Who rescued him is not revealed, but I’m sure it will be important later in the series. Also of note is that when Ahsoka mentions Yoda, Grogu perks up, showing that he knew the old Master. (I would assume so! The only other of his species we’ve seen has been Yoda and Yaddle.) (Hashtag Yaddle Lives.) (Yes, I’m going to keep doing that.)

The next day, Ahsoka tests Grogu. Din uses the ball from the lever of his ship to entice Grogu to use his Force powers. (He had to take the ball away from him earlier in the episode.) Ahsoka refuses to train him. Although he is powerful, he’s undisciplined and has too much fear and anger in him. These are very dangerous for Jedi. The main problem is his relationship to the Mandalorian, as Jedi are not allowed to have connections. This would get in the way of his training and possibly cause him to go down the path to the Dark Side.

Another duel. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Din agrees to help Ahsoka to lay siege to the city if she will make sure Grogu is trained. The two of them easily defeat the Magistrate’s forces and free the prisoners. Ahsoka duels with the Magistrate using her two lightsabers while she uses the Beskar spear. Although Elsbeth puts up a decent fight, she is unable to defeat the seasoned Jedi. She demands the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Thrawn (!) and we don’t get to hear the response. (Thrawn, for those who may not have encountered him before, is a badass blue-skinned alien highly ranked in the Empire. And we’re totally going to get a live-action version of him sometime soon.)

Din tries to hand over Grogu, but Ahsoka again refuses, saying that they should travel to Planet Tython so he can visit the Jedi altar and choose his own path. If he chooses to, Grogu can reach out to any remaining Jedi there. Before he goes, Ahsoka gives him the Beskar spear, stating that it belongs with a Mandalorian.

Note that while Din is insistent throughout that Grogu should go with Ahsoka, that seems to be more out of respect for the needs of the child and dedication for his given mission, rather than what he really wants. He’s showing more and more his fondness for Grogu and his hesitancy to let him go. But he feels it’s what’s best for Grogu… that he should be with his own kind. This ties in well with the themes of family and tribe that the series is rooted in. Grogu is a Foundling and so he’s a Mandalorian by right, but if he has the chance to be with his own kind, that’s where he should be.

Force trance. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

On Planet Tython, the two of them reach the altar. They had to park the Razor Crest far away and use the jet pack to get there. Din sets Grogu on the altar and he’s enveloped by a mystical glow and goes into a trance. A familiar-looking ship arrives. Unable to get Grogu out of the glow, Din rushes to meet the newcomers. He encounters Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, who he thought was dead after their encounter in Season One. She reveals that Fett saved her life and shows cybernetics in her stomach. Fett states that he’s there for his armor, which Din got from Cobb Vanth. He refuses to hand the armor over, saying that it needs to be with a Mandalorian, which he does not believe Boba Fett is. Another ship arrives and the battle begins with the three united against the invading Stormtroopers. (Who had followed the beacon hidden in the Razor Crest.)

Boba Fett is back! (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

What follows is an impressive battle showcasing all three’s combat skills. Shand is a total badass, and a crack shot. Boba Fett battles with a Tusken gaffi stick. Gideon sent two entire squadrons of Stormtroopers, showing not only how important Grogu is to his plans, but also how much of a threat Din is. During the battle, Fett enters the Razor Crest and takes back his armor. Still unable to remove Grogu from the altar, Din returns to the fight and teams up with Fennec while Fett kicks Stormtrooper ass. He scares them off, but as the ships are fleeing he fires a missile into one, making it crash into the other ship.

Shortly after this a projectile comes from above and obliterates the Razor Crest. (I gasped at that part. You gain a connection with the ships in these sorts of shows.) They don’t see where the shot came from but we can see that Moff Gideon’s ship is in orbit. He sends out the Dark Troopers, which were the deadly-looking droids we saw a couple of episodes back. They scoop up the child from the altar, since the trance has ended. Din can’t get there in time and Fett can’t fire on the droids without hurting Grogu. He does follow the droids, seeing Gideon’s ship and identifying it as Imperial.

