The Sheriff - Episode 1: review of the second season of The Mandalorian

Let's talk briefly about de The Sheriff, the first episode of the second season of The Mandalorian, the television series on Star Wars aired on Disney +.

By now, you have surely already read several reviews of the first episode of the second season of The Mandalorian, Namely The Sheriff.

Well, in this article I will not pretend to explain to you in detail all the obscure references of lore present in The Sheriff. Instead, I'd love to share mine with you impressions and some of mine reflections. As always, remember that these are my personal considerations: if you The Sheriff not liked or if liked for different reasons, there is nothing wrong with that.

I also take this opportunity to remind you that last year we wrote a series of lore insights on the entire first season of The Mandalorian! You can find these articles in the following links: 1 × 01, 1 × 02, 1 × 03, 1 × 04, 1 × 05, 1 × 06, 1 × 07 e 1 × 08. THU instead you can find the review of the first season.

ATTENTION: this article contains SPOILERS!

Short synopsis de The Sheriff

The second season of The Mandalorian opens with This Djarin and Male child (Mando and Baby Yoda, for friends) looking for other groups of Mandalorians who can help them find other Force-sensitive people, so that Baby Yoda can be raised, if not by members of his own species, at least by people with his own powers.

After a fight in a clandestine gambling den dedicated to the fights to the death between Gamorreani, Mando manages to wrest the position of another Mandalorian from the criminal Gore Keresh. Following the Keresh trail, Mando and Yodino travel to Tatooine, who among its deserts manages to hide dragons, criminals, marauders, smugglers, lords of the underworld, Jedi Masters, the son of the most dangerous man in the Galaxy, and now also a mysterious unnamed Mandalorian. Which we obviously guess to be Boba Fett.

What happens to Tatooine

Thus, Mando and Baby Yoda arrive in the remote village of Mos Pelgo, where they meet a man in Mandalorian armor (and yes, of course it's Boba's armor!), The village sheriff. However, the sheriff is quickly revealed not to be a true Mandalorian, but a human by name Cobb vanth, who bought armor from the Jawas to protect Mos Pelgo from the Mining Collective. However, since their armor is sacred to Mandalorians, our Mando is understandably unhappy to see such armor worn by a non-Mandalorian like Cobb Vanth. However, there is no time to quarrel - a huge one Krayt dragon threatens Mos Pelgo. Thus, Cobb Vanth manages to wrest a deal from Mando: his own armor in exchange for the help of the bounty hunter to kill the dragon.

Mando, Cobb, and Yodino then come across Krayt while searching for the dragon Sandpods, discovering that the latter also want to kill the dragon, as it has changed its eating habits and now hunts them too. Thus, Mando is able to convince the Sand People to help them, provided that Cobb convinces the inhabitants of Mos Pelgo to join forces with the Sand People to set a trap for the dragon. The tension between the two peoples is obviously very high, but in the end the alliance manages to kill the dragon Krayt thanks to the collaboration and, above all, thanks to the promptness of Mando.

Positive elements de The Sheriff

Before leaving, let's clarify a fundamental element. Personally, I really appreciate it The Mandalorian because he takes the time to dwell on the small matters of the life of the inhabitants of the distant distant Galaxy.

In fact, while I understand and respect the critics who complain that the plot of the series tends to stagnate and move forward too slowly, I like this relaxed pace. The Mandalorian, for me, it's a bit like a documentary about the galaxy far, far away, where I can enjoy exploring the daily life of its inhabitants and their problems.

So for me it's not a problem if any The Sheriff we didn't see Mando find Boba Fett right away. After all, I have been able to enjoy many little things in the universe of Star Wars. And, at this moment in my life, that's okay with me. Let's see what are, therefore, the strengths and the weak links of The Sheriff.

Attention to detail of the setting

Personally, I really appreciated the care with which each scenario de The Sheriff was set up and the way in which references to the rest of the franchise were handled.

