If fifteen years ago, let's say, they told us that The Mandalorian 2 would have materialized the fanfiction that had millions of Star Wars fans in mind, we would hardly have believed it, and we would still come out of the prequel trilogy in which we had seen Jedi and Sith engaged in spectacular duels with lightsabers. It is clear that, at this point, the series scheduled on the Disney + platform has become the toy of its creator Jon Favreau who, by writing this week's episode, gave vent to his imagination. An important word, this. Star Wars is a fantasy tale transplanted into space; hence the definition of "space fantasy". Already A New Hope represented the ideal fairy tale of George Lucas: there were the kidnapped princess, the black knight, the chosen hero holding a sword of light, the old wizard and the castle to be conquered. Those looking for something more ... "adult", whatever that means, should definitely look elsewhere, because The Tragedy is practically a TV fanfiction. And in a way, that's okay too.
The tragedy
The format we usually use for our reviews of The Mandalorian would require us to briefly tell the plot of the episode without making major spoilers, to which we then dedicate the rest of the review as an in-depth analysis, but this week would be very difficult given that the new episode lasts. just 32 minutes of shootings, Mexican stalls, more shootings, rolling boulders, exploding ships, old and new faces, soldiers and robots, Force powers and jumps into hyperspace. All directed with awareness by the director Robert Rodriguez: yes, that Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino's best friend who has signed, among other things, From Sunset to Dawn, Sin City, Machete and Alita.
Surely a lot of things really happen in a few minutes, a sign that The Mandalorian 2 took a few episodes too many to get into gear: we were convinced that Mando and Yellow would have arrived in Tython only in the season finale, and instead episode 6 begins just when ours emerge from hyperspace in front of the planet where the Child will have to connect to the Force to choose whether or not to be trained by any surviving Jedi. The problem is someone is following the Razor Crest, and it's not just Moff Gideon ...
Bounty hunters
Let's begin our in-depth analysis with a clarification for those who, having never seen the animated series The Clone Wars, were perplexed when Ahsoka Tano sent Grogu to be trained by a Jedi. The question that will probably come up in your head is: why, is she not a Jedi? And the answer is: yes and no. Let's recap briefly. Ahsoka was Anakin Skywalker's padawan and did not appear in Revenge of the Sith for a simple reason: at the end of the fifth season of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka left the Order of the Jedi following an adventurous series of events that had taken a hard time. test his confidence in the Council of Masters. Although no longer a Jedi in the strict sense, Ahsoka could have trained Grogu, but at this point in the story Darth Vader he has already tried to kill our Togruta and it is understandable that she no longer wants to have anything to do with the mess of the Force.
In any case, it looks like Grogu has managed to do something about it Tython while Mando continued to be pushed back like a tennis ball from the force field around the little padawan. If a Jedi responds to his call (Ezra Bridger in live action version or Cal Kestis from Jedi: Fallen Order, who already have the actor ready and ready?) We will find out in the next episodes. Tython is a planet attuned to the Force for one simple reason: it is there that the Je'daii founded the first Order of what would later become the Jedi. Entering and exiting books, video games and comics, Tython was officially canonized last year in the Doctor Aphra comic miniseries, but we had already explored it in Star Wars: The Old Republic of BioWare where it was actually one of the starting planets for the Jedi Knight and Jedi Consular classes.
Let's go back to The Tragedy, a title that kept us in suspense throughout the episode, especially when Moff Gideon sends his dark soldiers (Spanish adaptation a bit cringe for Darktrooper, an imperial robotic unit that appeared for the first time in the video game Star Wars: Dark Forces) to kidnap Grogu. We were afraid that someone would die and in a way it was, as we waved bye bye with our little hand. Razor crest, disintegrated by the orbital fire of the Imperial cruiser. Fortunately, Mando did not stay on foot as he found a place on the ... drum roll ... Slave I. Well yes, we did it, and even sooner than expected. In the very first minutes of the episode, right after a funny gag between Mando and Grogu and their arrival in Tython, we saw the Slav I on the planet and land no less than Temuera Morrison, aka Boba Fett. Which would then be Jango Fett.
