The Mandalorian (Star Wars Live Action Series)

[The Buffinator]

Anyways here is my review of the latest episode.

ABSO FREAKING MIND BLOWING AMAZING!

Hands down the most gorgeous lightsaber illumination ever used in all of SW!

RD was freaking amazing she looked gorgeous while simultaneously bad ass and at times super freaking scary!

What a beautiful beautiful looking episode just absolutely blown away!

RD live introduction was a huge WIN!

Lightsaber battles were spectacular.

ZERO COMPLAINTS!

I agree, RD absolutely killed it as Ahsoka. and her ninja-in-the-mist introduction was mind blowing!

Also, Biehn hasn't lost his touch - he still knows how to lose a gunfight.

 

[Sassafras]

Spoiler

I'm assuming the gawd-awful reveal to which you refer is The Child's actual name (Yeah, I think I'll be staying with Baby Yoda lol). It can't be AT's introduction - IMO the atmosphere and action in that opening scene was incredible. And I disagree about RD's portrayal lacking charisma - I thought she nailed it. After watching TCW and what I've seen of her in Rebels (just finished Season 2 and her battle with DV), that was exactly the mature, self-assured demeanor I expected from her character at this point in her life. And while Mando took a bit of a back seat in this episode, given it's essentially a one-and-done for AT for the time being I don't know how else they could have possibly done justice to a character of her stature without that being the case. Now (similar to our intros to Cobb Vanth and Bo-Katan), Mando & BY continue on with their quest and we're left to speculate if/when their paths may cross again.

I did find her "quiet time" with BY a bit uneven and the samurai aspect of her confrontation with the magistrate was initially somewhat jarring style-wise (sort of the same feeling I had when Kill Bill's Beatrix Kiddo walked into that snowy garden to face O-Ren Ishii). But that feeling passed quite quickly for me, as the duel was nicely choreographed.

Yes, that was one thing. I'd say this is my least fav episode and am less likely to rewatch than any others. At the moment as haven't had enough sleep in 2 days so that may color things. But:

Spoiler

1) Name is gawd-awful.

2) I did like the entry which IMO was pretty effective. Light against dark.

3) For me this was often a writing fail tho on different levels.
Much like IMO the overloads of certain characters vs. others in Infinity War - to the point I felt like I was watching upcoming movie ads - Din D'jarin could've just cracked a cold one and sat the whole thing out. And with only 8 episodes it's a waste. Feel neutral about Ahsoka but it's like this show was stolen as an ad for a spinoff series.

IMO there were some very good moments tho - Din D'jarin sitting with the sleeping Child I thought was pretty heart-stabbing. A really effective way to handle a very difficult moment.

For me - the charm of the Child has been the utter innocence combined with apparently being an uber-Force user. So u never knew when he'd use the Force, or even if he fully understood the danger he was in at times. This show to me clumsily torpedoed that - oh, no, no, he had a lot of training; he's just been hiding what he can do all this time. In theory it's like the Child's age/skill set jumped from toddler to teenager with a single clumsy script. Baby has just been STUBBORN about his abilities. Or AFRAID.

So he loves Din D'jarin so much he was willing to let Moff Gideon take him out outside the lava tunnel and/or get eaten by spiders because he's scared. WTF.

Meanwhile Ahsoka doesn't want to train this Child because he loves Din D'jarin so much that training him would make him a danger like - name drop Anakin, sort of. Because if u haven't watched Clone Wars u'd be pretty confused. The PT had a bunch of little kids in training - so wouldn't ALL little kids have strong emotions about their families? Isn't JEDI training about learning to deal with emotions? Are we saying that little Baby Yoda is as strong or stronger than Anakin Skywalker?
What do you mean, "let his abilities fade?" If it's a natural born ability, why would it fade? And it's not like leaving Baby untrained wouldn't leave him vulnerable to the Dark Side anyway. And, Baby was so scared last episode he used the Force to grab himself a snack. WTF.

