The Mandalorian – SPOILERS

Topic

Just going to create a separate thread for this, considering it won’t be available legally for a lot of users for five months.

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Just watched the first episode of season two. Still feel like it’s old A-Team plots with a Star Wars skin and a budget of millions, but it’s an enjoyable Friday-night watch.

 

At least there was a decently-choreographed fight scene this week. And they decided to reference Dune as well as the same four Star Wars things?

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Uncle Retrospective

I thought it was Tremors.

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Uncle Retrospective

They’re all sandworms!

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Uncle Retrospective, Dave

I hate how often Star Wars stuff leads to Tatooine just because it was the main setting of the original movie. The point was that it was an unimportant planet in the middle of nowhere! Stop making it important!

This was a lot better than the previous Tatooine episode at least.

Also, that’s probably Boba at the end, but I hope it’s just some other clone.

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Uncle Retrospective, Dave, Todd, lorcan_nagle

I watched it and it was just okay at best.

The show is really mediocre. It has thoughts about wanting to be more but it just isn’t. Hopefully, it improves as it goes on but I’m not overly confident it will.

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Dave, lorcan_nagle

paul f wrote:

Also, that’s probably Boba at the end, but I hope it’s just some other clone.

Was that Morrison? I didn’t even recognise him.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

Gotta say, for all it’s meh-ness… and oh boy it was meh… the costumes were really on point. I really like SW head-gear design.

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Todd

I’ve said it before but I think the importance of visual design is underrated in the success of Star Wars. It’s why a show like this can be a big hit despite the stories being pretty mediocre – because it still looks great and has that distinctive Star Wars feel.

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Ben, Todd, lorcan_nagle

Dave wrote:

Was that Morrison? I didn’t even recognise him.

I didn’t recognise him, but he’s in the credits.

Morrison is almost 60, which should be too old for Boba, but clone aging is weird, and he looks younger anyway.

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lorcan_nagle

I imagine a stint in the belly of a Sarlacc isn’t great for your skin.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

paul f wrote:

I hate how often Star Wars stuff leads to Tatooine just because it was the main setting of the original movie. The point was that it was an unimportant planet in the middle of nowhere! Stop making it important!

I was saying this to a friend last night – it makes the Star Wars Galaxy feel smaller. Apparently Timothy Elephant was playing a character from one of the novels so he was pleased to see that character show up on screen, but it just made me happier that it worked well enough without that knowledge that I didn’t feel like the homework was mandatory.

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Ben, Todd, Dave, paul f

Just watched it, really enjoyed it.

One of its strongest cards was the amount of easter eggs they wove in.  If you spot them, they give the story a neat boost but if you don’t? It doesn’t matter.

The ones I spotted? R5, Cobb Vanth, the Tuskens being in single file, Sarlacc mention.  The bit with the second Death Star going up in smoke on holo and all hell quickly breaking loose was well done too.

Much as the old novel Kenobi did, this episode also gives greater depth to the Tuskens, taking them away from being the mindless savages the films depicted them as but without romanticising the environment they exist in.

The Krayt dragon redesign is one that felt particularly effective.  The older version? More your traditional version than the sandworm-dragon they went for here.

The Child remains a masterclass in character animation, hugely fun.

Feels like the budget has been seriously amped up for a TV show, the final fight being an example.

The show looks fantastic and it has a certain charm to it but it does something to my system. That’s the third or fourth episode now that I’ve wound up falling asleep while watching. Come to think of it, the same thing happened back when I saw the Phantom Menace (the one and only time I managed to fall asleep in a movie theatre). A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was snoozing.

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njerry, Dave, lorcan_nagle, Todd

[Rocket]

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Timothy Elephant

shame on you. It was Marshal Raylan Givens’ ancient ancestor.  I was happy to see being a marshal runs in the blood.

The dragon looked awesome to me and the aerial choreography was another high point. i knew that it was gonna have to be an internal explosion to take down the dragon. While the scenes with the Tuskens were slooow and potentially sleep inducing, I enjoyed the conversations between Mando and the Tuskens. I appreciate it when a story takes the extra step of coming with a new language. Having them both wear masks was a nice touch too.

That was Morrison at the end of the episode. He looked like Boba to me. He obviously gave up the Way after he freed himself from the Sarlacc.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by Rocket.

