Why All The Hate For Chapter 5? 

This isn't necessarily a "big question," but more of general curiosity. When I started looking into some of the consensuses for the first season, it was mostly a lot of the same reactions across the board; the action felt incredibly western-inspired, Baby Yoda stole every scene they were in and, for some reason, the fifth episode, "The Gunslinger" was completely unnecessary.

From what I can tell, a lot of the reactions seemed to be focused around the prospect of bringing the seemingly new mythology of the series back to somewhere as familiar as Tatooine, with new characters that ultimately don't make their mark by seasons' end.

I can definitely see some of those criticisms, but for me, I really didn't mind, especially when the episode does continue to develop the titular hero's relationship with The Child, as well as fun guest appearances from Jake Cannavale, Amy Sedaris, and even Ming-Na Wen. It's certainly not the best the first season has to offer, but I think that speaks more to the quality of the season if this is the low point for so many.

The Legacy of the Mandalorians

Alright, now let's get into the actually nerdy stuff about 'The Mandalorian' Season 1, and you'll find that I'm going to be mentioning the last two episodes A LOT (mostly because we got a lot of big reveals in those two episodes).

We get some pretty tragic insight into where Mandalorian culture is in 'Chapter 8: Redemption,' where The Armorer (played by Emily Swallow), reveals to Din Djarin a.k.a. The Mandalorian that many of the collective fled to escape the ex-Imperial forces. Combined with the information we get on The Great Purge - a pivotal event in Mandalorian history that was hinted at during Season 4 of 'Star Wars: Rebels' - the current state of the Mandalorian people seems pretty dire at the moment.

Were the remaining warriors hunted down by Gideon's stormtroopers or did they set up new colonies off-world, continuing to train new Foundlings for the order? Did they return to Mandalore itself and, if so, does that mean we could see Din and The Child journey there to re-discover ancient practices?

Through all this, there do seem to be two positives going into Season 2. Having fought off the invading stormtroopers, The Armorer is still alive, though whether she'll stay on Nevarro or not remains to be seen, as does any possible affiliation with Greef and Cara.

Even more important is The Armorer dubbing Din and The Child part of a new clan, symbolized by the Mudhorn, the creature the two fought off early in the season. I think giving Din a proper clan is going to be incredibly important in the coming season, as it means he legitimately has a place in Mandalorian culture in addition to his parental bond with The Child.

War Between Bounty Hunter Factions? 

One of the side plots Season 1 tried to tackle was some of Din's past bounty hunter exploits before joining the Guild, represented by "Chapter 6," where he takes a job under Ran Malk (played by Mark Boone Junior). Working with a crew that includes Mayfeld (played by Bill Burr) and Xi'an (played by Natalia Tena), Din attempted to rescue the latter's criminal brother, Qin (played by Ismael Cruz Cordova), a prisoner of the New Republic.

Succeeding in the job, Din is seemingly betrayed by both Qin and Ran, only to lead the New Republic forces to their stronghold, seemingly killing them in the process. It's a pretty dark maneuver (even for someone of Din's background), but it does present an interesting idea. By the season's end, the Bounty Hunter Guild is still headed up by Greef Karga (played by Carl Weathers) being aided by Din's ally, Cara Dune (played by Gina Carano).

With the two of them back on Nevarro rebuilding the Guild, I wonder if Din's actions might come back to haunt him. What if one of Season 2's subplots involves Malk and Qin surviving the attempted arrest, freeing the rest of their crew, and essentially declaring war on the Guild for harboring Din?

Perhaps Nevarro becomes an eventual battleground like in Season 1, albeit this time with a bounty hunter war in the crossfires. There are several question marks around this theory, but I think it could be a really cool opportunity to build on the bounty hunter underworld the season set up.

The Return of Ahsoka Tano

'The Mandalorian's second season is still set for release this October (even despite the omnipotent delays across the entertainment world), and a pretty huge piece of news swept through the fandom in the last month: Ahsoka Tano, one of the most significant characters from both 'Clone Wars' and 'Star Wars: Rebels,' would be making her live-action debut in the next season and, if reports are to be believed, played by none other than Rosario Dawson.

In addition to a massive filmography ranging from 'Clerks II' to 'Unstoppable,' Dawson has had some pretty big geek credentials as well, starring as Claire Temple in the Marvel Netflix properties ('Daredevil,' 'Luke Cage,' etc.) and even voicing Wonder Woman in the recent run of DC Animated features. She's also been campaigning for the role since she endorsed a fan cast almost three years ago and, judging by some of the fan art going around online, it's not difficult to see why.

