The following article contains spoilers

On Friday, the Chosen One returns. Yes, Baby Yoda is back! In our dark, politically fraught age, we need a source of unparalleled unity, and damn it if that’s not the adorable little puppet at the center of The Mandalorian — the one show that justifies you still paying for your Disney+ account. 

[Review: Sacha Baron Cohen impresses in ‘Borat’ sequel]

Help! I Live In a Sarlacc Pit and Know Nothing About The Mandalorian!

Don’t worry, the last new episode of The Mandalorian came out at the tail end of 2019, which feels like it’s light-years away from our modern day — all our memories are a bit fuzzy.

Here’s a recap:

Taking place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, a then unnamed bounty hunter, the eponymous Mandalorian, is tasked with retrieving what he presumes is a large hit. When he goes to collect, he realizes his target is actually a young child presumably from another old Jedi’s species, everybody’s favorite meme and character: Baby Yoda. Feeling responsible for its safety, the Mandalorian protects The Child from various assailants who want it dead, including his fellow bounty hunters and eventually former Galactic Empire goon Moff Gideon. After evading Gideon in a final standoff, Mando seeks to reunite The Child with his guardians.

Who’s Alive

  • The Mandalorian, aka Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), protector of The Child and bounty hunter.
  • The Child, aka Baby Yoda. Thank God.
  • Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), big baddie. How is it that Esposito gets all the good villain roles on TV these days? The Mandalorian, The Boys, Better Call Saul. Not that I’m complaining, his agent must be really good.
  • Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), superior to Mando who flip-flops between ally and adversary, but eventually ends up on the good side. 
  • Cara Dune (Gina Carano), fellow mercenary and certified badass. Dune has the unique distinction of being one of relatively few female characters in the Star Wars universe and having a relatively normal name.

[MICA hosts author Malaka Gharib for discussion of her graphic memoir]

Who’s Dead

  • The Client (Werner Herzog). The man who set all the events in motion was sadly gunned down by Gideon’s henchmen. It’s a shame, because director extraordinaire Herzog brings so much delightfully creepy je ne sais quoi to the show and it feels slightly lessened without him.
  • IG-11 (Taika Waititi). R.I.P. to the greatest droid since Rogue One’s K-2SO. A pivotal ally for Mando and Baby Yoda, IG-11 was taken from us too soon.
  • Kuiil (Nick Nolte) another important ally who rebuilt IG-11 and became one of Baby Yoda’s protectors.
  • Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), an assassin with so much potential who wound up being wasted. Leave it to Star Wars to not utilize a great female character.

What to Look Out For In Season Two

  • Are Cara and Leia related? They both hail from Alderaan, and they both have that fiery, take-no-shit kind of attitude to them, so maybe a little bit of world-building is in store for season two.
  • What’s the deal with Gideon’s lightsaber? Or rather, his Darksaber. A good Star Wars Expanded Universe nerd knows the varied history of the Darksaber (including one that was formerly owned by a Mandalorian), so it will be interesting to see how the weapon illuminates Gideon’s sinister backstory.
  • Which Jedi are we going to see? It would be absolutely insane to see a Force ghost apparition of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. It seems unlikely, but with a new show set for a Disney+ premiere in the near future, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

I Don’t Have a Disney+ Account. Can I Still Watch The Mandalorian?

My official answer would be “No.” But it’s one of the most popular shows out there right now, so … it’s not very hard to find if you know where to look.

Wait, when’s season two starting?

Friday, Oct. 30.

Is There Anything Else I Need to Know?

Well, unless you want to read my personal thoughts about Boba Fett’s rumored appearance, then probably not. Good luck, see you on Friday and may the Force be with you.