The Mandalorian - Season 2 (SPOILERS possible)

[Matt_Fury]

I’m writing a letter to Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni to tone it down a bit.....my penis can only get so erect.

[GrandMoffNick]

I’m writing a letter to Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni to tone it down a bit.....my penis can only get so erect.

It was a two boxers episode for sure.

[Nicklab]

I've watched this episode 3 times already.  And visually it was a really strong showing for Dave Filoni as the director of this episode.  The easter eggs were good, but didn't beat you over the head.  And the stylistic nods to Kurosawa and Samurai films was very on point, especially considering how that genre was a big inspiration for George Lucas as he was crafting the OT and the concept of the Jedi.

...more to come when we get reasonably past the spoiler window.

[Dave]

Time to discuss.

Spoilers be warned ******






I generally enjoyed the episode.

Some things I liked:
- Seeing Ahsoka (or any kick ass Jedi) in action was fun.  That is what Star Wars is all about.
- The dynamic between The Mandalorian and The Child is great.  Even when we learned his name was Grogu, The Mandalorian was still calling him "kid".
- Grand Admiral Thrawn.  He is awesome and I can't wait for him to get in the mix.  Now I want to know if he has made it back to the Outer Rim, if Ezra and the rest of the surviving Rebels crew is still kicking around somewhere looking for him.  I'd love to see those guys in an episode somewhere.  I'm also interested to see if Moff Gideon and Grand Admiral Thrawn are working together or not.

Some things that are more nit-picks than anything:
- I don't see how Ahsoka couldn't have taken down that whole town by herself.  And I don't know why she gave them a day to think about divulging the information she wanted.  I don't think The Mandalorian was really needed either, but I guess they were all just plot devices, so I guess its fine.
- I'm not sure why Ahsoka would just dismiss the training of Grogu.  I know she rationalized that it was better to let his powers fade away, but that seemed a little to quick to dismiss it.  Maybe a little more introspection and discussion on the need for a real Master or Knight to train a Padawan, and she never technically became a Knight.  I also think some of this gets problematic as Luke should be well known to Ahsoka and might have his new Jedi Temple up and running.

I also find it interesting that this show is using recognizable actors in smaller roles (Michael Biehn, Rosario Dawson, Timothy Olyphant, etc.).  I wonder if the actors are asking to be in these roles just because its Star Wars and they are fans, if they're friends of Jon Favreau and he is asking, or what the story is.

This season is going way too fast.  I love it all and wish they could build in more episodes per season.  I also can't wait for the Kenobi, Cassian, and any other live action series they have.  If they're 75% as good as this I'll be overjoyed with Star Wars coolness.

[Rob]

- I'm not sure why Ahsoka would just dismiss the training of Grogu.  I know she rationalized that it was better to let his powers fade away, but that seemed a little to quick to dismiss it.  Maybe a little more introspection and discussion on the need for a real Master or Knight to train a Padawan, and she never technically became a Knight.  I also think some of this gets problematic as Luke should be well known to Ahsoka and might have his new Jedi Temple up and running.

I kind of chalked that up to her relationship with Anakin and knowing as well as anyone left alive at this point exactly what training the fearful leads to.

[Nicklab]

This has to have been one of the most anticipated episodes of the series.  And because of that I think that there were significant audience expectations for both Dave Filoni as the director and on Rosario Dawson for taking on the live action portrayal of such a beloved character.  I think she did a nice job in presenting a more mature Ahsoka who has lived a tough life.

I think the opening scene with Ahsoka was great.  I don't know how many of the Magistrate's men she dispatched, but the way she was able to conceal herself in the smoke/mist was great.  That totally drew on the Samurai films that were the basis of George Lucas's vision for the Jedi.  Especially since Ahsoka would only briefly ignite her lightsabers for brief moments and then deactivate them to disappear.  Again - Samurai influences at work, since one major note about the Samurai was that they would only draw their katana if they were going to use it.

The revelation of Grogu's name was a big deal, as was the revelation of his story.  We've only learned a little bit about him over the course of the series, but these past two episodes have really shed light on who Grogu is, how he remained hidden, why the Imperial Remnant wants him, and whether or not his path aligns with the Jedi or with Din Djarin.

I got the sense that Ahsoka wouldn't take the town by herself because she was alone.  And she didn't want to let the Magistrate kill the hostages.  So she drew off Lang and most of the Magistrate's troops so that the Mandalorian could free the captives.

I can also appreciate how Ahsoka would be apprehensive about training Grogu.  She knows firsthand what happened to Anakin and why, especially after having fought Vader in Rebels.  I can't imagine her feelings about attachment and the danger it poses coming from a more personal place.  But the fact that she pointed Din Djarin towards the Jedi temple on Tython suggests that the situation for Grogu isn't completely decided.  As for who might answer his call through the Force?  That's a huge question.  And it gets increasingly complicated in light of who Ahsoka is looking for - Thrawn, who was last seen with Ezra Bridger at the end of Rebels.