Let's say for a moment that this is a locked-in deal and that Dawson will in fact bring Ahsoka into the show, is this a good thing? It's definitely an interesting prospect, as Ahsoka's story was left somewhat open at the end of 'Star Wars: Rebels.'

Many have speculated online that Ahsoka's inclusion has to do with The Child's growing abilities in the force, possibly even the quest to find The Child's homeworld. Still, there's even potential that 'The Mandalorian' Season 2 could very stealthily be the follow-up to 'Rebels' that so many fans (myself included) have been dying to see. Could characters like Captain Rex and especially Sabine Wren (a Mandalorian character from 'Rebels') be translated to live-action as well alongside Ahsoka?

My guess is that, with Season 2 having wrapped just before all of the Coronavirus delays, Ahsoka's role in Season 2 may not be as huge as we all think. But with Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni running the ship, never doubt the obvious when it comes to fan-favorite characters.

Who is Moff Gideon? 

Yes, we'll get to Baby Yoda (and we have much to discuss), but there's another character I want to bring up first. Despite only appearing in the last two episodes of the season, Moff Gideon (played by Giancarlo Esposito) quickly became a character I couldn't take my eyes off of.

His design is impeccably regal (the comparisons to Darth Vader aren't too far off), and his sense of poise and self-interest really sets him apart from other imperial officers we've seen in the franchise. More importantly, he proves himself to be a pivotal and visceral threat incredibly quickly. In a matter of minutes, he presents the biggest exposition dump the series has dropped as of yet, and every detail not only gives the audience more insight but also strikes crippling fear into our lead characters.

He knows of Greef's past, seemingly as a disgraced Imperial official, Cara's past as a resident of Alderaan (putting her story into a much darker context than ever), and finally gives us some official information on The Mandalorian himself, including his real name, his Foundling history, and even stating that Gideon himself was part of The Great Purge. It may not be subtle, but it's incredibly effective.

Then there's the huge fanboy moment to end the season on. After his TIE Fighter is shot down, Gideon cuts himself out of the wreckage with the Darksaber itself. For those of you who may not be knee-deep in Star Wars canon, the Darksaber is a black lightsaber that appeared in both 'Clone Wars' and 'Rebels' as an ancient weapon that symbolized rule over Mandalore itself.

When we last saw it, the Darksaber was in the possession of Bo-Katan, who used it to attempt to rally the forces of Mandalore against the Empire before the events of The Great Purge. Despite the fact that this was spoiled for me (thank you Instagram scrolling), it was still kind of amazing when I saw it in context. Gideon was already a fascinating character in his own right, but now he has the most powerful weapon in Mandalorian culture at his disposal?

How did the Darksaber get from Bo-Katan to Gideon? If the New Republic has been busy re-organizing the galaxy, has Gideon simply taken Mandalore for himself? Gideon's introduction posed some of the biggest reveals and secrets for Season 2, except for...

Baby Yoda's Origins

Do you remember where you were when you first saw the image of The Child, otherwise known as "Baby Yoda?"

It was one of those universal moments where the collective internet - fandom or not - simply went "this is the new greatest thing ever," and to be fair, they weren't wrong. The revelation of another of Yoda's species was something that I think a lot of fans simply thought was never going to be explored. Yet somehow, even with all of the marketing setbacks, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni gave fans a - dare I say - icon of the series.

With Din now bound to care for The Child until his homeworld is found, it seems at first glance like we have our definitive story for Season 2, at least at first glance. The connections to Ahsoka and the Force, Gideon's hunt for both his asset and his attempted murderer, the possible bounty hunter inclusions - all of those seem to dwarf by the question of where do you take Baby Yoda?

Season 1 did a great job of exploring surrogate parenting, as well as finding emotional connections in unexplained places. Some of the more pleasant moments of the series are just the interactions between Din and the Child. At the same time, we are talking about a baby with massive Force capabilities under the care of a destructive warrior: this is not the greatest of learning environments. If Season 1 taught us anything, it's that Favreau and Filoni aren't going to be so open with Baby Yoda, as they know one of the great joys of the character is the simple mystery of it.

If I had to guess, I would like to think Season 2 will try and explore that central bond in new ways as with a lot of great lone wold and cub stories. 'The Mandalorian' has shown huge appreciation and respect for old Western tropes, and, in trying to develop Baby Yoda, I just hope that we get to see the character utilized for some of the less grounded aspects of the series.

But let's be clear: Baby Yoda won't talk, at least, not this season.