A Child And His Heavy Metal Dad
So much happened this past fall in the Star Wars world. Many projects were announced like the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, the Ahsoka Tano series, and even a series for the Bad Batch as seen in the Clones Wars animated show that wrapped up back in May. I am BEYOND EXCITED for all the content set to come out, but that’s not what I am here to discuss. Maybe you guessed from the title, but I want to talk about season two of The Mandalorian. Let me start by saying wow to the whole production. Compared to season one, the value of the production went up immensely and you can tell the improvement in the storyline, action scenes, and even scenery and props. The first episode started very strong with Mando taking action and baby Yoda being cute as ever. As the story went along we started getting cameos from certain characters in the past, continuity from the original Star Wars storyline, and more information on what is going on during the era of the story being told. I would have to say my favorite episodes are Chapter 9: The Marshal, Chapter 13: The Jedi, and Chapter 16: The Rescue.
Okay, I have gone this long without trying to spoil anything, however, if you have not yet seen the series and do not want any spoilers, then please do not read the next paragraph. Read the paragraph after the picture.
Now that we’ve got that out-of-the-way, let me just say I am so excited that Rosario Dawson is playing live-action Ahsoka Tano! As you may have read in my previous entries for Diary of a Star Wars Nerd, Ahsoka is my most favorite character in the whole franchise. Yet there was always something missing because she never appeared in any of the movies and was given an in-person role. Ashley Eckstein, who voices Ahsoka Tano in the animated series, is such a big voice in the Star Wars and geek universe. So when she gave her blessing to Rosario Dawson to play Ahsoka, my heart went through the roof! Her acting, stunts, and costume make this character so believable I can’t tell you how many times I cried. The way I can describe how I felt is like seeing something you love so much finally get the recognition it deserves. This also is probably going to lead us into the path of her series that I can’t wait for.
Getting into the other cameos like Boba Fett and Bo-Katan, OMG WOW I WAS SHOCKED!!! I had no idea that Bo-Katan was a character that they were going to consider adding to this show. I remember watching her in The Clone Wars animated series and Star Wars Rebels. Bo-Katan was the sister of Duchess Satine of Mandalore and is a Mandalorian herself. However, in the siege of Mandalore back in season seven of The Clone Wars, which was set 28yrs before The Mandalorian, we see her pair up with Ahsoka Tano to defeat Maul. This information comes back into the series to help Mando with finding more of baby Yoda’s “kind.” The excitement I got when I saw this character in the series is unmatched. I was taken completely by surprise and so impressed by how well she was portrayed. She is another character I hope to see more of in the future.
As for Boba Fett, I had a feeling that he was coming back just by watching season one, and it was exciting to see how they explained how he got out of the pit that he was pushed into back in the original movie, Return of The Jedi. I think they delivered and gave great potential to this character. It’s even more amazing because if you’ve seen the prequels that feature Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman, the actor who played Jango Fett, Temura Morrison, is the same actor who plays Boba Fett in The Mandalorian. To give you context, Jango Fett is a rouge Mandalorian who was the donor that gave his DNA to make all the clones for The Clone Wars in Star Wars. However, he asked for an unaltered clone to keep as a son, Boba Fett. Since they all have the same face, directors and producers thought to take advantage of this opportunity and call back Temuera Morrison to play the role of Boba Fett. I think this shows the great continuity and attention to detail that the showrunners have when it comes to The Mandalorian.
God Bless you Dave Filoni and everyone involved with this production.
Without spoiling anything, the ending to the show was an absolute shock and one of the most amazing endings I’ve ever seen. It’s confirmed that they will start production on season three of The Mandalorian right after one of the series that they teased towards the end of season two. I’m interested to see what they’re going to do with Mando’s character and what other characters are reprising their role. I know there was a little hiccup a couple of months ago with Cara Dune’s actor, and I’m sad to see that she (the character) will most likely not come back unless they recast her. But that doesn’t mean that fan theories haven’t been going around on who they think will be in The Mandalorian or get their own series. With everything Star Wars has planned, it is safe to say it will be an eventful next three years.
Before I go, I just want to dedicate this article to my dad. I managed to convince him to start watching The Mandalorian and we binge-watched it throughout the whole month of December from start to finish (season one to the fínale of season two). Then I got him hooked to watch all of the movies! It felt like a special time between him and I since he works so much and I go to school and work as well. It’s something we bond and talk about now. Not to mention, for New Year’s I may have gotten him a dark saber so that we can have battles with my Ahsoka Tano lightsaber.
If you’re reading this, I love you dad, and I’m so glad we have one more thing to share and annoy mom with!
HCXO, Valentina
Oh! I almost forgot. I’m finally glad we can finally put a name to the face of baby Yoda… Grogu.