Twin Suns Outpost is pleased to bring you a weekly write-up covering each episode of The Mandalorian Season 2. Each week three members of the TSO team will prepare a short reaction to the most recent episode of the award-winning series.
THE MARSHAL - Directed by Jon Favreau - Aired October 30, 2020 on Disney+
*SPOILER WARNING*
ERIC PFEIFER: TSO Founder, Podcast Host, Writer
Each episode of The Mandalorian leaves you with wanting more, and The Marshal continued this trend. For many fans, seeing creatures, planets, and characters that are iconic to Star Wars really helps drive home the fact that this story continues the adventures in a galaxy far, far away. I really enjoyed seeing Gomorreans, Tusken Raiders, the sandy world of Tatooine, R5-D4, and many other callbacks to classic Star Wars. When I first saw Cobb Vanth show up, I was excited that they brought him into the live-action portion of Star Wars (as he was in the Aftermath series by Chuck Wendig) with a pretty ambiguous story. Favreau does a marvelous job humanizing the Tusken Raiders, and I feel like fans will no longer agree with Cliegg Lars in Attack of the Clones when he refers to them as “vicious, mindless, monsters”. Watching the Krayt Dragon swallow Banthas whole was definitely a sight to see, and I also enjoyed seeing Mando and Vanth work together to take it down. Mando is now in possession of special armor but where will this story arc lead? A well-known character makes an appearance in the final seconds of this episode, and while I’m excited for his return, I feel as though we’ll, again, be forced to wait for more on his story.
CHRISTIAN CORAH: TSO Book Reviewer and Podcast Host
I enjoyed this episode from beginning to end. While it did seem like a filler episode at parts, like a standalone adventure, what happened in it was just SO COOL that I don’t care. Having two Gamorrean guards hack at each with axes and a fight against a gigantic sand dragon is something I never knew I’ve always wanted in Star Wars. Also, I liked the subtle character development for Mando at the beginning. Before the show started, I expected Mando to be an anti-hero character, like Walter White from Breaking Bad or Joe/Will from You. However, he really seemed more like a hero in season 1. By leaving his informant hanging in the dark to be eaten by creatures, the anti-hero Mando creeped into frame in this episode. I really hope they dive into that aspect of Mando’s character more this season. While this episode did somewhat tie into Chapter 5 ‘Gunslinger’ of season 1 (the episode that connected the least to others in the season), I do hope to see more continuity between episodes this season. I expect that to be the case in episode 2, because Mando and The Child will probably still be on Tatooine and may happen to run into everyone’s favorite returning character. Overall, I’d probably place this episode in my top 3 overall and it is my favorite isolated adventure by far.
KYLE SCULLY: TSO Comic Reviewer and Blog Writer
On October 30th, our 308 day wait was finally over. A new Mandalorian episode “Chapter 9: The Marshal” debuted on Disney+. Written and directed by Jon Favreau the episode was a wonderful return to form for the series. Din Djarin and the Child don’t miss a beat as he searches for other Mandalorians in quest to return the Child to his people aka the Jedi.
He ends up on Tattooine teaming up with Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) and a group of Tusken Raiders to defeat a Krayt Dragon. The episode is chock-full of action, reversals and big set pieces. While it doesn’t advance the mission much it remains entertaining throughout. I was concerned about sophomore fatigue but the show’s initial episode wiped away any worry I might have had. I especially like the Tremors vibes sprinkled throughout the episode. If only Michael Gross had a cameo.
Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) shines in her brief scene and I hope that we see more of her in the future but the show’s biggest guest star, Timothy Olyphant, absolutely crushes it as Cobb Vanth. Olyphant brings his trademark charm and swagger to the Star Wars Universe and is the perfect foil for the Mandalorian.
The show also does a nice job building out the culture and humanity of the Sand People. There’s enough in episode to paint them as more than just 2D villains but it’s not overdone to the point of being maudlin.
Now, I can’t forget to mention the Bantha in the room, that Temuera Morrison cameo. It certainly seems as if it’s intended to be a very specific character, considering one of the episode’s major MacGuffins. He’s not given a name but we know who it is. I’ll be curious to see where it goes but I’m much more interested in other speculated appearances.
Overall, this was a great first episode. I would give it five out of five Beskar bars.