This Is The Way: 5 Things The Mandalorian Season 2 Should Explore

If you were in any way on the internet last year, chances are you probably know a little bit familiar with The Mandalorian. Sweeping the pop culture osmosis like a storm, it’s probably best known right now as the one thing Star Wars fans can agree on is good, as well the main thing contributing to the rise of Disney+ when it first launched. And now that Season 2 is on it’s way and still set for an October release, all eyes are on what it is gonna be about.

Of course, plot points are under wraps right now, but what we do know is that series will have fan favourite characters like Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano making appearances, as well as directors like Peyton Reed (Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Alita: Battle Angel) lined up to do episodes.

So, what better than to do some speculation of our own? This is just a little taste on what we feel The Mandalorian should explore in it’s upcoming second season, as well ways they could go about doing it.

Spoilers for Season 1 of The Mandalorian and all of Star Wars Rebels ahead.

1. Explore The Mando’s Backstory (But Only Just a Little Bit)

One of the major reasons the first season of The Mandalorian worked so well was the portrayal of the titular Mando himself, later revealed to be called Din Djarin at the very end of the season by Moff Gideon. With a concept like “The Man With No Name but Star Wars”, what made him interesting at first was his mystery. Similar to characters like Boba Fett or Captain Phasma, the less we know about him the more fascinated we are with him, and unlike those characters we spend a lot of time with him, which means our fascination grows deeper.

Well, at least it was that way. The show later pulls the rug out from under us at the end of the season, not only giving us a view of his actual backstory, but also revealing that he knows Moff Gideon and has personal connections to him. Because of this, the show is now preparing itself to explore more of his past as well as his relationship to the other Mandalorians, the Great Purge, and his place in all of it.

Still, revealing too much is a problem. It needs to be a small amount, tidbits almost. The less we know the better it is for us, as we wanna keep the Western hero vibe and mystique a thing. Speaking of which…

2. Explain What The Great Purge Even Was

If there was any one problem with the first season, it’s that the titular backstory of the Mandalorians, The Great Purge, was poorly defined. It was an obvious setup for later seasons to explore, but it’s vagueness and overall lack of clarity meant the reveal that Gideon was part of it felt hollow and almost like an afterthought.

That being said, it now open for exploration in future seasons, and I suspect with the announcement that Katee Sackhoff will be reprising her animated role as Bo-Katan Kryze, we are gonna see that come to pass and we’ll finally find out not only what the Great Purge was, but when it was - it is referring to the events during the Siege of Mandalore? Or it is sometime after their act of rebellion during Season 4 of Rebels?

My guess is that it’s somewhere after Rebels, though when I’m unsure. The big question is, if it did happen after Rebels, why Sabine Wren, who was revealed to have been hiding on Lothal for four years so she could look after it, didn’t go to help. That isn’t to say she didn’t, but the fact that she wasn’t involved in the clan makes things rather unclear and in desperate need of explanation.

3. Keep The Legacy Characters to a Minimum

With the numerous announcements on new appearances from fan favourites characters like Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan, and Boba Fett, along with rumors about Sabine and Rex as well, it’s easy to forget that The Mandalorian is about, well, the Mandalorian himself. Sure, having Bo-Katan in the series makes a ton of sense, and to an extent so does Sabine and Fett, but Ahsoka? Rex? Surely they must be for small appearances right?

Well, let’s hope so. I’m gonna be honest here, the idea of The Mandalorian suddenly becoming a showcase for a bunch of legacy characters to suddenly hijack the show doesn’t sound appealing to me. Rebels narrowly avoided this by actively placing itself as a stealth sequel to The Clone Wars, but with The Mandalorian that’s not gonna be possible.

As such, I propose that all the legacy characters be kept to a minimum here, which it does seem to be the case. Rumors are abound about a possible animated sequel to Rebels, and that Ahsoka’s, and likewise Sabine and Rex’s, appearance here is likely simply a backdoor pilot for that series. If so, it’ll keep the focus on the Mando and simply just be another adventure that happens on his travels, which could really work.

As for Boba Fett, it’s all but confirmed that the character walking to Fennic Shand’s body at the end of Chapter 5 is him. And with Ming Na-Wen confirmed to be returning, it’s likely Fett’s role will be a bigger one, which could risk overshadowing the lead as Fett has ravenous fans.

4. Moff Gideon and The Darksaber

The final moments of the first season were a massive reveal that shook the entire show to it’s core - that Moff Gideon possessed the Darksaber, the ancient Mandalorian relic that once belonged to the first Mandalorian Jedi in the days of the Old Republic. It was a fantastic moment, and remains one of the signature scenes from the first season of the show.

And while we can speculate all about what this means for Mandalore, or how he got it in the first place, I’m honestly more interested in just seeing more of it. The Darksaber is just a cool looking weapon, especially in live action, and I feel they should capitalize on its appearance.

This goes for Moff Gideon as well. Despite barely appearing in the first season, Giancarlo Esposito’s performance was excellent and had hints of a great villain hiding underneath the surface. As such, seeing more of him would do a massive boost to the show as a whole, and seeing his dynamic with the rest of the cast, particularly Mando himself, is essential to creating a fantastic antagonist.

5. Give Mando A Crew (For The Child, Mostly)

Look, we all love Baby Yoda. I love him too, and I wanna see more of him in Season 2 just like everybody else, but one of the best things about the show is how The Child is able to bring everybody together. Seeing the brief crew at the end of the first season was fantastic, and their camaraderie was witty, entertaining, and well worth the wait.

So give us more of that! Having Mando leave with only Baby Yoda was a bit of a shame, particularly since both Greef Karga and Cara Dune are great characters and deserve more screentime together. Even Cara’s brief interactions with The Child were great, and showcased a sort of “family” dynamic that brought to mind the best of Rebels.

So, bring Greef and Cara back and place them with Mando. Wanna get even more crazy? Maybe bring in the widow from Chapter 4 back - her dynamic with the Mando was fantastic and easily a highlight of the first season, and while she appeared to be a one-off I think it would be cool to see how a relationship like that would progress.

What do you guys think? Anything in particular you wanna see in The Mandalorian Season 2? Let us know in the comments below!

The Mandalorian Season 2 is currently set for release in October 2020.