WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Season 2 premiere of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, "Chapter 9: The Marshal," streaming now on Disney+.
Disney+'s flagship original series The Mandalorian is back for its second season, premiere, "Chapter 9: The Marshal," wastes no time in bringing its eponymous gunslinger back to the Outer Rim. And as the stoic bounty hunter and the powerful child in his care embark on their next adventure, The Mandalorian quickly weaves in familiar faces and settings while teasing intriguing new directions for the season.
Tasked by the Armorer in the Season 1 finale to locate and reunite the Child with its people, Din Djarin/The Mandalorian is a man on a mission in Season 2. To aid in this quest, the gunslinger searches for another Mandalorian who might be able to provide more information. However, Mandalorians are an increasingly rare sight after Din Djarin's enclave was targeted by Moff Gideon's forces, driving them further into hiding. Meeting with a duplicitous crime lord on a seedy backwater planet, the Mandalorian is betrayed and nearly killed for his valuable Beskar armor before wrecking bloody retribution and his betrayers. Din then learns from the crime lord that a Mandalorian was spotted on Tatooine.
Din and the Child return to the iconic Star Wars locale where they reunite with Peli Motto. As Peli's droids tend to the Razor Crest, the Mandalorian learns his counterpart has been sighted at the remote town of Mos Pelgo. Din heads to the town and goes to the local bar. However, as the Mandalorian asks the local bartender for more information, a figure wearing Boba Fett's iconic armor enters. Instead of the infamous bounty hunter, though, the figure unmasks and reveals himself as Cobb Vanth.
Cobb explains that on the night the town celebrated the destruction of the second Death Star and fall of the Galactic Empire, slavers moved into the mining town and quickly seized control. Cobb fled into the desert where he was eventually rescued by Jawas, who had at some point obtained Boba Fett's armor. Cobb bartered for Fett's armor and then used it to help drive out the slavers. Since then, he's served as Mos Pelgo's armored peacekeeper.
While Din's code would have him kill Cobb and recover the absconded armor, the town marshal has no intent to go down quietly. As the two men prepare for a gunfight, though, they're interrupted by the arrival of a monstrous krayt dragon. The beast burrows underground like a Dune sandworm and emerges only to devour prey. The two gunslingers agree to set aside their differences to put down the dragon, with Cobb pledging to give Din the armor for his help. Along the way, the duo meet up with Tusken Raiders that are also hunting the krayt dragon, as it has been preying on their bantha and people. And as Din communicates with the Tuskens and spends the night at their encampment with Cobb, their conversation reveals a grudge between the Sand People and the townsfolk of Mos Pelgo.
The Sand People accuse Mos Pelgo of stealing their water and Cobb of killing many of their people. Cobb counters that he has had to defend his town from their repeated attacks. These differences are quickly put on the backburner, as an initial attempt by the gunslingers and Sand People to trap the dragon fails. However, this gives the hunters the chance to witness how massive the krayt dragon is firsthand. The two factions quickly decide to make amends in the face of the greater threat, with Cobb returning to Mos Pelgo to recruit his townspeople to assist him and the Sand People in taking the krayt dragon down.
So as the exploit the krayt dragon's weak underbelly, the attackers dig a trench and fill it with explosives. A lone Tusken and bantha then serve as bait to draw the creature out of its liar. However, the dragon survives the posse's makeshift traps while burning those that engage it directly with acidic bile. Running out of options, Din has Cobb draw the dragon's attention before going headfirst into its gaping maw and blowing it up from the inside out with a bantha saddled with a load of explosives.
True to his word, Cobb relinquishes Fett's armor to the Mandalorian. Din and The Child then leave to continue their search across the stars. The Tusken Raiders quickly scavenge the krayt dragon's carcass, with one discovering what appears to be an intact egg within the fallen behemoth. And as the Season 2 premiere comes to a close, a lone figure armed with gaffi sticks observes the Mandalorian's departure, revealed to be Boba Fett himself, with Temuera Morrison reprising his role. Bald and scarred, Fett sullenly watches from Din and The Child from a distance.
One of the biggest mysteries from Season 1 was the identity of a shadowy figure that had discovered the body of Fennec Shand in the deserts of Tatooine, with many speculating it to be Boba Fett. However, it's still not totally clear whether that's the case. Still, Fett survived his fall into the Sarlacc Pit during Return of the Jedi, and he's officially back on the board. This means that, while Din and The Child may not have found another Mandalorian, Boba is now definitely aware of his existence. And with Boba Fett's armor in his possession, Din may be receiving a visit from the spacefaring contract killer sooner rather than later.
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, with guest stars with guest stars Gina Carano, Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito. Directors for the new season include Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed and Robert Rodriguez.