The Mandalorian Season 2

[Fyraltari]

Similarly, every empire ever has fallen eventually, so civilizations are a bad idea and we should stop forming them.

I'm not making a grand philosophical statement, I'm just saying that when it comes to sales pitch, joining the Mandalorians (especially in this time period) seems to consist mostly of downsides.

You sound like Luke from TLJ.

And you sound weirdly aggressive.

[Peelee]

I'm not making a grand philosophical statement, I'm just saying that when it comes to sales pitch, joining the Mandalorians (especially in this time period) seems to consist mostly of downsides.



And you sound weirdly aggressive.

I don't mean to sound aggressive, I apologize for that and I'll try to work on that. I just think it's strange that you're taking a single instance of something not working eventually when it had worked up to that point as evidence that it doesn't work at all (which mirrored my thoughts about Luke's complaints that the Jedi's legacy was failure, hence the comparison). Everything works until it doesn't, but that doesn't mean it's not good while it does. The coverts protected them and let them escape the Empire for a time. I'm interested to see how other coverts are doing (which will also inform this conversation significantly, though in whose favor I can't sag yet).

[Fyraltari]

I don't mean to sound aggressive, I apologize for that and I'll try to work on that.

Apology accepted. Tone is hard to covey through text, and I have a bit of temper myself.

I just think it's strange that you're taking a single instance of something not working eventually when it had worked up to that point as evidence that it doesn't work at all (which mirrored my thoughts about Luke's complaints that the Jedi's legacy was failure, hence the comparison). Everything works until it doesn't, but that doesn't mean it's not good while it does. The coverts protected them and let them escape the Empire for a time. I'm interested to see how other coverts are doing (which will also inform this conversation significantly, though in whose favor I can't sag yet).

I'm not saying it doesn't work at all, I was making a semi-serious aside to my main argument that the Marshall already has his own thing going on and wouldn't have much incentive to be adopted into a foreign people.

[Peelee]

Apology accepted. Tone is hard to covey through text, and I have a bit of temper myself.

I'm not saying it doesn't work at all, I was making a semi-serious aside to my main argument that the Marshall already has his own thing going on and wouldn't have much incentive to be adopted into a foreign people.

Especially with you, any time I sound aggressive is probably more me trying to be snarky. But I'm trying to cut that down regardless, so I always appreciate heads up about it so I can take a look at myself and fix it. I should be better than that.

Also,its more of a shared culture than a foreign people. Cobb Vanth eventually took it on himself, in a way. He's a Mandalorian in all but name already (well, and all but the weird rules like "be more Tusken-like as far as your armor goes). And since he already more or less lives by Mandalorian ideals, I would just like them to be accepting of him rather than dismissive, as Din was in the beginning of the episode.

Dude's earned his armor, IMO.

[Fyraltari]

Especially with you, any time I sound aggressive is probably more me trying to be snarky. But I'm trying to cut that down regardless, so I always appreciate heads up about it so I can take a look at myself and fix it. I should be better than that.

Good good.

Also,its more of a shared culture than a foreign people.

See, I think this is where we aren't understanding each other.

The Mandalorian have a land (Mandalore and other planets), traditions, a history (as agressors, as oppressed, civil wars and everything) a political system, clans and everything. They pass all this to their children and the occasional foundlings. They very much are a people by any definition I am aware of like the naboos or the Corellians.

Cobb Vanth eventually took it on himself, in a way. He's a Mandalorian in all but name already (well, and all but the weird rules like "be more Tusken-like as far as your armor goes). And since he already more or less lives by Mandalorian ideals, I would just like them to be accepting of him rather than dismissive, as Din was in the beginning of the episode.

Dude's earned his armor, IMO.

I disagree, Vanth may share some of the martial values of the Mandalorian but there's a world of difference between that and being a Mandalorian in all but name. The armour is the best example. To Din the armour is the symbol of who he is, it bears the mark of his clan, its very material tell the tale of his victories, it tells the world his Mandalorian heritage. He treats it with reverence (as he himself jokes "I'm a Mandalorian, weapons are part of my religion") and should he lose it, he'd face a bit of an existential crisis.

