The first two seasons of Disney's The Mandalorian received universal acclaim, and we're here to the best episodes based on their IMDb scores.
Two seasons in, The Mandalorian has given audiences some of the best Star Wars in years. While it began as a sci-fi western following bounty hunter Din Djarin, the series has cemented itself into the wider Star Wars universe by incorporating some of its major players. Not only this, but Grogu a.k.a. The Child a.k.a. Baby Yoda has found his way into the hearts of fans and non-fans alike.
Picking up five years since the destruction of the second Death Star and the fall of the Empire, the universe is still in disarray, with remnants of the Empire strong holding parts of the galaxy as the New Republic begins to find its feet. These are the best episodes of the first two seasons, according to IMDb.
Where it all started, where we were first introduced to the titular Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin. The episode also introduces the recurring character Greef Karga played by Carl Weathers, an agent of the Bounty Hunters Guild.
Chapter 1 is where Mando receives the contract to retrieve a 50-year-old asset, alive or dead. On the planet Arvala-7, Mando teams up with bounty droid IG-11 to take out the guards that have the asset. The duo discovers that the asset is, in fact, an infant that resembles the same species as Yoda—though they, of course, have no idea who Yoda was. As IG-11 prepares to kill the child, Mando takes out the droid.
This episode was a major treat for fans of The Clone Wars and Rebels, as it featured the first live-action appearance of Bo Katan. Din travels to the moon of Trask to deliver and reunites the Frog Lady with her partner. From here, Din is offered passage to find the Mandalorians but is double-crossed and saved by Bo-Katan, Koska Reeves, and Axe Woves.
Bo-Katan explains that Din belongs to a group of Mandalorian’s called the Watch, an ancient group of Mandalorians that follow "the way," separate from the mainstream Mandalorian society. Mando aids the crew in their mission of raiding an Imperial ship in exchange for the information he needs. At the end of the episode, Bo tells Din to travel to planet Corvus, where he will find Ahsoka Tano.
The season two opener brings Mando back to Tatooine after Din receives information that there has been a Mandalorian in the town of Mos Pelgo. On arrival into Mos Pelgo, Din meets the Marshal, Cobb Vanth, who sports Mandalorian armor but reveals that he bought the armor of Jawas.
Cobb offers to return the armor to Din in exchange for his help in ridding the town of a Krayt Dragon problem. The duo team up with some Tusken Raiders, who are also looking to destroy the Dragon, as well as the townspeople of Mos Pelgo. After successfully defeating the Dragon, Vanth returns the armor, and Din leaves. The episode ends with the reveal that an unarmored Boba Fett is still very much alive.
In the penultimate episode of season two, Cara Dune has prisoner Migs Mayfield released into her custody to help locate Moff Gideon. The group travels to an Imperial facility on Morak to retrieve the coordinates, with Din and Migs being the only two that can enter the facility unrecognized.
Inside the facility, Migs sees his former commander Valin Hess and fears getting caught, forcing Din to be the one to remove his helmet for the facial scan. After getting the coordinates for Gideon’s ship, Migs kills Hess after a brief tense discussion, whilst Din takes out the others in the Mess Hall. Migs tells Din that he never saw his face and returns his helmet. As they all prepare to leave the planet, Cara and Din allow Migs to escape.
The Mandalorian fulfills his contract by returning the Child to the Client (Werner Herzog). Din asks what they will do with the Child, but he receives no response. After traveling back to the Mandalorian enclave, the Armorer replaces his armor with the Beskar he received as payment.
Upon receiving a new contract from Greef, Mando has a change of heart and breaks the Guild Code by rescuing the Child. As Mando returns to his ship with the Child, Greef and other bounty hunters from the Guild attempt to stop him, but Mando outsmarts them with the help of the other Mandalorians and escapes the planet.
Greef sends a message to Mando asking for his assistance as his town has become overrun by the Client’s Imperial Troops. Greef offers Mando the opportunity to destroy the threat in exchange for his and the Child’s freedom from pursuit. Seeing it as a trap, Mando recruits Cara Dune, Kuiil, and a rebuilt IG-11 to assist him.
On Nevarro, the group, including Greef Karga, are attacked, with Karga getting injured. When the Child heals his injury, Greef has a change of heart and kills his associates, who had planned on betraying Mando. The episode ends on a cliffhanger with Moff Gideon and company closing in on the group.
IG-11 rescues the Child from two Scout Troopers and returns to help the others. Meanwhile, Mando recognizes Gideon as a former officer from the Empire’s secret police, present when the Empire took control of Mandalore. The group then escapes through the sewers, finding the Mandalorian Enclave below.
The enclave is abandoned aside from the Armorer, who tasks Mando with taking the Child to the Jedi and gifts him a jetpack. Upon their escape, IG-11 sacrifices himself to allow the others the opportunity to get away. Mando has a showdown with Moff Gideon in his tie fighter but uses his jetpack to bring the ship down and leave Neavarro. The episode ends with Gideon using the legendary Darksaber to cut himself out of the Tie Fighter.
Mando and Grogu arrive on Tython, where Grogu begins to meditate on top of the ancient Jedi temple ruins. Suddenly, Slave 1 lands, and Din has a confrontation with Boba Fett, with Fennec Shand demanding the return of his armor. Din agrees to hand over the armor in exchange for the safe return of Grogu.
At the same time, two Imperial troop carriers arrive, and the trio begin to fight off the forces. During the battle, Boba retrieves his armor and makes short work of the troopers. Above the planet, Moff Gideon’s cruiser destroys Mando’s ship, the Razor Crest, and uses Dark Troopers to retrieve Grogu. In honor of their agreement, Boba and Fennec inform Din that they will help him save the child.
Following the information received by Bo-Katan, Din travels to the planet Corvus. Once there, he is offered a Beskar spear by Imperial Magistrate Morgan Eisbeth as payment for taking out the Jedi, Ahsoka. In the forest, Mando finds Ahsoka and explains that Bo-Katan sent him.
Communicating through the force, Ahsoka reveals the Child’s name to be Grogu and that he was present at the Jedi Temple during Order 66. Din makes a deal with Ahsoka to take on the Magistrate in exchange for training Grogu. Ahsoka, however, informs Din that she cannot train Grogu due to his bond to Mando. She instead informs him to travel to the ruins of a Jedi temple on Tython, where Grogu can reach out to another Jedi through the force.
The explosive season finale of season two saw the return of Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves, recruited by Din and Boba to help rescue Grogu. They board Moff Gideon’s ship and take out all the Storm Troopers, while Din takes on a Dark Trooper before fighting the Moff himself. After defeating the Moff and claiming the Darksaber, Din takes him to the bridge as a legion of Dark Troopers arrive.
Facing an impossible situation, a lone X-Wing arrives, and a Jedi begins destroying all the Dark Troopers. When he reaches the bridge, it’s revealed to be Luke Skywalker, having come to train Grogu. After an emotional farewell where Din shows his face to Grogu, Luke takes the child. An after-credits scene reveals that Boba Fett and Fennec return to Tatooine to take over Jabba’s palace.
