Summary
- Even as a beloved and highly praised piece of media, The Mandalorian season 2 still leaves behind 12 harsh realities upon rewatching.
- Various moments and details, such as Din Djarin only using the beskar spear once, showcase some of the flaws and conveniences in the season.
- The newest Star Wars stories have also made key moments in The Mandalorian season 2 feel less impactful, such as Din Djarin’s and Grogu’s goodbye.
Even as one of Star Wars’ most highly praised and beloved pieces of media, The Mandalorian season 2 still has some harsh realities upon rewatching. It’s been 3 years since The Mandalorian season 2 first premiered, widening the scope of the story in an ambitious and exciting way. Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin embarked on his quest to reunite Grogu, still known as “Baby Yoda” at that time, with the Jedi, crossing paths with well-known characters such as Bo-Katan Kryze, Ahsoka Tano, and Boba Fett along the way. The season 2 finale is simply unforgettable with the return of Luke Skywalker and the tearful goodbye between Din and Grogu – but even this incredible story still falls short of perfection.
One new season of The Mandalorian and four additional Star Wars live-action TV shows later, The Mandalorian season 2 continues to stand strong as a favorite among viewers, despite its flaws. This season often tops the lists of Star Wars viewers’ rankings, mainly for the way it so seamlessly ties together new characters and new story threads. Though this worked well in several ways, it also fell short in others, leaving 12 harsh realities in its wake upon rewatching 3 years later.
12 Din Djarin Only Uses The Beskar Spear Once
Season 2, Episode 8 “Chapter 16: The Rescue”
Din Djarin is presented with Morgan Elsbeth’s beskar spear by Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5, as a means of thanks and a gesture of honor in returning the beskar to the Mandalorians. The weapon is one of the few things that survives the destruction of the Razor Crest in the very next episode, and Din puts it to use on the Imperial light cruiser to fight the dark troopers, stormtroopers, and Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon himself. This, however, is the only time Din actually uses the beskar spear, in both season 2 and future installments of The Mandalorian. Djarin’s first appearance after the season 2 finale in The Book of Boba Fett sees him handing the weapon over to the Armorer to be forged into armor, taking this fascinating weapon out of the galaxy altogether.
11 Cara Dune’s Rangers Of The New Republic Setup
Season 2, Episode 4 “Chapter 12: The Siege”
One moment between Gina Carano’s Cara Dune and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Captain Carson Teva in The Mandalorian season 2 sees Carson offering Cara a position within the New Republic, or at least an agreement to work as a marshal on their behalf. This was clearly setup for the Rangers of the New Republic TV show, as previously announced before the release of The Mandalorian season 2, though multiple complications have since led to the show ultimately being canceled – most notably Carano’s severed ties with Lucasfilm. Rewatching this moment, then, is only a reminder of what was meant to be and is now no longer.
10 Din Djarin’s Armor Is Backwards In Episode 1
Season 2, Episode 1 “Chapter 9: The Marshal”
Nothing brings a laugh more than a harmless Star Wars mistake, going all the way back to the stormtrooper who hit their helmet upon a door in A New Hope. The Mandalorian season 2 has a mistake in the area of costuming, with one scene in its season premiere turning both of Din’s beskar pauldrons backwards. While speaking with Timothy Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth and the Tuskens, Din’s mudhorn signet on his right shoulder goes missing, and it can be found on the back of his left shoulder in another shot. This is a hilarious detail, but it also stands as a reminder of the world’s conditions during the time of this season’s release, as reshoots were virtually impossible during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
9 Grogu Doesn’t Actually Want To Go With Luke
Season 2, Episode 8 “Chapter 16: The Rescue”
When Luke first arrives at Gideon’s cruiser to take Grogu, Din insists the foundling doesn’t want to go with the Jedi, to which Luke responds with “He wants your permission.” Luke, then, gives the impression Grogu does, in fact, want to go with the Jedi – but Grogu’s appearances in The Book of Boba Fett just over a year later prove the opposite. After the conclusion of that series and The Mandalorian season 3, Grogu has gone from being a potential Padawan to a Mandalorian apprentice instead. Grogu, then, never actually wanted to go with Luke, which makes this moment at the end of The Mandalorian season 2 feel less impactful.
8 Destroying Din Djarin’s Pulse Rifle Was A Mistake
Season 2, Episode 6 “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”
While the title of The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6 clearly refers to Grogu’s kidnapping, viewers all know the truth: The destruction of the Razor Crest is the true tragedy. Even sadder, however, is the destruction of all that’s within the Crest – most notably Din’s Amban phase-pulse blaster rifle. The pulse rifle has been an iconic part of Mando’s silhouette ever since the very first looks at The Mandalorian were released, and the weapon has a rich Star Wars history dating back to 1978’s Star Wars Holiday Special. Now, Din no longer has this epic weapon, and unless he somehow gets his hands on another, it’s gone forever – which is a huge mistake.
7 The Debut Of Jeans Guy (Even If He’s Gone)
Season 2, Episode 4 “Chapter 12: The Siege”
When The Mandalorian season 2, episode 4 first aired, one new Star Wars character came to life in the form of a man with casual jeans – a crew member caught lurking in the background of Nevarro’s Imperial lab sequence. Star Wars viewers were quick to hop online and post about the exciting debut of the man now forever known as “Jeans Guy,” but the attention they brought to the mistake led to the man being edited out of the scene in short order. Though Jeans Guy is no longer seen in The Mandalorian season 2, his legacy still remains, and many Star Wars viewers will always see his ghost whenever they watch this scene again.
