Recap: The Mandalorian: Season Two, Episode One

November 6, 2020

Just last week, the long-anticipated arrival of The Mandalorian season two finally came with episode one dropping on Disney+ on October 30. It has been nearly a year since we’ve last seen what our favorite intergalactic bounty hunter and his little green friend have been up to. As we delve into the start of the second season together, it should be said that there will certainly be spoilers from the first episode, and a little speculation for what’s to come. So, if you haven’t watched it yet, I suggest you do so before reading this post!

From the start of the episode, “Chapter 9: The Marshal”, it’s very clear that Mando’s objective has not waivered one bit. His goal to get Baby Yoda to his own kind is an incredibly noble cause – especially when considering the type of people that want to capture the young wielder of the force. To get The Child back to his home planet, Mando first has to track down the underground network of other Mandalorians who will be able to aid him in his quest.

A tip from the naïve gangster, Gor Koresh, leads Mando back to the most popular planet in the Star Wars galaxy, Tatooine, where there is, supposedly, another Mandalorian. I imagine a lot of fans of Star Wars gasped or maybe even screamed when we see this other Mando. Could it be? Boba Fett? Unfortunately, no, it’s just a guy named Cobb Vanth, who is known around these parts as the “marshal” and is definitely not a Mandalorian.

Before Mando could wrestle the sacred armor off of the imposter, a Krayt dragon, the deadliest creature on Tatooine, appears out of nowhere, swallowing a bantha whole. Vanth desperately needs to get rid of this Krayt dragon if the village of Mos Pelgo is to survive, so he cuts a deal with Mando – Vanth will give up his armor if Mando helps him defeat the beast.

This situation is a win-win for our newly reformed hero, who not too long ago was just a simple self-serving bounty hunter. Now Mando gets to be the hero and might get another sweet set of armor in the process.

Mando has a plan to defeat the Krayt dragon, but it involves bringing imposing parties together. They will need help from the close-by Tusken Raiders as well as the other villagers from Mos Pelgo in order to defeat the monster. There is bad blood between these two groups, considering the Tusken Raiders have been pillaging Mos Pelgo for quite some time now.

Ultimately, the threat of the Krayt dragon is far too great for these two groups to fight alone, so they join forces. This act depicts an important lesson that we all can learn – especially in our current societal and cultural climate. Finding common ground with those you don’t agree with on every issue to come to be able to come together in times of need or struggle is something this world needs more and more.

The collection of groups hatch a plan to defeat the Krayt dragon, which is basically just putting a large bomb under the ground, luring out the monster, and blowing up the bomb right underneath its stomach. All parties involved quickly find out the dragon’s skin is much tougher than they initially thought, so Mando has to take matters into his own hands.

With not many other options to choose from, Mando quickly (and selflessly) comes up with an idea. Standing next to a bantha wrapped in explosives, Mando gets the Krayt dragon to swallow himself and the weaponized bantha whole. Mando then shocks the Krayt dragon from within to escape the belly of the beast. Once outside of the creature, he detonates the bombs inside, killing it (and the bantha too, RIP).

Everyone that survives the attack is ecstatic. The Krayt dragon will no longer be bothering Mos Pelgo or the Tusken Raiders. The two groups have a peace agreement, and Mando finally gets his hands on the armor he’s been wanting all episode. Before the episode closes out, we get a shot of a man watching Mando cruise by on his speeder bike. It’s actor Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett, the adoptive father of Boba Fett, in Attack of the Clones.

Could it actually be Jango Fett? Definitely not, considering Jango ran into Mace Windu’s lightsaber during the Battle of Geonosis. Since Jango was the clone template for the Republic’s army, there were thousands of clones made of him, so while it might be someone we already know (like Boba Fett), it’s also entirely possible that this person is a new character. One thing I can say with fair certainty is that we will find the answer in the episodes to come.

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