Shirley
Da 5 Bloods
On the Record
I May Destroy You
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Short, but effective, "The Child" answers few questions, but moves the story along with a beautiful simplicity that is at once satisfying and intriguing.
"The Mandalorian" has the potential to deliver on the gritty, morally grey action its prerelease publicity machine promised. It's just a shame to see the flagship Disney+ series kill much of its momentum so early in the season.
The second episode hit Disney+... and, being a little removed from the hype of the service's launch, it functioned rather beautifully.
This episode is short, clocking it at under 30 minutes once you factor out credits and the previously-on segment. That's fine, really. It gets the job done and tells the story it needs to tell.
You can already sense that the mercenary bounty hunter's heart will be made of something softer than Beskar steel when it comes to this choice. It's impossible to tell from his facial expressions, however, because he never takes off his helmet.
This series may be The Mandalorian but as far as I'm concerned, Kuiil is the real M.V.P. of episode two, coming through in every way while the titular bounty hunter worked on his helmeted brood.
Like its Japanese equivalent, "The Child" is committed to its guardian-a commitment that introduces the Force to this corner of the galaxy.
This fairy tale of an episode brought some great storytelling together with a series of mysteries that are so compelling that I'm starting to bristle at the week-long wait for the next episode.
Much like the first episode of the show, "The Child" was deceptively simple. It's just about The Mandalorian trying to get off the planet. But in that story, Jon Favreau's script and Famuyiwa's direction pack in so much Star Wars entertainment.
It's at this point that I'll say that The Mandalorian really does feel like a live-action version of a cartoon; the silliness, the pacing, the camera shots and angles, even opting for limited dialogue to let the picture tell the story.
Ultimately, while the episode definitely has its strengths, I would prefer Star Wars err on the side of creativity. While well-crafted, "The Craft" is a bit unexciting.
While episode 2 is obviously part of a larger serialized story, it's also a neat demonstration of how the show could work just as well with self-contained storylines, showing Mando rolling into a new territory and solving a new problem every week.
'The Child' was another (mostly) impressive instalment of The Mandalorian. Rick Famuyiwa directed quite an episode that had a nice balance between its humour and seriousness.