Skip to main content

SPOILER REVIEW: Season 2 Chapter 10 - The Mandalorian - The Passenger


The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 10 Review

I'M WARNING YOU RIGHT NOW, SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON 2 PREMIER OF THE MANDALORIAN ARE BELOW. I SHIELD YOU FROM NOTHING! 

OK, YOU'RE WARNED!

IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE EPISODE YET, STOP HERE, GO WATCH IT AND COME BACK FOR MY REVIEW.

WE GOOD?

OK, those are the formalities officially out of the way. Each week, I'll be posting a quick recap/review of each new episode of The Mandalorian. I'll give a basic play-by-play with some thoughts and speculation about how each episode could figure into the larger picture of this season, and Star Wars as a whole.

So let's get after it.

SEASON 2: CHAPTER 10: "THE PASSENGER" 
EPISODE PREMIERS ON NOVEMBER 6, 2020
DIRECTOR: PEYTON REED 
EPISODE LENGTH: 43 MINUTES

OVERVIEW:
This was a very different episode from last week's season premier. Peyton Reed of Ant Man fame made his Mandalorian directorial debut, and he infused this episode with his exact type of wry humor while mixing in elements of horror. It was a real mixed bag of cinematic styles and genres all blended together in this season's second episode.
We open around where the first episode left off, on Tatooine, as Din Djarin is wrapping up his job of securing Boba Fett's armor and continuing his search for fellow Mandalorians. He returns to the hangar where the Razor Crest is waiting. He discovers mechanic Peli Motto engaged in a game of sabacc with a human-sized ant, no doubt a nod to Reed's previous work for Disney. 

After winning her card game, Motto points Djarin to a guide that can lead him to those he's looking for. The elegantly named Frog Lady, who is carrying eggs that represent the last of her kind. Djarin reluctantly agrees to fly Frog Lady to a planet where her husband is, the same husband who can identify the whereabouts of other Mandalorians.

The trip is far from smooth, of course. There's a language barrier between the two, and there's The Child's apparent unending hunger for any kind of food. The Child is seen sneak-eating a couple of Frog Lady's eggs in some humorous scenes. Hey, everyone needs the protein, right?

The Razor Crest is then apprehended by a pair of X-Wing fighters, one of them piloted by Dave Filoni, who made a cameo appearance in Season 1, Chapter 5. They harass Djarin over technicalities until Djarin decides to make a run for it. He is chased into a canyon on a snowy planet, where he has to engineer a controlled crash to get out of sight of the fighters. But his troubles have just begun.

The Razor Crest crashes through thin ice, causing considerable damage to the hull. As he's working on his repairs, he discovers Frog Lady has left the crash site. An exasperated Djarin sets off to locate Frog Lady, who he discovers is swimming in a grotto.
The Child, still hungry apparently, notices eggs growing out of the snowy ground. He investigates, and in a tension-filled scene, opens one up and appears to eat a spider-like creature. But that quick snack is a prelude to another disaster for our heroes.

The ground starts to rumble, and dozens of eggs start to hatch, spawning creatures known as the Krykna, the white spider-like creatures seen in a handful of episodes of Star Wars: Rebels. These creatures were inspired by Ralph McQuarrie concept paining of similar beings inhabiting Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back. The Krykna quickly hatch, and larger Krykna, including apparently, a queen Krykna that's the size of a small fighter, start chasing our heroes through the ice tunnels.

Here, we get the horror movie element of this episode, as Djarin, The Child and Frog Lady desperately evade the hoarde of Krykna chasing them. The finally find refuge in the Razor Crest, and thanks to a late assist from the X-Wing pilots Carson and Wolf (Filoni), escape the ice gorge and return to space.
The Child takes much more center stage in this episode. In last week's debut, he didn't really do very much, and was there for quick cut-aways more than anything else. He was a much more active participant in this week's episode, providing his quiet, quirky humor while also moving the plot along with the Krykna egg. 

I wondered, coming into this second season, how big of a presence The Child would be. He was clearly a sensation throughout the first season and has been a merchandising juggernaut in the summer and fall. Would his presence be increased or will the less-is-more approach be taken? I feel in these two episodes, he's had a nice balance between a smaller presence in the first episode to a larger one in this one. 

I feel this was more of a transitional episode. The mission on which Djarin started out on in the beginning of this episode was not resolved. It appears it will be more closely connected to next week's third episode than this was to last week's premier.

Brad Monastiere
I live in Michigan and worked in athletics. Been an unconditional fan of Star Wars and Indiana Jones for decades. Follow me on twitter @bmonastiere


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Did Paul Freeman Accidentally Eat A Fly In Raiders of the Lost Ark?

The Famous Indiana Jones Fly In Belloq's Mouth Scene.  Did It Really Happen? I've always wondered if Paul Freeman unintentionally consumed a fly in this scene in  Raiders of the Lost Ark ?  It's the scene where Indiana Jones shouts down to Bellosh...I mean Belloq and threatens to blow up the ark.  Did a fly go in his mouth? I remember watching this scene back in the early eighties and my ten year old mind thought he definitely had a snack while filming.  I recall talking about 'flygate' in my school playground at the time and the general consensus with my friends was that Freeman definitely had a sneaky snack. Paul Freeman talks about the famous 'fly' scene in an interview with TheIndyExperience.com  and settled 'flygate:' This is a bit of a dicey question so don’t get too upset. (Laughs) A movie’s always got bloopers in it, some have a lot, and some only have three or four. And the most remarkable blooper was right before the opening of th

Star Wars VII Movie Poster - Every End Is A New Beginning

Star Wars VII Movie Poster Just saw this Star Wars VII movie poster on Kyle Newman's Facebook fee d.  The poster is by  Lyndon Berresford and Paul Bateman.  I am loving this.  Who do you think the two characters are?  Lando and Leia?  Han and Leia's children? Have you seen other Star Wars VII movie posters?  Let me know. Rob Wainfur @welshslider

Explaining That "Weird" Cut In Poltergeist. Read The Missing Scene

Why Is There A Strange Cut In The 1982 Horror Classic, Poltergeist? If you're a fan of the 1982 Horror classic, Poltergeist then you will be very familiar with that "weird" cut in the movie.  It's 32 minutes and 47 seconds in to the movie and the scene is where Diane is explaining the strange phenomenon that is happening in the kitchen.  First, she shows to Steve a chair scraping across the floor all on its own then she does the same with Carol Anne.  Steve leans up against the kitchen wall and is completely shocked at what just happened.  It's at this point Diane starts to explain the sensation of being pulled and then...A very abrupt cut.  One moment we are listening to Diane and suddenly it cuts to Diane and Steve at their next door neighbours door.  Why the sudden cut?  It's on the VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray and even the streaming versions.  Why does this awful and weird cut exist in the movie, Poltergeist?  Watch the clip below to see the cut: Well, the ans