Season 1 set up Din D'jarin as at least CONCERNED about these "enemy sorcerers". He flat out says he knows nothing about them. He's an experienced bounty hunter; wary. So meeting a Jedi for the first time, they just blow through things that I'd think would be kinda logical to ask about. Like, what's a light sword? Wow, this chick can leap 20 feet into the air? I'm not at all creeped out by that. My Beskar held off this weapon - that's different. So if Ahsoka can use this "Force" why doesn't she just Force choke everyone to get what she needs? Din D'jarin doesn't ask about this "Yoda" species?

So after Din D'jarin has 30 seconds of target practice and picks up a new weapon (guess I should be saving for the next HT special edition so I can get the version with the diecast spear - and is Din D'jarin now a warrior for God like the Mummy 2?), he's sent off to a temple - so this child can beam his thoughts into the galaxy. Not like any random Dark Siders might pick up on that. Or Din D'jarin rightly didn't point out the Empire was still chasing this Child. Not to mention this sounds like Frodo at Amon Hen.

Hilariously it's said there aren't that many Jedi left; so THIS is a great idea! (Am surprised Din D'jarin at this point doesn't go "You know what, &^%$ it, I'm gonna go back to Sorgon and hook up with the pretty widow, and work out a deal with Greef to trade all the spotchka Nevarro can drink in exchange for his best bounty hunters as protection".) Also, Ahsoka was ever protective of the innocent, and u don't just waltz into a Jedi temple - so she doesn't offer to go along for protection? Din D'jarin doesn't get more *&^% off at being lied to? WTF.

One of the things I've luved about this show is short as episodes are, there was IMO a narrative flow. Things led from A to B in Din D'jarin's wanderings. IMO this should have been a pivotal moment of the tension/curiosity between Mandalorian and Jedi. Instead it's more like, great, Bo-katan said ur cool, so I'm good. There was more tension about a culture clash when Bo-katan's warriors pulled off their helmets. WTF.

Not to mention IMO derailing Baby's character or effectively aging him by years, in theory. From unknowing innocent to apparently traumatized preteen? teen? who knows exactly what goes on but isn't going to use his powers, until he does. For &^^%$ sake, Season 1 he hadn't even known Din D'jarin that long and protected him from the mudhorn, and Greef was a total stranger and he Force healed him. Tried to heal Din D'jarin as well, so guess he wasn't scared at the time

Maybe I'll re-see things later but IMO this script blew, and was more of an excuse for Ahsoka to wave the admittedly cool lightsabers around and name drop Thrawn for a spin off series. Things happened because the script needed them to happen. Tho IMO there was some excellent stuff like the murky blasted planet and claustrophobic city, and the incredibly brief but effective clash between Din D'jarin and Ahsoka. Ahsoka's sudden appearances were menacing.

As for Dawson - don't have any real opinions of actress; but portrayal didn't work the way the Marshall and Bo-katan did for me. Like, the Armourer had gravity but she was compelling, even faceless. At least the swirling cloak looked cool, kinda LOTR-ish....so for Aksoka fans guess this is the show of their dreams, lots of light saber action. . And *yeah* we are set up for every Jedi that ever existed to show up as Force ghost or other, so maybe I'll get a Qui-Gon appearance.

But really hope this show goes back to carving out Din D'jarin & co. as players in the SW universe in their own right, vs. a whole lot of rehash.

Sorry for the long-winded rant but . F & F can do better IMO.

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

Nobody would be happier than me about that (well except for like, a quarter million other fans maybe ) but as I've said, I don't think it's practical at this point. Sidestepped at best, undone...not so much.

Just undone by omission I suppose and perhaps a bit contradicted/undermined.

 

[The Buffinator]

All I'm really saying is I am now pretty optimistic that the ST will be avoided at the very least in favor of other pursuits and it is likely that LS makes a cool appearance.