To Cobb, it's a good piece of gear. Trading it for safety from the krayt is a good deal. The Marshall is a Tatooinian, they have their own history and worldview ("They are monsters!") that the Mandalorian don't share. To them a weapon is a toll, a necessary tool, but at the end of the day, just a tool.

[Psyren]

My thoughts:

- The "fight club" and crime boss death was predictable (although the specific means by which Mando took him out was pretty unique) but the show continues to show that its chief strength lies in execution of familiar tropes and themes. ("Execution," heh.)

- Given that the very first thing Cobb does in the bar is take his helmet off to have a drink, Mando flipping his lid and wanting to strip him right then and there does make sense. Read the room man

- I agree with whoever earlier in the thread rolled their eyes when we found ourselves back on Tatooine again. With that said, being on Tatooine had me asking... was that Boba's armor? Anyone want to chime in with the Sarlacc digestive process?

- Looks like The Mandalorian's habit of ripping off taking inspiration from various Western premises continues. Get the blue collar mining town to partner with the, uh, savage natives whose language and culture he happens to understand to face a bigger threat, the spaghetti was practically dripping off the screen - but again, well executed.

[Peelee]

- I agree with whoever earlier in the thread rolled their eyes when we found ourselves back on Tatooine again. With that said, being on Tatooine had me asking... was that Boba's armor? Anyone want to chime in with the Sarlacc digestive process?

Yes. Either the sail barge exploding and falling on the Sarlacc killed it, or the Krayt Dragon ate the Sarlacc (I think the former, for no particular reason). Fett likely climbed out of it, collapsed at some point, got stripped by Jawas, and still survived. He's clearly taken on sand people and lived, given his gear at the end.

[Fyraltari]

My own guess would be that Bobba shed the armour himself because of the stomachal acid permeating it. Granted I'm not sure that's a thing as my only knowledge of people doing that comes from fiction but in real life it's quite rare to throw acid at someone wearing armor.

[dancrilis]

Yes. Either the sail barge exploding and falling on the Sarlacc killed it, or the Krayt Dragon ate the Sarlacc (I think the former, for no particular reason). Fett likely climbed out of it, collapsed at some point, got stripped by Jawas, and still survived. He's clearly taken on sand people and lived, given his gear at the end.

I believe that the sandpeople via the Mandalorian imply the dragon ate the sarlacc.

I wouldn't be overly surprised if it wasn't Fett at the end - if he wanted the armour he could presumedly (subject to how capable he is meant to be) have taken it back before now, no need to wait for it to change hands.

There are after all a few millions clones who look like him, and the series has so far remained away from the established characters.

[Fyraltari]

I believe that the sandpeople via the Mandalorian imply the dragon ate the sarlacc.

I wouldn't be overly surprised if it wasn't Fett at the end - if he wanted the armour he could presumedly (subject to how capable he is meant to be) have taken it back before now, no need to wait for it to change hands.

There are after all a few millions clones who look like him, and the series has so far remained away from the established characters.

Except he doesn't age as fast as the rest of his clone who looked like that a handful of years prior


If Bobba wants the armor back, he might believe that losing it in the first place is a grave sin of sort and, given what Mandos are like, that the only way to earn it again would be to defeat a suitable opponent. Like, say a Mandalorian so badass he waers pure beskar. Hypothetically speaking.

[dancrilis]

Except he doesn't age as fast as the rest of his clone who looked like that a handful of years prior


If Bobba wants the armor back, he might believe that losing it in the first place is a grave sin of sort and, given what Mandos are like, that the only way to earn it again would be to defeat a suitable opponent. Like, say a Mandalorian so badass he waers pure beskar. Hypothetically speaking.

I suppose it could be Jango out to collect his son's armour (and the humour of people flipping out about how he got his head reattached could be entertaining).

[Fyraltari]

I suppose it could be Jango out to collect his son's armour (and the humour of people flipping out about how he got his head reattached could be entertaining).

Again, too young looking.

[hamishspence]

Except he doesn't age as fast as the rest of his clone who looked like that a handful of years prior

Those guys were all adults during the clone wars. In AoTC we see that there were some baby clones still in the cylinders - the order wasn't just for one army ready for 22 BBY, but for non-stop production all the way to 22 BBY (and possibly throughout the clone wars as well - orders for more clones were authorised.)