6 Boba Fett Somehow Knew About The Purge Of Mandalore
Season 2, Episode 8 “Chapter 16: The Rescue”
The Mandalorian season 2 confirms Temuera Morrison’s Boba Fett had, indeed, survived the Sarlacc pit, but nothing else was known about the time that had passed until The Book of Boba Fett. The latter series reveals Boba spent the years between his Sarlacc survival and his appearance in The Mandalorian living amongst the Tuskens in the Dune Sea, which no doubt kept him extremely disconnected from everything happening in the surrounding galaxy at the time. Despite this, Boba somehow knows about the Great Purge of Mandalore that took place after the war, which he reveals when he reminds Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze the Empire had “turned that planet to glass.” Boba may have inquired for and received this information from someone during the course of The Mandalorian season 2, but it’s more likely to have been an oversight in terms of forming Boba’s missing backstory.
5 Din Djarin Leaving His Jetpack Is Way Too Convenient
Season 2, Episode 6 “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”
Grogu’s kidnapping is made possible in The Mandalorian season 2 because of two main factors: One, Din isn’t able to get back to him in time, and two, the dark troopers take Grogu into the air. If Din still had his jetpack on, neither one of these factors would have mattered, as Din would have been able to get there sooner and surely would have at least tried to fight the troopers midair. It feels extremely convenient, then, that Boba specifically asks Din to remove his jetpack to gain his trust, even if it does make sense. Din still has plenty of time to go back and get it before he rushes to Fennec’s aid against the stormtroopers, all of which makes Grogu’s capture feel more frustrating than it should.
4 The Morak Terminal Just Happens To Need A Face Scan
Season 2, Episode 7 “Chapter 15: The Believer”
The sequence inside the Imperial mess hall on Morak is easily one of The Mandalorian‘s most brilliant, but one moment certainly stands out from the rest. Din sacrifices his Mandalorian Creed in favor of saving Grogu, and the technology forcing this difficult decision upon him is one of the first, if not the first, time a facial recognition system has been utilized by the Empire in live-action Star Wars. Most of the time, it’s a matter of pressing buttons and having a droid scomp in to get past security barriers. Unfortunately for Din, he and Bill Burr’s Migs Mayfeld just so happened upon a terminal that uses facial recognition instead, something that feels slightly convenient for this major moment – but it truly doesn’t impact the brilliance of this sequence too much.
3 Elia Kane’s Escape Or Capture Is Never Explained
Season 2, Episode 8 “Chapter 16: The Rescue”
Katy M. O’Brian’s Elia Kane serves Moff Gideon fiercely in The Mandalorian season 2, and she’s present on Gideon’s light cruiser when Din’s rescue team arrives. Despite this, she isn’t seen again in the season 2 finale, and the rescue team’s quick work of taking down every Imperial in their way seems to imply Elia also met her fate. Instead, Elia reappears in The Mandalorian season 3 as a part of the New Republic’s Amnesty Program, where she’s stationed as a mole for Moff Gideon and the Imperial Shadow Council. While it could be argued that she boarded an escape pod from the cruiser or found another way to flee, Elia still ends up in the New Republic’s Amnesty Program somehow, and her path to that destination is entirely unknown.
2 The Early Stages Of Luke Skywalker’s Deepfake Are Rough
Season 2, Episode 8 “Chapter 16: The Rescue”
Luke’s appearance in The Mandalorian season 2 finale marked the first time deepfake was being used in the Star Wars live-action TV medium, demanding a high-level output with half the time and half the budget of films that also utilized deepfake early on, such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The deepfake in this scene has since been, for the most part, widely critiqued by Star Wars viewers, leading to its vast improvement in The Book of Boba Fett. Luke’s first appearance, however, remains in its rougher stages, leaving a permanent trace of these early stages of deepfake.
1 Din’s and Grogu’s Tearful Goodbye Is Quickly Reversed
Season 2, Episode 8 “Chapter 16: The Rescue”
The goodbye between Din and Grogu in The Mandalorian season 2 is easily one of the show’s most emotional moments, and the depth of its impact led many viewers to anticipate a greater build-up to their highly anticipated reunion. Instead, it took place just over a year after their goodbye, with The Book of Boba Fett bringing the father and son duo back together in the most chaotic and unexpected way. This quick reunion instantly received mixed reviews, as many were hoping for the emotional depth of their goodbye to have more payoff – and for a reunion to take place in their own show. While it provided sweet relief for some The Mandalorian viewers, it cheapened this important scene for others, making it less impactful upon rewatching.
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The MandalorianRelease Date: 2019-11-12
Cast: Werner Herzog, Emily Swallow, Pedro Pascal, Nick Nolte, Omid Abtahi, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito
Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Seasons: 3
Summary: The Mandalorian is set after the Empire’s fall and before the First Order’s emergence in the ever-growing Star Wars universe. The series follows the travails of a lone gunfighter named Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic. Acting as the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian has become incredibly popular on Disney+, partly due to Mando’s relationship with Grogu, which the internet dubbed “Baby Yoda” upon his introduction in season 1.
Story By: Jon Favreau
Writers: Jon Favreau
Streaming Service: Disney+
Franchise(s): Star Wars
Directors: Jon Favreau, Taika Waititi, Bryce Dallas Howard
Showrunner: Jon Favreau
The Mandalorian