«The Mandalorian» Season 2: Chapter 9: The Marshal

First off: this discussion of the episode includes spoilers! So watch «The Mandalorian – Chapter 9: The Marshal» before you read on.

Two figures emerge from the shadows. One big, wearing a helmet and entirely clad in beskar armour. The other small and green with long, pointed ears, floating in a small, egg-shaped transport box.

Din Djarin, the Mandalorian, and the Child.

The battle arena

A city world. Dark and musty. Maybe Corellia. Or Nar Shaddaa. There are high-rises in the distance. But Djarin and the Child are in a rundown district with walls covered in graffiti. The feeling of opposition is everywhere. An allusion to Sabine Wren from «Star Wars: Rebels»? Perhaps. Red eyes stare at the two figures out of the darkness.

Mando and the Child enter an underground battle arena. Two Gamorreans are in a fight to the death with vibro-axes. The public and an array of aliens from all over the galaxy cheer. Mando meets an underground boss there: Gor Koresh, a small, fat Abyssin.

Gor Koresh might know the location of other Mandalorians. And he could also use his galaxy-wide network to find out where there are more of the Child's species. That means that Djarin could complete the mission he accepted from the Armorer in Chapter 8: Redemption: taking the Child back to its tribe. This is how he can do it.

Koresh wants to gamble on the information. He bets that «his» Gamorrean, who is fighting in the arena, will soon die. But the Mandalorian isn't drawn into it. Not when his fate would be up to chance. Koresh and his henchmen draw their blasters. They betray Mando. This is what they had planned all along.

It turns out that Koresh fights Mandalorians to kill them and harvest their beskar armour. Djarin stays calm. He offers to spare the Abyssin's life if he gives Mando the information and lets him go. Koresh says no. Then the sparks fly.

Before you know it, the treacherous underworld boss is hanging upside down from a streetlight. It's Djarin's work, shooting a wire from his wrist, as seen in Chapter 1: The Mandalorian. Koresh finally spills the beans. He knows of a Mandalorian rumoured to live in Mos Pelgo on the planet Tatooine and swears by the Gotra.

Gotra? Like the Droid Gotra? The union of renegade battle droids that resisted being scrapped by the Empire at the end of the Clone Wars? They caused brutal gang disputes on the planet Eshan some years later. But first, they operated in the industrial areas of Coruscant. Who knows whether the Droid Gotra will fill the power vacuum left by the damaged Empire.

Djarin walks away and leaves Koresh to the staring red eyes – and a grisly death.

Next stop: Tatooine.

The marshal in the desert

Mando lands in Mos Eisley, where he has Peli Motto, an old acquaintance from Chapter 5: «The Gunslinger» service his ship. Motto also tells him where Mos Pelgo is, a small, insignificant mining town once invaded by the mining syndicate, bandits and Sand People – Tusken Raiders – and nearly completely destroyed.

Din Djarin races into the desert and finds Mos Pelgo, but that's not all. In the cantina, he comes across a man in Mandalorian armour – probably the most well-known in the whole galaxy.

It's Boba Fett's armour.

It looks worn-out. There's hardly any of the iconic green colour left. There are scratches all over it. The aftermath of his fall into the sarlacc pit?

Then the man in Boba Fett's armour takes off his helmet. It's no-one who lives by the Mandalorian creed. And it's not Boba Fett. The man is Cobb Vanth, the marshal and protector of Mos Pelgos.

Book fans will know him from the «Aftermath» trilogy. In the novels, he's the sheriff of Freetown. What was already implied in the book – namely that Jawas had Boba Fett's armour – is confirmed here: the Empire had barely fallen and the mining syndicate wanted control of Tatooine. Vanth, who had good relationships with the Jawas, bought Fett's armour and took on the syndicate. He's been marshal of Mos Pelgo ever since.

Djarin, the Mandolorian, wants his people's armour back. Vanth refuses to hand it over. A Mexican standoff ensues. But before either of the gunslingers can get off their first shot, the earth starts to shake. A sandstorm? No. Something else. In the ground. A kind of shark, as big as the whole of Mos Pelgo, which swims through sand rather than water.

A krayt dragon. It's the first one of its kind that Star Wars fans have seen alive. Until now, they've only ever known the skeletal remains of one.