Some clone who was a newborn in 19 BBY when the war ended, would be physically 38 in ANH, 46 in RoTJ, 56 in The Mandalorian.

For comparison, Boba, created in 32 BBY, would be 41.

While a Rex-age clone (82 physically) is implausible, a late production one is slightly less so.

[Palanan]

So, new episode.

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And it was terrible.

I’m not sure what happened here, but this felt like pure filler. They seemed to be going for a lighter tone, but the back-and-forth with the X-Wing pilots was a little strained and Baby Yoda eating eggs wasn’t especially funny. (Really, why is eating another intelligent species supposed to be funny?)

As far as the plot, if we can call it that, too much was contrived and not much actually happened. I was hoping for more continuity with Boba Fett’s armor, but apart from a quick inset shot it seemed to be forgotten.

And I’m not sure what they were going for with the rather obvious Alien references. When Baby Yoda started scratching at the first egg, a snarky part of me thought, “Facehugger! Out pops the facehugger!”

—And then we get something very much like a facehugger, which Baby Yoda promptly eats (reminding me of an Alien comic from way back in the day, in which another alien species harvests xenomorph pods for food) …and which turns out to be the same species of spider-monster that we spent a lot of time with in Rebels.

Which made for a strange dissonance in tone, and as Mando & Co. were frantically running away with the spider-monster horde, all I could think was, “Too bad you’re not a Jedi,” because there was a very different approach to this species taken in Rebels. There they were presented as beings that could be reached through the Force—but here they’re just convenient monsters to be obliterated en masse.

So I’m not really sure what to make of this episode, but it felt rather trivial and unsatisfying. Next time Mando should just give the New Republic their damn ping and be done with it.

[Peelee]

I wonder how poorly Firefly would be received if it came out today instead of almost two decades ago (jeez that makes me feel old); would it be trashed as being mostly filler after the pilot?

Spoiler: I greatly enjoyed Episode 2.

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For those wanting continual plot advances, the ship is largely trashed, which will likely impact Mando in the next episode. He has a line on a Mandalorian covert, which advances his goal of getting into another safety network and trying to get more information on how to return the child to its people. If you don't think that's the plot advancing, then maybe the plot isn't about what you think it's about. This isn't "get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible." This is "the adventured of Mando and the child." He tries to return the kid, but stuff happens in between. Just because it's more episodic than a lot of shows currently are doesn't mean it's "filler". The showrunners are making the show they want to make. You just don't seem to be watching the show you want to watch. And that's perfectly OK. But it's not the show's fault.

ETA:

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Also, Mando sending the ping is what how they found out he was flying the ship that raided the New Republic prison ship. Mando just sending the damn ping next time would do nothing to alleviate your problems with the episode.

[Palanan]

As another poster commented recently, your tone sounds much more aggressive than seems warranted.

[dancrilis]

As someone who did feel that a lot of season 1 was filler I had no problem with this episode.
He was going somewhere.
You know why he is going somewhere
He is inconvenienced
It is explained why he is inconvenienced.
You know where he is going next.

Spoiler: The Child

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I thought The Child was developing compassion for the frog people and figuring out that they were not for eating - and then the end they ate one anyway.
I was wondering if the spiders were not monsters so much as defending themselves from a creature that attacked and ate one of of them.

I am thinking that the child might be a child (rather then a baby or a toddler) and just kindof an jerk - it knows the difference between acceptable and unacceptable it just doesn't care, which could be interesting I suppose but feels a bit odd.

Spoiler: May The Force Be With You

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Found if a bit odd that he would know that saying without knowing what The Force is (even superficially) or who the Jedi were.

As another poster commented recently, your tone sounds much more aggressive than seems warranted.

I didn't notice any heat/aggression in Peelee's tone to be honest.

[Berserk Mecha]

Yeesh what was with this episode? It wasn't bad but for whatever reason, it failed to make me invested. Maybe it was because the different elements just didn't jive together. The bounty hunters at the very beginning didn't add up to much. The amphibian woman just comes out of nowhere. The planet that they crash on just felt incidental to the whole plot. Meh.

