The Mandalorian Episode 2 Review
Warning: There will be spoilers ahead!!!
Sitting down to watch Chapter Two of The Mandalorian, I was excited to say the least. The first episode hooked me with its spaghetti-western meets Star Wars atmosphere, as well as the promise of a rousing adventure story. And, boy, I was not disappointed with this episode.
Picking up right from the end of the first episode, The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda are now traveling the desert landscape in order to get back to the Mandalorian’s ship and leave the planet. They are quickly set upon by another group of bounty hunters in a scene that could have been straight from Lone Wolf and Cub, a manga and film classic from Japan that centers on a lone samurai and the baby that is his charge. Fighting off the bounty hunters while moving the carriage of Baby Yoda around was exciting to watch. This, however, was simply the first few minutes of the episode.
As they approach the Mandalorian’s ship, they find it beset by Jawas who are stripping it for parts. A chase ensues which shows that the Mandalorian is not some invincible fighting force, but, in some ways, is quite bumbling. It’s actually quite pleasant to have a hero who isn’t super as a protagonist. He’s hot-headed and not the greatest warrior when it comes down to it. Following this, we see more of the unnamed Ugnaught voiced by Nick Nolte who acts as an arbiter between the Mandalorian and the Jawas. They want a Macguffin for his ship parts and he has no choice but to get it for him.
This is when one of the important bits of the plot is revealed. While trying to steal the egg of a beast for the Jawas, it is revealed that Baby Yoda has force powers. Strong force powers. The implications to the future of this story are immense and both the Mandalorian and Nick Nolte’s alien understand this.
The Mandalorian continues to charm the pants off of me. The chemistry between the characters is great. The Mandalorian and the Ugnaught are fun to hear banter and even the Jawas get personality which they have never been afforded before. They are funny, but also shrewd in their trading. The best chemistry, though, is between the titular character and Baby Yoda. You can almost feel the paternal instinct that the Mandalorian displays as he tries to keep the child out of harms way. This is already more than a bounty to him and it shows.
I remain excited to see what The Mandalorian has in store for us. This was a small episode that didn’t further the overall plot much, but it was dripping with personality and moments that made me start really caring about these characters.
What did you think? Who is Baby Yoda? What do you think comes next? Sound off in the comments.