No Spoiler Recap – The Mandalorian Season 2 Chapter 10
The next entry in the adventures of the Mandalorian is here with Chapter 10: The Passenger. And this one, as titled, is introducing us to a new character. I was curious as to what this “passenger” would deliver, and sadly this addition to the series didn’t grab me much. This character from the conceptual design felt visually awkward. The mission involving this new passenger to Mando’s ship was on the formulaic side as well, and I was hoping for something fresher and more exciting.
This wasn’t a bad episode. But it did feel slightly like filler. However, at the same time this new passenger, its mission, and what it could lead to, may possibly be the beginning of the season’s story-arc. Although, for how this character appealed to me, personally I would hope for the one-and-done adventure treatment with this entire angle. The run-time on this chapter is again fit into a shorter structure unlike the season two premiere. It gives Mando another mission that will threaten his ship, his own safely, as well as his protection of the Child. So, there are moments of fun suspense.
Although this also leads to another issue I had with this episode. To keep with my promise of no spoilers, I would generally say that this episode’s mission and its importance were routinely undercut by oddly framed comedic attempts for the Child. It sort of made the seriousness of it all hard to connect with. It hindered the overall impact of the mission as well. Which for myself as the viewer, resulted in a feeling of not really caring about what would happen with mission. This compounded with a lack of concern for their success created a disconnect for me. Since you can already assume this early in the season that they would succeed. So, the entire mission for my preference, felt a little on the bland side.
I also was hoping to see some familiar faces. In my opinion, the episode count is short at just eight. The general run-times of the episodes are short as well. And for being two chapters into this second season, the story feels like it’s taking its time to get going, when time isn’t much of a luxury. Unless future episodes can hover closer to the one-hour mark.
The climax of this chapter was fine. It did feel like stuff we’ve seen before. It still landed with some unnerving intensity which was fun while watching. But it also felt a little too similar in scope to what the finale of the last episode gave us. Visually it was crisp. The conceptual design was cool. It certainly was a frenetic sequence. But again, modestly undercut by the familiarity of it all. In the end, this was a fine chapter in the beginnings of this season, but I hoped for more.
