The Mandalorian 2.1 Review - 5 Ups And 2 Downs

Downs...

2. It's Another One-And-Done Story

Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1
Lucasfilm / Disney+

I'm actually not as down on the more episodic stories that comprised the central part of The Mandalorian's first season, but I can understand why the approach didn't appeal to many. The show was always at its strongest when it was progressing the central narrative of Din's relationship with The Child and the mystery surrounding why the Imperials were still after them, so to have that broken up by a Seven Samurai homage here, or a heist episode there, did upset the series' pace even just a tad.

Season 2's opener is placed firmly in that 'episodic' category too, and while it's obviously only just getting started, it was slightly disappointing that the core mystery and narrative thrust took a back seat throughout. Again, that's not to say that this episode was a let-down - it was quite the opposite - but for those craving a more serialised narrative, the premiere may prove wanting in certain areas.

We already know that Season 2 has plenty of surprises left in store, and that we'll get closer to understanding the mystery behind The Child and Moff Giddeon, so it's more than okay for the series to bide its time this way.

If nothing else, Chapter 9 serves as a great reintroduction to The Mandalorian, and the aforementioned tease of what's to come has already got me wracking my brain as to how it may all come together.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.