The wait is finally over and we are back to bounty hunting season. Fans have been dying for season two of The Mandalorian and this episode was quite the way to get us back into the swing of things. Din Djarin and the Child were dearly missed, but we are finally back to watching the duo navigate their way as they try and avoid the Empire and find the child’s home.
For those of you who watched the recap, wow, that was a nice little refresher. I spent the past week rewatching season one, but it was still extremely useful in summarizing everything you need to know to be caught up. Kuiil’s voice was chilling to hear again. RIP, friend.
And now what we have all been waiting for.
The Fights
Well, all I can say is I am very excited that this is the first episode AND scene that we are given. Seeing Mando in a position like this one, so cool, calm and collected was a great way to get back into things. Getting to start off with some incredible action while mixing in some new aliens with lovable familiar ones, I would say that Filoni and Favreau are off to a fantastic start with the first episode.
The information that brought Mando there will help to achieve his goal of looking for the child, but who exactly was our green one-eyed friend?
Gor Koresh. He is an Abyssin, they come from the planet Byss and can live up to 300 years. Now this guy, in particular, sounds like his wealth is built off of stealing and repurposing beskar armor. Clearly, it’s a lucrative market as this guy has the ability to drop a fighter and clear out the arena the way he did.
Thank the maker for those whistling birds, one of my favorite features of Mando and his gadgets. On top of that, we see him brawl with Gor’s goons and show us just how great he truly is. Mando has a slick way of doing things, especially the way he got the information out of Gor. He kept his promise and Filoni and Favreau’s choice on how he died was a perfect one.
Back To Tatooine
How many of you were betting that this particular Mandalorian hiding out on Tatooine is going to be the infamous Boba Fett? Or how about Cobb Vanth, the character from the novel Aftermath?
Whoever it may be, I am happy to see our mechanical genius friend again, Peli Motto. It is great to know that Mando not only has a friend out there, but he is growing more accustomed to droids. It seems that IG-11 truly had an effect on the Mandalorian.
Now, back to the speeder bike. This was expected, we had seen some stills of him riding it, plus there was the toy that came out with him riding it in his new armor with a jetpack.
Mos Pelgos? This dusty little town made its appearance Knights of the Old Republic.
But it looks like it is the town that the self-appointed Sheriff, Cobb Vanth, is living with the famous green Mandalorian armor that he bought from some Jawa’s. Who knows what has happened to Boba Fett or how he escaped, all we know is that the Jawa’s successfully scavenged Boba’s armor.
The standoff of the millennia was going to happen before it was interrupted by Tremors. Just kidding, it is the infamous Krayt Dragon.
The Dragon
The deal has been struck, if Mando can help Vanth kill the dragon then he can have the armor back. As they speed off to its home, we get a glimpse of Filoni and Favreau working their magic again, Vanth’s speeder is a repurposed pod racing engine, and man, that was some incredible detail. My mouth dropped when I saw that baby.
Vanth gives us some good insight into his story and how he acquired the armor. We get an idea from the book but this just solidifies the fact that Vanth is the owner of Boba Fett’s armor. Though, this story is a tad different than the book’s explanation, we still get the gist.
Vanth, in my opinion, looks a bit silly in the armor. Of course, there is the natural intimidation that comes with owning Mandalorian armor, but it just doesn’t look that great on him. Clearly, Boba was a bit bigger than Vanth.
Mando’s Inner Tusken
It looks like Mando’s relationship with the Tusken Raiders has paid off again. It seems the only way to survive Tatooine, if you venture out of the towns, is to know how to communicate with the Tusken Raiders. They really seem to have control of the wilderness out on Tatooine.
And how about that scene with Mando camping out with Tusken Raiders? Mando is truly a man of mystery.
Massiff’s were the animals that were threatening Mando and Vanth. They were domesticated by Tusken Raiders and were used as protection. Clearly, they are vicious looking reptiles that anyone would want to avoid.
I am absolutely loving the insight we are getting into the Sandpeople, they went from random vicious killing machines to a really fascinating culture that has somehow managed to tame the harsh Tatooine environment as best as they could. That is until the Bantha plan didn’t work out as desired.
A STRANGE ALLIANCE
Mando is not only helping to kill a giant monster, but he has helped keep the peace between the town of Mos Pelgos and the local Tusken Raiders. Not only did Mando establish this treaty with the raiders, but he established a new bond between them and the village. This newfound respect for each other will surely pay off in the long run and the Raiders will be more willing to help the town protect themselves. This will help Vanth give up his armor, too.
This also goes to show how the universe is beginning to help each other now that the Empire is gone. Didn’t Anakin once say to his mother, on this very planet, that the problem is no one helps each other in the universe? Well, look at these Tusken Raiders and villagers coming together. I would say that’s like poetry, it definitely rhymes.
Jetpack Action
What would the season 2 premiere be without some of that jetpack action? That newly acquired jetpack has to be put to use, but how could it get better? Double the jetpack action. Mando and Vanth soaring the skies together was a really good look for them.
That Krayt Dragon put up a serious fight until Mando zapped the force out of that sucker and was able to fly straight out. Now, I don’t know about you guys or if I’ve been spending too much time on Disney+, but I got some serious Hercules vibes from that scene. My only question, is beskar impervious to the acid the dragon was spewing? It must be.
Overall the episode was a fantastic way to kick off the new season. Fans are excited to see what the team has in store for us and what they will do for the child’s existence. Vanth was a fantastic addition to the first episode.
The two are actually a real good team, Vanth proved to be a brave warrior and he put up a serious fight. I give Vanth some real respect for handing over the armor the way he does, there is no way that was easy for him, but Mando did what he needed to do.
The cliffhanger we are left with was even better, we got Cobb Vanth AND Boba Fett in the same episode. There was a lot of debate on if we’d get either one, but it looks like my predictions from March are correct and we got both of them.
What does Boba have in store for us? He watched Mando ride off into the sunset with his armor, are they now enemies? Boba Fett was never truly “a Mandalorian” and so I doubt he will have any interest in helping Djarin find the child’s home and stick to the Mandalorian creed. What about Shand? Clearly, it was not Boba or Vanth who approached her at the end of Gunslinger.
I have spoken
Overall, this was a fantastic premiere. The entire episode was perfectly done. There was the perfect Western appeal that the show is styled after, there were elements of classic Star Wars while introducing some new aliens and concepts, and finally just look at that back story we got to Vanth and the insight we got into the Tuskan Raiders. What an interesting culture.
It also looks like they listened to our pleas to make the episodes longer, this one was a good 49 minutes (including credits), hopefully the rest of the season stays the same.
What were your favorite parts? Thank you for watching and remember, utinni!
