Background information
«The Mandalorian» Season 2: Chapter 9: The Marshal
by Luca Fontana
«The Mandalorian», Season 2: «Chapter 14: The Tragedy»
8.12.2020
Translation: Megan Cornish
After ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano comes the next bombshell in «The Mandalorian». Hint: it involves a bounty hunter, who usually wears green beskar armour and was presumed dead.
First off: this discussion of the episode includes spoilers! So watch «The Mandalorian – Chapter 14: The Tragedy» before you read on.
There, he is expected to find the the seeing stone on Jedi ruins at the top of a mountain. All Djarin has to do is place Grogu on it. If this goes to plan, it should reveal whether Grogu's strong connection to the Force can attract a Jedi to take over his training.
But Djarin won't find another Jedi. Instead, he'll come across probably the first fan favourite in the Star Wars story. And a tragedy. These are the episode's best WTF moments and Easter eggs.
The Mando laughs He actually laughs.
In the first scene, Djarin and Grogu practise summoning the metal joystick ball of the Razor Crest. Djarin holds it up and Grogu has to make it float towards him using the Force. What puts Djarin off his stride is that every time he calls the little thing «Grogu», he reacts. It's something he’s never seen the Child do before. It makes him laugh.
Laugh. The Mandalorian laughs.
My first thought was: I've got a bad feeling about this. It's the first time I've heard Djarin laugh in «The Mandalorian». Or am I wrong? My Jedi sense is that if a character that never usually laughs or is happy suddenly laughs and is happy, something bad is about to happen to them.
Before they land, Djarin and Grogu play the Force game with the ball one more time. OMG, how cute is that? I don't want the Mando to ever take the Child back to the Jedi. The duo belongs together. Full stop.
Tython, the low-budget planet with history
For starters, I played the MMORPG «The Old Republic». Tython is the starting world of the Jedi character classes. So I have an image in my head of how Tython looks. Or should have looked. Green and lush with meadows, forests and rivers. And in between, majestic snow-capped summits with deep valleys, home to noble Jedi temples.
Something like this:
Tython looks totally different in «The Mandalorian». It's basically a planet of barren rocks and bushes. And a pair of Stonehenge-like stones in the middle of nowhere.
I've got nothing against outdoor shots. At least this episode looks like it was filmed in a real location, not in an ultramodern studio.
But shouldn't there have been Jedi ruins?
A few ancient, broken Jedi statues like the ones on Jedha in «Rogue One: A Star Wars Story» – extremely underrated in my opinion – at the least would have improved the atmosphere.
OK, it's a big planet. It doesn't have to look the same everywhere. And the vegetation could have changed a lot since then. After all, the game «The Old Republic» is set a good 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin (BBY). It’s also one of the grimmest chapters in the «Star Wars» story.
The Sith era ended in 1000 BBY with the Seventh Battle of Ruusan when the Sith and Jedi armies fought their final battle.
However: while the thought bomb severely depleted the Jedi Order, it also eliminated the whole Sith Order. Apart from one sole survivor: Darth Bane.
Strong, powerful, and incredibly cunning Darth Bane capitalised on the situation: after the Sith had been wiped out, he established the [Rule of Two] (https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rule_of_Two), setting forth that only two Sith Lords could exist at any one time – a master to embody the Force and an apprentice to be trained.
The Sith secretly used this rule until they rose again with Darth Sidious and conquered the galaxy with the Clone Wars they ignited.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No. It's the Slave I.
Back to the present and the Mandalorian. He places Grogu on the seeing stone and the little one falls into a kind of trance. A trance that sends a... some kind of blue sky beam into the heavens. Probably the aforementioned connection to the Force, which aims to alert another Jedi.
The Slave I.
What we're seeing is no less than the official return of Boba Fett to the «Star Wars» universe. A return that clarifies Boba Fett's status among Mandalorians.
So was Jango just a gifted bounty hunter who somehow came by Mandalorian armour?
The beskar detail is new.
Yeah, Jango Fett's armour has definitely had an upgrade. An important one. I’ll come back to that. But this second season of «The Mandalorian» establishes, yet again, that beskar belongs to the Mandalorians like lightsabers to the Jedi – and that beskar and lightsabers are equal.
Boba Fett, everyone
But it brings up new questions.
How is Boba Fett still alive? He fell into the sarlacc's pit in «Star Wars – Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi». Or, in the words of C-3PO, Boba met his death in the belly of the almighty sarlacc, where he would have experienced a new definition of pain and suffering as he was slowly digested for over 1,000 years.
«The Mandalorian» owes us an official explanation. But it gives enough hints that we can put two and two together ourselves.
Right, back to the armour. According to the new canon, it is indeed made of beskar. Baskar can withstand a lot. Not just the blade of a lightsaber. But also the corrosive acid that the krayt dragon uses to kill its adversaries, as we saw in «Chapter 9: The Marshal».
We also learned in that episode that the krayt dragon lived in a sarlacc pit, probably after it ate the sarlacc that occupied it beforehand. It's also very possible that Boba Fett survived in the belly of the sarlacc until a krayt dragon ate it. The sarlacc itself could have been dissolved by the corrosive acid and Boba Fett could have escaped through the krayt dragon's mouth thanks to his jet pack, just like Din Djarin did in the aforementioned episode.
A lot to survive. But why did Boba lose his armour?
Maybe? Maybe.
Verdict
So, here we are. At the end of the shortest episode of the second season to date, Moff Gideon has dispatched his Dark troopers, who destroy the Razor Crest – for good this time – and kidnap Grogu.
We'll find out what the Dark troopers are up to next time. Or when they're drawn into a real battle. Because this Robert Rodriguez-directed episode concentrates on a very different star: Boba effing Fett.
Seriously though. How awesome was Temuera Morrison's appearance? His charisma was godlike even without his armour. His combat style as efficient as it was brutal. Those poor stormtroopers. Using his gaffi stick, Boba shattered both bones and entire suits of armour.
As if that weren't enough, Rodriguez gives us what fans have waited a long time for: Boba Fett in action.
With his armour.
With the Slave I, of course.
Was it the best episode ever? No. I preferred the episodes with Bo-Katan Kryze and Ahsoka Tano. Also because of the setting. Tython felt too cheap for me. Too much like a fan film. Despite that, though, it was a great episode. Mainly thanks to Boba Fett.
This is the Way.
What did you think of this episode? Are there any more Easter eggs I've missed? Let me know in the comments. See you next Friday – and it really will be Friday this time! – for the «Chapter 15» episode discussion.
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
Audio
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Movies and series
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Background information
Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.
Show all
