So, what exactly is The Mandalorian about? When you really think about it, there are two halves of this show: There is the “Saturday Morning Cartoon” half following the weekly adventures of some troubled bounty hunter, and then there is the plot-heavy half following a man who protects a lovable creature from the thousands of people trying to kill him. Season one was able to find a near-perfect split between the two parts of this show — episodes like “The Child,” “The Sin,” and the excellent “Redemption” all focused on the Mando and Baby Yoda storyline, but there was still time for fun detours like “Sanctuary” and “The Prisoner.” Unfortunately, I do not think season two of The Mandalorian  has found this nice balance yet.

I still certainly enjoy watching this show. However frequently I complained about Chapters Nine and Ten, I still liked them, and I think this week’s episode “The Heiress” was actually great. Still, everything so far seems stuck in some weird limbo between “Mando/Baby Yoda” episodes and side adventures. In season one, the show took a couple episodes to establish who Mando was, what his goals were, and why he cared so much about Baby Yoda. After setting up this season-long arc, the side adventures did not feel like a waste of time; it was a natural progression of the story to show just exactly what Mando and this unknown creature were doing, as they romped around the galaxy. But, in season two there were no establishing episodes. The entire plot of this season was introduced in one line of dialogue in last season’s finale and was barely touched upon in the premiere. By starting out with the side adventures, viewers lose the connective tissue of The Mandalorian. So far, everything just feels like random stories that are based around Mando trying to find more of his kind. Thankfully, this does not take too much away from “The Heiress,” which fares a lot better than the previous two installments. There are certainly still problems, but the story, action set pieces, and endings are all much more thought-out, and, therefore, more enjoyable.

Disney picks things up around where “The Passenger” left off. Mando and his frog-like companion are still flying around in their beaten-up ship, but they have now finally arrived at their destination planet. After a rough landing, Mando stops at a nearby bar, where he tries to get some information on other Mandalorians. It is here I am going to pause for a moment to talk about the design of this new planet: It is awesome. This is a water planet, and it’s designed so that everything is truly clear; every building, street, and alien in sight just feels aged and moist. The new creatures are also incredible. The red, squid-faced pirates that Mando interacts with are fascinating, and they remind me of a mix between Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Squidward. All these new characters and setting certainly add to a feeling of excitement and intrigue that runs throughout “The Heiress.”

Eventually, Mando is able to locate three other Mandalorians that come to his rescue after a particularly inspired brawl. The leader of the troop is a woman named Bo-Katan, who I am 95% positive is from the animated show The Clone Wars. She is trying to steal weapons from an Imperial ship in the nearby port, with the hopes of taking back her home planet of Mandalore from The Empire. Yet another deal is then struck with Mando: If he helps them steal the weapons, they will lead him to the Jedi, where he was tasked with delivering Baby Yoda. 

Much of the episode thereafter focuses on the takeover of this imperial ship, and it is all highly enjoyable. Some of the quick scene cuts made the action hard to follow, but it was not too big of an issue, at least for me. My favorite part of the episode may have been its portrayal of The Empire. While season one quickly made it clear that the Empire was still around, “The Heiress” shows that Disney means business. The final showdown in the ship’s cockpit was thrilling and full of unexpected twists and turns, including a surprise FaceTime from the Moff Gideon himself. When the fighting is finished, Mando and Bo-Katan part ways; she leaves him with a new directive– locate Ahsoka Tano on the forest planet of Corvus. Ahsoka was, of course, one of the main characters of The Clone Wars, so this was a startling revelation. After this huge cliffhanger is dropped, “The Heiress” wraps things up with Mando flying off to his next adventure. I am not sure if The Mandalorian has potential to hit the heights of season one, but “The Heiress” makes me much more hopeful for installments to come, especially since it looks like episode four will, finally, propel the plot of this season forward.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Final Grade: 4 out of 5 Stars

OTHER NOTES

• I noticed that this episode is the second of the series to be directed by Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World, Black Mirror). Her first episode, “Sanctuary,” was my favorite of the first season, so it is nice that she will be sticking around.
• It was fun to see some Mon Calamari again, but sadly there were no references to Admiral Ackbar.
• While Bo-Katan was an excellent addition to the cast, it would have been nice if the two other Mandalorians aiding her had any personality whatsoever. I believe one did not say a single word the entire length of the episode.
• Baby Yoda eating his bowl of porridge was easily his cutest moment so far this season. I mean, it was not the soup-drinking level of cuteness, but it was close.
• Finding out that Mando may be part of an extremist branch of Mandalorians was a huge plot twist, and I hope we get more information about this soon.