Grogu is gone and the Razor Crest is unsalvageable. All he can find are Grogu’s metal ball and the Beskar spear. Boba Fett proves that his father Jango was a Foundling who was rescued during the Mandalorian Civil Wars. This makes Boba a true Mandalorian by birth and rightful owner of the armor. Mando concedes that the armor is his. Fett says he owes Din a debt and promises to help him get Grogu back.

Their first stop is Planet Nevarro, where Din visits Cara Dune to ask the location of Migs Mayfeld. (The criminal mercenary that Din got arrested in Season One.) Migs is working on a prison world. Cara also reveals that she took the New Republic up on their offer to work for them as a marshal.

I like how the Darksaber looks like a void. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Back on the Imperial ship, Moff Gideon goes to see Grogu, who’s throwing Stormtroopers around with the Force. Of note here is that he Force chokes one of them, which is distinctly un-Jedi-like behavior. Gideon shows off his Darksaber and has Grogu stunned and handcuffed. He contacts Dr. Pershing to let him know they have the donor.

Second unmasking. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

After springing Migs from his forced labor, the team (consisting of Mando, Cara, Miggs, Boba Fett, and Fennec Shand) all head to Planet Morak. There is an Imperial refinery there and Migs can use his Imperial codes to access a terminal and find the coordinates for Moff Gideon’s ship. (I guess after the fall of the Empire they don’t deactivate old codes anymore?) The hitch to the plan is that only Mando and Migs can go… everyone else would be scanned and recognized. (Boba Fett has the most familiar face in the galaxy.) In order to keep a helmet on, Din ambushes mining Stormtroopers and steals their armor. On the way to the facility the two of them have to drive a transport filled with easily-explodable rhydonium and fight off raiders. They reach the refinery as heroes, being the only transport that made it.

In the facility they run into another problem. Migs can’t go into the mess hall where the terminal is because he used to serve under the officer having his lunch break. Din goes in and get the coordinates but gains the attention of the officer, Valin Hess, who makes him remove his helmet. Migs covers for him. While they have drinks with Hess, Migs loses his cool at the cold and dismissive way the officer talks about the disposable nature of the Troopers. Migs shoots Hess and the two of them have to fight their way out. Before leaving the mess hall, Migs hands Din his helmet saying “We did what we had to do. I never saw your face.”

Migs grew on me. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

On the way out, Cara and Fennec provide cover with Boba Fett doing air support. As they’re about to leave, Migs uses a rifle and blows up the refinery. Rather than take him back to his sentence, Cara lets him go free, with Din’s agreement. The “official story” was that he died on Morak. With the coordinates in hand, Din sends a message to Gideon, telling him he’s on the way to get the Child back.

Cara and Din invade an Imperial shuttle to take Dr. Pershing hostage. Then Din and Fett go to recruit Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves for their mission. Bo-Katan instantly hates Fett, which isn’t surprising, considering that she battled men who looked just like him in the Clone War. She also doubts his Mandalorian heritage. She puts all that aside when she finds out that Grogu is captured and that they’re heading to Moff Gideon’s ship. Din agrees she can have the Darksaber and whatever else she wants if she’ll help him. With that they’re ready to attack Gideon.

Pershing warns them about the garrison of Dark Troopers on board Gideon’s ship. They hatch a plan where Boba Fett is chasing Bo-Katan’s captured Imperial ship and it crashes into the cruiser’s docking bay. (Which is very much like a similar scene from Battlestar Galactica.) The intention is for Din to get to the Dark Troopers and stop them before they can be fully activated. He doesn’t quite get there in time and one Dark Trooper gets out. Din has trouble with the Trooper— blaster bolts and fire have no effect on its armor. He manages to impale it on his Beskar spear and then airlocks the others, Battlestar style. (I’m certain they did these are tributes.) The rest of the team battles their way to the bridge, blasting Stormtroopers. (There’s a lot of action in this episode.)