First, I absolutely loved the graffiti which appear in the very first scenes of the episode, in which the Stormtrooper helmets (generally disfigured by Xs), a C-3PO-like droid and some symbols of the Rebellion stand out. These are, in fact, examples of the reaction of ordinary people to the great changes that occurred in the Galaxy in previous years, and that we have always seen from the perspective of the protagonists.

Also, I really appreciated the way in which, in the scenes set in the underground gambling den, they were shot aliens from most of the other films of the franchise, from the Zabrak of the Prequels to the Gamorreans of the original trilogy, up to other unnamed aliens who appeared in solo e Rogue One to the Kyuzo seen there The last Jedi. This range of extras, in fact, not only contributes to giving a great sense of continuity to The Mandalorian compared to the other products in the franchise, but it helps to understand how vast and varied the galaxy actually is Star Wars, of which we have (officially) seen only a very small part.

I cannot fail to mention the Krayt dragon, whose design makes it look like a beautiful and serpentine Bulette: a real snake with a shark's head. Refreshed by this original appearance, the Krayt dragon is, in addition to a central element in the plot of the The Sheriff, also a beautiful reference to all the works of the expanded universe of Star Wars in which this beast had relevance. Personally, I can't help but think back to the Krayt dragon featured in Knights of the Old Republic, which must be killed by the protagonist of the videogame in a plot rather similar to that of The Sheriff, in order to earn, among other things, a Krayt dragon pearl.

The approach to the Sandpods

Finally, I also really appreciated the way in which it was chosen to represent the Sandpods. Where in A new hope e Attack of the clones these desert raiders are represented as practically one-dimensional bloodthirsty savages, in The Sheriff they are dashed as a more complex population and not inherently predisposed to murder. In that sense, it certainly helps that The Mandalorian has as a point of view that of Mando, who can afford to be civil with the Sandpods because he does not suffer from their raids, unlike the inhabitants of Mos Pelgo, Anakin and Luke Skywalker.

Furthermore, we can reflect on the fact that, in the end, the Mandalorians and the Sand People have much in common, especially for how the Mandalorian culture evolved in the time of Din Djarin. In fact, both are (or have been) seen as marauders and raiders by other peoples close to them, both have distinctive clothing that they never take off, and both have their own cultures that they jealously guard.

That said, it is very interesting to see the more "human" aspects of the Sandpods represented on screen. Obviously, The Sheriff it is not the only story in which the Sandpods are explored. In fact, in the old expanded universe, the culture of the Sandpods was deepened in the comics that featured the Jedi. A'Sharad Hett, who lived among the Sandpods after Order 66, before succumbing to the dark side and becoming the Sith Lord Darth Krayt.

Negative elements de The Sheriff

To be honest, while watching de The Sheriff I have not found elements that made me turn up my nose. I enjoyed myself enormously.

Going back to the episode, however, I find that it was a bit lacking in relation to the Male child. In fact, in The Sheriff Baby Yoda has no relevance to the plot, other than as an implicit plot engine (we're doing all of this to help him). During the conflict with the dragon, in fact, Baby Yoda has only one task: to be framed in some scenes so as to enhance its pucciosity. Obviously Baby Yoda is extremely successful in being puccioso, let's be clear! However, I hope that in the next few episodes our little green baby can play a bigger role.

Conclusions

The first episode of the second season of The Mandalorian is, in my opinion, an excellent business card.

Although, in fact, it does not clearly contribute to keep the plot going, it is still well structured, with a simple, but interesting plot, and a great ability to combine different material from all sources of Star Wars, canonical or not. The focus on the lives of people on the fringes of society is maintained Star Wars, which allows The Mandalorian to have a fresh point of view, even on places and issues we already know.

Personally, I really appreciated it and convinced me to dedicate the time to a little review. Let's hope the next few episodes continue to be interesting enough to motivate me to keep this weekly appointment!