‘The Mandalorian’ returns with same Western flair, same tantalizing teaser at the end
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**SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead up through the second-season premiere of “The Mandalorian”**
“The Mandalorian,” the Disney+ series set in the “Star Wars” universe, has returned for its second season. And while the season-two trailer teased a journey that could bring the title character into contact with a Jedi or two, its first episode, “The Marshal,” hewed very close to the “mission-of-the-week” style of season one.
And what a mission.
I’d be lying if I said I was excited to return to the dusty dunes of Tattooine. I recognize that the region of outer space where these films and shows take place — the literal “Star Wars universe” — doesn’t include all that many planets.
I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t excited at the prospect of the Mandalorian entering into a deal with the much-reviled Tusken Raiders, who have caused a lot of trouble for the Skywalker family over the years but don’t really seem all that bad, especially once they’re given a bit of context in this episode.
And I’d definitely be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely excited to see the gigantic Greater Krayt Dragon that swims through the Tattooinean sand and serves as the villain of the first episode.
I just realized, I’m throwing a lot at you here.
Viewers new to the show shouldn’t be starting here anyway, but just in case: “The Mandalorian” is about the title character, whose name describes a group (not a race, as we learned in the first season) that adheres to a warrior’s creed and is described by multiple characters as being “very good at killing.” This one is a bounty hunter.
In season one — spoiler alert — the Mandalorian takes a job that brings him into contact with a character that can really only be described as “Baby Yoda.” It is not Yoda. But since we don’t know anything about what type of creature it IS? Baby Yoda will have to suffice for now. The Mandalorian decides he’s not going to turn Baby Yoda over to a group of former Imperial soldiers, and the first season is what ensues.
Those first eight episodes were praised for their adherence to the same sort of style as old cowboy Westerns: the Man With No Name (we eventually learn it), hard but fair, helping the righteous and punishing the wicked.
This season starts out no different. Mando has been tasked with bringing Baby Yoda back to his… uh… back to his Baby Yoda family? That part isn’t exactly clear, but the mere mention that Jedis might be involved is enough to set fan spines to tingling.
His search for clues leads him back to everyone’s favorite big ball of sand, Tattooine, where he makes a deal with the local marshal of the Mos Pelgo mining town: Mando will help kill the Krayt Dragon if the marshal gives up the unearned Mandalorian armor he wears … armor that looks like it belongs to the first person we saw in that signature helmet, the iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett from the original “Star Wars” trilogy.
The pair also strikes a deal with the local Tusken Raiders, who along with the miners have come under attack by the dragon.
There’s a lot of interesting nuance here. Most of the “Star Wars” canon has led us to believe that Tusken Raiders are basically feral savages who raid and plunder the good people of Tattooine, including the Mos Pelgo miners.
But they’re just out here trying to survive in the desert like everyone else, and they unite with the miners in service of destroying their common enemy, with the Mandalorian serving as the go-between.
I don’t know how I feel about Timothy Olyphant playing the Mos Pelgo marshal. The cheekiness of the casting choice — Olyphant will go down in history for his portrayal of Sheriff Seth Bullock in HBO’s magnificent Western drama, “Deadwood” — pulled me out of the episode for a few minutes. Olyphant does a fine job, he’s a great actor, but even with an extra layer of sci-fi on top, this role seems like a bit of a retread for him.
But it’s the dragon that’s the centerpiece of this episode. It’s a marvel of CGI rendering, partly because it’s a truly gargantuan beast, and partly because anytime it moves, it kicks up a couple tons of sand that also had to be created by the effects team.
And even though we learned last year about how half of the show is shot inside a 270-degree LED-lit video wall and ceiling, I challenge you to figure out when. Even armed with that knowledge, I still wasn’t able to figure it out. The show looks beautiful.
That beauty extends to a tantalizing teaser at the end of an episode that prominently features Boba Fett’s armor. As the Mandalorian is speeding across the Tattoine desert, a lone figure watches him from high atop a mesa. When the figure turns around, it’s actor Temuera Morrison. I have to say it that way because multiple things are at play here. Maybe.
Morrison played Jango Fett in “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.” Jango was the model for all of that film’s clone troopers, and as payment, he was given an untrained clone that would grow up to be Boba Fett.
Jango Fett was killed in “Episode II,” so it’s reasonable to assume that Morrison is now playing Boba.
And that’s a bit of a head-scratcher, since the last time we saw Boba Fett, he was well on his way to becoming a meal for the Sarlacc in “Return of the Jedi.”
For now, though, I’m perfectly content to let the mystery simmer and see where Fett pops up again. I’m told there is some supplemental material that’s been released over the years that would lead us to believe Boba Fett did somehow survive his Sarlacc encounter. But I’ll save the geek jokes and just say that there is very little chance I’m going to take the time to track that down.
I am, however, going to go out on a limb here with a bold prediction: Boba Fett initially goes after the Mandalorian, but when he discovers Mando’s mission, it’s team-up time.
I can practically guarantee that one of these episodes is going to end with Boba Fett strapping on his old helmet.
And I am here for it.