Din finds Grogu’s cell and Gideon is there, holding the Darksaber to his neck. Gideon, monologuing like a true villain (no plays sinister like Giancarlo Esposito), explains that whoever wields the Darksaber has the right to the Mandalorian throne and that Bo-Katan can’t be trusted. He says he has no further use for the Child now that his blood has been studied. He has the potential to bring order to the galaxy. He tells Din he can have Grogu, but then attacks. After a cool Darksaber/Beskar spear duel, Din disarms and and bests Gideon, taking him prisoner.

Who’s that Jedi? (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

On the bridge Din tries to hand the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, but she can’t take it. Gideon points out that the only way she can take it is for her to defeat him in combat. She’s clearly pissed about this development. Before they can settle this, the cruiser is boarded by the previously airlocked Dark Troopers. (You didn’t really think they were gone that easily, did you?) The group prepares to make their stand but then are boarded once more. This time by a man in a black robe flying an X-Wing. A man with a green lightsaber. The mysterious but somehow familiar Jedi is answering Grogu’s call from Tython. The Jedi defeats all the Dark Troopers easily. During this, Grogu and Din watch him on the monitors, with Grogu seeming to recognize the Jedi. (Either he’s just remembering lightsaber fights, or he actually communicated with him during his mystical trance… it’s not explained.) While they’re distracted, Gideon gets his hands on a blaster and tries to shoot Grogu. Din throws himself in front of the shot. Gideon then tries to shoot himself, but Cara disarms him and knocks him out. (Thus insuring his return in future episodes!)

The others are worried about the newcomer, but Din recognizes that Grogu trusts him and lets him onto the bridge. The Jedi removes his hood, revealing that he’s Luke Skywalker! (I left him out of the character list to preserve the surprise.) The time has come for Din to say goodbye to Grogu. Luke points out that Grogu needs training but he won’t go without Din’s permission. Din reluctantly give it, promising that they’ll see each other again. Before he goes, Din removes his helmet to allow the Child to see his face for the first time. After that touching moment, Grogu meets R2-D2 and it’s honestly super cute. Luke promises to keep him safe and they go, Din watching after them with tears in his eyes.

Boba the Hutt? (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

And that was Season Two of the Mandalorian! There was an end credit scene that sets up the spinoff companion series The Book of Boba Fett. In the scene, Fett and Fennec invade Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine. We see that Bib Fortuna, Jabba’s Twilek aide, has taken the throne and is now grotesquely fat, seemingly embracing Jabba’s hedonistic lifestyle. Boba Fett kills him and takes his throne.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of Bo-Katan. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Continuity

This season was very well done continuity-wise. It not only continued Season One, but plot threads and characters from Clone Wars and Rebels. Bo-Katan and Ahsoka have clear story arcs set up to be explored in the future, but it was all done in a way that still made this season satisfying. It easily could have felt like this was an “in-between” season just setting up the future, but in focusing on the mission to get Grogu to a Jedi, the hints about future story arcs just made the other characters more well-rounded and complex. They all have their own motivations and goals. We got a few more hints as to what the Imperial remnant is up to, but it’s still left mysterious.

Munchin’ spider eggs. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

We got many of the Star Wars staples this season: Jawas, Tuskens, Twileks, Gamorreans, Mon Calamari, Weequay, and more. We got to see a bit more about what the Imperial remnant is up to and that the Empire is still a danger to the burgeoning New Republic. (Who appear to have already fallen into the trap of complacency.) We got to see how Luke has mastered his Jedi powers. We met up with Bo-Katan and Ahsoka, still kicking it in the galaxy and got confirmation that Thrawn is still out there somewhere. We got to see that Bib Fortuna stepped into Jabba’s role as gangster blob of Tatooine. We got confirmation of what we all suspected, that Fennec Shand survived her run-in with Mando in Season One. And most importantly to many of us, the long-held fan theory was made canon— Boba Fett survived the Sarlacc.