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Todd

Rocket wrote:

shame on you. It was Marshal Raylan Givens’ ancient ancestor.

Are you sure it wasn’t an ancestor of US Marshal Dick “Deafy” Wickware, currently to be seen on FARGO SEASON 4?

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Todd

He can be 2 things

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Todd

I saw this on Facebook:

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Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

Season 2 Episode 2:

Well, once again Mando has to have his ass saved. I think he suffers from bouts of competence.

As cute as the Child is, he’s a real piece of shit. He was basically eating Frog Lady’s babies. She is trying to preserve her species. It may have been played for laughs but it really wasn’t funny.

This was just a really bad episode all around.

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Rocket, Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

Watched this week’s episode. They should just make a supercut of the pre-credit sequences as they’re inevitably the best thing about the episode. Great little vignettes.

I thought this one was pretty good overall though. It’s very simple stuff but done well, great visual storytelling with some fun moments. The X-Wing chase was well done and the spiders stuff was proper pulp fun.

And I thought the baby-Yoda egg stuff was amusing.

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lorcan_nagle

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Todd, Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

Todd wrote:

As cute as the Child is, he’s a real piece of shit. He was basically eating Frog Lady’s babies. She is trying to preserve her species. It may have been played for laughs but it really wasn’t funny.

Yeah… that was not funny at all… and not just that, the “comedy” as a whole was really bad. I did like the frog lady, I kinda wish we were following her story instead… =/

Technically well made episode, boring as fuck. That’s the definition of “filler”.

Oh and also, I see we’re back to the 30-40 mins episodes… what a rip-off… xD

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Todd

Jon wrote:

Technically well made episode, boring as fuck. That’s the definition of “filler”. Oh and also, I see we’re back to the 30-40 mins episodes… what a rip-off… xD

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

This was probably the episode I liked the most/disliked the least so far, but it still wasn’t satisfying. A lot of that comes down to the very end, where the X-Wing pilots come back, save Darin, and then just leave. It’s not a Deus Ex Machina because they were in the episode earlier, but it is an anticlimax. Pretty sure I’m gonna stop watching at the end of this series if it doesn’t pick up.

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd, Dave

The stuff with the X-Wing pilots is kind of weird. They quite aggressively chase the Mandalorian down at first based on the alert from the prison break last season, then he loses them and I guess they… go away and watch the security footage and find out he’s not such a bad guy after all, so come back and save him from the spiders… then say “I guess we should bring you in, but you’re probably alright”… but then leave him stuck at the bottom of an ice-cave with a broken ship anyway?

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd, lorcan_nagle

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Rocket, Ben, Uncle Retrospective, JRCarter, Todd, lorcan_nagle

Todd wrote:

As cute as the Child is, he’s a real piece of shit. He was basically eating Frog Lady’s babies. She is trying to preserve her species. It may have been played for laughs but it really wasn’t funny.

Yeah, didn’t work for me either. It’s one of those things that maybe looked like a good idea on paper, but they should’ve noticed that this episode’s sidequest actually is about getting frog lady to her goal and that we have to emphasise with her and that the kid eating her fucking babies is neither cute nor funny but absolutely horrifying.

Plot was also very far from interesting. I mean, it’s just crash on a planet, encounter spiders, get saved by The Man, whose actions are also pretty inexplicable.

The chase scene was great though.

I did love the first ep, it’s nice to have the series back. But man, please don’t do filler episodes just for the sake of doing filler. I wonder what they thought was interesting about this, in the writers’ room. Must have been the visuals, right? Big spiders on an ice planet. Maybe that’s just what the wanted.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

Baby Yoda isn’t eating the frog lady’s babies any more than we’re eating baby chickens when we eat eggs.

The whole point of the plot is that she is taking the unfertilised eggs to be fertilised. They aren’t babies.

If you have a problem with that then maybe avoid the omelette starter next time.

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Ben

Christian wrote:

I did love the first ep, it’s nice to have the series back. But man, please don’t do filler episodes just for the sake of doing filler. I wonder what they thought was interesting about this, in the writers’ room. Must have been the visuals, right? Big spiders on an ice planet. Maybe that’s just what the wanted.

