While I love me some Baby Yoda, episode one of The Mandalorian's new season was a slow recap that retconned some weird stuff. Having seen Episode 2, entitled "The Mines of Mandalore" I now think the Filoni/Favreau team was messing with us! This episode was great.
Episode 2 starts with a reminder of just how lazy Star Wars can be and shows us Tattooine on Boonta Eve. Slapstick Peli Motto, droid, and Jawa's aside, this is a direct call back to the "Now this is pod racing!" stuff of the prequel trilogy, and reminds us Star Wars is willing to slap fans in the face. Later in the episode, things get super grim and take us right back to the darkness of Rogue One — Star Wars at its best — but Boonta Eve is like a stick in the eye.
As soon as Mando and Baby Yoda leave Tattooine tho, things start getting great! Mando heads straight to Mandalore and we skip all the tiresome side-quest stuff and get on with the story. The story being told in Clone Wars and Rebels about the Mandalorians picks right up where we were told it was. Mandalore is a perilous graveyard, where being dangerous is the only way to survive, and we learn quickly what and who is more dangerous than Mando himself.
Even Bo-Katan shakes off her boring malaise and shows her real stuff. While she may have failed as leader of Mandalore, she certainly has what it takes, and it's wonderful to see another Mandalorian fight that well. Baby Yoda was impressed.
Season 3 is shaping up.
