The Mandalorian must continue to scour the outer reaches of the galaxy in his search for a Jedi who may be able to help the force-imbued child

Will Glasby, Staff Reporter
Originally published March 3, 2021

The second season of “The Mandalorian” continues the story of Pedro Pascal’s character Din Djarin (also known as “Mando”) in his search for other Mandalorians in hopes that they might be able to assist him in tracking down a mysterious “Jedi.”

Mando travels throughout the galaxy in his search,from stopping on the famous desert of Tatooine, the watery planet of Trask, the dense forests of Corvus and an ancient Jedi temple on Tython. “The Mandalorian” is able to introduce gorgeous backdrops to each episode that really make you believe that you are right behind the gunslinger.

Impressively, almost all of these backdrops were shot within the confines of the Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles. This was achieved by using a brand new technique created by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) called StageCraft. LED screens are used to create an interactive background that was able to properly light the actors while also moving along with the camera. Season two’s behind the scenes footage hasn’t been released yet, but you can click here to see the technique being used in season one. 

This second season of the show was able to fix and improve upon the lack of cohesion in season one that resulted in a few episodes (mainly 5 and 6) feeling largely disconnected from the main story. This season, for the most part, is able to mostly maintain a consistent development of the main story throughout and better connect the show with the galaxy we already know, this season helped cement “The Mandalorian” into its spot in the great jigsaw puzzle that is the “Star Wars” universe. 

Introducing characters like Bo-Katan, Ahsoka, Boba Fett and Luke helped create some connections between some other movies and shows in the universe that also contradicted some of Mando’s beliefs in his creed and resulted in the strengthening of the bond between Mando and the child. 

Most of the characters in each episode always felt like they had a purpose, whether it was for the development of Mando as a character or to help lightly push the story along. Even when the show does drift off the path a bit, it is assisted by actually memorable characters that didn’t cause you to cringe at every word they said (cough cough Jake Cannavale cough cough). 

TV’s beloved marshal Timothy Olyphant and season one returners Amy Sedaris and Bill Burr help keep viewers invested in the side stories throughout by providing memorable performances.

There was also some recent controversy with supporting cast member Gina Carano who was dropped by Disney after sharing a post on social media that compared being a modern day Republican to being Jewish during the Holocaust. Carano also has been in hot water for other recent social media outbursts in which she mocked mask-wearing amid the pandemic and another in which she falsely suggested voter fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election.

Overall, The Mandalorian reinforces the fact that Disney is more than capable of creating a solid episodic “Star Wars” show and begs the question, what else is out there in that galaxy far far away?