RECAP:  Mandalorian Season 2 Chapter 9 - The Marshal

Spoiler Free Review:

Season 2 starts off with the show leading with its a-game in terms of the behind-the-camera talent. The episode is both written and directed by The Man (the title which Jon Favreau assumed upon the passing of Stan Lee). Star Wars is in no better hands than Mr. Favreau's for a very simple reason.

There are two types of creative people with respect to managing an existing IP. There are those that know that the IP works, and those that know why the IP works. The former may be technically brilliant, and massively skilled, but their contributions to that property tend to be copies. These are people who can wield the axe with the technical precision of Jimi Hendrix, but they could never write Little Wing. They can only cover it. The latter are an entire next level of creative genius. It's knowing the ingredients, not just the meal. This leads to things that feel perfectly consistent with that intellectual property, while also being new and creative. This is the category which counts Jon Favreau in its ranks. He knows that, among a myriad of influences, the original Star Wars was influenced by the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone. Heck, to cut even closer to the core, Boba Fett is directly inspired by Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" antihero from the Leone "Dollars" trilogy. It's not even minimally veiled:



Drawing heavy inspiration from other sources is wrong only when you pretend you're not doing it. When you own it, as the Boba Fett designers did, there's a degree of respect. It's honoring the source, and not stealing it.

And that bring us to the long culmination of this Jon Favreau love fest. When you write an episode that features a colony that bears a striking thematic resemblance to "Deadwood Gulch in space", casting the man who played Sheriff Seth Bullock in a PG-13 Star Wars version of the same role, is a master stroke. Timmy Olyphant, as the titular "Marshal" Cobb Vanth, defends his "no man's land" settlement from corporate and existential threats. With that casting, Favreau flat out says "we're doing this," and honors all the inspirations that formed the premiere episode of Chapter 9.

This is a gritty, yet accessible, "Star Wars western" episode. For Original Trilogy fans, this is peak Star Wars. This episode is a solid A-, but it's not perfect. There's some unevenness to it. When it's not busy being terrific "in the pocket" Star Wars, it leans on some tired and too familiar plot points. This feels like the umpteenth time that the locals, the "Man with No Name" (i.e the outsiders), and unlikely allies team up against the common threat in an episodic Star Wars property. This may be because that plot easily evolves over the course of the episode. So, while I love this episode overall when it's on point, I also had a bit of a "just get on with it" feeling when the plot points started becoming too familiar.

Spoiler Filled Recap:



The episode begins on an unidentified and blighted industrial planet. The streets are strewn with Easter egg-laced graffiti while predatory glowing eyes lurk in the shadows as Mando and The Child enter an arena in search of Gor Koresh (impressively voiced by John Leguizamo). This lays out what appears to the be the overarching plot of Season 2. The Armorer has told Mando to return The Child to its kind, and that other Mandalorians can assist him. So Mando is setting out to hop from covert to covert seeking out his fellow Mandalorians (okay this is a little too convenient) until that goal is met. Gor Koresh, is the man with the information since he's tracking Mandalorians to satisfy his Beskar fetish. After some "aggressive negotiations", Mando learns that his path inexplicably leads back to Tatooine, the one place he's sure there are no Mandalorians.



Nevertheless, in the universe where everyone goes to Tatooine, Mando goes to Tatooine. He once again lands at Hangar 3-5 and we are greeted by familiar face Peli Motto, the mechanic played by Amy Sedaris. Only this time, Mando allows the pit droids to do terrible slapstick repairs to the Razor Crest. There's a reason that Mando thinks that there are no Mandalorians on Tatooine. Motto informs him that the one report of someone wearing Mandalorian amor is in the largely uncharted settlement of Mos Pelgo. Apparently this wasn't newsworthy last year when Mando showed up. This is a little hard to believe. It's like people who like According to Jim. They are so few and far between that whenever you meet one, you immediately ask them if they know the other According to Jim fan you know.



Mando sets out for Mos Pelgo, and immediately heads for the local cantina where the Weequay barkeep informs him that the person who "looks like" Din is the settlement's marshal, who enters right on cue. IT'S BOBA FE....aw, it's just Cobb Vanth, who is wearing Boba Fett's battered and faded armor. This is the Mandalorian equivalent of stolen valor, and the transgression will not stand. Mando demands the armor back and he's not afraid to skin his smoke wagon, if that's what it will take. But before either man can draw, the settlement's existential threat, a Krayt Dragon, approaches, burrowing under the sand, shaking the earth, and scaring the life out of every living creature. In Western terms this is known as the Ol' Number 6. Vanth suggests a better alternative to resolving the Boba Fett armor ownership issue. If Mando helps him dispatch the Krayt Dragon, he will peaceably hand over the ill-gotten uniform.



The pair set out to track the dragon, and as is likely to happen in the wilds of Tatooine, they encounter a band of Tusken Raiders. I love Tusken Raiders, and I pray this leads to a new TVC figure. I loved it in Season 1 when Mando communicated with the Tuskens via sign language. That continues in this episode, but it appears that Mando is using some of their bark-like phonings as well. While I LOVED every second Vanth and Mando spent encamped with the Tuskens, this is where the plot gets very predictable and familiar. The Sand People are also plagued by the dragon. Even though Raiders and Settlers are natural enemies, they will form a truce to defeat the giant sand worm. When the Tuskens draw up their sandlot “x's and o's power sweep” to take out the dragon, and it's clear they're short at least one Jerry Kramer and one Jim Ringo, Mando pledges the otherwise non-combatant settlers of Mos Pelgo to assist. Again, I feel like elements of this plot have played out several times across The Clone Wars, Rebels and even season 1 of The Mandalorian. Despite some heavy sacrifices from the "red shirts", the dragon is predictably dispatched while the principals survive. This is the only part of the otherwise brilliant episode that left me disappointed. The Marshal is some of the best Star Wars ever.



This bit of "going through the motions" is redeemed by the final cliffhanger scene. As Mando rides off with the reclaimed Boba Fett armor he is observed by a Bedouin-like character with Tusken Raider weaponry strapped across his back. He turns to reveal the battle worn face of Temuera Morrison!

Notes:

• The Gamorrean gladiators from the opening scene are female
• Peli Motto is now the custodian of R5-D4
• Via flashback, we know that the Jawas initially scavenged the Boba Fett armor
• In the same flashback, you hear Fett's ghost spurs as Vanth enters the cantina
• If you didn't LOVE seeing Vanth use the Boba Fett range finder and rocket, you're either dead inside or CJ
• The Massiffs from Episode 2 mark their return to Star Wars
• Temuera Morrison is only credited by name, and is not listed in the character credits, but IMBD lists his character as Boba Fett
• TVC Tusken Raider and Bantha NOW!

The Mandalorian is currently streaming on the Disney+ Streaming Service

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