For me it calls back to the kid of serials that inspired Star Wars in the first place. A lone hero going out of the frying pan and into the fire is a perfectly fine premise for a series as long as the adventures are fun and exciting.

I think we’re conditioned now to think of TV in terms of larger arcs and grander long-form storytelling, but I certainly think there’s room for a lighter, more episodic adventure series like this one.

Is it “filler” if it’s a fun and entertaining adventure romp? Would another Boba Fett cameo and pretence at a story-arc element have made a difference either way?

Mandalorian reminds me a lot of the formulaic TV series of the 70s and 80s, especially the ones where the hero(es) move from place to place, help the locals and then move on (A-Team or Hulk or that kind of thing). It’s a common model for a TV show that worked then and works now, even if it does feel a bit old-fashioned and quaint.

Dave wrote:

Baby Yoda isn’t eating the frog lady’s babies any more than we’re eating baby chickens when we eat eggs. The whole point of the plot is that she is taking the unfertilised eggs to be fertilised. They aren’t babies. If you have a problem with that then maybe avoid the omelette starter next time.

Yeah next time I’m eating the very last eggs on earth ever instead of letting them grow so there can be more chickens… I’ll remember that…

Roasting the flesh of a giant dead Krayt dragon is fine, but don’t you dare go making any pancakes!

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Ben

An OK episode, Child is at the Little Bastard stage of being a toddler.

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Dave, Rocket, Todd, lorcan_nagle

I can see how the egg eating is off-putting for grownups, but my kids loved that bit, so I’d call it mission accomplished. Amidst constant giggles: “Baby Yoda, stop eating the eggs!”

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Rocket, Ben, njerry, lorcan_nagle

Jake wrote:

my kids loved that bit

of course! Kids don’t think about consequences like the end of a species.

the other thing that bothered me what the lack of dialogue. Was it supposed to funny that Mando did not understand the frog lady?

Dave wrote:

serials that inspired Star Wars in the first place.

So that episode was supposed to be nostalgic? i did not get that idea. serials that inspired the original SW are now like 80 years old. Writing has improved so much since then. I believe they could written a modern script that referenced the old serials without writing a script that would have used in one of those serials.

 

 

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Todd, Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

Rocket wrote:

the lack of dialogue. Was it supposed to funny that Mando did not understand the frog lady?

I didn’t find it funny, but it was an interesting take on communication where often there’s a babelfish translator for an easy fix.  It also establishes a limit to Mando’s language skills – he knows some Huttese and Tusken but not everything.

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Todd, Dave

Rocket wrote:

So that episode was supposed to be nostalgic? i did not get that idea. serials that inspired the original SW are now like 80 years old. Writing has improved so much since then. I believe they could written a modern script that referenced the old serials without writing a script that would have used in one of those serials.

I don’t think the show is meant to be evocatively nostalgic in that sense in terms of the way it’s made (it felt more 80s to me in that respect) – but I do think it is designed as a simple episodic serial with lots of out-of-the-frying-pan into-the-fire moments and simple characters and plots, rather than a complex layered story with a novelistic structure as we’ve come to expect from a lot of prestige TV these days.

Dave wrote:

Rocket wrote:

So that episode was supposed to be nostalgic? i did not get that idea. serials that inspired the original SW are now like 80 years old. Writing has improved so much since then. I believe they could written a modern script that referenced the old serials without writing a script that would have used in one of those serials.

I don’t think the show is meant to be evocatively nostalgic in that sense in terms of the way it’s made (it felt more 80s to me in that respect) – but I do think it is designed as a simple episodic serial with lots of out-of-the-frying-pan into-the-fire moments and simple characters and plots, rather than a complex layered story with a novelistic structure as we’ve come to expect from a lot of prestige TV these days.

I would say that as a whole, the series is more evocative of Serio Leone’s Man with No Name trilogy than anything else. It is a western at it’s core.

It’s definitely played as a Western, but I’m talking about format more than genre. There were plenty of Western serials back in the day.

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Rocket

Dave wrote:

It’s definitely played as a Western, but I’m talking about format more than genre. There were plenty of Western serials back in the day.

I really don’t see this series as a serial. Back in the day, serials always ended on a cliffhanger that was resolved at the beginning of the next installment. The Mandalorian episodes are more or less standalone. It has serialized story elements but I would not call it a serial in the traditional sense.

