– Spoiler Review –
The Mandalorian returns with an epic sized season two premiere, “Chapter 9 – The Marshal,” which benefits the show and its ability to pull from all across canon by giving events and characters more time to marinate, while the action, reveals, and scale of events offer plenty of promise for this next season of the Baby Yoda show.
As much as I enjoyed the shorter, easy to digest episodes, The Mandalorian season one felt like it found its footing in its longer episodes, especially as it got into the final two episodes, as we were able to spend more time with characters, their motivations, and the events unfolding around them, instead of quick vignettes that ended just as they got started. It made me very glad to see “Chapter 9 – The Marshal” was over 50 minutes long, but curious if it could pull it off; which it did, excellently, in this big, epic-sized premiere, unmistakably a mini-Star Wars movie on TV. Instead of Din blasting into a situation and shortly blasting his way out, there was more than just shooting to solve problems this time, instead diplomacy, as he negotiates with the titular Marshal, Cobb Vanth, or bridging the divide between Tuskens and settlers on Tatooine. Sure, it all ends in a thrilling action sequence against a greater krayt dragon, filmed with what I assume was an IMAX camera considering the sequence was in full-screen instead of wide-screen, but it felt like it earned a big, action-packed ending, while the non-violent resolution between Vanth and Din holds promise in what more can be done with the actor and character; however, it makes me bitter about the last time the show visited Tatooine and left Fennec Shand dead, as why does Vanth get to live but not Fennec, though I’m still holding out hope that episode’s final scene proves otherwise. Also, unlike the three “stand-alone” episodes in the middle of the first season, as much as this ended up as another seemingly side-mission from Din’s new goal of returning the Child back to his people, it was all in the service of the goal in the end, as while the lead on a Mandalorian turned out to be a dud, from a certain point of view, Din gained new armor to help his covert and a potential foe or ally who has had dealings with the Jedi…Boba Fett. But we’ll dig more into his return in a bit.
For now, let’s talk about Timothy Olyphant’s turn as Cobb Vanth! I’ve never watched Justified, which starred Olyphant as a US Marshal for 6 seasons, nor Deadwood, where he played a Sheriff in the Wild West, but what little I did see in TV spots or trailers for both really sold me on his Western-leaning chops, and he brings the swagger of a confident lawman to campy, delightful life in “The Marshal.” He really owns the role, which I felt would’ve been hard to do for most actors considering his entrance in the episode made me laugh a bit, as Boba Fett’s beskar armor doesn’t fit on him and it shows, making for an awkward but stylish look on him, as he fills it in with a striking red sweater. It takes a lot of guts and confidence to see a full-plated Mandalorian and be willing to fight him to keep your purchased armor, but Olyphant makes Vanth’s stand effective, though the wheeling and dealing side is playfully shown through when he realizes the opportunity to have Din help him with their little big problem, a krayt dragon. Vanth has a history in canon, first appearing 5 years ago in the Aftermath Trilogy, where we learned about his life on Tatooine, finding/buying Boba’s armor from Jawas, becoming a Marshal for a small Tatooine town for freed slaves from Jabba’s Palace/the Empire’s occupation, and fighting against a Mining Guild group. Some of the details were changed from the book, but honestly I had to reread his parts to even remember what all happened besides him gaining Boba’s armor and using it to help secure a town, so I didn’t mind the adjustments and one could chalk it all up to unreliable narrator stuff since the Aftermath Trilogy was written in first-person. Regardless, Vanth only becomes a character we care about thanks to Olyphant’s acting, as he shows how/why the town would depend on him, and his understanding of Din’s insistence of Mandalorian culture regarding ownership of the armor, and later Tusken’s culture, in an effort to save his town from the bigger enemy, reveal him to be an earnest man. By the end, as he parts amicably with Din and Boba’s armor, one could hope he returns in a later episode, though his ending is fitting for now.
Last season, Din revealed his knowledge of Tusken Raider culture, being able to sign in Tusken Sign Language,* and communicate in their grunts and growls, though the moment was over far too quickly. “The Marshal” provides far more time with the Tuskens and Din’s ability to communicate with them, and it’s such a fascinating way to revisit these marauders as, if you’ve only really watched the films, the idea they could be anything but enemies would seem far-fetched, making us all sound like the townsfolk when Vanth and Din bring up the idea of cooperation. Instead, The Mandalorian manages to humanize the Tuskens, much like some books and comics have done in the past, and we get a glimpse at their fascinating culture and beliefs as Din negotiates and later develops a plan to defeat the krayt dragon with them, and suddenly we’re like the settlers who team up and later celebrate victory alongside the Tuskens instead of fearing them. It all felt a lot like watching a Western of some type, which The Mandalorian is seeped in its DNA with, seemingly sometimes more than Star Wars, as the settlers/Native American parallels are impossible to ignore, which makes the positive message in the end about the two being able to coexist all the more inspired and welcomed.
How about that battle with the greater krayt dragon?! I’ve beaten a canyon krayt dragon before, and maybe many others have in Knights of the Old Republic, but a greater one, which spits venomous acid and borrows underground so you never know where it might pop up?! It was such a delightfully large, bombastic sequence, from the Tusken’s shooting giant arrows from ballistaes, everyone luring it to the buried explosives, or when Vanth and Din go all out with their jetpack to chase it down up in the mountains. The classic kill it from the inside out, possible for Din thanks to his shiny new beskar armor, was a fun way to end the sequence. It felt big, looked great, and really added quite the wallop to the season opener. There’s definitely a discussion to be had whether one needed to kill it in the first place, as it is only a creature doing the bare minimum to survive, but I appreciated how it was the monster the two sides needed to bridge their divide and no longer fight each other unnecessarily, it’s death means less death for both sides, and most importantly, the Tuskens look to make sure every bit of it is used, much like the Native Americans would with their kills. Plus, we’re not dealing with Jedi here, who would attempt, more often than not, to subdue creatures or avoid them, but rather with mercenaries and others such eager to live their lives without worry, hence the creature’s desired state. Regardless…what did Mando want with that giant chunk of krayt dragon meat he took? Is it to feed him and Baby Yoda for awhile?