The residents are safe in their houses. But a poor bantha on the sand isn't so lucky. Vanth offers to return the Mandalorian armour to Djarin if he will help him kill the krayt dragon and save Mos Pelgo. Djarin agrees.

They set off on the hunt.

Alliance with the Sand People

The thing is that the men can't kill the krayt dragon on their own. Luckily, they come across a Tusken settlement. Djarin, who can speak their language, convinces them to join the hunt. At the same time, Vanth also persuades his residents to join forces with the Sand People. It's a pact that should prevent future bloodshed – provided that they're not eaten by the krayt dragon beforehand.

The peace is fragile, but it's holding. For now. Together, both humans and Tuskens head to an abandoned sarlacc pit. There's no such thing. Unless the sarlacc was eaten. But what's big enough to eat a sarlacc?

The plan? Draw the krayt dragon out of the cave, capture it with harpoons and then detonate charges planted in the ground.

It's a colossal fight to the death. The krayt dragon fights back. The first set of explosives don't harm it. Then it spews acidic liquid over its adversaries. They're completely at the mercy of the murderous dragon like womp rats.

Djarin has an idea. He lures the dragon to him and grabs a bantha which is carrying another load of explosives. The dragon strikes. Djarin manages to save himself at the last second. But the bantha and explosives are swallowed. Djarin activates the detonator – and the krayt is blown to shreds.

The battle is won.

The big WTF moment at the end

Din Djarin races along on his speeder bike with the Child and Boba Fett's armour on his back. The twin suns of Tatooine sit on the faraway horizon. There, another unnoticed silhouette stands on a mountain ridge. Armed with a staff and a gun. Stoically watching the Mandalorian pass by. Then walking away.

It's Boba Fett.

An amazing start to the second season

Chapter 9 in the second season of «The Mandalorian» is one thing above all. It's bigger. In just about every way. At 54 minutes, Chapter 9 is the longest episode of «The Mandalorian» so far. But it takes just seconds to transport viewers back to a galaxy far, far away. Showrunner Jon Favreau makes sure of it, taking the reins as director for the first time.

Take the landscape shots. Big, epic, majestic. Favreau uses long, wide shots to capture the sea of dunes on Tatooine more magnificently than any director to date. The production is once again accompanied by Ludwig Goransson's award-winning music, which I spend at least half the day humming after each episode.

«The Mandalorian» also astounds with computer effects worthy of a film. Especially the krayt dragon. I couldn't have imagined a more powerful, brutal beast in my wildest dreams. As a child, I wondered about the skeletal remains on Tatooine in «Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope». What was it?

Now I know. Nice.

It's also great how the series researches and brings its own universe to life. Like the «Fight Club» scene at the start. There are aliens everywhere, all with incredible levels of detail for a short appearance. And then there are the vibroblades! I love that about «Star Wars». The universe feels real. Worn. Dirty.

Alive.

And Chapter 9 stays true to the motto of its predecessors. The main theme – the search for the Child's species – is always in the background. In the foreground, we witness a story which is something like «an average day in the life of a Mandalorian» and is self-contained in the end. I've always liked this about «The Mandalorian», but here I'd have actually liked the main story to have been driven forward a bit more. As far as the search for the Child's species is concerned, we end the episode exactly where we started.

Nevertheless, the beginning was really good. Bombastic and full of action. Titular Mandalorian Pedro Pascal is still the coolest of them all. Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth is a nice addition that will definitely become relevant towards the end of the series.

And then, well, there's the appearance of Temuera Morrison. Goosebumps. At least for fans who are into the prequels too. He played Jango Fett in «Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones». But Jango provided the genetic template for all Clone Warriors – including Boba Fett, the only clone that ages normally and quickly and is therefore something like Jango Fett's son.

So, Morrison's appearance can mean one of two things.

1. He plays an old Clone Warrior like Captain Rex
2. He plays Boba Fett

My bet is on the latter. Captain Rex is a favourite of «Star Wars: The Clone Wars» and «Star Wars: Rebels» viewers. Rex would fit into the timeline. But how much cooler would the return of Boba Fett be? Especially in a series called «The Mandalorian» and in a chapter where Boba Fett's armour appears.

Now, though, I want to know what you thought of the first episode. Tell me your theories and observations. Are there maybe still Easter eggs that I haven't thought of? Let me know in the comments. And next Friday, we'll continue with a discussion of «Chapter 10».