By Sarah Brill, Science & Technology Editor
Spoilers for Season Two of “Mandalorian” below.
Season one of “The Mandalorian” left off with Mandalorian, also known as Mando (Pedro Pascal), tasked with delivering the “child,” termed by the fandom as Baby Yoda, to the Jedi order. A holding theme throughout the two seasons is the concept of loyalty to an organization or a being. For the Mandalorian, that loyalty lies with living the way of the Mandalorian and returning “the child” to the Jedi. Both loyalties are challenged throughout the entirety of season two, as we see Mandalorian grapple with “the way” along with his own feelings towards the “child” who we soon find out is named Grogu.
The second season starts off with a parallel to the original Star Wars trilogy (books 4-6) on the planet of Tatooine where the Mandalorian confronts a marshal wearing Mandalorian armor. This is Mando’s first real test of loyalty, as he has been taught that the only people to wear the armor are those who have earned it. Mando’s loyalty is tested again in the following episode where he finds the so-called Mandalorians to help him transport “the child” to the Jedi order only to find out that these Mandalorians disrespect “the way” in which he was brought up. Throughout the season, we see Mando discover other Mandalorians, including Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), who have more experience or who are from the plant of Mandolor itself who do not follow the same “way” he is accustomed to. It changes the way the audience views the way the community of Mandalorian are portrayed in the first season while also allowing Mando to grow as a character.
Throughout season two, we also notice Mando’s relationship with the “child” grow. When confronted with the prospect of giving him up to the Jedi Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) presented originally in the “Clone Wars” series, Mando is hesitant and untrusting of this new character. Ultimately, Mando leaves with “the child,” now introduced as Grogu, as the Jedi Ahsoka stated Grogu was not ready. Unfortunately, the task to return Grogu to the Jedi was not an easy one, as Mando once again confronts Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) who has his own plans for Grogu.
If “Mandalorian” season two is not on your Disney+ watchlist, it should be. This “Star Wars” spinoff is nothing less than extraordinary as the writers, Jon Favreau and George Lucas, have both outdone themselves. From the character development in “The Mandalorian,” to the themes of loyalty and trust, this is a stellar follow-up to the first season.