The Mandalorian continues his quest to reunite The Child with his people, taking him to the desert planet of Tattooine.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, this show is the best new Star Wars since 1983. Tapping in to a simplicity that the original trilogy exhibited, there’s no bloated, convoluted plots that the latter trilogies tied themselves up with. It’s back to the Saturday morning serials that Lucas evoked back in 1977, as witnessed by a fun pre-credits sequence at a Gamorrean fight arena.

There are so many Easter eggs for the fan, from appearances by legacy characters R5-D4 and a Weequay, to some very familiar armour and a welcome return to Tatooine. Timothy Olyphant is mining settlement Los Pelgo’s marshal, not a million miles from his Deadwood character, though the gunslingers here have blasters rather than Colt 45s.

The desert vistas look great, giving the show an additional quality sheen, and Ludwig Göransson’s soundtrack continues to impress, sitting somewhere between a Morricone spaghetti western and Basil Poledouris’ Conan the Barbarian. The breakout hit of Season 1 was of course The Child (Baby Yoda) but wisely he isn’t given added prominence to reflect his popularity, spending most of his time in his floating carriage, a speeder bike pannier or a pot!

Verdict: A very welcome return for Star Wars’ shining light. Mercifully easy to watch, just sit back and bask in the legacy references, cool tech and thrilling action sequences. It’s top escapist entertainment for dark times.  8/10

 

Click here to read our reviews of season 1