‘The Mandalorian’ Recap – ‘Chapter 2: The Child’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Normally, when one settles in to watch a story set in the Star Wars universe, you have a pretty solid idea of what you’re going to be in for. There will likely be a grand adventure, one that will take you to a world so beautiful, there simply isn’t enough to time to soak in all of its wonder. Plus there will likely be some kind of a struggle, one that involves the age old notion of good versus evil and really, these elements are commonplace in this franchise simply because it’s the standard that was set from the get go and we truly do eat it up when it is presented to us. Which isn’t a bad thing by any means since hey, it’s been working just fine for forty years, but clearly, times are changing when it comes to this franchise and how it tells its tales and for proof, look no further than the next episode of The Mandalorian.
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For ‘Chapter 2: The Child’ continued to immerse us in the greyer parts of the galaxy since we saw our intrepid bounty hunter (aptly nicknamed ‘Mando’ in this tale), do things that we don’t normally see people do on a consistent basis in this universe. Because he was going to do whatever it takes to protect that sweet, baby Yoda-like youngling (which is one of Star Wars’ cutest creations ever I might add), and if that meant murdering some folks with impunity in order to secure its safety, then so be it. Which while jarring and unexpected, makes sense and works here, simply because bounty hunters aren’t exactly known for their couth and desire to do things the right way. They’ve got a job to do plain and simple, and his drive to do what must be done was reinforced further by an unfortunate encounter with some Jawas.

Because those little buggers mostly disassembled his vessel, and rather than try and reason or deal with them, it was back to blasters first and that led to quite the action sequence, one that saw some Jawas get vaporized and one that taught Mando a valuable lesson; don’t pick a fight with Jawas. Because eventually they beat him and the only way for him to get off of this planet was to work through his new friend Kuiil and take on a daring mission for the Jawa, one that saw Mando face off against a massive horned beast in order to get his hands on its giant egg. And really two key things came out of this particular sequence of events. First and foremost, we learned that Mando is one tough dude. Because he took one hell of a beating against this creature and just kept on pushing forward, and I get the feeling there’s an important reason to show us that he can take a licking and keep on ticking that will likely reveal itself down the line.

But while it was cool to see how tough he really is, what matters more here, is that we learned that Yoda’s species, are supremely force sensitive at a young age. And we learned that particular lesson during Mando’s battle with the mud beast. Because this cute little green one, used the Force to subdue the creature long enough to give Mando a fighting chance to defeat the monster and well, that little surprise raises more questions than answers. Primarily, what does the Imperial Remnant want with a force sensitive, baby Yoda youngling? And more importantly, will Mando actually hand him over to these jerks? If anything, that first question is an easy one to answer since we all know deep down nothing good can come from anything the Empire has planned in any capacity, and I really hope that Mando wises up to that and maybe leans toward getting that little youngling into better hands.

Which is a genuine possibility since it is obvious there is some definite good within his soul since he did take the time to offer Kuiil riches untold and genuine gratitude for his aid in rebuilding Mando’s vessel. But only time will tell what he will he will do with that precious bounty and whether or not the light within him will shine once he discovers what the Remnant has planned for that little cutie. But in the here and the now, all we can do is celebrate another incredible episode of this brand-new series. Because this particular tale was intense, and captivating and I love that this show reveals all of its surprises in organic fashion and it truly does leave you hungry for more. Which means it is going to be a long week for certain and I know I’ll be counting down the minutes until next Friday when this magnificent series returns. Until then. 

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