Last, but certainly not least, is Din Djarin's side quest that hasn't been completely spelled out:  retrieving Beskar.  He got the armor from Cobb Vanth on Tatooine.  And now he has the Beskar spear.  At the end of the first season the Armorer was collecting the Beskar that had been left and was melting it down.  I imagine that Din Djarin is going to cross paths with her again soon.

[Jeff]

Good interview with Rosario Dawson and Dave Filoni at VF.  Obviously spoilers if you've been living under a rock and have not seen Episode 13 yet.

[McMetal]

It was pretty amazing to me how well they pulled it off tbh. Meaning Ahsoka. I thought it was a nearly flawless portrayal, and I was skeptical about the whole thing coming into it.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s not really Thrawn she’s looking for, but Ezra.

Michael Biehn is always awesome in everything, like the late Bill Paxton.

How did Grogu escape the slaughter at the Jedi Temple? That would be a nice flashback episode I think.

I was a little surpised/disappointed to see that Beskar is yet another metal resistant to lightsabers. I always thought the whole idea of cortosis or whatever was silly. Those things should be able to cut through anything, period. I mean, why wouldn’t Vader have been wearing all Beskar armor throughout the OT if that was the case?

[Matt_Fury]

I can not overstate how much I am loving this show.  Rosario Dawson did a great job as Ahsoka, even though I would've liked to see how Ashley Eckstein could have done since she has voiced the role from the beginning.

Getting some more backstory on the child, Grogu, is cool.  So he was born around the same time as Anakin Skywalker, and was raised in the Jedi temple at Coruscant until someone spirited him away when order 66 happened.  Who was the one who got him out of there?  What happened during the years when his memories were "dark"?  So much to discover!

Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?  Is he still in the unknown regions with Ezra?  Is he back?  Is he the one in charge of the Imperial Remnant and not Moff Gideon?  I do not believe that to be the case, but my interest is piqued!

Favreau and Filoni have really expanded the universe in the 13 chapters we've seen so far!  Bring on spin-off shows for Boba Fett, Bo-Katan and Ahsoka!

[JediJman]

I took it that she needed help to make sure the prisoners wouldn't die.  The extra 24 hours weren't going to change the magistrate's mind, but would give her time to plan out an attack that could save those being held captive.  She didn't really need DD's help in the final battle other than being there to free the prisoners when she went after the boss lady. 

While it was great to see Ahsoka and the likely forthcoming appearance of Thrawn, I'm not in love with all this happening in the background of the OT.  Why would Luke/Leia be the last hope to stop Darth if Ahsoka and others were still around?  Ahsoka would have as much reason to confront Darth as Luke, being about as close to Anakin as you can get without being family.  Was she hiding her presence from Obi & Yoda?  Did they know about Groku and others? 

I can sort of rationalize that she doesn't want to get involved with any of it and is laying low, but seems odd for her character to not have joined up with the Rebels at some point.  I wish instead of falling back on the "Can't train him. He's too old/has too much attachment" argument, she had instead said something along the lines of "I quit the order. I'm not a Jedi. I can't train someone to be something I don't believe in."

As for Groku surviving, we don't necessarily hear Palpatine's full orders to Anakin in ROTS.  I'm sure he or some scientists were able to grab some of the younger jedi to lock up or experiment on.  Even when Anakin finds that room of younglings, we just assume he kills them all, but maybe he has orders to snatch a few. 

[Matt_Fury]

While it was great to see Ahsoka and the likely forthcoming appearance of Thrawn, I'm not in love with all this happening in the background of the OT.  Why would Luke/Leia be the last hope to stop Darth if Ahsoka and others were still around?  Ahsoka would have as much reason to confront Darth as Luke, being about as close to Anakin as you can get without being family.  Was she hiding her presence from Obi & Yoda?  Did they know about Groku and others? 

The Rebels cartoon summed this up nicely.  When Ezra saved her in the world between worlds, she went back to the point in time on Malachor when Ezra pulled her out.  She was trapped there for a long time and when she was able to get out, met up with Sabine and started the search for Ezra.

I can sort of rationalize that she doesn't want to get involved with any of it and is laying low, but seems odd for her character to not have joined up with the Rebels at some point.  I wish instead of falling back on the "Can't train him. He's too old/has too much attachment" argument, she had instead said something along the lines of "I quit the order. I'm not a Jedi. I can't train someone to be something I don't believe in."

Judging by what she saw with Anakin, I could totally see her point about not wanting to train a youngling with a strong attachment to someone.  She also sensed all the fear within Grogu from having to hide his abilities during the time of the Empire.

[Nicklab]

There’s already been some groundwork laid down regarding Grogu’s attachment to Din Djarin. In chapter 7 we saw Grogu start to Force choke Cara Dune when she was arm wrestling with Mando.  Grogu must have thought Din was in trouble and instinctively tried to protect him.  Now imagine what he could do with real Jedi training.

[Matt_Fury]

This is going to be a very long week.

[Nicklab]

This is going to be a very long week.

OMG, yes!

[Jeff]