The Mandalorian: Season 2, Episode 1 ‘The Martial’ Recap and Review

The Mandalorian begins its sophomore season with a bang, but goes out with a whimper

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

When we left our stoic and enigmatic gunslinger Din Djarin, he and his painfully adorable companion had just escaped the clutches of the Darksaber wielding Moff Gideon. Together, they set forth into the dark abyss of space in search of answers and purpose. If season one ended with a feeling of hope and possibility, season two begins with the feeling of familiarity and slight intrigue. Directed by showrunner Jon Favreau, this episode is light on relative plot developments and serves to be more like a re-introduction to the hero’s character and values.

We begin on an unknown planet where Din and the Child attend a Gamorrean Death Match. But there is no time for leisure as their purpose there is to buy information on the whereabouts of the now scattered Mandalorians. After some “aggressive negotiations,” Mandalorian style, Din is led to the small colony of Mos Pelgo on the infamous desert planet of Tatooine. Upon arriving in the quiet, dusty, and quite a-typical western small-town, he meets The Marshal, played by Timothy Olyphant, who is wearing the iconic armor of one Boba Fett. It is immediately obvious that the armor does not belong to him as he looks like an adult who accidentally bought a child-size Halloween costume and decided to just deal with it. This is where the minor conflict of the episode lies, since The Marshal is not a Mandalorian, he should not be in possession of Mandalorian armor. After politely requesting he return the armor upon threat of death, we see the bane of Mos Pelgo. Turns out, the colony is being terrorized by a massive Sandworm, I mean Graboid, I mean Krayt Dragon. The Marshal strikes a deal with Din, he will surrender the armor in exchange for aid in killing the Krayt Dragon to which Din graciously and mercifully accepts. Together, they set out into the desert to find the dragon, Din riding a speeder bike, and The Marshal riding a modified engine from Anakin Skywalker’s pod racer. During their journey, they encounter a group of Tusken Raiders, but its fine, Din inexplicably speaks Tusken Raider and they seem to share their distaste for the Krayt Dragon’s antics. Together, with the begrudging help of the townsfolk, they slay the dragon, save the town, and Din takes possession of the famed armor. The real intrigue of the episode comes at the very end, as Din and the Child fly away in search of real Mandalorians, a shadowy figure watches them as they head for the horizon. Just before the episode ends, the figure turns around and reveals himself to be none other than New Zeland born actor Temuera Morrison.

I hesitate to name the character Morrison is portraying in this instance. Morrison is most known for playing Mandalorian Bounty Hunter Jango Fett in Star Wars: Attack of The Clones, but Jango is one character we know for sure wasn’t the shadowy figure due to the suffering of some major neck trauma in the final battle of that movie. But in Star Wars lore, Jango served as the base from which every clone trooper was based, including his clone-son Boba. So Morrison could be playing literally any clone trooper that had survived the revenge of the Sith and subsequent return of the Jedi. But the smart money says he is playing one of the more famous clones. On the surface level, Jon Favreau wants you to believe this is the man himself, Boba Fett. Fett’s armor features heavily in the episode and it would make sense for him to want it back, all this is predicated on Boba’s escape from the Sarlacc Pit. Even the Pit itself is mentioned as the Krayt Dragon is found occupying an emptied Sarlacc Pit. But if I were a betting man, and I am, I would guess that the character we saw was Captain Rex, travel Partner of the much anticipated Ashoka Tano. It’s no secret that Ashoka will make her live-action debut at some point in this series but would make sense for her to be actively looking for Din, or more accurately, The Child. Ashoka is a powerful Jedi who would no doubt sense the power wielded by The Child and since the Jedi are all but extinct at this point, would send out a scout to act as her eyes and ears on the ground so she could remain hidden, and who better than Captain Rex. There are other clues to the character’s identity, the weapons on his back do not seem to be Boba’s trusty blaster but look like a weapon used by the Tusken Raiders and some sort of sniper rifle which I’m sure will be identified down to the serial number by the more, dedicated, of the Star Wars fan base. There are even scars across his face which would be new to either Rex or Boba. Could they be from Boba’s escape of the Pit or Rex’s escapades from traveling with Ashoka? I guess we have to wait for that answer.

In video game terms, this episode would be considered a side quest. It has very little to do with the overall plot of the series but has sown seeds that could sprout later in the season. Din has Boba’s armor, he is being followed by a famous clone, and The Marshal is added to the list of possible crewmates for Din in the future. Aside from those future plot points, this episode was relatively light. The supporting cast is acted well; Pedro Pascal was as enigmatic as ever, we get another enjoyable appearance from Amy Sedaris’ Peli Motto, John Leguizamo lends his voice early on in the episode which always makes me happy, and Timothy Olyphant pretty much just traded his cowboy hat from Justified for a poorly fitting helmet and went about his business. The visuals were great, but what else is new. The second I could sense the side-quest-y nature of this episode, a little bit of excitement died in me. The episode has very familiar beats to it from episode two of the first season and maybe I expected a little more from the return of this series than just a side quest. But overall, The Mandalorian is still the best Star Wars property we’ve had in years that features live-action performances, this episode does not change that, but it left me wanting more in the worst possible way.

GRADE [C+}