Mmmmm, Mandalorian cereal.

Saw this on Facebook

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Uncle Retrospective

Funko has you covered

 

https://comicbook.com/gear/news/funko-baby-yoda-frog-lady-eggs-pop-figure/

Dave wrote:

Is it “filler” if it’s a fun and entertaining adventure romp? Would another Boba Fett cameo and pretence at a story-arc element have made a difference either way?

Yeah, it’s fair, I don’t necessarily have a problem with filler episodes. But this one made me wonder why they wanted to make it; there is nothing paritcularly compelling about any of it.

Dave wrote:

If you have a problem with that then maybe avoid the omelette starter next time.

Well, it helps that I don’t have a relationship with the chicken, and am not invested in her story of desperately trying to get her eggs fertilised and hatched. If all of that were the case, I’d probably manage to hold off on the omelette for a bit.

Trying to on the one hand get us emotionally involved with Frog Lady’s story and at the same time having hilariously eat the kid eat her eggs was just weird. I can imagine it working if you’re watching it with smaller kids, like Jake describes, but Jesus.

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Todd

Imagine if the original Yoda had been like that, and started trying to beat up R2D2 with his stick or something! That wouldn’t have been funny at all.

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OG yoda was a crazy old sadistic jerk though… =P

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Todd

Christian wrote:

Dave wrote:

Is it “filler” if it’s a fun and entertaining adventure romp? Would another Boba Fett cameo and pretence at a story-arc element have made a difference either way?

Yeah, it’s fair, I don’t necessarily have a problem with filler episodes. But this one made me wonder why they wanted to make it; there is nothing paritcularly compelling about any of it.

Dave wrote:

If you have a problem with that then maybe avoid the omelette starter next time.

Well, it helps that I don’t have a relationship with the chicken, and am not invested in her story of desperately trying to get her eggs fertilised and hatched. If all of that were the case, I’d probably manage to hold off on the omelette for a bit.

Trying to on the one hand get us emotionally involved with Frog Lady’s story and at the same time having hilariously eat the kid eat her eggs was just weird. I can imagine it working if you’re watching it with smaller kids, like Jake describes, but Jesus.

Then you factor in that Frog Lady has said these eggs represent the last of line and she can not produce any more. They have to travel sublight as using the hyperdrive would damage them. She also has to get to the planet by a certain time so her eggs can be fertilized. It is also mentioned that her mate has worked hard to create a new life for them and their future family. For Frog Lady, these are life and death stakes. But this is all chucked out the window so the Child can eat them for laughs.

The bottom line is this was poorly written and conceived.

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lorcan_nagle

I guess this conversation has taught me that I’m just not as seriously invested in the characters in Mandalorian as some viewers – for me, the show hasn’t done enough to establish itself as a drama where the characters are worth caring about, I just enjoy it as a fun romp and weekly adventure serial.

But I can understand how, if you have become more invested in characters like Frog Lady, then the baby Yoda eating the unfertilised eggs might be more upsetting.

I’ve got to say, I’m not particularly invested in any SW character, including this show, BUT to the show’s credit, and the one thing they did right in this episode, as far as I’m concerned, is precisely that Frog Lady is the first character I’ve felt any investment in despite her short-ish on-screen time.

So yeah, ill-conceived and poorly executed… probably worse for me since I have zero love for baby yoda (quite the opposite) and I wish they’d drop him off somewhere already and focus on the Mandalorian.

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Todd

Jon wrote:

I have zero love for baby yoda (quite the opposite) and I wish they’d drop him off somewhere already and focus on the Mandalorian.

Sadly, that won’t happen.

Well, that was an info-dump episode – Bo, Gideon, Imperial Harry Bosch, an Ahsoka name drop.

Had some good firefights and some neat touches – like the repurposed AT-AT.  Loved how the Mon Cal, watching the Razorcrest land very badly had a look on its face that said: What the fuck is this shit?

 

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Uncle Retrospective

Love this:

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Christian, Ben

Episode 3 was lots of fun.

It struck me this week how far they’ve departed from the conventions that used to characterise Star Wars – the music and the wipes and the general language of the movies. This felt like more an 80s action film, all the way down to the music. But with great modern effects.