Which leads us to this season opener’s last minute reveal: the return of Boba Fett. Most of the casual fans whom I’ve talked to after watching the episode didn’t even realize who it was, but were certainly intrigued once I revealed it was Boba. As a longtime fan, I’m neither excited or against Boba’s survival of the sarlacc, as I quite enjoyed the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy in Legends, and for a while as a growing teenager, enjoyed Boba’s continued relevance to the Legends story until I got older and it veered too far into fan-service. His canon involvement has been far more measured and interesting, for the most part, from his time on The Clone Wars and some comic appearances, but there have been some big whiffs, especially in a recent issue of Bounty Hunters. Given Dave Filoni’s involvement in the series, and his time on TCW developing Boba alongside George Lucas, I have some faith we’ll get a better, more balanced depiction of the character, especially given his journeyman-like look, bald, scarred, and humbled without his armor. Plus, considering this show is set 5 years after Return of the Jedi (I don’t quite know why I thought it was 2 years, but I was wrong!), what the heck has this badass bounty hunter been doing and why wasn’t he able to get his armor back yet? It certainly puts his reputation to shame, and given how important he’s deemed that in the Bounty Hunters series, maybe his bumbling “defeat” at Han Solo’s hands helped him change his one-tracked mind ways, hence his patient survival on Tatooine for 5 years. I’m curious how he’ll fit into the series, but considering all the time spent with the Jedi and Sith alike during the Clone Wars, he might actually be the one person who can help Din and Baby Yoda the most, though some surviving Mandalorians, and it’s important to note Boba (and therefore his clone dad, Jango) aren’t Mandalorians despite the armor, might have a more direct line to any surviving Force-users if it means characters like Sabine Wren or Bo-Katan make appearances this season. Regardless of all that, I loved seeing Temuera Morrison back in the role of Fett! It’s such a brilliant move to bring him back, as he can easily play an adult Boba given the characters is literally a clone of his father, Jango, whom Morrison play in the prequel trilogy, and I look forward to seeing what he’ll do as the character once he gets a chance to do more than scowl in the distance at Din and Baby Yoda.
Here are a few other things:
- *Tusken Sign Language was developed and used by deaf actor Troy Kotsur in the first season, so it’s great to have him back and see an expansion of the TSL usage in this episode; such a great and easy way to make Star Wars feel like a more inclusive space for fans who also identify as deaf, alongside normalizing it for others.
- I almost kind of forgot about the opening sequence, with the Gamorrean fighting ring and the gangster Din visits to learn about visiting Tatooine again, but it’s still a solid first few minutes; it shows how Baby Yoda and Din understand each other a bit more, as he adorably hides when he sees Mando’s whistling birds. There wasn’t much for Baby Yoda to do this episode other than be very cute and charming every moment he’s on camera, of course, but I won’t ever argue with that. Him seeing all this violence however could be quite the interest thread to explore, especially when/if Din and him find Jedi and/or Yoda/Yaddle’s home planet, but it’s possible they might not deal with it and just play it up for humor; I hope that’s not the case, though.
- Peli Motto was funny, again, and I loved the return of R5-D4, the same one who valiantly blew its motivator so Uncle Owen wouldn’t but it, thus helping Artoo complete his mission.
- Since Boba doesn’t have his armor, was it Cobb Vanth who visited Fennec Shand at the end of “Chapter 5 – The Gunslinger” or still Boba, seeing as a rewatch of the episode’s final scene shows the figure with a black cape, which could be Boba black robe in this episode.
- To quote Spaceballs, “It’s all about the merchandising!” While Disney decided to wait on Baby Yoda merch to keep his appearance a total secret, which worked wonders but led to a wealth of fan-made merch Disney/Lucasfilm couldn’t take advantage of right away, there’s no waiting this time around: Mando Mondays launched the Monday prior to this episode, offering tons of new toys, shirts, and books to be had, with the Child aka Baby Yoda front and center. I really like the look of Moff Gideon’s action figure, both vintage and current styling, while the Baby Yoda RC toy that follows you around is, well, a must have despite me not needing it whatsoever, as my dog and wife likely wouldn’t appreciate it.
- Was it just me, or was Vanth riding a landspeeder made from a leftover engine of Anakin Skywalker’s podracer?!?
- The Weequay bartender is played by prolific character W. Earl Brown, who I loved most as Bill in the video game The Last of Us!
- Thanks for your patience, dear reader, with this review, as I was on my honeymoon after getting married back on Oct 17! The following reviews should be a bit more timely as there’s no vacation time left.
- If I remember correctly, there should be an episode guide up on the official site by Monday! We’ll update this once it’s out.
The Mandalorian‘s season two premiere, “Chapter 9 – The Marshal,” went big and nailed it, providing a thrilling, epic opening.
+ Big, epic sized opener
+ Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth
+ Developing Tuskens more
+ Krayt Dragon sequence
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE MANDALORIAN REVIEWS
Season Two: Chapter 10 – The Passenger | Chapter 11 – The Heiress | Chapter 12 – The Siege | Chapter 13 – The Jedi | Chapter 14 – The Tragedy
Season One: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 – The Child | Chapter 3 – The Sin | Chapter 4 – The Sanctuary | Chapter 5 – The Gunslinger | Chapter 6 – The Prisoner | Chapter 7 – The Reckoning | Chapter 8 – Redemption