The Mandalorian is very much flying the flag for Star Wars as a franchise right now and many of us at FinalBoss have been absolutely loving the show on Disney+. We have been glued to our screens to find out exactly what Din Djarin and Grogu (we’re still not that on board with anything other than “Baby Yoda”) are going to do next.
In years gone past, a few members of the FinalBoss team would have gathered for watch-alongs to see geeky, fan favourite franchises like Star Wars or Game of Thrones and the like. This year we managed the season 2 opener of The Mandalorian together before social restrictions, caused by the current world domination of our dark viral overlord, set in.
Not to be put off by such problems, we’ve made do with remote watch-alongs and intense post-show discussions via text. So, now that we have seen the series finale, what do us remote Galactic Reonlymeetinpublicans think of The Mandalorian season 2? FinalBoss’ resident Star Wars fans Callum, James and Shaun (think of them as our own Luke, Han & Chewie) have collected their thoughts together for The Mandalorian season 2 review.
Warning, this article contains spoilers!
What are your overall thoughts on The Mandalorian season 2?
Callum: I think that the first couple of episodes were pretty slow. The thing I wanted after season 1 was the series to be less episodic. But from episode 3 onwards it really started to pick up and built really well to the climax. I have really enjoyed this series and I’m very intrigued by The Book of Boba Fett.
James: Much the same as the first. I don’t think it has much depth of story although Mando’s devotion to Grogu is a nice touch that at least gives him consistency. I didn’t enjoy episode one because I wanted more out of it but once I accepted that it was going to be a bit of a fetch- quest like show again, I kinda settled in and had more fun.
Shaun: Slow start, strong finish. Was very disappointed by the first episode but it gradually improved and really picked up from episode 5 and the finale was outstanding. The best episode of the show so far.
What were your favourite bits from the season?
Callum: Ahsoka was really good, the Luke reveal was excellent and Boba Fett was good as well. I really liked how the story of Grogu was expanded and rather than just being a cute high-value target, he began to have a much deeper character this season. And although it was one of the slower episodes, the visuals and design of episode 1 with the big sandworm thing were really cool. The look of the whole series has been great. You can see it has been crafted with a lot of love.
James: Hard not to say Luke, mainly for the way he carved up those droids. Cara Dune is always fun on screen and Boba was well handled.
Shaun: Many many highlights. As I mentioned above, the last episode, The Rescue was amazing, loved every second of it. The sight of Slave 1 arriving in episode 6 and the appearance of Boba Fett. The Ashoka episode, particularly the name drop of Thrawn. The ice spiders in episode 2 and the sight of x-wings on patrol. The frog people and especially their failure to notice their eggs disappearing. The pirates of episode 7 and their persistence in the face of failure.
What were your least favourite bits from the season?
Callum: Episode 2 was a bit lame and pointless I think they were trying to make the season last a bit longer. I wasn’t a fan of the frog people and the Tatooine spaceport lady. I also think that Boba’s companion, Fennec Shand, is pretty plain and has no other purpose other than to provide another good fighter. I’m also not sure I like the name Grogu…
James: Couple of characters like Moff Gideon, that mechanic on Tatooine and Bo-Katan. The series really chewed through scenery.
Shaun: The first episode was frustrating because I was expecting the show to come back with a bang and it didn’t really do that. Was straight into more planet-hopping and side quests without seeming to grow the main storyline. Mando continuing to arrive on a planet, park the Razor Crest and leave the ship with the door open for anyone to potentially steal/raid. The name Grogu, not sure that is going to stick! As great as it was to see Luke, I thought he was de-aged too much, he looked younger than he did in Return Of The Jedi!
Which was your favourite episode from The Mandalorian season 2?
Callum: Chapter 13: The Jedi (or episode 5) but the Boba Fett episode and the finale are close. I think that this is mainly because it’s the first lightsaber action we have really seen this season and having been working through The Clone Wars series, it was cool to see a live-action version of a character we have all come to love.
James: I think Boba’s return and Grogu being taken. The episode felt like it had meaning, which I feel like is rare for Mando.
Shaun: I was all set to go with episode 6 but now it’s got to be episode 8. Perhaps the most Star Wars-y episode of the show to date. Good guys infiltrating with a shuttle and running away from/chasing stormtroopers around corridors is pure Star Wars. Good to get a bit of backstory on the Darksaber. And Luke. I saw a spoiler unfortunately so was expecting him to show up, but it was still awesome. A bit disappointing that the terminator-esque darktroopers didn’t put up more of a fight though. Good to know he’s still travelling around in an x-wing with R2.
Who was your favourite character this season?
Callum: Although Boba Fett was great and I am still a huge fan of Cara Dune, I think the award has to go to Ahsoka. Not only did she look fantastic, exactly how I imagined a grown-up, live-action version of the Clone Wars character would look, but she kicked some serious ass. I just don’t know what it is about her, but she is just such a great character and her appearance was one of “the” moments of this whole show.
James: Grogu developed a bit more personality, and got a name. He’s a bit of a dick, eating important alien eggs, choking stormtroopers and ignoring Ahsoka, which I quite like…
Shaun: I’m going to say Boba Fett, because he had a bigger role in the series than I was expecting. I’ve never quite got the love for him based on the original trilogy because, let’s be honest, he doesn’t do that much but he was really cool in this. Love the tag team with Fennec and looks like we’ll be seeing more of them!
What would you like to see from The Mandalorian season 3?
Callum: Well, I hope we see more Mandalorians, more Mando combat and maybe some sort of Jon Snow style “I don’t want it!” throne denial but has to fight Bo-Katan and her whole posse. I hope we see Grogu and Ahsoka again. What I think would be quite cool would be to do some time jumping so we could see a “teenage” Grogu. Also very intrigued with how The Book of Boba Fett is going to pan out and how it will tie in with The Mandalorian.
James: I have no hopes. This series showed the stakes are fake and the plot will go wherever fan service takes it. The Skywalker scene was cool but an anticlimax to Grogu’s journey in so far as, he just turned up and took The Child. There is no greater depth to this mystery creature apparently, and that sums up The Mandolorian to me. It’s fun, it’s entertaining week to week but it’s devoid of drive. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good show and I’ll come back, but it kind of reminds me of a serial crime drama like CSI or Criminal Minds. It’s just a series of things that happen, it doesn’t feel like there is an end goal. To say I have no hopes sounds depressing but what I mean is, I think we know all of what this series will offer now, so I’m just along for the ride now.
Shaun: Fascinating set up now with Mando and Grogu split up. I guess Mando is going to get drawn into Bo-Katan’s quest to retake Mandalore and they’ll have to work out something for the darksaber. So is it the end for Grogu on the show? I’d be surprised if Luke became a regular character and we saw the training. If nothing else it would be expensive to keep de-ageing Mark Hamill, and it now feels like not having Baby Yoda in episode 7 might have been a bit of a test to see how the show fares without him. I still want to know more about the Imperials and how they are surviving/rebuilding the empire. Thrawn? Yes please. If we see Boba again I’d like to find out how he survived the sarlacc pit but looks like that might be another show.
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