TV REVIEW: THE MANDALORIAN - Season 2

4/5

This Is Still The Way.

8 Episodes. Starring: Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Rosario Dawson, Ming-Na Wen, Bill Burr, John Leguizamo, Timothy Olyphant, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito & Baby Yoda. Creator: Jon Favreau. 

The way this still is. Yeah...it's still Baby Yoda. Just sayin'. Whatever you choose to call The Child, it's still Baby Yoda. Nothing can beat that like nothing can beat the hilarious, heartwarming scene of him using the force to steal some space cookies from a schoolboy in class...and wait until he gets hands in the air, high off this foil packet supply. A lot happens this season for a series that throws everything at you in the name of fan service too. But we've already said too much as we try to tread carefully like an AT-AT being lassoed up. "Ba-do". If 'Iron Man' director and Marvel M.C.U. franchise kickstarter Jon Favreau's first season of 'The Mandalorian' saved the 'Star Wars' kingdom from being in a galaxy, far, far away from its fans. What the live action 'Lion King' director chef cooks up in Season 2 is chrome dome, Bescar armour plated like Mando has just come out the shop. Having this show stunting and spinning like rims. They have spoken. From the food truck reunion, John Leguizamo, one eye blink and you'll not recognise him cameo on Chapter IX to a 'Justified' Timothy Olyphant bringing the worms out in this wild west, this really is a western for an out of this world space opera that always had those themes like the darksaber samurai ones. Mando even calls 'The Child', "the kid" as the theme to this show whistles like Clint Eastwood's 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'. It's the quick draw with a man who once faced off a Terminator, shot first saloon to 'Star Trek's' great space voyage. And you can catch the latest 'Discovery' on the Disney streaming service rival Netflix every Friday too. As the two legendary Schwarzenegger and Stallone franchises of the final frontiers and far galaxies of space defy the binge era with their weekly anticipation (just imagine how huge 'Daredevil' Season 2 would have been if you had to wait seven days like Sting for each weeks punishing cliffhanger conclusion), 'Flash Gordon' like releases. Still, it's the one that shoots first that wins. 

This is not the way. One episode of 'The Mandalorian' gave me arachnophobia. This is her way. 'Jurassic World' and 'Black Mirror' star Bryce Dallas Howard returns with one of the best and an epic and beautiful 'Apollo 13' Easter Egg homage to her directing father Ron Howard. It only gets better from there on out. Happy days. That's when Apollo Creed himself, Carl Weathers knocks it out the park so much the clouds may storm with his own directed episode and ship to ship, final round K.O., free falling to the canvas. Even bringing back the epic, muscular boom clap handshake with Arnie from 'Predator' when a grey Greef and silver Mando meet and reunite. The 'Predator' close up now turned GIF bicep bulge of brotherhood was such an iconic and underrated moment for blurring color lines and bringing people together before its time...even if he did end up losing an arm that still shoots like a bounty for it. This is the shake. But do you want to know how cute The Child is? Do you want to know how cute this kid is? He's so cute this writer was almost late for work he was replaying all his bite sized, cookie cutting cute clips and scenes until he was sick the night before. Talk about a milk and cookies for Santa hangover this Christmas. Clips like eating eggs he shouldn't, or shocking us with his handyman (handy-Yoda) work on the ships electrics. And how about Mando using the spit and polish of his bounty hunter hero's cape to bib clean this kids sick? That's how much he loves him. He told you he cares about him, "more than you could ever know" as we shed a tear and try to play off like it was just something in our eye, or a glitch in the hologram. This show is our only hope to this awakening force of a rebooted franchise that turned into the knives out that came with 'Looper' and the best LCD Soundsytem video ('Oh Baby') that looks like an episode of 'Black Mirror', or Philip K. Dick's 'Electric Dreams' starring David Strathairn and Sissy Spacek director Rian Johnson's 'The Last Jedi'. OK that and another 'Solo' feature (how about the 'Lando' stand-alone series being the light saber highlighter of a galaxy worth of new shows adding a plus to Mickey Mouse's magic kingdom. Please tell me it's Donald Glover. Or Billy Dee. Or hey, how about...both). But that's none of my business like Baby Yoda eating cookies nonchalantly whilst Mando wraps up a tie fighter for the new Kermit the Frog sippin' tea meme. And then like 'Dude Where's My Razor Crest', just when you thought they couldn't take it any further out this world, they leave us in space dust like "a long time ago" before the credits and classic concept art roll in closing.

