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 PASSENGER - Directed by Peyton Reed - Aired November 6, 2020 on Disney+
*SPOILER WARNING*
ERIC PFEIFER: TSO Founder, Podcast Host, Writer
The work of Ralph McQuarrie continues to be influential in current Star Wars content. In Star Wars: Rebels, Dave Filoni (who made yet another appearance in this episode as Trapper Wolf) utilized many of McQuarrie’s concepts when creating characters and settings/landscapes for the animated show. Filoni continues to play a major role in the production of The Mandalorian and we are again graced with many concepts from the 70’s and 80’s making it into Star Wars television. Season two of The Mandalorian definitely focuses heavily on creatures from a galaxy far, far away. The Krayt Dragon was seen in all its glory in The Marshal, and the Knobby White Spiders are prominently featured in The Passenger. I absolutely love the call back to old McQuarrie concepts, and I think it’s going to be interesting to see where the story goes from here. Where’s Moff Gideon? Will Boba play a major role going forward? I was surprised to see Peli make another appearance and it seems as though she’s going to be a staple in this series. The Child is definitely a kid after my own heart as I, too, am constantly looking for my next meal!
Ralph McQuarrie’s Krayt Dragon Concept.
Ralph McQuarrie’s Knobby White Spider Concept.
ERIKA SCHMITT: Blog Writer
Baby Yoda. He is the single, most important reason that I watch The Mandalorian and look forward to it weekly but this week left something to be desired. The fact that Baby Yoda is learning to talk was completely overshadowed by him continually eating the poor Traveler’s unfertilized eggs. This poor creature already has so much on her plate: being separated from her husband; finding a hospitable planet for her family to live; safely getting her eggs to said planet; the revelation that these eggs are the last of her line; and all while not sharing a language with the father of the child who keeps eating her unborn children - who are supposed to be helping her. Like, I get it. It was supposed to be funny but the show spent so much time encouraging the audience to empathize with the Traveler, only for us to turn around and laugh at her unawareness that her false sense of security was being abused by Baby Yoda? No thanks. I also hate spiders and I feel like the giant spider trope is used a lot, even though my only other references are Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Overall, this episode left me wanting a little more than a quick save of the day and a to-be-continued ending. But like I said, I am only here for Baby Yoda so I will most definitely be tuning in next week in the hopes that we get some first words.
RACHEL ROSSILLI: PODCAST HOST
Season 2 of the Mandalorian is proving once again, that it knows how to handle Star Wars. Chapter 10, The Passenger, is no different. Starting off with a certain amount of scum and villainy, bandits trying to mug you while on Tatooine makes perfect sense. The remote control jetpack scene was just the right amount of humor and darkness all mixed together. Just like every episode, there are a bunch of easter eggs and I live for every single one of them. Using the podracer engine to cook the Krayt dragon meat was just the right amount of integration from Batuu. It really made me miss being able to go visit the Black Spire Outpost. Throw in a Rodian reference and talk about the Mandalorian code, you know I’m down. As Din tries to get past the familiar faces in the New Republic X-Wing fighters (gotta love seeing Dave Filioni there again), he throws out a somewhat annoyed, “May the Force be with You”, hoping that would earn him some points. Not so much, but it for sure made me smile. Watching Din’s armor slowly add ice crystals as the episode goes on was one detail I particularly appreciated them paying attention to. It really made things feel “real.” Now, I know that some people are having trouble swallowing that The Child ate the eggs, but a toddler that puts everything in its mouth, who’s always hungry, and loves to eat frogs, make this seem perfectly accurate. Let’s be honest, there is nothing that this little guy can do that will make me feel anything other than undying adoration for him. This is the way.