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Ben

Dave wrote:

I guess this conversation has taught me that I’m just not as seriously invested in the characters in Mandalorian

its not a matter of being invested. If you were walking down the street and you saw a dog chewing on a baby’s arm, would you laugh? You might have no idea who the mother, child or dog was and not have any investment at all.

I’m glad it didn’t take them all season to get to the other Mandalorians, and it looks like we’ll be getting Ahsoka next week.

I hope all the stuff about how Mando was raised in an extremist sect is leading to him deciding to take his helmet off at some point.

I assume Bo-Katan will be back later in the season to deal with all the Darksaber stuff.

As well as bringing in a bunch of cartoon lore, the plot of this episode, with them doing a heist on an Imperial ship, felt very Rebels.

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Uncle Retrospective, Rocket, Todd

This was definitely better than last week structurally, but I was eye-rolling a bit even up to the introduction of the other three Mandalorians. They turned out to be actually interesting and drove the plot in a way that Djarin never does, so it worked out pretty well. The improved fight choreography really helped as well this week – the running fight on the spaceship was way better than the prison break-out last year, for instance.

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Ben, Dave, Rocket

paul f wrote:

a bunch of cartoon lore

it also explains why Sabine from Rebels regularly took off her helmet and Djarin did not.

The other woman Mandalorian(the wrestler) is going to return according to IMDB. I wait to see if more will be revealed about her.

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Ben

Dave wrote:

But I can understand how, if you have become more invested in characters like Frog Lady, then the baby Yoda eating the unfertilised eggs might be more upsetting.

If you don’t care about Frog Lady, there is no point to the episode and the viewer remains unengaged with it (and honestly one of the problems of the ep was that I cared less about her than I should have); the episode’s plot is her story after all. Bad storytelling just annoys me is all.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

Well if people were so shocked and appalled by unfertilised frog eggs being eaten last week they must have been weeping at seeing so many actual humans (and other alien species) get murdered this episode. Right?

Well I gotta admit, this was easily the best episode of the whole show so far… A believable lived in world (that’s not tatooine), some actual Mandalorians who know what they’re doing, a nice little heist with good choregraphy and an actual episode with plot development… so yeah, good job! I wish all episodes would be like this.

On the not-so-good side, damn, Mando is really a fuckin moron isn’t he? Always getting himself into trouble in the most stupid ways.

Second show in a row where I wish I could follow the story of the side characters instead of the mains.

Oh, also, I don’t know who Bo Katan is… I’m guessing she’s an already-established character and not a new one? The name kinda rings a bell for some reason.

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Todd

[Christian]

I haven’t seen it yet!!! (And I’m probably only going to watch it next week, together with the then new one.)

But if you’re trying to make the point I think you’re making, I am sure we are both aware that in action movies (or serials), we are invested in some characters’ fates while we don’t blink at others dying terrible deaths in the background. I am beginning to suspect that you are just anti-frog, Dave.

Is that it? Do you partake in the cuisses de grenouilles, too, Dave? DO YOU???

Tell me, what is your reaction… TO THIS???!!! [Dramatically throws open curtain to reveal…]

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by Christian.

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Todd, Dave, lorcan_nagle

Jon wrote:

Well I gotta admit, this was easily the best episode of the whole show so far… A believable lived in world (that’s not tatooine), some actual Mandalorians who know what they’re doing, a nice little heist with good choregraphy and an actual episode with plot development… so yeah, good job! I wish all episodes would be like this.

On the not-so-good side, damn, Mando is really a fuckin moron isn’t he? Always getting himself into trouble in the most stupid ways.

Second show in a row where I wish I could follow the story of the side characters instead of the mains.

Oh, also, I don’t know who Bo Katan is… I’m guessing she’s an already-established character and not a new one? The name kinda rings a bell for some reason.

Get more out of your Disney+ sub by watching Clone Wars then Rebels if you want the full story of Bo and the Darksaber.

Disney and LFL still think they don’t need to signpost but they do.

Ben wrote:

Disney and LFL still think they don’t need to signpost but they do.

I disagree. I felt like I got everything I needed out of this episode to understand the backstory without knowing (or caring) how much of it was previously established lore and how much was new for this episode.