Spoiler: About the child:

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I don't mind the little tyke getting in mischief but I agree that eating the client's eggs just wasn't that funny. Granted, they weren't fertilized, but still. The client was adamant about how important they were to her. If the eggs were a more frivolous matter then it'd be different. And then we're shown that the child just continues to be sneaky as if he's fliching snacks when he's actually endangering the woman's line. Sheesh.

[Cikomyr2]

I liked that episode, but having baby Y eat sentient beings ' eggs just was disturbing to me.


Otherwise, it was a fun adventure romp. The mother was surprisingly careless with her eggs. Not securing it during space flight. Not having the basic locking mechanism so the basket wouldn't pop open.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Dancrilis
He was going somewhere.
You know why he is going somewhere….
You know where he is going next.

All this can be done with a few lines of dialogue, and in fact it that’s just how they handled it in the previous episode, with the gangster’s intel taking us directly to the next lead and the next story.

Stretching it into a full episode just didn’t feel satisfying, especially one as scattershot as this.

Originally Posted by Berserk Mecha
Maybe it was because the different elements just didn't jive together.

Very much so. It felt cobbled together, just a handful of scenes lumped in a more or less straight line.

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Originally Posted by dancrilis
Found if a bit odd that he would know that saying without knowing what The Force is (even superficially) or who the Jedi were.

I’m sure Mando has heard this phrase from the New Republic before, probably on news holos if nothing else. Mando likely knows the term “Force” exists, the same way that I’ve heard certain reality stars exist—but just as I don’t know anything about them, and don’t want to, he’s probably never felt interested enough to ask about it. It's just something those New Republic guys say to each other.

Originally Posted by Berserk Mecha
I don't mind the little tyke getting in mischief but I agree that eating the client's eggs just wasn't that funny. Granted, they weren't fertilized, but still. The client was adamant about how important they were to her.

Originally Posted by Cikomyr2
The mother was surprisingly careless with her eggs.

I also thought it was more than a little strange that the mother, who has a custom aqueous incubation chamber, would take her precious eggs out of that secure environment and dump them into an alien hot spring, which could have had anything from poisonous heavy elements to extremophile bacteria that could infect the eggs.

And Mecha’s point about unfertilized eggs raises a couple other issues. Typically frogs store their eggs internally until the moment of fertilization (amplexus), so it’s a little contrived for them to be floating around unfertilized for who knows how long. I can’t think offhand what the evolutionary advantage would be, since as we saw the eggs are vulnerable to predators.

On a side note, some species of frogs actually feed unfertilized eggs to their own tadpoles. I’m thinking of the dendrobatid poison dart frogs, whose females painstakingly carry their tadpoles, one at a time, to little pools of water in bromeliads, and then return every day to supplement their diet with an unfertilized egg. I’ve seen a female carrying a tadpole across the forest floor and it’s pretty amazing.

[dancrilis]

All this can be done with a few lines of dialogue, and in fact it that’s just how they handled it in the previous episode, with the gangster’s intel taking us directly to the next lead and the next story.

Stretching it into a full episode just didn’t feel satisfying, especially one as scattershot as this.

I didn't feel this way with this one - but as someone who maintains that Season 1 could have been Episodes 1, 3, 7 and 8 and everything else could have been covered in a minute or so of episodes 3 and 7 (if it needed to be covered at all) I can't fault your impression of this one.

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I’m sure Mando has heard this phrase from the New Republic before, probably on news holos if nothing else. Mando likely knows the term “Force” exists, the same way that I’ve heard certain reality stars exist—but just as I don’t know anything about them, and don’t want to, he’s probably never felt interested enough to ask about it. It's just something those New Republic guys say to each other.

I got a laugh out of that at my own expanse - I spend a few seconds thinking you meant 'reality stars' as 'stars in our reality' such as HD 140283 (which perhaps predates the universe - which I at least find interesting) rather the people in media.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by dancrilis
…Season 1 could have been Episodes 1, 3, 7 and 8 and everything else could have been covered in a minute or so of episodes 3 and 7….

I do like episodes 4 and 6, but I can certainly see your point about 2 and 5.

