The Mando

So here we are with me writing about some of my current favorite TV series.While we had the sequels, my faith and trust in the franchise was restored with the introduction of The Mandalorian. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are THE GUYS to bring that original Star Wars spirit back. The secret sauce that has been missing all this while from the Disneyfied Star Wars was a deep love and an in-depth knowledge of the lore. We needed real fans of movies at the helm, and we finally got them in the form of  Jon and Dave.

So just how good is this space western about an antihero who was based on a certain bounty hunter? In short I rank this right up there with the original trilogy, ahead of the prequels. It has all the elements of a great Star Wars movie, and many fans still believe that this project came about when the planned Boba Fett movie got the axe due to the failures of the movies. Same scenario for the Obi Wan Kenobi series that was supposed to be a full length feature movie, but that's a discussion for another day.

The story follows the exploits of bounty Hunter and Mandalorian Din Djarin who starts as a hired hand. After taking up a assignment and getting attached to his bounty, a little 50 year old Yoda youngling, aka Grogu or Baby Yoda, he has a change of heart.Din is all business in the beginning and delivers his bounty to the client, only to discover that they work for the empire. He also realizes that he can't take on the Imperial forces by himself. In fact he only makes it out of Nevarro with the aid of the Mandalorian's who are on Nevarro. He makes several allies along the way, Greef Karga, a former acquaintance of whom he gets his bounties from, Kuiil, a Ugnaught that helps Din repair his ship after it was pulled apart for spare parts by offworld Jawas, and Cara Dune, a tough survivor from  Alderaan. He makes this his mission, to protect and to get Grogu home to his people.

The next season sees Din trying to locate  clues to the surviving Jedi's. He discovers that a fellow Mandalorian holds the key to finding the Jedi. He seeks out a familliar bounty hunter Boba Fett, but finds Cobb Vanth donning  Boba's beskar armor instead. He does end up reacquiring the armor after helping Vanth with Krait dragon. He also manages to locate the Mandalorian's on the watery planet. These Mandalorian's are led by Bo Katan Kryze, who knows the Jedi Din is seeking. This is none other than Ahsoka Tano,  Anakin Skywalker's former padawan. She however refuses to train Grogu after assessing him and discovering that he has a deep attachment to Din. She sends them to a sacred Jedi nexus on the planet Tython.

Din and Grogu aren't the only ones making their way there. Boba Fett and his partner Fennec Shand, seeking to reclaim his armor, and Moff Gideon and the empire, who are after Grogu, also make a beeline for Tython. Boba gets his armor back and forms an alliance with Din after a face-off. And Grogu gets abducted after successfully sending a signal to surviving Jedi. With Boba's help, and old allies Cara Dune they discover the location of Moff Gideon's cruiser. They enlist the help of Bo Katan, who wants to reclaim the Mandalorian artifact,the Darksabre. Din manages to defeat Moff Gideon and save Grogu. The group are, however cornered and trapped by the powerful Dark Troopers. Moff Gideon, now a POW snickers at his captors. To the surprise of the crew  they see a lone X Wing fly in, and the Dark Troopers stop their relentless pounding on the blast doors. We see a hooded figure stride into view on the screens and ignites a green bladed lighsabre, as he quickly cuts through the horde of Dark Troopers. Holy hell it's Luke Skywalker. This is the version of Luke hard-core fans like me have been waiting for all our lives. This turn of events sees an emotional farewell between Din and Grogu.

So the season ends on a sad note, and we are still waiting for the premier of season 3 in March. But we do see Din and Grogu again in The Book of Boba Fett, which I will cover in a future blog. Stay tuned!