The Nite Owls. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Thoughts

This was a great season. I liked it even more than Season One. Now that everything is established, they had more freedom to explore the Mandalorian’s corner of the galaxy and bring in new elements to fuel future stories. The episodes were shorter and each one smoothly led into the next, creating a continuous narrative. This was also done in the first season, but it was more skillful here, with the episodes feeling less like filler and more like the next reasonable phase in the tale. Even the episodes that felt like they could be filler— the siege on Nevarro, the freighter heist— tied smoothly to the next step in the journey and led to the finale. The only episode that really felt like filler was the escort quest, but the Frog Lady was awesome, so that’s forgiven. (And besides, the Razor Crest getting dinged up became an important plot point.)

I feel like this season built effectively upon what was started in Season One. It expanded the universe of the series, bringing back characters from the first season while introducing many more. Plot points were continued, such as the fate of Fennec Shand and the Imperial remnant’s attempts to recapture Grogu. We got many answers while setting up the future through Season Three, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and any other spinoffs that may come out. The story broadened in many ways while staying true to its core, the relationship between Din and Grogu.

I enjoyed the appearance of Luke Skywalker. It was nice to see him in action again. And the CGI de-aging mock up they did of him was much better than Rogue One’s Leia and Tarkin. (Lord those were horrible uncanny valley abominations. The movie would have been much better without them.) Interestingly enough, they CGI’d Mark Hamill’s face onto a body double and used a speech program and archival audio for his speech. Lucas always said some day actors would be obsolete and here we are. That time is now. Anyway, despite the horrifying implications of CGI taking over living actors, that was a badass and surprising scene. Also it wasn’t lost on me that Luke’s battle through the corridor was a mirror to Darth Vader’s appearance in Rogue One. It was a cool parallel. They both tore their way through their opponents, but for different reasons.

The dream team. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Bringing in Bo-Katan and Ahsoka Tano was a great move. It’s amazing to have the animated characters finally in the live action realm… it kind of blurs the lines between mediums and solidifies their places of importance in the Star Wars Universe. Ahsoka was my favorite character in the Clone Wars, so it was really cool seeing her brought to life. I only really know Rosario Dawson from the Marvel shows where she plays Night Nurse, but I feel like she fit as an older, more mature Ahsoka. On the other end was Bo-Katan. I haven’t reached her part of the Clone Wars, but I was aware of the character. She was in one of the Lego Star Wars games and I worked her into one of my Star Wars Destiny decks. And I loved Katee Sackoff in Battlestar Galactica. She voiced the character in the animated series, so it’s fitting she got to wear the armor. The introductions of these two characters were two of the high points of the season for me.

As great as those additions were, though, my favorite part of the season was seeing Boba Fett, alive and back in the armor. Seeing Boba Fett and Fennec Shand in action was great. Ming-Na Wen is a fantastic actor, and Boba Fett has been one of my favorite Star Wars characters ever since I was five and my parents gave me his action figure. I lost the figure in a move, but if I hadn’t, he would have an honored place on my shelf to this day. I feel Boba Fett’s scenes in this season did him justice in a way his appearances in the original trilogy fell short. The end credit sequence was a nice surprise, setting up the next series and promising more Boba Fett action to come.

Artoo has met pretty much everyone at this point. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

There were a couple of plot points that I really disliked at first before I rewatched the season and took the series as a whole. I didn’t really like the part where Grogu was eating the alien frog lady’s eggs. They played it for comedy but this is the last of her species! It stuck me as very dark. The more I thought about it though, the more it makes sense. It serves to underline the fact that for all his power, Grogu is, essentially, still a toddler. He’s selfish and disobedient. He hasn’t learned right from wrong and his own needs get in the way of reason. So when you look at it through that lens it works.

I also didn’t like the fact that Din removed his helmet twice. It seemed unnecessary and gratuitous. It reminded me of all the Spider-Man movies where he spends less time out of his mask than in it. (Especially Garfield’s Spider-Man. Why did he bother with the mask at that point? Anyway, that’s a whole other rant so I’ll stop now.) Anyway, I didn’t like it… a lot of the appeal of the character is his strict adherence to a faith he truly doesn’t understand. (He really thought, until his talk with Bo-Katan that all Mandalorians were the way he was raised to be. He was basically brainwashed as a child!) But on my rewatch I could see that the face reveals were both important not only to the story they’re telling, but the direction they seem to be going with Season Three. Also it serves to show that he would do anything for Grogu, even go against his deeply ingrained beliefs. So in hindsight this works.

