Start United States USA — Art ‘Mandalorian’ Season 2 Premiere Succeeds By Not Relying On ‘Star Wars’ Nostalgia

‘Mandalorian’ Season 2 Premiere Succeeds By Not Relying On ‘Star Wars’ Nostalgia

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‚The Mandalorian,‘ Disney+’s blockbuster ‚Star Wars‘ show, thus far treats nostalgia and callbacks as a seasoning instead of the main course in the service of old-school episodic television.
The Mandalorian, Disney+’s blockbuster Star Wars show, thus far treats nostalgia and callbacks as a seasoning instead of the main course in the service of old-school episodic television. The biggest Easter Egg, at least for me, during the season two opener of Walt Disney DIS and Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian was a flashback action sequence which sees Timothy Olyphant using his newly-acquired Mandalorian armor to shoot up and blow up a handful of violent bandits who have ravaged his small Tatooine mining community. Whether coincidental or intentional, Cobb Vanth (the Marshal of the episode’s title) disposes of these baddies in a way that very much brings to mind the second-act climax of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man. That film, of course, put the eventual Jungle Book/Lion King director on the map as a tech-friendly action director and launched the MCU, so it’s… amusing that this Favreau-directed season opener would find an unobtrusive way to pay homage. It also highlights what’s best about this Star Wars episode, which (thus far) treats nostalgia and callbacks as a seasoning instead of the main course. To my relief, this 49-minute (plus credits) second-season starter barely seems concerned with the larger narrative or laying the groundwork for an overreaching arc. Like the middle episodes from last season, this premiere operates like a conventional stand-alone episode of episodic television. The plot, which sees Mando (Pedro Pascal) traveling to Tatooine to seek out a possible fellow Mandalorian, is a classic “adventure of the week” story. Episode nine sees our hero teaming up with townsfolk and nearby Tusken Raiders to battle a dragon-like monster that threatens both parties. For at least one episode, it’s happy to be a good TV show. Yes, I’m told Cobb Vanth is a character in the so-called “expanded universe” of Star Wars books and comics, but for general audiences it’s just good fun to see Mando palling around with the star of Deadwood and Justified as Olyphant plays a very “to type” character.

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