What I like Most About The Mandalorian Season 2, So Far

[Winter]

I've mentioned this elsewhere but one of my least favorite moments in the Disney Sequel Trilogy was the poor use of the "Your Parents Are No One" scene. That scene is intended to be TDST's equivalent of "No. I Am Your Father." scene from The Empire Strikes Back but, honestly, it doesn't have anywhere the same level of impact because the film doesn't ALLOW it to have any impact.

Right after that scene, after hearing the worse thing Rey can, that she wasn't loved and was abandoned by her parents and that she has no place in this story the next scene she has... is her shooting up a bunch of Tie-Fighters with the Biggest Grin on her face. It's like the scene in the Throne Room never happened as it has no meaning to Rey's character.

One of the most important elements of making any good character arc is to put characters into situations where they are out of their comfort zone and have no power. This can be because of a choice they made that resulted in them losing their sense of identity (Star Trek: TNG's Tapestry), because they've learned something that revealed that everything they had been told was a lie (the aforementioned I am your father in Star Wars) or because of them trying to breakaway from their past and become better people (the entirety of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power).

Whatever the reason for a character to grow they must find themselves in a position that forces them to confront their demons and grow form that. We need to see how they handled a situation where they have no power and no means of ignoring their pain. And TLJ fails at this because it allows Rey to entire into a position of power where she can just have fun and ignore her personal issues.

Contrast this with the resent season of the Mandalorian which has forced the title character to question what he believes in regards to the way of the Mandalorian that he was raised into. Throughout the season Din has met a number of people who, either directly or indirectly, for him the question the beliefs he was raised in.

Cobb, someone who isn't a Mandalorian but wears the armor of one is someone Din intends to kill for the insult of wearing said armor but because of the situation he finds himself in instead ends up making a deal with Cobb to get the armor instead. By the end of the end of the episode Din acknowledges Cobb as someone who is worthy of being a Mandalorian even if he never was one.

Next, in the episode The Heiress Din meets Bo-Katan and two of others. All of whom are Mandalorians but they all violate the Taboo, as far as Din knows, of removing their helmets in front of others. And here's where we learn that the clan Din is a part of is actually a Religious cult that follow old costumes of the Mandalorian way. Let me repeat that, we are told that Din and his clan are actually a Cult of Religious Zealots. Props to Disney and Lucas Film it takes guts to reveal that the main protagonist we've been following is actually a cultist and then follow that up by said Protagonist basically retaining his beliefs.

But again, Din is forced to question his beliefs on what it is to be a Mandalorian and at the end of the episode comes to respect the people who don't follow "The Way of the Mandalore" even though he clearly doesn't like their way of thinking. Again, props to Disney and Lucas Film for having the guts to go through with this idea.

Then we have Boba Fett who also doesn't adhere to the beliefs that Din does and yet holds to his own code of honor and continues to show Din that there are other ways of thinking then just the one he was raised to believe in.

And then, the big moment and this is a rather major spoiler so stop reading now if you want to be truly surprised. In the most resent episode Din is forced to remove his helmet infront of other people at and the end the person who was mocking him for not showing his face kills everyone who might have saw him and promises to not tell anyone he saw him.

After taking off his helmet Din spends the rest of the episode in a downward spiral and I've doubt this is the last we'll see of this moments impacts. He isn't granted any form of relief as even when everyone is killed and the person who saw him promises not to say anything it doesn't matter. For Din he already committed what he sees as an unforgivable sin and did so to save his son and that the episode makes a point of not giving Din any means of escaping his that moment.

He doesn't start shooting every person in sight with a smile on his face and doesn't even get to kill the people who did see him as, again, the person who was mocking him for not showing his face did that.

This season has made great use of the lore of Star Wars (both from the Disney and Lucas Eras) by using what has been established to tell compelling stories. And it uses that lore to make the main character question his own sense of self by making him confront others who make him question who he is and what he's been told.

The reason I have such a low opinion of TDST is because it refused to push it's lead out of her comfort zone and the few times it did it almost immediately worked to get her back into a position of power and comfort because it was easier.

[Riedquat]

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And then, the big moment and this is a rather major spoiler so stop reading now if you want to be truly surprised. In the most resent episode Din is forced to remove his helmet infront of other people at and the end the person who was mocking him for not showing his face kills everyone who might have saw him and promises to not tell anyone he saw him.

I also liked how said character didn't have a go at him after he had removed his helmet - plenty of arseholes in the real world would've carried on, going on to find some way to mock his appearance or the fact that he did take it off in the end (although maybe not with someone who probably wouldn't have too many qualms in killing you there and then).

[MithrandirOlorin]

Kind of amusing how Bo Katan calls out that can't take the Helmet off a dumb backwards tradition but really wants to stick to not claiming the Dark Saber without a fight.

[Riedquat]

Kind of amusing how Bo Katan calls out that can't take the Helmet off a dumb backwards tradition but really wants to stick to not claiming the Dark Saber without a fight.

You could argue that she's stuck with having to do that due to what others think rather than what she herself thinks. Tradition's a tricky one since it's very closely tied to identity and sense of who we are.