Making people feel as though they have to go back and learn backstory from other shows is going to do more harm than good. Including the necessary details organically as part of this story (but making connections that fans of the wider universe will pick up on and appreciate) is definitely the best way to go about it.

[Christian]

Christian wrote:

I haven’t seen it yet!!! (And I’m probably only going to watch it next week, together with the then new one.)

But if you’re trying to make the point I think you’re making, I am sure we are both aware that in action movies (or serials), we are invested in some characters’ fates while we don’t blink at others dying terrible deaths in the background. I am beginning to suspect that you are just anti-frog, Dave.

Is that it? Do you partake in the cuisses de grenouilles, too, Dave? DO YOU???

Tell me, what is your reaction… TO THIS???!!! [Dramatically throws open curtain to reveal…]

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by Christian.

Yeah I’ve eaten frogs legs several times and enjoyed them. The frog lady should travel with her own sachet of garlic mayonnaise, just as a courtesy.

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Todd, Christian

Ben wrote:

et more out of your Disney+ sub by watching Clone Wars then Rebels if you want the full story of Bo and the Darksaber.

Yeah, how can I put it? Well, I guess there’s no real point to being coy about this sort of thing since we’re not in MW anymore… so yeah, I download torrents… I don’t even have a Netflix subscription anymore…

That said, mmm no, I think I’ll just go read a wikipedia page or I’m sure there’s plenty of youtube videos explaining it… Watching a SW cartoon doesn’t interest me in the least, I’m afraid… The Mandalorian is already pushing my limits =P

But thanks for letting me know she is indeed a pre-existing char… I knew I’d heard the name somewhere…

As a non-fan though, I gotta say: While I don’t feel like I absolutely need to know any of those things, I do get the feeling I’m missing a lot of info on certain things, because they’re clearly framed as easter-eggs and lore stuff for fans to go giddy about. I’m guessing a lot of stuff is more subtle that I didn’t even notice them, but some things, like the dark saber (and the dude who wields it) and these new mandalorians do feel like I’m missing some context.

Katee Sackhoff? This is the way! Sack off Mando and follow her story.

 

That was the first good really good ep of this show and I’m worried that’s just because the fan service worked for me this time.

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Rocket, Todd

Dave wrote:

Ben wrote:

Disney and LFL still think they don’t need to signpost but they do.

I disagree. I felt like I got everything I needed out of this episode to understand the backstory without knowing (or caring) how much of it was previously established lore and how much was new for this episode.

Making people feel as though they have to go back and learn backstory from other shows is going to do more harm than good. Including the necessary details organically as part of this story (but making connections that fans of the wider universe will pick up on and appreciate) is definitely the best way to go about it.

I think the ep works fine in these respects.  Especially as there was the concern ahead of S2 that it’d too continuity heavy, which I expected them to avoid and they have.

But, say you did want to follow some of the strands here but had no idea of where to go or that it was bundled with Disney+?  It’s a fine balance to strike as no one wants to feel they must watch X but I think Disney are assuming a level of knowledge that not all the audience will have of what there is and how it connects.

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Dave

Jon wrote:

Oh, also, I don’t know who Bo Katan is… I’m guessing she’s an already-established character and not a new one? The name kinda rings a bell for some reason.

Very quick summary: her sister (Obi-Wan’s childhood girlfriend) was the ruler of Mandalore, and was a big fan of peace. She was a member of Death Watch, the extremist sect who later adopted Mando. She left the group after Darth Maul took over and murdered her sister, and then much later (just a few years before The Mandalorian) finally decided she was ready to lead the Mandalorians herself.

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Todd

I watched all three episodes last night and this season is way better than last season. I have a feeling they’ll keep Ahsoka from us for a while though, a namedrop this episode and now a several-episodes long hunt for her before we get a glimpse of her in the last episode, much like with the darksabre last season.

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Dave, Uncle Retrospective

I made it through the whole episode and I didn’t fall asleep this time! High praise!

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Christian, Todd

saga wrote:

I made it through the whole episode and I didn’t fall asleep this time!

Only because it clocked in at a mere 33 minutes.

Get in, shoot a bunch of Stormtroopers, get out. Works for me.

saga wrote:

Get in, shoot a bunch of Stormtroopers, get out. Works for me.