With the exception of some Easter eggs thrown in here and there I agree they will (& should) avoid ST related story lines, simply because that story has just been told and it's far enough in the future to be irrelevant to Mando's adventures.

Ezra seems more likely than Luke at this point.

Pretty sure Luke doesn't begin training the new generation of Jedi until 6 years after this.

Regardless of who shows up, The Child isn't going anywhere, the whole show is based on the bond between him and Din. Getting rid of him would make a lot of casual viewers (and subscribers) lose interest, as well as giving up tons of merchandising opportunities.

Also lets move on from the ST talk .

I agree, Luke seems very unlikely. And how would they pull it off? A de-aged Mark Hamill face on someone else's young, svelte body? I don't see that happening.

 

[user 64404]

My only complaint is the size of Ahsoka horns, they should be at least in her wrist, in Rebels they were bigger than in this episode

 

[chewblacca]

Just watched the last episode twice now. WOW was that good!

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

I agree, Luke seems very unlikely. And how would they pull it off? A de-aged Mark Hamill face on someone else's young, svelte body? I don't see that happening.

I think we will see him but not necessarily soon. Perhaps even a series finale type appearance. And likely a cgi situation.

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

Regardless of who shows up, The Child isn't going anywhere, the whole show is based on the bond between him and Din. Getting rid of him would make a lot of casual viewers (and subscribers) lose interest, as well as giving up tons of merchandising opportunities.

No doubt. I would be very surprised if they were separated for any extended period.

 

[chrisstbh]

No doubt. I would be very surprised if they were separated for any extended period.

Gideon is probably gonna turn up at some point and get hold of the child, then Mando is going to have the Avengers assemble all the people he has met along his journey to battle Gideon and his forces.

That Beskar spear will allow him to duel against the Darksaber.

 

[The Buffinator]

Yes, that was one thing. I'd say this is my least fav episode and am less likely to rewatch than any others. At the moment as haven't had enough sleep in 2 days so that may color things. But:

Spoiler

1) Name is gawd-awful.

2) I did like the entry which IMO was pretty effective. Light against dark.

3) For me this was often a writing fail tho on different levels.
Much like IMO the overloads of certain characters vs. others in Infinity War - to the point I felt like I was watching upcoming movie ads - Din D'jarin could've just cracked a cold one and sat the whole thing out. And with only 8 episodes it's a waste. Feel neutral about Ahsoka but it's like this show was stolen as an ad for a spinoff series.

IMO there were some very good moments tho - Din D'jarin sitting with the sleeping Child I thought was pretty heart-stabbing. A really effective way to handle a very difficult moment.

For me - the charm of the Child has been the utter innocence combined with apparently being an uber-Force user. So u never knew when he'd use the Force, or even if he fully understood the danger he was in at times. This show to me clumsily torpedoed that - oh, no, no, he had a lot of training; he's just been hiding what he can do all this time. In theory it's like the Child's age/skill set jumped from toddler to teenager with a single clumsy script. Baby has just been STUBBORN about his abilities. Or AFRAID.

So he loves Din D'jarin so much he was willing to let Moff Gideon take him out outside the lava tunnel and/or get eaten by spiders because he's scared. WTF.

Meanwhile Ahsoka doesn't want to train this Child because he loves Din D'jarin so much that training him would make him a danger like - name drop Anakin, sort of. Because if u haven't watched Clone Wars u'd be pretty confused. The PT had a bunch of little kids in training - so wouldn't ALL little kids have strong emotions about their families? Isn't JEDI training about learning to deal with emotions? Are we saying that little Baby Yoda is as strong or stronger than Anakin Skywalker?
What do you mean, "let his abilities fade?" If it's a natural born ability, why would it fade? And it's not like leaving Baby untrained wouldn't leave him vulnerable to the Dark Side anyway. And, Baby was so scared last episode he used the Force to grab himself a snack. WTF.