Let's stop for a moment, maybe you don't remember it well or you have removed Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The actor Temuera Morrison He played Jango Fett, a bounty hunter whom Obi-Wan Kenobi first encounters on the planet Kamino, when he discovers that the Kaminoans are crafting a clone army for Jedi Master Syfo-dias. In reality it's all a scheme by Palpatine and Dooku, but the template of the clones is actually Jango Fett who, in exchange for his precious DNA, asks only for a clone to grow on his own: Boba. Later, Mace Windu beheads Jango under the eyes of Boba, who recovers his father's armor and later becomes the bounty hunter he will capture. Han Solo in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Well, despite the only relevant thing that Boba Fett did was fall into Sarlacc in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the character created by George Lucas - who was inspired by Clint Eastwood, incidentally - has become very famous and over the years has won a huge audience through novels, comics and various fanfics.
Novels, comics and various fanfiction that, however, do not belong to the canon re-established with the Disney management at the beginning of the new trilogy. The reset brought the revived Boba back to Sarlacc's belly, at least until Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni (who had already focused on the kid some episodes of The Clone Wars) did not bring him out in the second season of The Mandalorian, and indeed already in the first. We discovered that the figure who approached Fennec Shand's helpless body at the end of Chapter 5: The Gunslinger was actually Boba. There was only one knot to unravel, the one about its origin. In the Legends literature, in fact, the various writers have explained in different and contradictory ways the Mandalorian armor that Jango wore: in general, the predominant narrative said that he had plundered her and pretended to be Mandalorian just to give himself a tone. This version was roughly confirmed in an episode of The Clone Wars, when Prime Minister Almec of Mandalore reveals to Obi-Wan Kenobi that Jango fett he was not Mandalorian.
The Mandalorian 2x06 rectifies information that is true and false at the same time. Jango was not a Mandalorian ... but he was a foundling, raised and trained by the Mandalorians, which made him a Mandalorian by adoption. Just like our protagonist This Djarin. So his father's armor belongs to him by right and their initial confrontation is resolved in tarallucci and wine. The honorable behavior of Boba - who also quotes his father verbatim saying: "I try modestly to make my way into the universe." - shouldn't surprise us too much since, already in another episode of The Clone Wars, Hondo Ohnaka reminded the angry young Boba of Jango's teachings and code.
Star Wars bounty hunters are odd characters, often bound to a code of honor of their own, especially when working in guilds like Greef Karga's. Now we have to see how it will behave Fennec Shand, linked to Boba by a life debt: considering that the actress Ming-Na Wen has been part of the Disney family for a long time (in addition to being Melinda May in the various seasons of Agents of SHIELD, she also voiced Mulan in the cartoon of the same name of '98) we're pretty sure his character could become a recurring guest star.
Towards the season finale
Speaking of guest stars, we already know that Mando is going to recruit Bill Burr, aka the criminal Migs Mayfield we met in Chapter 6 of the first season, and that he will probably be on the rescue team too. Cara Dune, revised at the end of the episode with his shiny new New Republic sheriff's crest. Actress Gina Carano has been at the center of various controversies lately (she is a Donald Trump supporter and a kind of no-mask denier) and something tells us that Favreau could get rid of her in the finale. At the end of the episode, Giancarlo Esposito, the Moff gideon who has now finally got Grogu and his juicy midi-chlorians back. Let's say that seeing Grogu flapping the imperial stormtroopers here and there does not bode well and would be a great twist if "baby Yoda" trespassed on the Dark Side. It sounds like the incipit of a fanfiction but this brings us back to the point.
Comment
Resources4Gaming.com
8.0
In just half an hour, The Mandalorian 2x06 brings back to the scene a beloved character in the form and with the determination that fans have imagined for years: the violence with which Boba Fett gets rid of the imperial stormtroopers with his gaderffii stick does a lot of Rodriguez and finally seeing him shoot. persona the torpedo in the jetpack is a moment that only Jon Favreau's TV fanfiction could give us. In short, an episode of great action and entertainment that winks at fans as usual and prepares the chessboard for the final weeks of the season.
PRO
- The gritty Boba Fett we've always imagined
- Finally some clarity on the origins of Jango
- Aside from the great and brutal action scenes, Robert Rodriguez's direction doesn't particularly stand out above the previous episodes
- The shortest episode of the season!
