I have some quick thoughts on The Mandalorian Season 2 that I need to get out of my brain before Chapter 9 is released in a few hours. Caution: There may be spoilers ahead.
Din’s quest
In on of the season 2 trailers, The Mandalorian, who we’ve learned is named Din Djarin, says “I’ve been quested to bring this one back to his kind.”
In season 1, The Armorer tells Din about the Jedi, who the Empire have apparently been successful in wiping from the popular consciousness of the galaxy. It’s pretty clear we’ll start this season with him searching for the Jedi, with little luck. If these leaked episode titles are accurate, I don’t think we’ll meet Ahsoka until the sixth episode. That leaves a lot of room for things to happen along the way.
We also know from rumors that we’re likely to see several familiar faces: Rex, Sabine Wren, Bo-Katan Kryze, and possibly Boba Fett. Star Wars: Rebels ends with an epilogue set sometime after Return of the Jedi, with Sabine and Ahsoka reunited in their search for Ezra Bridger. It’s also been more or less confirmed that Rex was both at — and survived — the Battle of Endor, so it does make sense to see all of those characters in this time, around five years later. Boba Fett, I’m not so sure about. There have been things to indicate he’s in it, but it’s also possible that we’ll see Temeura Morrison as Rex only, but that we’ll also see Boba Fett’s armor, worn by someone else (possibly Cobb Vanth).
Bo-Katan is a little more interesting. Until Moff Gideon sliced his way out of his crashed TIE fighter, Bo-Katan was the last person to have been seen with the Darksaber, and I think how it came to change hands is an interesting story. I think it’s as likely as not that we see her only in flashbacks that tell us the story of how she lost this symbol of Mandalorian leadership and Gideon (a former Imperial Security Bureau officer) ended up with it.
So what does all this add up to? I predict that Din will run into someone who can connect him with Ahsoka, one of the few known Force users at this time, relatively early on. This someone could easily be Sabine, who could bring Rex into the story. The two of them would eventually lead to Ahsoka, who Din understands to be The Child’s “people.” Except that she’s really not his people. Ahsoka left the Jedi Order, and there are currently very few Force users out there at this moment. Luke is obviously running around at this time, but the Jedi Order hasn’t been reestablished yet, and I don’t believe there are yet any known connections between Ahsoka and Luke, other than both having been involved with the Rebel Alliance at different times. I don’t think Luke will be involved in any way.
There was a rumor, from sometime before The Mandalorian came out, that involved Yoda species puppets. It’s on a site I’d rather not link to, and this could have just been a leak of The Child himself, but my thinking for a long time has been that we’d eventually see more of Yoda’s species. I suspect that bringing this one back to his kind may actually mean Yoda’s species. Ahsoka has been out there traveling the galaxy, and she also certainly has New Republic connections. I think Ahsoka will ultimately direct Din and The Child to Yoda’s species’ home planet, where we’ll see many of these little green people.
While returning The Child to his people is Din’s quest, I don’t think that’s the end of his story. Assuming he succeeds, I think we’re going to see a bigger connection to the Mandalorian corners of the Star Wars Galaxy. Gideon is out there waving around the symbol of Mandalorian leadership. I think it’s possible we could see Din become involved with Sabine and other Mandalorians in a new quest to relieve Gideon of the Darksaber and return it to its rightful owner. It’s possible that Bo-Katan is alive —possibly in an Imperial prison — and it can be returned to her. If it doesn’t go to Bo-Katan, it could go to some other high-ranking member of House Viszla, possibly Sabine or her mother. I think it’s a long shot, but there’s a chance that Din himself could be destined to wield the Darksaber.
The other stuff
Din and The Child are certainly going to make some other friends and enemies along the way. I’d say there’s a 50-50 chance we actually see Boba Fett. The tease at the end of Chapter 5, could have just as easily been someone else wearing his armor. Even though I’ve been known to be a Boba Fett superfan, I’d be perfectly content to find out that he’s good and dead. Here’s an interesting scenario: It is possible that we may encounter many different kinds of Mandalorians in this season:
- Din Djarin: He’s a foundling. He was adopted into what seems like a fringe Mandalorian sect. It could be his that his House (whatever it ends up being) observes the no-removing-the-helmet rule. Maybe it’s some even more extremist group within Death Watch.
- Sabine Wren: A pretty standard Mandalorian, from a high-ranking family with connections to Death Watch (House Viszla, Clan Wren)
- Bo-Katan Kryze: The last rightful leader of the Mandalorians, and sister to the queen. We last saw her forming a Mandalorian resistance to the Empire.
- Boba Fett: Not actually a Mandalorian. Actually, he’s a clone of of Jango Fett, who was not actually a Mandalorian if you believe Prime Minister Almec (a questionable source). He does wear the armor though.
- Rex: Also a clone of a possible non-Mandalorian, but he has other connections to Mandalore from his time fighting in the Clone Wars
- Cobb Vanth: Definitely not a Mandalorian, but does wear the armor.
- The Armorer (and other survivors from the covert): What is their deal anyway? Why do these Mandalorians never remove their helmets? Are they up to something weird? Are they all foundlings who have no real connections to Mandalorians by birth?
- Other “true” Mandalorians: How about Fenn Rau? He seems like a good candidate for flashbacks at least — and he’s the one who told Ezra the history of the Darksaber. As far as we know, Tristan Wren and Ketsu Onyo are also out there at this time. If Sabine and Din somehow start to restore Mandalorian glory, I could see them getting involved.
I can’t think of much else, but I’m glad I got this out of my brain. Chapter 9 drops in a little over an hour, although I won’t be watching until this evening, so my goal for the next 18 hours or so will be to studiously avoid any confirmation of the rumors I’ve been relentlessly seeking out for the past few months in an attempt to take my mind off the damn election. This is the way.