The Mandalorian returned with an action-packed season two opener, and kept up the suspense with the second episode of the season.
This episode sends the main duo on a new side mission in search of Mandalorians while also helping a mother protect her children.
The rest of the review will be split into spoiler-free and spoiler-filled sections so you can avoid any unwanted information on the episode.
Spoiler-Free Review
The episode begins almost immediately where the last one left off, with our titular character making his way back into town on Tatooine.
It almost immediately jumps back into a major battle scene that features some great practical fighting and limits its usage of special effects, which is often where this series shines.
As scenes continue, it immediately becomes apparent that The Child, or Baby Yoda, is much more involved in this episode than the season premiere, being a more active part of the storyline and involving himself in multiple scenes throughout the episode. This is a welcome change that is sure to bring the world tons more of the Baby Yoda memes the show has been known for.
The rest of the episode continues to follow what will likely become the seasons main arc of attempting to locate more Mandalorians somewhere in the galaxy, which sends him on yet another side mission.
In the second half of the episode, the stakes are raised and it quickly transitions into a claustrophobic battle for survival that opens up questions as to the larger galaxy.
This was a strong second episode that opens more questions to be answered in the rest of the season.
Spoiler Filled Review
The episode begins with a battle between The Mandalorian and a tribe of thieves who attempt to take his armor and The Child. It sees Mando have to defeat the group without most of his characteristic weapons, instead using his physical prowess and wit to defeat them.
In this battle the larger presence of Baby Yoda is really felt, with The Child becoming a major part of the dynamics of the battle, something that would become a common thread throughout the remainder of the episode.
The Tatooine portion of the episode still features the nostalgia that we have come to expect from this planet, notably another visit to the iconic Cantina, although not as much as the previous episode.
Peli Motto returns once again to provide Mando with his best clue yet towards finding more of his kind, but in order to get it he has to take a detour.
The Mandalorian and The Child have to travel alongside a new mother and her eggs. It is revealed that her species is facing extinction and that she is now carrying with her the last eggs of her life cycle. Mando is tasked with bringing her to her husband so they can be fertilized, but for the protection of the eggs, they cannot use light speed.
Her husband then promises a further clue towards finding more Mandalorians.
From this point the entire episode remains limited in terms of characters and settings, being mainly focused on The Mandalorian, The Child, and their new temporary travel companion.
This limited scope allows for the character dynamics and Baby Yoda's humor to shine with the significant large battles being replaced by an ongoing struggle between Mando and The Child to keep him from eating the children of their guest.
We can also see in this how much The Mandalorian has adapted to living with The Child, getting better at controlling him and giving him space on his ship.
While this portion of the episode is more limited, it does feature our first real look in the series so far of the New Republic, who appears in the form of two X Wings that follow the ship and cause it to become stranded on a barren ice planet.
It points to the first real government structure in the galaxy throughout the series, but even that power is limited.
The chase sequence that ends in the crash is one of the best space battles in the series so far, and leaves the episodes trio in a crisis at the bottom of a ravine with a damaged ship.
This leaves all three in survival mode, causing tensions between the sometimes reluctant companions as the temperature drops and the damage to the ship becomes apparent.
This also leads to a lot of great moments of The Child exploring his new surroundings and still trying to eat the eggs at any chance he gets.
But the tensions are raised even further when the mother to be leaves the ship to take a soak in a nearby hot spring with her eggs. This takes all of the group away from the ship and into a dangerous situation.
The Child accidentally awakens a massive group of spiders like alien creatures of varying sizes that all come after the group. It becomes a dash for survival back to the ship that feels like it has real stakes.
The group is then saved by the return of the New Republic X Wings. They reveal that they really should be arresting The Mandalorian, but recognize that while he has committed crimes, he also has saved lives, and given their narrow resources it isn't worth arresting him, and they leave him alive but stranded.
As the episode comes to a close, the ship is in worse condition than it has ever been, with the whole group trapped in one room, and they are hoping they can make it to their destination safely and in time.
This episode is very different than the splashy opening episode from last week, spending more time exploring the developing relationship between Mando and The Child. But it still manages to keep a level of action, swapping out the massive fights for slow-building suspense and tension leading up to a harrowing escape from an alien but familiar foe.
It is unclear what will await The Mandalorian in his search for more of his kind, but there is no sign of safety any time soon.
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