I really love his armor. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

With all that said, the only real downside I saw in this season was in repetition. Again we got a story of a besieged village needing a gunslinger’s help to overcome their opponents. Again we got a story of the Empire (or Empire-adjacent I guess) taking advantage of the people of a planet and having to be overthrown by our plucky heroes. While we did get to see some new planets and new alien creatures, one episode (and the end credits scene) took place on Tatooine. The new Star Wars media seem to rely rather heavily on Tatooine. I’m hoping in the future they can branch out a bit more and avoid Tatooine altogether, but that doesn’t seem too likely, considering Fett and Shand are now stationed there. This season had a lot of good qualities, but following the same story notes and familiar elements puts it in danger of growing stale. I mean, I can understand the whole “I’ll help you after you help me” mentality of the Outer Rim… they have no choice but to rely on each other and leverage their assistance in this way.

All in all, this was an entertaining and satisfying continuation of the Mandalorian’s adventures. My favorite part was in seeing two of the classic Clone Wars characters brought to live action, fully brought into this part of canon and tied into the greater story. This presents so many exciting opportunities for the future including the Phoenix Squadron from Rebels, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and any number of other characters from the animated series. Placing these characters in Season Two was a smart move, as they would have distracted from the plot of Season One and taken the focus off Din and Grogu. Now that their story is established, we can start advancing into other stories. This season expanded the story in directions I never imagined possible and opens up the future dramatically.

Lingering Questions

There are still many unanswered questions from this season. While we learned the Child’s name and some of his history, there is still much we don’t know about him. Where did he come from? Who are his parents? (Yoda and Yaddle? I doubt it, but come on, they’re the only others of that unnamed species we’ve ever seen in canon works.) One thing I’m very curious about is who rescued Grogu from Order 66 and are they still around? Will he stay with Luke and train or go back to Mando? (I already know the answer to this one, actually, but that’s for next post.) Possibly the most important question to do with Grogu is what alignment will he follow with the Force? He clearly has a tie to the Light side, but Ahsoka pointed out that he has many of the traits of a Sith… fear, anger, attachment. He was shown Force choking a Stormtrooper this season, which is something we’ve only once seen from a Jedi before… Anakin Skywalker, before his fall to the Dark Side. I can tell this is going to be important later as Grogu’s character continues to develop.

How will Bo-Katan deal with Din having possession of the Darksaber? What effect will removing his helmet and revealing his face have on Din and his understanding of his faith? Will he join with the Nite Owls to retake Mandalore?

Ahsoka brings in many questions as well. Where has she been all this time? Why did she not get involved in the final battles against the Empire? Where is the rest of the Phoenix Squadron? And for that matter where is Grand Admiral Thrawn and where was he during the events of the original trilogy? (Yes, some of these things may have been answered in Rebels, but remember I haven’t watched that series yet.) I’m assuming Thrawn may be the one pulling the strings behind the scenes with the Imperial remnant, possibly being Moff Gideon’s boss, but we’ll see.

Passing the spear. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

This post took longer for me to get out simply because I’m not feeling the Rabbit Recaps quite the way I used to. Unless I have some serious reader suggestions I don’t plan on adding more shows to this category. I’ll finish the Mandalorian posts of course since I started them. (And *maybe* Ahsoka) But after that I’m going to just keep going with the SoraRabbit Watches series for Doctor Who, Ultraman, and the Clone Wars.

That said, I did want to rewatch this season and continue my Mandalorian series. I’m also going straight into the Book of Boba Fett for the next post, so that will come up soon. It continues the story set up in this season of the Mandalorian, and will be necessary to set up Season Three. See you then! Thank you all for reading and sticking with this series. I appreciate you all!