Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Timothy Olyphant, John Leguizamo, Amy Sedaris and Temuera Morrison
The Mandalorian is back with us and Season 2 Episode 1 (titled Chapter 9: The Marshal) could be the best episode of the show yet. Let us explain why we believe this to be the cast in our review of The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1. This new show, the very first live-action Star Wars show of all time, billed itself as something of a Western set in the galaxy far, far away. However, this is, in all honesty, the first time the show has ever really felt like that.
Set on the famous Star Wars planet of Tatooine, The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1 (a.k.a. Chapter 9: The Marshal), this episode sees Mando seeking out fellow Mandalorians that can help him bring The Child (a.k.a. Baby Yoda) back to the Jedi. You might be thinking that this is a bit of a strange way to try and find some Jedi, asking Mandalorians for their whereabouts, but Mando (a.k.a. Din Djarin) has been quested to bring The Child back to his kind, and he’s basically just following orders.
His quest sees him go back to Tatooine, where it’s rumoured that a Mandalorian is operating. He heads to the small and pretty much destroyed town of Mos Pelgo where he bumps into… Boba Fett…? Well, it looks like that at first, however, this Mandalorian takes off his helmet to reveal Cobb Vanth – brilliantly played by Timothy Olyphant. Mando demands for him to return the Mandalorian armour, but they end up making a deal after they encounter is interrupted by a Greater Krayt Dragon which has been terrorising the town and the nearby Tuscan Raiders.
Djarin agrees to help Cobb and the town, and they end up teaming up with the Tuscan Raiders to kills this Krayt Dragon which is living in an abandoned Sarlacc pit. How come this pit is abandoned? Probably because it was eaten by the Krayt Dragon, which is huge by the way.
The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1 is a Star Wars Western gem
Credit: Lucasfilm
Read more: Who Will Timothy Olyphant Be Playing In The Mandalorian Season 2?
One of the main reasons why I believe I loved this episode so much was because it was so quintessentially Star Wars, yet was also set within a different genre. I’ve been waiting for years to see them do something like this in the Star Wars universe, and The Mandalorian is the perfect place to experiment with this sort of this. There have been elements of Westerns in the show, yet nothing quite like this.
I also wonder whether I might have been swayed slightly by the casting of Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth. He’s just so at home in a Western setting. People who’ve watched him in shows like Justified and Deadwood will understand why I mean by that. Even in Once Upon A Time In The West. He just suits the genre perfectly.
Those of you who love a good Star Wars easter egg will also get a lot of enjoyment out of this episode. There are easter eggs everywhere in this episode. I won’t spoil any of them here, but trust me, you’ll be very excited by almost all of them.
Then, there’s the fact that this story really sees Pedro Pascal’s Djarin at his very best. He’s very – well, there’s no better way of saying it – cool. This might be the coolest episode of The Mandalorian yet. You have Pascal’s Mando being incredibly badass, and you also have Timothy Olyphant being just as epic.
The Mandalorian needs more episodes like this one
Credit: Lucasfilm
Read more: The Mandalorian Episode 3 Review
I also think the episode’s longer runtime helps it. Up until this point, all the episodes were a bit of the short side. That’s fine if you could watch the show all at once, yet episodes of The Mandalorian are dropped weekly. This means that it felt like you’re barely even started an episode before it was over. You’d then have to wait an entire week until you got the next 30 minutes.
This episode of The Mandalorian clocked in at 52 minutes, which I believe is the perfect length. The issue is, I doubt the other episodes will be this long. I think they’ll revert back to being 30 minutes or less. Hopefully, I’m wrong, but something’s telling me I’m not.
It just felt like a more well-rounded episode. We were really given the time to settle in and it also let the story breathe slightly.
I cannot wait to see what comes next, but this will be a hard episode to beat. Let’s just hope the rest of the season of The Mandalorian will be as good as Chapter 9.
What do you make of this review of The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1? Did you watch the episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
What do you make of this story? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook or Instagram pages! And if you enjoy listening to film podcasts, why not check out our podcasts, Small Screen Stories and Small Screen Film Club wherever you get your podcasts!
There are no comments
Add yours