Season 1 set up Din D'jarin as at least CONCERNED about these "enemy sorcerers". He flat out says he knows nothing about them. He's an experienced bounty hunter; wary. So meeting a Jedi for the first time, they just blow through things that I'd think would be kinda logical to ask about. Like, what's a light sword? Wow, this chick can leap 20 feet into the air? I'm not at all creeped out by that. My Beskar held off this weapon - that's different. So if Ahsoka can use this "Force" why doesn't she just Force choke everyone to get what she needs?

So after Din D'jarin has 30 seconds of target practice and picks up a new weapon (guess I should be saving for the next HT special edition so I can get the version with the diecast spear - and is Din D'jarin now a warrior for God like the Mummy 2?), he's sent off to a temple - so this child can beam his thoughts into the galaxy. Not like any random Dark Siders might pick up on that. Or Din D'jarin rightly didn't point out the Empire was still chasing this Child.

Hilariously it's said there aren't that many Jedi left; so THIS is a great idea! (Am surprised Din D'jarin at this point doesn't go "You know what, &^%$ it, I'm gonna go back to Sorgon and hook up with the pretty widow, and work out a deal with Greef to trade all the spotchka Nevarro can drink in exchange for his best bounty hunters as protection".) Also, Ahsoka was ever protective of the innocent, and u don't just waltz into a Jedi temple - so she doesn't offer to go along for protection? Din D'jarin doesn't get more *&^% off at being lied to? WTF.

One of the things I've luved about this show is short as episodes are, there was IMO a narrative flow. Things led from A to B in Din D'jarin's wanderings. IMO this should have been a pivotal moment of the tension/curiosity between Mandalorian and Jedi. Instead it's more like, great, Bo-katan said ur cool, so I'm good. There was more tension about a culture clash when Bo-katan's warriors pulled off their helmets. WTF.

Not to mention IMO derailing Baby's character or effectively aging him by years, in theory. From unknowing innocent to apparently traumatized preteen? teen? who knows exactly what goes on but isn't going to use his powers, until he does. For &^^%$ sake, Season 1 he hadn't even known Din D'jarin that long and protected him from the mudhorn, and Greef was a total stranger and he Force healed him. Tried to heal Din D'jarin as well, so guess he wasn't scared at the time

Maybe I'll re-see things later but IMO this script blew, and was more of an excuse for Ahsoka to wave the admittedly cool lightsabers around and name drop Thrawn for a spin off series. Things happened because the script needed them to happen. Tho IMO there was some excellent stuff like the murky blasted planet and claustrophobic city, and the incredibly brief but effective clash between Din D'jarin and Ahsoka. Ahsoka's sudden appearances were menacing.

As for Dawson - don't have any real opinions of actress; but portrayal didn't work the way the Marshall and Bo-katan did for me. Like, the Armourer had gravity but she was compelling, even faceless. At least the swirling cloak looked cool, kinda LOTR-ish....so for Aksoka fans guess this is the show of their dreams, lots of light saber action. . And *yeah* we are set up for every Jedi that ever existed to show up as Force ghost or other, so maybe I'll get a Qui-Gon appearance.

But really hope this show goes back to carving out Din D'jarin & co. as players in the SW universe in their own right, vs. a whole lot of rehash.

Sorry for the long-winded rant but . F & F can do better IMO.

Long-winded is right. I was going to answer it point by point, but there's simply too much to unpack!

But I do have a few comments:

Spoiler

- Ahsoka needed Mando to save the villagers and eliminate the magistrate's leverage, so he really couldn't sit this one out;

- Your points about BY's backstory contradicting past events are valid;

- Mando wasn't raised to view The Jedi as his sworn enemy, so he was always likely to go by his gut and judge her by her actions. Besides, The Armorer (who he respects immensely) tasked him to find a Jedi and Bo-Katan sent him to Ahsoka, so taking a non-adversarial approach make sense;

- The Jedi temple that AT is sending them to is supposedly in ruins, so it should be less waltzing into a scary temple and more climbing over its rubble.

