In Review: Star Wars: The Mandalorian – Chapter Two – The Child

Synopsis: Target in-hand, the Mandalorian must now contend with scavengers.

Review: This is yet another solid episode, which not only gives us more of the baby that The Mandalorian is watching but also answers a few questions and fan theories in the process.

The Story

With his Bounty in hand, which happens to be a 50-year-old child from the same alien race as Yoda, The Mandalorian is forced to deal not only with some scavengers but also Jawa’s who decide to stip the bounty hunters ship for parts. In order to get off the planet. The Mandalorian is forced to engage in trade with the Jawa’s and manages to do so with some help from his newfound friend Kuiil. The trade is not as straightforward as it would seem because our Mandalorian friend has to battle against some of the planet’s alien wildlife in order to obtain an egg. He near enough gets himself beaten to a pulp in the process and is only able to defeat the creature with some help from the Yoda like alien who happens to be a force sensitive.

The Acting

Nick Nolte puts in a solid performance as Kuiil and hits all the beats with relatively little effort. The onscreen chemistry between Kuiil and The Mandalorian works well which is as much down to the writing than it is the performances. I loved the closing couple of scenes where Kuiil helps our bounty hunter put his ship back together and Kuiil’s parting words about having worked all his life to free himself from servitude, which would suggest that he may once have been enslaved in some mines by the Empire during their reign.

Once again Pedro Pascal channels his best Clint Eastwood impression as he has very sparse dialogue. What little is said is important. This is not a character that is known for small talk. But it is what is unsaid between The Mandalorian and the baby Yoda alien that will have many fans speculating.

Overall

Another solid episode, which has quite a bit for Star Wars fans to pick over and why not.

Some of the questions that may come to mind are whether the Yoda Alien is a relation to Yoda or perhaps a clone. Might he be one of the force-sensitive children that are referenced in the recently released video game ‘Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order’, which takes place years before this series is set. Or might it be something else entirely? All we do know is that The Mandalorian’s client is keen to get hold of the Yoda Alien, and even has a Doctor that is a professional cloner on standby. So it is going to be interesting to see how this show moves forward in the weeks ahead.