This is the Way | Angela Zhang

The popular Disney + show, The Mandalorian, returns for its second season on Friday, October 30th. While we couldn’t be more excited to be reunited with The Child and his father, we’re probably not alone in needing a little refresher on what last happened to them.

No Mandalorian is actually named Mando, no matter how jauntily Carl Weathers says it. His real name is Din Djarin, and he was not born on Mandalore either, but was raised by Mandalorians after his parents died. He also has a face! Audiences knew that Pedro Pascal was the face behind the helmet, but Mando did not reveal himself to any living creature in Season 1. The only time he removed the helmet was in life-threatening circumstances, and that was in front of a droid — a neat little loophole courtesy of IG-11.

Speaking of IG-11 — we did not know what to expect with Season 1 of The Mandalorian, including how we would like and bond with the characters. From the very moment that little green goober pulled back his blanket covering him, we all fell in love with him. But we also met other characters who will be missed. IG-11, voiced by one of the directors, Taika Waititi, proved to be an indispensable ally and a pivotal relationship for Mando, given his skepticism about droids. And of course there was Juiil, the Ugnaught who gave his life to save The Child and Mando after choosing to help them with his hard-won freedom.

Season 1 ended with Moff Gideon surviving almost unscathed and wielding a Darksaber — a wicked weapon previously seen in Star Wars : Rebels by Sabine Wren, A Mandalorian. Moff Gideon himself presents a formidable antagonist force beyond anything we have seen in The Mandalorian. He served the Galactic Empire, which is linked to the mass killing of Madalorians. In our Star Wars story without the Sith, he is our most fearsome and evil enemy, and now he’s hunting Mando and the Child undetected.

In the finale of Season 1, it was also revealed that Cara Dune is from Alderaan, the home planet of Leia Organa, which was destroyed early in A New Hope. Cara is a skilled warrior, but this one word tells us that she carries the weight of Alderaan’s destruction, a mass genocide orchestrated by the Empires and the Death Star. We can also expect Mando and Cara to bond further in Season 2, perhaps over their shared trauma.

The mission given the Mando at the end of Season 1 was to guard The Child and return it to its own kind. Armorer spoke of “sorcerers” known as the Jedi, a people who are now all but legend a mere five years after the Empire’s defeat. As far as Mando knows, The Child is one of the two force-sensitive beings in the galaxy, the other being Luke Skywalker.

Nonetheless, little is known about Baby Yoda;s species, so far all we know is that they could all be force-sensitive. Will Season 2 see Mando facing off against the burgeoning Jedi Order while Luke Skywalker works to rebuild it? Or will we find ourselves on a planet full of baby yodas and passing out from the cuteness? Either is acceptable.