 

[ZE_501]

Yes, that was one thing. I'd say this is my least fav episode and am less likely to rewatch than any others. At the moment as haven't had enough sleep in 2 days so that may color things. But:

Spoiler

1) Name is gawd-awful.

Spoiler

What *exactly* is wrong with it? i.e. what else should it have been? I've said elsewhere I think it actually works well.

3) For me this was often a writing fail tho on different levels.
Much like IMO the overloads of certain characters vs. others in Infinity War - to the point I felt like I was watching upcoming movie ads - Din D'jarin could've just cracked a cold one and sat the whole thing out. And with only 8 episodes it's a waste. Feel neutral about Ahsoka but it's like this show was stolen as an ad for a spinoff series.

It fits with their Game of Thrones-ish promise, and why not leave 'em wanting more? Can only stare at that bucket for so long.

For me - the charm of the Child has been the utter innocence combined with apparently being an uber-Force user. So u never knew when he'd use the Force, or even if he fully understood the danger he was in at times. This show to me clumsily torpedoed that - oh, no, no, he had a lot of training; he's just been hiding what he can do all this time. In theory it's like the Child's age/skill set jumped from toddler to teenager with a single clumsy script. Baby has just been STUBBORN about his abilities. Or AFRAID.

Honestly, I wouldn't take that too literally. He's been trained a lot to feel the force, knows how to levitate things, heal wounds and can Force-choke a ************er, but cognitively he's clearly still just a toddler who's bright enough to have figured out/felt in the Force that some people mean him harm. I take all of that as more instinctive and inconsistently so, as you'd expect from a toddler.

Meanwhile Ahsoka doesn't want to train this Child because he loves Din D'jarin so much that training him would make him a danger like - name drop Anakin, sort of. Because if u haven't watched Clone Wars u'd be pretty confused. The PT had a bunch of little kids in training - so wouldn't ALL little kids have strong emotions about their families? Isn't JEDI training about learning to deal with emotions? Are we saying that little Baby Yoda is as strong or stronger than Anakin Skywalker?

Canonical or not, the PT and much subsequent media is a quagmire of contradictions and paradoxes regarding Jedi and what they should or shouldn't do. It's poorly conceived to begin with so I try not to pay very close attention to any of it. None of it stands up to close scrutiny.

What do you mean, "let his abilities fade?" If it's a natural born ability, why would it fade? And it's not like leaving Baby untrained wouldn't leave him vulnerable to the Dark Side anyway. And, Baby was so scared last episode he used the Force to grab himself a snack. WTF.

Yep, more sloppy writing.

As for Dawson - don't have any real opinions of actress; but portrayal didn't work the way the Marshall and Bo-katan did for me. Like, the Armourer had gravity but she was compelling, even faceless. At least the swirling cloak looked cool, kinda LOTR-ish....so for Aksoka fans guess this is the show of their dreams,

I'm not a big Ahsoka fan, but I think she worked quite well. We have wildly differing perceptions of this show, though. Bo-Katan worked for me, but I found the Marshall to be a goofy Saturday morning cartoon caricature, likewise for the Armourer/NPC in a video game. I don't find her to have much gravitas at all.

Sorry for the long-winded rant but . F & F can do better IMO.

Long-winded rants are what Star Wars is all about!

I think Favreau can do better because I've seen it, I don't think Filoni can do better. I think he's done much worse and pray that Favreau and company keep him reined in, because I think he's a poor writer and a bit of a hack relative to what could be done with the Star Wars mythos. Unfortunately I'm compelled to accept that he's a major force behind the current mythos since his work is canon.

 

[The Buffinator]

Gideon is probably gonna turn up at some point and get hold of the child, then Mando is going to have the Avengers assemble all the people he has met along his journey to battle Gideon and his forces.

That Beskar spear will allow him to duel against the Darksaber.

Good call!

 

[a-dev]

No doubt. I would be very surprised if they were separated for any extended period.