Wasn’t this a famous Churchill speech?

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd

So I’ve figured out what the core problem of the Mandalorian is (from my perspective at least):

Din Djarin and The Child are boring, and there usually isn’t enough material outside of them to make the show interesting.

Take this week, even people who dislike or are neutral about the show enjoyed it because of Bo Katan. And from what I’ve seen, this runs the gamut from people who are familiar with the character from her prior appearances to people like me who aren’t and have zero interest in changing that. But even here, Katan has a sense of agency and an agenda and an energy that the average story lacks. And we have enough context to understand Djarin’s motiviations, it just doesn’t have any emotional resonance for me.

I’ve seen a lot of people compare the show to Lone Wolf and Cub, which is a fair comparison, but Lone Wolf and Cub tended to have at least two of the following elements in any given story:

1. A glimpse into Itto Ogami’s history
2. An interesting character he agrees to help
3. An intriguing enemy for him to fight
4. A challenging set of obstacles for him to overcome to defeat his enemy
5. A situation where he’s put in the planning to defeat his enemy beforehand and we see his plan unfold.

And that’s why Lone Wolf and Cub works, there’s always something interesting that makes you want to learn more about the characters or the story. But The Mandalorian has rarely captured that.

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Ben, Rocket, Uncle Retrospective, Todd

I agree with that assessment.

Furthermore, the Child is basically used as comedy relief. Thing is, it’s a “cutesy” type of humor that at times seems incongruous with the spaghetti western atmosphere of the show.

Speaking of spaghetti western, I know Mando is supposed to evoke the Man with No Name. But due to the format of the show, they really don’t have the time to effectively build the tense atmosphere they desire.

I know Pedro Pascal is a good actor but honestly, any actor could do this role. He has brought nothing special or unique to the role. All of that could also be down to the writing. Honestly, anyone could be under the helmet based on performance and dialogue delivery.

I really think The Mandalorian would have worked better as a series of 2-hour movies. It would have tightened the focus while allowing the desired atmosphere and tension to build.

The series is just okay at best.

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Ben, Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Din Djarin and The Child are boring, and there usually isn’t enough material outside of them to make the show interesting.

100% agree. There’s no character in this show, no growth or personality. I’m hoping he’ll take his helmet off and have to interact with people properly but I’m not holding my breath.

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lorcan_nagle, Todd

lorcan_nagle wrote:

And that’s why Lone Wolf and Cub works, there’s always something interesting that makes you want to learn more about the characters or the story. But The Mandalorian has rarely captured that.

Yup. It wouldn’t really be all that hard either, it’s just… a bit sloppy. A lot of care clearly goes into producing the episodes for this show, but not enough of that care and effort is being put into the script level.

Jon also has a point about this:

On the not-so-good side, damn, Mando is really a fuckin moron isn’t he? Always getting himself into trouble in the most stupid ways.

That’s not an unusual problem for this kind of show, but the episodes in which he appears to be competent at what he does are always the better ones.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle, Rocket

This one is for all us Baby Yoda haters:

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lorcan_nagle, Uncle Retrospective, Christian

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Todd

The thumbnail has the boob-part of the armour exaggerated.

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JRCarter, Todd

Ahh boob armour gate, the newest Anita Sarkeesian controversy… =P

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JRCarter, Todd

JRCarter wrote:

It’s funny but the “breast plates” was the first thing I noticed when they appeared. :D

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JRCarter

This weeks episode was alright. It felt a lot like playing Jedi: Fallen Order at times.

Also, the section about the M-count in the blood is a surprising return for that infamous bit of Star Wars mythology.

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Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

Dave wrote:

Also, the section about the M-count in the blood is a surprising return for that infamous bit of Star Wars mythology.

I was actually surprised they didn’t include an M-word joke in the Lego Holiday Special. Everything else was there…

Just gonna say, that shot of the Speeder Bikes going down the side of the cliff was spectacular.

But yeah, this was back to the bog standard Mando stuff, had a few other decent moment but I just don’t care about any of these people.

I’m only past the “previously on” so far, but I have a bad feeling about this episode after seeing Duckface McCan’tact Gina Carano in it.

edited to add: Has anyone else noticed they spell it STARWARS without a space in the intro sequence?

