The Mandalorian: Season 2
Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises of all time, with all of their hit movies, television series, and video games. Most recently, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni joined forces to make Star Wars’ first ever live action tv show, The Mandalorian. The series premiered on Disney+ and became one of the most popular tv shows of the year. The series returned for an eight episode second season in 2020, and it was one of the most watched series of the year.
The second season focuses on The Mandalorian, whose real name is Din Djarin, on his quest throughout the galaxy. His mission is to return the force sensitive child Grogu to a Jedi so he can properly be trained through the ways of the force. They are being hunted by Moff Gideon and the remaining forces of the Galactic Empire, who want to conduct experiments on Grogu. The show’s high budget shows us some great special effects most tv shows are not able to pull off. Pedro Pascal stars in the leading role as Din Djarin / The Mandalorian / Mando, and he gives us a very well acted and emotional performance as the character. Mando has gained massive popularity in the Star Wars universe, and his character portrayal is a big reason why season 2 is so great.
Other major characters in the series include Grogu, the force sensitive child who is the same species as major movie character, Yoda. He does not have any lines in the series because he is just a baby, but he has a really nice dynamic with Mando. Their relationship is a lot like father and son. Another big character is Cara Dune, a former soldier in the Rebel Alliance who joins forces with Mando to help protect Grogu from the people who are trying to take him away. The thing that sets this season apart from the first season is the return of fan favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett, a character from the original Star Wars movies. Just like Din Djarin, he is a Mandalorian warrior. The second season dives even deeper into the full history of the Mandalorian race, as we learn more about the warriors’ culture and secrets.
The thing that makes Season 2 so great is the insane action sequences the show has almost every episode. Each fight is even better than the last one. Din Djarin is one of the coolest characters in Star Wars because of how skilled of a fighter he is, and that is why all the fans love him. Each episode takes place on a different fictional planet in the Outer Rim. The first episode of the season is set on the desert planet, Tatooine, an iconic planet that appears in many of the Star Wars movies.
Giancarlo Esposito plays the series’ villain Moff Gideon, and he gives off a menacing and very well acted performance. As was revealed in the season 1 finale, Moff Gideon is in possession of the darksaber, an ancient type of lightsaber that descends from Mandalorian heritage. The darksaber is one of the most dangerous weapons in the galaxy, because just like a lightsaber it can cut through any material.
A negative I have about this series is all the multiple “side quests” Mando goes on during the season. Watching him do all these extra missions is a little boring. This shows the season has some bad pacing issues and that is something they are going to need to fix in season 3. This season has a lot of fanservice, because they are bringing a lot of fan favorite Star Wars characters to the show you would not expect. Despite this, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are some of the best producers in the business right now, and they included these characters without making it feel like they were forced into the show.
Based on how this season was received by fans and that it was the most pirated show in all of 2020, season 2 is more fun and a better story to watch than season 1, which is saying a lot because the first season was very critically acclaimed. The third season will not release until early 2022 based on recent reports, however it has been confirmed that a spinoff show called, The Book of Boba Fett, will be released on Disney+ in December 2021. The Mandalorian is without a doubt one of the best tv shows of 2020, and I highly recommend people to watch this.