This article contains spoilers for season 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian. Read at your own risk.
The truth is, the majority of season 2 of The Mandalorian is fantastic television. The main characters are interesting, the action is spectacular and the driving narrative is very engaging. Building on season 1, the first few episodes did a great job of continuing the story of a former galactic bounty hunter. Focusing on a smaller scale within the Star Wars universe, the series seemed was a refreshing side-quest that did not need the constant ignition of lightsabers. Unfortunately, this was only the case until chapter 13, The Jedi. It was here where the show conveyed that Star Wars was adopting the Marvel formula. From there, it took another unnecessary cameo in the finale to reveal that even The Mandalorian was not safe from the classic legacy of hollow Star Wars fan-service.
Marvel at the New Universe
As mentioned above, it was chapter 13 where The Mandalorian presented us with the presumed new direction of the franchise. For this episode, it became the Ahsoka Tano show. The hype and excitement around her appearance seemed to be all because of her notoriety, not because she offered something unique to the overarching tale of Din Djarin. The needless nature of her addition is a prime example of Star Wars’ constant reliance on fan-service.
Tano was first established in The Clone Wars, so many viewers were already guaranteed to have a strong reaction upon viewing her. Spouting lines mentioning Grand Admiral Thrawn, her dialogue was clearly designed with the hardcore fans in mind. To most, these references are meaningless and confusing, adding nothing to the media that they exist in. Yes, The Mandalorian is a show that thrives on side-quests that feature other individuals, but this one, in particular, seemed to be largely in service of a spin-off series. Of course, this was proved right in a few weeks as it was announced that Rosario Dawson would continue her portrayal in another programme. This announcement came alongside countless others, showing us that Disney seems to be launching a variety of projects, all tying together in some way. It is now clear that Star Wars is embracing the Marvel method of filmmaking.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe found huge success with their technique of having each film feed into the next, creating an ongoing saga that would eventually culminate in Avengers: Endgame. While this helped to create many enjoyable movies, it also prevented the majority of them from being exceptional narratives in their own right. There always seemed to be the need to build to the next hero, instead of focusing on the creation of a contained story. Disney earned many millions going down this route, so it is no shock that they seem to be doing the same with Star Wars.
The benefit of the 11 upcoming pieces of media is that fans will be inundated with content to consume. The worry arrives once you consider that there now will be a constant laying of groundwork for the next plotline, culminating in a huge finale (no matter how long that takes). This is the Marvel formula, one that will no doubt impact the creative visions of directors once they are forced to ham-fistedly inject sequel teases. For viewers, it will mean that we have no time to enjoy the current tale, as we will always need to watch what is next in order to receive a satisfying story.
Reflecting back to Ahsoka, she was not the only Jedi to detract from season 2 of The Mandalorian. A last-minute appearance by a certain knight was conclusive proof that Star Wars really can’t help but tie everything back to the same family.
Keeping up With the Skywalkers
No matter how hard they try, Star Wars always seems to find its way back to the Skywalkers. When The Mandalorian began, its attractiveness was based partly in the fact that it existed away from the main saga. However, like most stories in this galaxy, it was about time that the famous lineage peeked its head. Luke Skywalker showed up in the season finale of season 2, easily destroying a hallway of droids before revealing his CGI face and taking Grogu back to his school. The problem with this does not lie in the fact that The Child is leaving Mando to go train, but rather that Luke appearing is nothing short of distracting fan service that hinders more than it helps.
Either a new series will be set up or we won’t see Luke and Grogu again, neither of which adds anything to Din Djarin’s journey. A third possibility is Skywalker embracing a supporting part in The Mandalorian, but this would truly be the death knell for Pedro Pascal’s character, so its best to not consider it as at all likely. Looking at the overwhelming reaction to the episode, most fans seemed to be filled with unparalleled joy. Seeing the green lightsaber ignite means a lot to many. Of course, none of these people are wrong for feeling this way and everyone is deserving of an opinion. However, very few of these individuals are talking about the actual lead of the series. Furthermore, nobody is discussing the villain that was anticlimactically defeated after 2 seasons of build-up. All the debate is centred around a returning cameo that feels good it the moment but is a prime example of the Star Wars nostalgic crutch.
A similar detraction occurred in the conclusion of Rogue One. For once, we had an entirely new story that followed fresh protagonists. In the end, the biggest talking point was Darth Vader defeating a platoon of rebels. Much like Luke, his arrival makes sense for the direction the script is taking, but if your narrative is written in a way that requires an injection of empty fan service, perhaps it should be re-written altogether. Maybe the force should not have been an element in The Mandalorian at all.
Of course, the force being in the series makes sense considering how pivotal it is within the universe. In fact, for a while, Grogu helped naturally weave in the magic that penetrates all living things. His character did this well as he was something new, a child that we can learn about together. The force only became a problem when the decision was made to bring in Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker. For the scenes they are in, the show becomes about them, putting our main hero in the backseat. This unfortunate reality is why it would have been best to exclude them altogether.
The Light Side
The tragic part of this discussion is the fact that there is so much to love in the new season of The Mandalorian. In fact, not all the fan service is poor either. Boba Fett was integrated incredibly well, as was Bo-Katan. This is, in large part, because their purpose in the story was to support the existing narrative and main characters. These factors and much more make up what is very enjoyable television, sadly hampered by a few disappointing negatives.
With season 3, there is hope that the course will be corrected. Thinking optimistically, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni will hopefully take all feedback into account, not only the vocal majority. At the very least, Star Wars is once again creating healthy engagement and debate. With many new projects in development, there is no doubt that the franchise is still as alive as ever.