Whoa this one was VERY badly directed… everything that worked last week just didn’t this one. Also, damn, what’s up with time passage in this show?

Are we supposed to think a long time’s passed since last season’s finale and this episode? ’cause I would’ve thought a month at best had passed.

Also, I’m guessing those things in the jars were emperor clones? some proto-Snokes or something?

Anyways, not a good one. Maybe don’t let Carl Weathers direct any more… no offense but yeah… =/

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Todd

It was a very brief episode. I’m guessing about seven minutes?

… I might have skipped every scene with Gina Carano to reach that time. I’m told I didn’t miss anything significant.

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Todd

She didn’t look great this time around… but seriously, between Carano, Weathers and whoever the blue guy is, you REALLY singled Carano out for bad acting? Because they were all pretty much horrible this episode… =/

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Todd

Jon wrote:

Because they were all pretty much horrible this episode

I didn’t get to see any of the scenes they were in. I think I lasted as long as Weathers picking up the child prop before I started skipping scenes. Next thing I know is we’re on some imperial ship and there was a tracing beacon placed on Mandos ship. I got the essentials.

Jon wrote:

Ahh boob armour gate, the newest Anita Sarkeesian controversy… =P

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Rocket, Todd

[Christian]

Jon wrote:

Whoa this one was VERY badly directed… everything that worked last week just didn’t this one. Also, damn, what’s up with time passage in this show?

I’ll be watching the last two episodes today, but this made me look up who directed the last one before this one, and it was Bryce Dallas Howard. Cool.

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by Christian.

I feel like Carl Weathers kept about 50 too many instances of him saying “hurry up” in the final cut.

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Christian, Dave

[Christian]

Christian wrote:

Jon wrote:

Whoa this one was VERY badly directed… everything that worked last week just didn’t this one. Also, damn, what’s up with time passage in this show?

I’ll be watching the last two episodes today, but this made me look up who directed the last one before this one, and it was Bryce Dallas Howard. Cool.

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by Christian.

I noticed her name too and had the same reaction… not her first directorial gig I’m assuming, but her first “big deal” gig, she did very well. Looking forward to see her direct more stuff in the future.

Ok, it was a fun half hour but….

One of the big complaints about Mando is it plays and relies too heavily on the nostalgia card – I can see the basis for that but, until this episode, didn’t mind it much.  This episode? Is drowning in it – the reactor controls above a pit, the edge with no rail, the stormtrooper shoot-outs and script lines, the speeder pursuit, the TIE fighter shoot-out – you could play SW nostalgia bingo with this episode and get a full house every time.  It was fun but it also hurt the episode very badly.

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Todd, Dave

Yeah, the speeder bike chase in particular seemed to deliberately lift several shots verbatim from RotJ. There’s a line between evoking the past and just repeating it.

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Todd, Ben

Jon wrote:

Also, I’m guessing those things in the jars were emperor clones? some proto-Snokes or something?

I think they’re growing super-soldiers, and that that’s their suits we see in that last shot. You see their shapes more clearly in the storyboard shots during the end credits, and they don’t look a thing like emperor or Snoke clones.

So the idea is probably they’re harvesting The Child’s blood to get his fucking midochlorians and they’re using some form of blood transfusion to create force-users. Force-using super soldiers. It’s a pretty cool idea, and it’s nice to finally have a bit of a shape of the overarching plot of the series.

The Bo Katan episode was indeed great. The sea monster moment was awesome, it just happened so quickly. And maybe it was because Dave and I talked about it, but actually I did kind of feel sorry for those stormtroopers – the way in which Deathwatch and Mando slaughtered them was just so brutal, and you could see them being afraid of Deathwatch. We’re super used to stormtroopers being mowed down as cannon fodder, but still, I kinda felt for those poor guys.

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Todd

Christian wrote:

And maybe it was because Dave and I talked about it, but actually I did kind of feel sorry for those stormtroopers – the way in which Deathwatch and Mando slaughtered them was just so brutal, and you could see them being afraid of Deathwatch. We’re super used to stormtroopers being mowed down as cannon fodder, but still, I kinda felt for those poor guys.

Ok, now I know you’re taking the piss.

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Christian

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Rocket, Jake, Todd, JRCarter, lorcan_nagle, Dave