MLGG: Pop Culture News, Reviews & Interviews

I’ve done my best to refrain from spoilers in my weekly reviews of The Mandalorian Season 2 so far, but it became incredibly difficult to remain too tight-lipped with last week’s episode, The Jedi. As Ahsoka’s name spread like wildfire on social media and her image popped up in online reviews and articles, however, it became clear that avoiding spoiling her appearance entirely would not only be difficult, but also mostly pointless.

A similar situation faces me this week, with the less overtly titled episode: The Tragedy. Following the meeting with Ahsoka in which she declined to take The Child – whose name she revealed: Grogu – the Jedi told The Mandalorian to visit the ruins of an ancient Jedi Temple on the planet Tython. Place Grogu on the stone there and he’ll call out; another Jedi is out there and will respond, he’s informed.

So it’s another fetch quest, essentially – but of course, things don’t go smoothly for our shiny suited protagonist and his tiny green companion. We’re reminded in the recap that they’re being tracked by the evil Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito – artfully delivering lines like ‘Have the Dark Troopers been engaged?’) – but there’s more than just the Empire on their trail.

And this is the point at which is becomes extremely difficult to talk about the episode without spoiling something absolutely huge for Star Wars fans. If you’re worried about that, look away now and jump straight to the final paragraph.

SPOILERS AHEAD: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

So, the so far unresolved final scene of season two’s first episode revealed a figure who may or may not have been Boba Fett watching The Mandalorian. There’s no doubt about it this week: we’re soon treated to the sight of Fett’s legendary ship, Slave 1, touching down – and yep, Fett’s after his armour. Accompanied by another previously thought dead character (which ties up a Season 1 loose end too), Fett and The Mandalorian have a standoff – their agreement cut short when the Empire show up to kidnap Grogu. From there, we enter into an extended, excellent action sequence – in which we get to see Boba Fett being the legendary badass we were always led to believe he was, but never actually saw (not in live action anyway). It’s a wonderful pay off for a character who’s long been one of the most popular in the entire Star Wars canon, but has until now been underused. I have to admit that I had my concerns about Fett being brought back, but his reappearance is handled brilliantly. He really is a genuine threat to those who oppose him and Robert Rodriguez’s fight scenes are thrillingly shot and choreographed. The explanation for his return (as well as his companion’s) is nicely understated and tells us everything we need to know without getting bogged down in unnecessary details. Mostly it boils down to this: Boba Fett is back. And it’s glorious.

END SPOILERS

With the episode culminating in the tragic situation of the title, the stage is set for an epic final two episodes for the second season. Though this season’s first half mostly felt like one formulaic sidequest after another – albeit with some fantastic action and foreshadowing – we’re finally getting somewhere in terms of Star Wars lore that doesn’t feel like empty fan service, as I feared it would. I can’t wait until next Friday’s episode, which at this point genuinely feels like a galaxy far, far away.

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