Remember when a Star Wars TV show of this level seemed impossible? After multiple decades and different attempts all fizzling out because the effects were too expensive, look where we are now. Not only is it really happening, we got the first two episodes in one week. Strangely, this second episode cuts the runtime by almost a quarter. I guess I can’t complain too much when it’s the second episode in a week. And hey, it’s a positive sign that the show isn’t bound to any specific runtime. It’ll take as much or little time as it wants for each episode’s story.
The pilot ended with The Mandalorian and IG-88 working together to find their bounty: a 50-year-old baby Yoda-like creature. IG-11 wanted to kill it, so The Mandalorian shot the droid instead. Even a faceless bounty hunter can’t resist something so cute. Just in case you forgot how cute it was, this episode reminds you whenever it can. It’s filled with constant cuts to the baby’s reaction to what’s going on. Oh god, it’s the CUTEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN! You know it won’t be long before plush toys of it are everywhere. Now that The Mandalorian has his target, it’s time to get off this planet. That’s going to be harder than he thinks, of course. He returns to his ship just in time to find Jawas stripping it for parts.
(Via Lucasfilm/Disney)
With a show like this, I didn’t know if it’d be able to live up to the action of the pilot. Usually, action shows go all out for their first episode only for very little of the rest of the season to reach those same highs. It doesn’t look like that’s going to be a problem here. The first episode gave us an old west shootout, this one features what looks like the Star Wars version of a train robbery. The Mandalorian chases after the Sandcrawler, hooking himself to the side and riding along. They do the thing where the Jawas drive close to a cliff and The Mandalorian has to pull himself out of the way. Real good stuff. This is just a fantastic action sequence, with a lot of humor in it. From the Jawas throwing random metal objects to the frequent cuts back to the baby idly floating along behind the action, this sequence wasn’t afraid to get a little goofy. Just like Star Wars should be.
The Mandalorian doesn’t get inside the transport and has to go back to the old moisture farmer, Kuill, for help. Kuill is on good terms with the Jawas and offers to set up a trade. The Jawas are initially wary of the The Mandalorian, but he reluctantly puts down his weapons and they strike a deal. He can’t give them his armor or the baby, so they request he go get them an egg. Simple, right? Yeah, we all knew where this was going from the beginning. Cut to The Mandalorian walking through a dark cave, poking at something strange on the wall only to find out it’s a giant eye. Yes, this show uses multiple tropes we’ve seen before, even in other Star Wars properties. But there’s a reason for that. They work so well.
Pedro Pascal (via Lucasfilm/Disney)
The episode may have had a shorter runtime than the pilot, but they still managed to pack two blisteringly quick action sequences. If the Sandcrawler setpiece wasn’t exciting enough, how about a good old fashioned giant monster? Hell yeah. Action alone isn’t what makes the second episode such a step up, though. My main issue with the pilot, was that it didn’t have much of an arc. It was all setup and no payoff. The second chapter managed to pack a small, yet satisfying character arc in a significantly shorter runtime.
At the beginning of the episode, when The Mandalorian is trying to heal his wounds, the baby keeps getting up and waddling over to help (AWWW). The Mandalorian thinks the kid is just being annoying and puts him back in the floating carrier. Now, the giant monster has disarmed and beaten down the bounty hunter. All he can do is hold out his knife as the creature charges him. The baby finally gets to help. It reaches out its hand and uses some exceptionally strong Force powers to lift the creature into the air. The Mandalorian is so in awe that he almost wastes the sudden assist. The baby exhausts itself and falls asleep. When the creature crashes back to the ground, The Mandalorian stabs it in the neck, killing it.
(Via Lucasfilm/Disney)
So we see much more clearly now what kind of show this is going to be. The Mandalorian is the gruff loner who takes a job that puts a small child into his care. As the show goes on, we’re going to see him warm up to the baby and grow protective of it. It’ll probably lose him the reward and put him up against the dangerous former Empire people who hired him. There’s a reason we’ve seen this story play out over and over again. It’s a really good one, and a Star Wars twist on it sounds like a ton of fun. The rest of the episode plays out how you’d expect. He gives the Jawas the egg, and they dig into it for a decent gross-out gag. The Mandalorian gets the parts back and Kuill helps him rebuild his ship. And if you didn’t know Jon Favreau was behind this, you do now. The ship rebuilding scene looks like it’s straight out of Iron Man. It’s a fun little reference, and it got a chuckle.
After a pilot full of setup, the show gave us an efficient, exciting episode that showed us what kind of story this is going to be. It’s clear why these first two chapters had to be split up this way. The pilot did all the expository work of setting up where in the timeline we are and introducing all the characters. This episode was free to tell a tightly focused story that gets the plot moving and still have time for two exciting action scenes. I’m only surprised the IG-11 didn’t come back somehow. With their bickering in the pilot and Taika Waititi’s voice, I was sure he’d get fixed for some reason or another. That’s still a possibility I guess. In Star Wars, nothing ever truly dies.
The Mandalorian streams Fridays on Disney Plus
Previously on The Mandalorian:
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