TV Review: The Mandalorian Season 2

The Mandalorian Season 2

Creator: Jon Favreau

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Temuera Morrison, Ming-Na Wen

Rating: TV-PG

Runtime: 8 Episodes

Season 1 of The Mandalorian set the world on fire. There are Baby Yodas everywhere you look and for the first time in history Star Wars fans were in agreement about something. Then out of nowhere, Season 2 walks up to Season 1, shoves it to the ground, steals it’s lunch money, and takes its rightful place as Star Wars’ golden boy.

The first thing about this season that jumps out at me is that it’s noticeably less episodic. The first season played very loose with it’s plot, and it was very clear that “hide Baby Yoda” was little more than a device to hop around planets and meet new characters. That’s not a criticism, as it was a kind of TV I almost never see any more. It was mostly tight, quick adventures that only had a loose thread connecting them, making for a unique experience every week. This is still somewhat true in the second season, but starting with episode 3 it almost never diverges from the path of “find a Jedi to take Baby Yoda”. Excluding Episode 7, which only slightly nudges the plot forward, each episode feels like an important piece of the overall puzzle. One episode may uncover more about the Mandalorians, the Imperial Remnant and their goals, or Baby Yoda himself. While I somewhat miss the more episodic nature of Season 1, it’s still present, and this slightly more serialized version of the show is still done very well.

Another thing of note in Season 2 is the significant ramping up of fanservice. This, I imagine, will be something of a point of contention amongst fans. The first season had it’s fair share as well, but it’s not even close to the scale of fan service that becomes quickly apparent this season. Entire characters and plot lines are taken from other Star Wars media and plopped into this story which leads to some of the most thrilling and rewarding viewing I’ve come across. I imagine though, if you don’t much care about Star Wars outside of the movies and The Mandalorian, the impact of these things may not land the same.

Despite this, at no point does the show become inaccessible to the casual fan. Even when a character from the cartoons pops up in an episode, they only tend to reference their pasts in passing and it’s never integral to Mando’s story. If Mando’s story is all you’re in for, then worry not, it remains unsullied by any complex continuity. It’s rather elegant how well the balance between pleasing old and new fans is struck, as no one is left confused anywhere except where they’re meant to.

The writing and character work are similar to the previous season, in that it varies on an episode to episode basis. It’s in a constant state of flux, swinging back and forth between dry and expository, and tight and minimalist. Episode 7, “The Believer”, is the best example of the heights the show’s writing is capable of reaching. The banter between characters in this chapter is more natural than it’s ever been. The character work consists of genuine emotional weight, held up by strong performances by everyone involved (primarily Bill Burr, as I was shocked to find). It’s an episode that does very little in terms of forward momentum, and yet it’s perhaps the most tightly written and exciting chapter. On the flipside, Episode 6, “The Tragedy” is a great episode for it’s fanservice and fun action, yet the writing comes off as stilted and filled with awkward exposition. These two episodes with their stark differences in writing quality landing right next to each other exemplifies the whiplash the show sometimes causes.

However, even at it’s worst, The Mandalorian is always a delight. Each episode brings something to the table that justifies its existence. Whether it’s an abundance of fanservice, exciting action, or genuinely great dialogue; it always delivers on at least two of these. Ideally, it could accomplish all three in every episode, but what it lacks is rarely evident in the moment. There’s just too much to ooh-and-ah at.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the finale, “The Rescue”. If you haven’t caught up on the show, you likely still felt the fires in the zeitgeist the episode ignited. I can’t bring myself to spoil what’s on everyone’s mind regarding the finale, so I’ll just say that the show ends on what is perhaps the most exciting sequence in Star Wars since the original trilogy. It’s an incredible demonstration of fanservice done right, as it’s the direction that undoubtedly makes the most sense in-universe, but it’s also the direction that would please as many fans as possible. The only reason it’s so shocking is because no one thought it was even a possibility. That aside, it’s an incredibly ending because it leaves the future of the show in question. Will the next season resemble the previous two at all? Will the next season even follow the characters we’ve grown to know and love? Well, probably, but the fact that this is even a question is a testament to the strength of the ending. It’s thrilling and entirely unexpected.

The Mandalorian Season 2 is everything you liked about Season 1 and more. The action and production value are off-the-charts, the writing peaks at spectacular, and the fanservice is juicier than ever. It isn’t perfect, as the dialogue is sometimes over-expository and not every actor is on the same level, but there is more than enough to make this the best season of Star Wars television ever produced.