The Mandalorian Episode 2 Review

Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Starring: Pedro Pascal and Nick Nolte

The Mandalorian Episode 1, called simply Chapter One, was a lot of fun and was just as good as I had hoped it would be. Yet, that didn’t stop people from writing some negative reviews about the first episode of this new Disney Plus Star Wars show.

However, I really enjoyed what Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were trying to do with this new show set in a galaxy far, far away. I liked the fact that they made managed to recapture the tone and feel of the original saga without making it just a ‘greatest hits’ or rehash of what went before it.

The Mandalorian feels like it’s set in the world outlined in the original, but it’s not just going over the same old ground. This is very much a case of being inspired by what went before it and making something genuinely new from it.

Of course, there are moments of fan service, and the episode ended on a real cliffhanger which got many Star Wars fans – myself included – extremely intrigued and excited for what was to come.

More of the same, please

Pedro Pascal is playing The Mandalorian in the new Disney Plus show (Credit: Lucasfilm)

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This particular moment was rather ‘fan service-y’, but I would argue that a little bit of that is necessary, and is also very much in the new films.

What The Mandalorian Episode 2 does, however, is build upon what was started in the first episode and expand on it.

Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian is still on the same planet he ended up on in the first episode, yet this time he’s having to protect his, let’s call it his ‘captive’, and also deal with some pesky Jawas who have stripped his spaceship.

That’s all I’ll tell you about the plot, because that’s all you really need to know.

Again, there’s that ‘fan service’ element with the inclusion of the Jawas, but again, this is merely building on a world we already know.

There’s also more of that effortless ‘coolness’ from Pascal’s Mandalorian, and despite the fact we don’t see his face, we still want him to succeed at this point in his mission, and there’s clearly a lot going on beneath that mask.

The Mandalorian Episode 2 is Star Wars Western brilliance

The Mandalorian Episode 2 is quintessentially Star Wars (Credit: Lucasfilm)

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For all the people who’ve been claiming that the first episode is bad because there’s not enough character development, I would argue they’ve been overlooking the fact that it was only the beginning of a new show and was setting the scene, which it did very well in my opinion.

This episode is very much attached to the first in that sense. It’s building the scene and getting us hooked into the story that Jon Favreau is telling.

We have the same brilliant score in this episode, and I love the fact that The Mandalorian has a kind of Western theme. It suits him and the show really well.

This is a down and dirty show, and the score and this episode, in particular, make that fact very clear. The Mandalorian is literally rolling around in the mud at one point in the episode, and I can’t help but think that this is a bit of a metaphor for the show.

At the moment we do feel a bit like we’re flailing around in the dirty, trying to understand what’s really going on. But that’s not a bad thing because it’s also piquing our interest, or at least, my interest is peaked after watching this episode.

The Mandalorian is pushing the boundaries of Star Wars

The Mandalorian’s second episode is here, and this guy’s so cute – Credit: Lucasfilm

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I also feel like this is a slightly better-directed episode than the first. Rick Famuyiwa has already proven himself to be an excellent director having made the critically acclaimed movie Dope.

He also directed Episode 6 of The Mandalorian, so I think we’re going to be in safe hands.

I love the Western vibe this show has. I’ve been calling for Disney and Lucasfilm to make more genre movies based in the Star Wars universe, and it seems as though they’re starting to do that with The Mandalorian.

This Disney Plus show almost feels like a Spaghetti Western movie starring Clint Eastwood. It’s got that tone and Favreau’s really succeeded in getting that Western feeling across.

What did you make of The Mandalorian Episode 2? Let us know in the comments below.

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