During its first season, The Mandalorian walked a tightrope between carving out its own distinctive flavor and capitalizing on the goodwill engendered by the 40-year history of the Star Wars universe. The premiere episode of season 2, “The Marshal,” provides another solid example of how the series maintains that balance.
If you don’t want to know more about the Mandalorian’s first episode of season 2, STOP READING HERE and come back after you’ve watched it. But if you don’t mind a little context and hearing our thoughts on if season 2 hits the mark, read on . . .
Season 2 kicks off more-or-less where we left off after the season 1 finale, with The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) on his quest to reunite The Child/Baby Yoda with its kind. That quest first takes him to a back-alley gladiatorial fight club, and a meeting with local fixer Gor Koresh (John Leguizamo in Cyclopean alien makeup). But even before that encounter, we find The Mandalorian and The Child making their way along a dark street, threatening eyes peering out from the shadows. Graffiti decorates the walls, including images of stormtroopers (and perhaps a familiar golden droid?). In just a few minutes, writer/director/series creator Jon Favreau reminds us of the essence of the series: This is a “lone gunslinger”-style Western, that just happens to be connected to one of pop culture’s most beloved franchises.
Gor Koresh’s information ultimately leads The Mandalorian to the possibility that another Mandalorian might be hanging out in a backwater mining colony on everyone’s favorite desert planet, Tatooine. As it turns out, the fellow wearing the beskar armor isn’t a Mandalorian, but the town’s marshal, Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant)—and while it’s likely not every fan of this series would recognize Olyphant from his Western lawman roles on Deadwood and Justified, he brings the kind of weary gravitas of a man reluctantly but faithfully serving as protector.
While the return to Tatooine provides an opportunity for The Mandalorian to trot out both vintage characters like Tusken raiders and last season’s chatty mechanic Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), the primary plot of the episode really leans into the Western side of things with a premise vaguely reminiscent of The Magnificent Seven. A massive krayt dragon—which burrows through the landscape and emerges to feed, like the aliens from Tremors—repeatedly threatens Cobb Vanth’s town, leading to a collaboration between Vanth, The Mandalorian and the local Tuskens to try to kill it. Favreau’s experience with big-budget action filmmaking continues to be a benefit to the series, as the showdown with the krayt dragon turns into a solid, well-choreographed set piece.
There are more than a few fun details sprinkled along the way, from the image of The Child enjoying a speeder bike ride like a dog sticking its head out a car window, to the revelation that Tusken raiders brush the teeth of their banthas. But The Mandalorian seems to be remaining true to its own identity drawing from Western iconography—and that goes beyond the moment when The Mandalorian and Vanth stand face to face, ready for an old-school pistol showdown. As the episode ends—with Favreau shifting the aspect ratio to widescreen as The Mandalorian rides his speeder bike into the twin sunset—it has done its job of reminding us what we’re coming back to, and how effectively The Mandalorian has become its own unique creation in a familiar universe.
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