“I guess every once in a while, both suns shine on a womp rat’s tail.” -Cobb Vanth
Season two of The Mandalorian kicked off with a literal bang last week and in the process I, as well as many, have a new favorite side character.
The rumors were swirling over the spring and summer about Cobb Vanth, a character from Chuck Wendig’s book series Aftermath, making a live action appearance in The Mandalorian.
It turns out these rumors were true, in fact the rumors even got the casting correct as Timothy Olyphant was indeed Vanth. After all he is Mr. Sherif it seems (playing one in HBO’s Deadwood)…or Mr. Marshal in this case, the episode’s namesake.
Boy was Olyphant perfect for this role. As soon as he was standing in the doorway, dawning Boba Fett’s legendary armor I had chills. The costume designers did a fantastic job on his look. His undershirt was very similar to something you’d see Sidon Ithano wearing and around his neck was a very Wild West looking bandana of sorts. That hair was another story! Wow was that some perfect salt and pepper hair (I have NO idea how he kept it so perfect under that bucket).
At first, Cobb seemed like a bit of a dick and I was slightly afraid Mr. Vanth’s stay would be short as him and Mando were seconds away from conflict, until the Crayt Dragon showed up and “saved” the day.
Vanth only got better from there though as we learned his backstory of how he came into possession of the armor, buying it off of some Jawas that saved his life. With the armor he went back and saved his town from the mining thugs. A badass story.
His chemistry with Mando was perfect. The two were classic western gunmen on an adventure.
I loved seeing the quick growth and leadership of Vanth with the Tusken Raiders.
At first he thought they were nothing but monsters but he ultimately saw the common goal between them due to Mando stepping in and reminding him. Vanth later passed this same message on to his people. I don’t know the time span of this episode but it’s safe to say a lot of Mando rubbed off on Vanth.
After killing their prey, the Crayt Dragon, Vanth was a man of his word and gave Din the armor. The two said they hope they meet again and God I hope they do.
We. Need. More. Cobb. Vanth.
