Beginning on October 30th of 2020, the second season of the smash hit Star Wars series The Mandalorian debuted on Disney+. The first episode of Season 2, entitled “The Marshall” starts the season off with a bang. The Mandalorian (portrayed by Pedro Pascal) and The Child (aka Baby Yoda) are searching for Mandalorians to help them find The Child’s people. Their search leads them to the familiar desert planet of Tatooine, to the town of Mos Pelgo. There, they find Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), the marshal of Mos Pelgo, who dons the armor of the iconic, presumed-dead bounty hunter Boba Fett. Vanth actually first debuted in the Aftermath trilogy of Star Wars novels. He is a former slave who acquired Fett’s armor from Jawas. Vanth agrees to give the Mandalorian his armor if he helps kill a Krayt dragon that has terrorized the town. This episode is great, and it shows how much the budget for the series increased, with an impressive battle against the dragon which is massive in scale. At the end of the episode, we discover that Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) is indeed alive, and wants his armor back. He is the first of several familiar characters from other sects of the Star Wars galaxy who appear in Season 2.

One of the things that worried me going into Season 2 was an over reliance of cheap fan service. Fett’s return was heavily rumored beforehand, and I was worried his return would overshadow the main character himself. Fortunately, that did not happen. In fact, the familiar characters who do make appearances are handled quite well, and fit in the story naturally. In the third episode, “The Heiress”, The Mandalorian meets another familiar face, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), who eventually agrees to help him find The Child’s people after he helps her raid an Imperial cargo ship. Bo-Katan was originally from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series. Sackhoff voiced her in those shows, and once again played her in her live-action debut. Again, it makes sense that her character would be involved. Another highlight of Season 2 for me was “The Jedi”. In this episode, The Mandalorian seeks a Jedi knight to help The Child. This Jedi turns out to be none other than Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), a fan-favorite character who also makes her live-action debut. Tano was also from The Clone Wars and Rebels, and seeing her in live-action after all these years was nothing short of incredible. In this episode, we finally learn the true name of The Child, as Ahsoka communicates with him through the Force. His name is Grogu, and he was a survivor of the Jedi Purge as seen in Revenge of the Sith. Ahsoka tells The Mandalorian to take Grogu to the planet of Tython, to the ruins of an ancient Jedi temple. There, Grogu would reach out through the Force and decide his destiny. There is where the season really picks up steam, and becomes a non-stop thrill ride.

“The Tragedy”, while being the shortest episode of the season, was one of the more action-packed of the season. Mando and Grogu arrive on Tython, and as the child reaches out through the Force, we see the iconic Slave 1 in the skies above. Boba Fett had finally caught up with them. Along with Fett is Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), a bounty hunter from Season 1 who was also presumed dead. All Fett wants is his armor back, but their negotiations were cut short as the Empire arrives. What follows is some of the best action in the season, and perhaps in all of Star Wars, as Fett, Shand, and Mando fight off the stormtroopers. In the middle of the chaos, Fett sneaks aboard The Razor Crest to retrieve his armor, only moments before a Star Destroyer blows the Mandalorian’s ship up. The menacing new Dark Troopers are deployed, and kidnap a deep-in-meditation Grogu. The Mandalorian is at his lowest point in the season, with his ship and Grogu gone. Fortunately, Fett offers to help Mando.

The next two episodes are probably my favorite. “The Believer” brings back Mayfeld (Bill Burr) who helps Mando and crew acquire the coordinates of the cruiser in which Grogu is held captive. This episode has one of my favorite scenes in the show, where Mayfeld and an unhelmeted Mando confront an Imperial officer who he once served under. The scene is full of tension, but has a satisfying conclusion and a great performance from Burr. The final episode, “The Rescue”, is perhaps the best. Between an intense fight between Mando and the evil Moff Gideon, the terrifying power of the Dark Troopers, and the appearance of an iconic Jedi who comes to the rescue. When all seems lost to Mando’s rescue team, a lone X-Wing fighter arrives and lands in the hangar. A mysterious figure cuts down the Dark Troopers one by one with his green lightsaber. He eventually makes his way to the bridge, removes his hood, and reveals himself to indeed be Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who received Grogu’s call through the Force in “The Tragedy”. The season ends on a cliffhanger, as Grogu goes with Skywalker to his new Jedi academy, and Mando is forced to say goodbye to his beloved green friend. The scene is emotional and powerful, and is a great way to end a fantastic season of television.

The Mandalorian Season 2 exceeded my expectations and left me on the edge of my seat. My fears of overdone fan service were quickly quelled. Characters such as Boba Fett, Bo-Katan, Ashoka, and Luke Skywalker all have good reasons to be there, and don’t overshadow the Mandalorian in any way, instead complimenting him quite well. The action is fantastic, no doubt due to the increased budget. The music by Ludwig Gӧrranson is unique to the Star Wars universe, which is a blend of techno, hip-hop, dubstep, and much more. It’s absolutely worth a listen. The performances are great, Bill Burr in particular steals the show in his appearance. Overall, The Mandalorian Season 2 was incredibly entertaining, and I give it a 9 out of 10.