The Mandalorian returns to Tatooine in a spectacular season two premiere. Jon Favreau pulls triple duty as showrunner, director, and writer of the episode. He delivers an action-packed, space western chock full of epic Star Wars lore. Tusken Raiders, an old ally, and a new friend help Mando (Pedro Pascal) take down a monstrous Krayt dragon. We also get a surprise cameo from a fan favorite that will have audiences cheering.
Chapter Nine, “The Marshall”, opens with Mando walking down a dark street on a dangerous looking planet. Baby Yoda floats beside him in his pram. Feral creatures with ominous red eyes lurk in the shadows. Stormtrooper graffiti lines the dingy buildings. Mando approaches a Twi-lek bouncer at a door, “I’m here to see Gor Koresh (John Leguizamo).” He walks into a cavernous room where two Gamorreans are fighting with vibro blades in a ring. Gamblers hoot and holler with glee at the savage combat.
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Mando sits beside the one-eyed Gor Koresh. He asks for the location of other Mandalorians. “It’s uncouth to talk business. Just enjoy the entertainment,” Gor Koresh replies. He wants Mando’s beskar armor as payment. Mando refuses. Gor Koresh shoots his Gamorrean fighter, and then turns his blaster on Mando. His bodyguards do the same. The gamblers race for the doors. Gor Koresh gloats, but Mando warns him, “Tell me where the Mandalorians are and I won’t kill you.”
Mando activates the Flying Sparrow darts on his wrist. Baby Yoda closes the cover for his pram. The darts whip around and kill the guards. Mando pummels the rest in hand to hand combat. Gor Koresh runs into the street. Mando snares him, then strings Koresh over a lightpole. Mando promises that he won’t die by his hand. Gor Koresh tells him, “The Mando I know of…is on Tatooine.” Mando doesn’t believe him, but Koresh swears it’s true. The Mandalorian is at a settlement called Mos Pelgo. Mando walks away, then shoots out the light. The red-eyed creatures devour the hanging Gor Koresh.
The Razor Crest soars towards Tatooine. Mando lands in Peli Motto’s (Amy Sedaris) repair bay. Droids run bumbling to the ship. Peli Motto picks up and cradles a cooing Baby Yoda. Mando asks her for the location of Mos Pelgo. She calls R-5. The droid pulls up a holo-map that shows Tatooine before the war. A section looks blank, but Peli Motto says an old mining settlement is there. Mando borrows her speeder.
Mando crosses the desert with Baby Yoda smiling in a satchel. He talks around a campfire with Tusken Raiders. Then speeds across the dunes to the shabby Mos Pelgo. Wary residents watch as he enters the cantina. Mando asks the bartender for “a man that looks like me.” The bartender replies, “You mean the marshall.” Mando turns around to see a Mandalorian at the door.
He orders two drinks, then sits down. Mando is stunned when the stranger takes off his helmet. “I’ve never met a real Mandalorian before,” he introduces himself as Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant). He got the armor from Jawas. Mando demands he take it off. The two men get ready to square off with their blasters. Then the building starts to rumble.
They go outside as an alarm blares. Everyone runs into their homes. The sand surges as a massive wave ripples through the street. A poor bantha is gobbled up by a huge Krayt dragon. Cobb Vanth offers Mando a deal. Help him kill the beast and he will give up the armor. The two men ride across the desert. Cobb Vanth’s speeder looks exactly like Sebulba’s from The Phantom Menace.
Cobb Vanth tells his story. He was in the cantina when the Death Star was destroyed. That night, the mining collective ransacked the town. He escaped and grabbed a container from their transport. It was filled with Silicax crytals. He was rescued by Jawas in the desert. He traded the crystals for a beat up suit of Mandalorian armor. Then returned to the cantina and wiped out the mining collective. He shoots their fleeing transport with the jetpack missile.
Mando leads them to the Tusken Raiders. Cobb Vanth grabs his rifle, but Mando talks to them with grunts and hand gestures. They want to kill the Krayt dragon as well. Everyone sits around a campfire. Cobb Vanth refuses a drink from the Sand People. They are insulted. Mos Pelgo stole their water. Vanth retorts they attacked the town. Mando breaks up the dispute with his flamethrower. They need to work together.
They ride single file to an old Sarlacc cave. A Tusken Raider puts out a bantha as bait. The Krayt dragon barrels out and chomps down the raider instead. Back at the camp, the Sand People have a plan to lure the beast out. Mando volunteers the Mos Pelgo residents to help.
Cobb Vanth makes his pitch to the town. They need to get rid of the dragon. He’s willing to return the armor to save Mos Pelgo. The residents refuse to work with the Sand People. Mando tells them they’ve struck a deal. The Tusken Raiders will leave their town alone. They just want the carcass of the beast.
The Tuskens enter the town on banthas. There’s a minor scuffle as they load explosives. Everyone treks through the desert, single file to the cave. The Krayt dragon sleeps. The Tuskens says the belly is the weak spot. They bury the charges at the mouth of the cave. The plan is to lure it out and blow it up from below. Cobb Vanth shares a drink with a Tusken.
Three Tuskens call out loudly at the cave entrance. The Krayt comes charging out. The Tuskens harpoon it with ropes and try to drag it. The huge monster starts to retreat back. Everyone opens fire. The Krayt raises up and spits out acidic bile. It melts a few before Mando blows the charges. It doesn’t work.
The Krayt punches through the top of the mountain, spraying bile everywhere. Mando and Cobb Vanth launch into the air. The creature pops back up from the side. Mando orders Vanth to get its attention. He grabs the detonator and asks Vanth to take care of the child. Mando leads a bantha with explosives to its mouth. They are swallowed.
Baby Yoda watches with fear. The Krayt tears out of the ground. Mando comes flying out of its mouth. He blows the charges and kills the beast. Everyone celebrates together. The Tuskens carve up the meat. They hoot as they find an egg. Mando loads a chunk of meat on the speeder. Cobb Vanth fulfills his promise and returns the armor.
The two men shake hands as friends. Mando and Baby Yoda zip across the desert. As they ride towards the setting twin suns of Tatooine. A bald man is seen looking at them ride away. He turns around to reveal a weathered, aged Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison).
I had to watch “The Marshall” twice to absorb its monumental impact. Boba Fett is indeed alive and looks to be a key player in the series. He must have escaped when the Krayt killed the Sarlacc. Seeing Temuera Morrison again was freaking awesome. Jon Favreau has given fandom what we’ve hoped for literally decades. The Mandalorian’s Chapter Ten will premiere next Friday on Disney+.
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