Originally Posted by dancrilis
…I spend a few seconds thinking you meant 'reality stars' as 'stars in our reality' such as HD 140283….

The fact that your first thought was about actual stars is a sign of sanity in my book.

Also, thanks for the reminder about the Methuselah star. If you’re interested in individual stars, allow me to recommend Jim Kaler’s The Hundred Greatest Stars, which is a series of concise essays on a whole variety of fascinating stars.

[Chen]

I wonder how poorly Firefly would be received if it came out today instead of almost two decades ago (jeez that makes me feel old); would it be trashed as being mostly filler after the pilot?

I think it depends on season length. When you have a full network season like back in the Firefly days (20ish episodes) you have room for filler. In an 8 episode season you kind of expect to use those episodes to advance your overall storyline.

I have a bit of issue with the premise this season of looking for other Mandalorians. Why not directly look for Jedi?

[Clertar]

As it turns out, Patton Oswalt's fanfiction for Star Wars was all the fans had ever wanted. Full circle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BBhNkywMJY

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[AdmiralCheez]

I have a bit of issue with the premise this season of looking for other Mandalorians. Why not directly look for Jedi?

I'm going to guess that since it was a Mandalorian giving the quest to another Mandalorian, they have a little more info to go on with finding other Mandalorians. Jedi are pretty much extinct, or a myth, depending on who you ask. Not a lot of leads to go on. But they're probably hoping one of their brethren has seen something weird that matches the description.

[Chen]

I'm going to guess that since it was a Mandalorian giving the quest to another Mandalorian, they have a little more info to go on with finding other Mandalorians. Jedi are pretty much extinct, or a myth, depending on who you ask. Not a lot of leads to go on. But they're probably hoping one of their brethren has seen something weird that matches the description.

Thing is, wouldnt they have heard of this famous Jedi who blew up the Death Star? And who is in tight with the New Republic? Maybe go that way?

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Chen
I have a bit of issue with the premise this season of looking for other Mandalorians. Why not directly look for Jedi?

My guess is that since Mandalorians have a long history with the Jedi, they’re among the best people in the galaxy for hunting them. The covert on Nevarro seems to be an extremely isolated sect, but the Armorer is clearly in touch with a deeper tradition, so it makes sense she would send Mando to find other sects who might have a direct connection with that tradition.

This might also be one move in a long game on her part, trying to make contact with other sects and coverts in hopes of reestablishing a stronger Mandalorian culture. That's complete speculation on my part, but if she wanted to make circumspect contact with other Mandalorian communities, sending the best hunter she knows might not be a bad idea.

Originally Posted by Chen
Thing is, wouldnt they have heard of this famous Jedi who blew up the Death Star? And who is in tight with the New Republic?

The show takes place about 9 ABY, so it’s likely that Luke’s legend hasn’t fully developed yet. I don’t know which canon Filoni and Favreau are using (or if they’re avoiding the issue as much as possible), but at this point I don’t think Luke has done much training or recruiting for the next generation of Jedi. Ben Solo is at most eight or nine at this point, and Luke is probably still working on the military side of things, pursuing Imperial holdouts and shoring up the New Republic.

If anyone has visibility it would be Leia and Mon Mothma, who are likely leading the political side of things. This is just an offhand guess on my part; probably Mechalich will be along shortly with another of his encylopedic posts to set us all straight.

[Peelee]

The show takes place about 5 ABY

9. 5 years after ROTJ, which was 4 years after Yavin.

[Hopeless]

Regarding Episode 2

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I can't help thinking had they just skipped out having the giant spider falling on the Razorcrest and having the x-wing pilots rescuing them this would have been a much better episode.

I think this is just the first part of a two parter.

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I'm wondering if next episode we discover those eggs are of no importance to the Frog Lady and all of this is just going to lead them into some trap.
Possibly because of the Beskar he's wearing.
But there is something very off about the Frog Lady given she should have a good idea how many eggs she has and yet she hasn't noticed a number of them are missing after even taking them out into that spa lake and then rushing back

[Sapphire Guard]

My bet is he looks for Mandalorians so they can save looking for Jedi for Season 3 and so stretch out the plotline.