Social spoiled moments we just don't have the heart to. The iconic character Rosario Dawson was born to play like she looks the part and her redefintion. The ultimate cameo in the Robert Rodriguez episode as Grindhouse grandiose and classic as the left turn Stormtroopers can't take, as we are now petitioning to change the "fish" in, "like shooting fish in a barrel" to these iPod plastic pieces of cannon fodder. And if all that wasn't enough like the 'ER' emergency of an 'Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D' then how about Bill Burr? A pulled 'Chappelle Show' may not be returning to Netflix anymore but this classic comedian is back and there's not much to laugh at when this actor actually acts like a thesp. This is the Emmy. "I'm sorry...I just couldn't resist", Django. Now if only we could just see under the hood, because 'Game Of Thrones' star Pedro Pascal deserves his recognition. The electric, eclectic, whip-smart 'Kingsman' sequel anti-hero, who is about to show 'Wonder Woman', HBO Max and cinemas '1984' and Gekko hair and 'Wall Street' suits, sits atop his chrome throne. Like showing just how well he can act and communicate humanity and grace (even as a hired hand) without even an expression under the hood like Casey Affleck under a 'Ghost Story' sheet. Or just how well (or not so well) someone would operate and move under these robotic conditions like an underrated Arnold Schwarzenegger showing us the machine head of 'The Terminator'. Or like Morgan Freeman said in 'The Dark Knight' whilst measuring Christian Bale's body changing Bruce Wayne for a new suit, "you'd like to be able to turn your head". Hey, it makes making your way round the galaxy in a Razor Crest easier...backing out of the docking bay. Still his heart and the heart of the series belongs with The Kid. For all the cast of characters and cameos, from X-Wing pilots (sorry not Oscar Isaac) to a 'Haywire', ultimate fighting, fast and furious Gina Carano bringing out the big guns as Cara Dune who deserves her own ser...wait. All leading to the Solo like showdown with Paul Bettany's visionary dark character that we see with Giancarlo Esposito's lord breaking bad with a real dark, illuminating sword, now he's not sitting on his ass like Thanos for the best part of two seasons. It's all to play for in 'Ant-Man' director Peyton Reed's beautiful and classic conclusion. For all these amazing appearances that click like Josh Brolin, but we still won't spoil and vocal callbacks, it's Baby Yoda who steals our heart. Beating 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' nipper Baby Groot in the cute stakes and defying the CGI laws with the gravity of his animatronics thanks to German composing legend Werner Herzog telling the cast and crew to compose themselves and not be cowards when it comes to prop craftmanship versus computer generated imagery. Baby Yoda is so much about Mando and what this show is about he deserves to be in the title ('The Mandalorian and The Kid' anyone for a real sounding Western?). Or at least his own Disney + kids show. Educational, wisdom and fun that would be. Give him the ball like the joystick as we unscrew the cap on this one, because he really is the most adorable, amazing force. But lets stop gushing, for all the Star Wars shows that are coming out that wouldn't even be let out of the gates without this one. 'The Mandalorian' spin-offs ('Ahsoka' and those 'Rangers Of The New Republic' (wait until you see their way)), the animated 'Bad Batch' for your Clone Wars. Diego Luna reprising his 'Rogue One' role for 'Andor'. The 'High Republic'. Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor taking the high ground and reuniting for 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'. Your favourite 'Droid Story' (sorry BB-8). Of course 'Lando' and the 'Visions' of some amazing anime. Not to mention a 'Rogue Squadron' movie from 'Wonder Woman: 1984' director Patty Jenkins and something we can't wait for from 'Thor: Ragnarok' redux and first season finale director Taika Waititi and more. And we've not even got into Disney brother franchise Marvel's 'WandaVision', 'Loki', 'Hawkeye', 'Ironheart', 'Moon Knight', 'She-Hulk', 'Ms. Marvel', 'Secret Invasion', 'Armor Wars', or what could come with 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'. 'What If'. This is the one. This is the way Star Wars fans always wanted it to be. For Jeremy. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Star Trek-Discovery', 'Solo: A Star Wars Story', 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'.