I expect him to lose the child at some point. It just seems like a thing that has to happen for dramatic purposes because of the bond they're building. I know there was a time in season one where he didn't have the child but that was when he willingly, albeit somewhat hesitantly, handed him over to fulfil his original mission. It'd be a different story now if he lost the child. You'd see real anguish and desperation and then determination to get him back - kinda like Denzel Washington in Man on Fire.

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

I expect him to lose the child at some point. It just seems like a thing that has to happen for dramatic purposes because of the bond they're building. I know there was a time in season one where he didn't have the child but that was when he willingly, albeit somewhat hesitantly, handed him over to fulfil his original mission. It'd be a different story now if he lost the child. You'd see real anguish and desperation and then determination to get him back - kinda like Denzel Washington in Man on Fire.

Yes perhaps for a period of time or even a season ending cliffhanger. I'm just saying Mando won't permanently send him away to Jedi boarding school.

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

So much happened and changed. Ahsoka is unveiled, Mando gets an awesome new weapon, The Child gets a name, a super villain is unveiled, new plot lines are implied. This show could theoretically last for several seasons. They can't do a spin-off show for everyone, can they?

 

[user 64404]

I think we will see him but not necessarily soon. Perhaps even a series finale type appearance. And likely a cgi situation.

Dude just get prepared to see a new actor playing Luke in the 30 years before TFA, Mark Hamill can only be used in the 10 years gap before TFA (The force projection look from TLJ).
I think Filoni and Jon Favreau are remaking the "Heir to the Empire" using the expanded characters like Erza, Ahsoka or Cal. They will be taking Luke's place in the history.

 

[Matt S]

Anyways here is my review of the latest episode.

ABSO FREAKING MIND BLOWING AMAZING!

Hands down the most gorgeous lightsaber illumination ever used in all of SW!

RD was freaking amazing she looked gorgeous while simultaneously bad ass and at times super freaking scary!

What a beautiful beautiful looking episode just absolutely blown away!

RD live introduction was a huge WIN!

Lightsaber battles were spectacular.

ZERO COMPLAINTS!

I loved every min of the ep, too. Far as I'm concerned, baby yoda's name is Baby Yoda, lol.

My only complaint is the size of Ahsoka horns, they should be at least in her wrist, in Rebels they were bigger than in this episode

I noticed that. Can't help but wonder if they were toned down for practical reasons: easier for the actress to do stunts, etc

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

Dude just get prepared to see a new actor playing Luke in the 30 years before TFA, Mark Hamill can only be used in the 10 years gap before TFA (The force projection look from TLJ).
I think Filoni and Jon Favreau are remaking the "Heir to the Empire" using the expanded characters like Erza, Ahsoka or Cal. They will be taking Luke's place in the history.

I don't think you will see much of Luke on this show. Just a cgi appearance that will appeal to OT fans, a ST apology of sorts.

 

[Victοr]

Spoiler

Why, so he can abandon him like everyone else or get him killed by Han and Leia's psychopathic loser son?

Spoiler

That's been retconned. Ben/Kylo/Supreme LARPer killed one student by accident, and another when he became a NIN fan. The Knights Of Ren weren't even really involved. They were a bunch of nobodies worshipping a saber held by a nobody named Ren. Good ol' Sheev blew up Luke's Academy. It's in the recent Marvel Kylo Ren Mini-Series. I know, I know, it sounds bad, but remember; canonically, in-universe, canon to the PT, ST and OT, Palpatine announced his return in FORTNITE. And apparently that now has a running storyline with Thor, Galactus, Iron Man and Doctor Doom, so... Jedi Master Stark vs Sith Lord Doom when?!

Mara Jade Emperors hand lol such a horrible character

Thrawn trilogy has such a ridiculous convoluted plot with ridiculous characters.

Trash trash trash

1v1 me IRL!

 

[choombaz]

I noticed that. Can't help but wonder if they were toned down for practical reasons: easier for the actress to do stunts, etc

I think it is intentional and there will be a story/explanation.