By Michael Pearson, Multimedia Editor
(WARNING THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT SEASONS 1 AND 2 OF THE MANDALORIAN)
Christmas time is here, and with it comes season two of the hit Disney Plus series “The Mandalorian .”
The show garnered a large following last year with its debut on the then-new streaming platform Disney Plus, capturing the attention of casual viewers and Star Wars fans alike.
The last season of the show introduced us to our main characters: a Mandalorian bounty hunter by the name of Din Djarin commonly referred to as Mando. He is accompanied by his adorable little companion he simply refers to as “The Child,” dubbed by pop culture as “Baby Yoda.”
For most, Baby Yoda’s appearance was seen as an adorable nod to the original trilogy, but for more in-depth fans, this was a reveal that the Jedi master Yoda was in fact not the only remaining member of his species.
The show followed its theme of exposing key Star Wars lore with the first episode of this season, revealing that the character, Boba Fett, survived after falling into a Sarlacc Pit during “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.”
To the average viewer, these may not seem very important, but to a super fan, these are huge pieces of evidence we have been seeking for years.
Star Wars is no stranger to adding intense storytelling and lore into one of its spin-off series, either.
Back in 2008, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” hit the scene with an initial theatrical release, followed by a seven-season show. This show has over time become one of the most beloved Star Wars series ever made, with average viewers and super fans alike engulfed by both the intense storytelling and expansion of Star Wars lore.
If those characteristics sound familiar, that’s because it’s the same factors we are currently seeing with “The Mandalorian” and its fanbase.
As we find out in episode two of season two, those common connections and themes were no coincidence, and that “The Mandalorian” is actually a continuation of the “Clone Wars” series.
This reveal is huge to “Clone Wars” fans, who left the series with several unanswered questions that will now hopefully be answered.
Now, of course, Disney knows that the success of the “Clone Wars” mixed with the equal success of “The Mandalorian” is going to help the company greatly financially, but for once that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“The Mandalorian” has been a great show without the help of another amazing series, and with the combination of the two along with an impressive resume of directors and writers, “The Mandalorian” is shaping up to be even more groundbreaking than before.
Many fans, including myself, were concerned when Disney bought the Star Wars franchise back in 2012, worried that the large brand infamous for putting quantity over quality would ruin the cinematic universe of Star Wars.
Even with the high volume of fans who are still very anti-Disney, I think it’s safe to say that the Star Wars universe will continue to live up to its name, and possibly even improve.
Now, what does this crossover mean for the quality of the show? There are reasons to be optimistic.
The creator of “The Clone Wars,” Dave Filoni, is a high-ranking producer for “The Mandalorian” and is heavily involved in its storytelling. This alone tells us people who love and care about the Star Wars universe are working to make this show for the fans.
With all this in mind, however, it is still a possibility that this merge could seriously harm the series as we know it, or evolve it into something greater than we have ever imagined. We simply just don’t know.
Regardless of how “The Mandalorian” plays out, I think it’s safe to say that season two has shown us just what Disney is capable of, and hopefully what we should expect to see in the future.
Junior Michael Pearson can be reached at 22pearsonmi74@daretolearn.org.
