Well, there is one good thing to come out of 2020: We’re getting another season of The Mandalorian! But if you’re like me, you’ve watched so much content with all the staying home, that all your wires are getting crossed. So let’s take a jaunt through space and re-watch season 1 together! You can find my recap of Episode 1-“The Mandalorian” here.
Ground Rules
- There will be spoilers for the episode I am recapping, but please, no spoilers for future episodes.
- If you’re reading this on the blog and want to drop comments that include episode appropriate spoilers, awesome. Let’s chat. If you’re reading from the Facebook group, no spoilers in the thread, please. It’s harder for people to avoid those in their scroll.
- I welcome any and all Star Wars corrections from die hard fans, as long as they’re made in respectful and courteous ways. I know that I don’t know all that I don’t know, but tell me what you know kindly, please. Or I’ll set a bountry droid on you.
Episode 2-“The Child”
Previously, on The Mandalorian:
We open on a charming little lizard that looks like a dinosaur and a duck wanted to make a space creature. The Mandalorian is walking, while Yoda Baby floats along in his Igloo cooler. Is he moving himself? Yoda Baby is aware and alert, just taking the scenery in, as more and more lizards appear. Are they spies? Are they predators? The music is very intense.
Our heroes are attacked, not by lizards, as I suspected, but by three aliens that look suspiciously like Klingons. The Mandolorian dispatches them easily while Yoda Baby looks on, just ruffling his cute little ears. There is some kind of tracker, or beeping apparatus, that one of the dead Not Klingons left behind but because I can’t see the Mandalorian’s face, I have no idea what significance it has. Title Card!
Later that day, by a fire, the Mandalorian is trying to heal himself from injuries sustained in the fight. Yoda Baby approaches him the same way I approach my toddler when she hasn’t had a nap. Yoda Baby tries to heal the Mandalorian, but he is having none of it. He deposits Yoda Baby back in its Igloo cooler. But Yoda Baby just wants to heal! The force is strong with this one? Mando shuts it down again, this time closing the lid on the cooler. You’ll get ‘em next time, Yoda Baby.
The next day, the Mandalorian and Yoda Baby come upon his ship, being raided by Jawas. By the way, some of you recommended I watch the show with captions so I know the correct spelling and terminology of things, which was a good idea. But it also means I get helpful closed captioning such as:
After an annoyed Mandalorian opens fire, the Jawas flee in what looks like an oil rig on wheels. The Mandalorian is in hot pursuit, and starts climbing the moving space oil rig, while the Jawas rain space trash on him. The effects here are just stunning. I could watch this for like, 40 minutes. But I actually can’t because this whole episode is only 33 minutes, and a solid 2 minutes of that was titles and previously on and credits and whatnot.
The Mandalorian is just casually tossing Jawas off the port side until a group of them space tase him and he plummets to the ground below. The Mandalorian’s ship is just trashed, and he is super pissed about it. I have to say, space seems like a real dog eat dog world. Travel montage! And here’s Kuiil again, hooray!
Kuiil and the Mandalorian get into it about the nature of Jawas (they strip, they don’t destroy, but I’m with the Mandalorian, does it matter if the end result is the same?) and my subtitles keep calling Kuiil Ugnaught. Guys, is this character’s name Ugnaaught?? Also, we get this iconic moment.
Kuiil takes the Mandalorian to trade with the Jawas (RIP, awesome spot at Hollywood Studios) and the mood is less than welcoming, on account of the Mandalorian did disintegrate some of their fam. When asked to drop his rifle, Mando says this: “I’m a Mandalorian. Weapons are part of my religion.” Star Wars stans, is this true or is it just that classic Mando snark?
Y’all, I will say it if no one else will. These Jawas are rude. In addition to trying to trade with the parts they stole, they insult Mando’s efforts to speak their language, and make derogatory comments about Wookies. After trying to get his Beskar armor and his Yoda Baby, the Jawas land on the Mando going to get them an egg. Surely it can’t be that simple.
And it’s not! The egg is been guarded by some kind of mud rhino with a roar like a lion. This is not a fair fight at all. The mud rhino is decimating the Mandalorian and I am over here like this:
But oh snap! Yoda Baby raises its little three clawed hand and the mud rhino rises into the air, tossing this way and that as the Mandalorian realizes his bounty is now also his savior. Depth! Mando stabs the beast, Yoda Baby collapses because it cannot even anymore, and here is this gross furry mud egg.
Turns out the Jawas were just hungry because they dive into this egg, which turns out to be like, neon orange on the inside and I fight the urge to gag. Back at Kuiil’s, we get a fixing montage for the poor, stripped ship. I love a montage. The only thing better than a montage would be a montage of montages.
Mando offers to give Kuiil a portion of the reward, but Kuiil shuts him down! “You are my guest, and therefore I am in your service.” Kuiil is a gem. I have spoken. Clearly Mando agrees with me that we all need more Kuiil because he offers him a role as a main character, I mean a spot on his ship. Kuiil just wants to be free. He tells Mando good luck and rides his Berb off into the sunset, and we all agree, we want a Kuiil prequel, right?
As our hero’s ship weaves gracefully through an infinite expanse of stars, the Child wakes up.
There’s no way the Mandolorian gives up Yoda Baby, right? I know beskar is a big deal, but Yoda Baby saved his life! And I feel like Kuiil’s final words were a sign of things to come: “And good luck with the child! May it survive and bring you a handsome reward! I have spoken.”
May it survive… like may it survive Werner Herzog? May it bring you the handsome reward… of doing the right thing and atoning for past wrongs? Do Kuiil’s words have a deeper meaning? Also, the Mandalorian loves foundlings. Isn’t Yoda Baby a foundling? Could it covert to Mandalorianism? They could make him a little helmet with ear holes!
Let’s meet back here next week to see if the Mandalorian adopts Yoda Baby and if we get more Kuiil.
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!