I count myself as one of those people who just does not have the patience for these weekly releases; thankfully though we only had a short wait for a short episode this time around. Having only been a few days since Chapter 1 of The Mandalorian, the follow up hit the new Disney+ service this past Friday, which will now be it’s regular release spot going forward. Clocking in at a surprisingly short 30 minutes, this was a fast and fun thrill ride which may not have quite lived up to the first episode but certainly had me on the edge of my seat and smiling from ear to ear.
As always there will be no spoilers for Chapter 2 but expect some major spoilers for Chapter 1! You’ve been warned.
Much of the praise which I heaped on the series from Chapter 1 still remains. The side characters are fantastic, locations feel authentically Star Wars and the character of the Mandalorian carries enough intrigue and mystery that being hid behind a helmet is not an issue as I was expecting. We pick up exactly where we left off in Chapter 1 after the Mandalorian tracked down his bounty, a target which was revealed to be a baby Yoda-like creature whose race (to my knowledge at least) is yet to be mentioned in any Star Wars lore. Obviously I wasn’t able to speak in detail about this big reveal last week, but the idea that we may dive deeper into Yoda’s mysterious race does excite me a lot and is enough of an incentive on its own to keep me tuned in for the rest of the season.
The opening sees the Mandalorian and his new baby companion attempt to leave the planet of Tatooine but (minor spoilers incoming) they are soon set upon by other bounty hunters who are in pursuit of this high value target. This adds a whole new dynamic of the hunter becoming the hunted which I am all in for! The rest of the episode quickly turns into a frantic action filled mini adventure which I won’t spoil here, though it’s safe to say that fans of the original trilogy will get a good kick out of this just as I did. The action comes thick and fast and looks absolutely incredible. The big set pieces in this episode are enough to rival any big budget movie. In fact the series so far feels like we’re being treated to a small piece of a blockbuster movie pie, fed to us slowly week by week.
My only issue with this episode was although it was fast and exciting, we didn’t really get anywhere with the overall story. Sure one of the main problems I had last week – the pacing – was far from anything to worry about this time around, but it was at the expense of actually moving the overall plot along. With that being said, the ending of the episode does drop another bombshell on the viewer which, after only two episodes, is already feeling like tradition for The Mandalorian. It was an exciting reveal which of course has me counting down the minutes to Chapter 3, it’s just a shame the rest of the episode felt like filler (nice filler though, like the filling to a Creme Egg) to get to that moment. I’m not saying that everything before the ending was pointless as I loved it, I just get worried when the story doesn’t really progress, especially when we only have eight episodes to tell this tale. I will say though that I have complete faith in Jon Favreau’s writing ability that this won’t be an issue, and come the end of the series we’ll just remember Chapter 2 as one of the quickest half hours we’ve ever experienced.
I also wanted to briefly mention something I missed in my Chapter 1 review, the credits. These little pieces of hand painted art which recap the major events of the episode are great! They just feel so Star Wars and they actually make me want to sit through the credits every time just to see all the different artwork which pops up. It’s a small thing, yes, but it really helps add personality to this already incredible show.
The Manadalorian continues to shine in its second outing. Everything that was great about Chapter 1 continues in this short but sweet second episode. It’s a fast paced thrill ride which although doesn’t move the story along as much as I would have liked, and doesn’t quite have as much going for it as Chapter 1 did, still has me glued to the screen and desperate for Chapter 3 to drop as soon as possible. Chapter 2 is rammed full of exciting movie quality action that never lets up. I’m looking forward to more story next time around though. I have spoken.
I give The Mandalorian Chapter 2