the Mandalorian - Disney+

[Ru_1977]

I guess I shouldn't criticize the show for filling in the storyline between the OT and ST, as noted it is the established story now - I just don't like that story choice of everything falls apart!

It isn't that serious topics or cynicism shouldn't be in Star Wars, I also like the stakes in Andor and Rogue One, and the darker aspects of Obi-Wan's show, and the idea that the Outer Rim was and always will be in their own. But that stuff makes the PT and OT story stronger, the way The Clone Wars made Order 66 and Anakin's fall more impactful.

I think I get what you're saying, but no way can I articulate it as well, let alone better. I still really wish, somehow, they'd come up with a new threat for the ST. Stormtroopers... okay. Kylo Ren and Snoke? Sure... but maybe something new, or something long forgotten, so we don't simply poopoo on the ending of ROTJ. Which poopooed itself enough already. And also would have preferred to not regurgitate the OT so hard that we turn it inside out.

But I really wish they hadn't hinged everything in the ST on the main trio failing. I get the OT happened, at least in part, because the main characters of the 'previous story' failed, but come on. That wasn't how the story was told so I can't think of it that way.

Mandalorian really started out great because, even with callbacks and "oh, I had that figure" stuff, it was still its own corner of the galaxy. Even going back to Tatooine, or bringing in Ahsoka or Boba Fett... I thought that was awesome, especially since they weren't really joining the main cast. They were big cameos. And I know it was always intended from the beginning for Mandalorian to lead into the ST in a lot of ways, that was always clear, but I probably enjoyed the show more when I could ignore those aspects.

But that's fine. I'll still watch the show but I may hold off a few weeks so I can binge several together.

[Prophet924]

It’s called Star Wars so I guess they always have to be at war or something.

The revenge on Dr. Pershing was cold. He’s too gullible to have seen otherwise. Can’t wait to see him the break out of Moff Gideon. It’s coming.

With Bo hanging with the Watch I want to see a clash of “the way” vs what led to the Mandalorian home world getting laid waste. Why is it “the way”? I will consider this season a failure if they do not explore this.

I know Death Watch was about a strong militarized society. The Armorer is not building a group of soldiers but rather warriors who keep to themselves. Their weapons are formidable. They are hard to kill. Their armor is both source of power and their greatest commodity.

I want to see them explore more interesting stories. I don’t give a crap about the new Republic. Thanks Sequel Trilogy.

Why did Bo Katan’s way fail? How did she loose the saber?

I’ll say it. Grogu is just a cute little distraction. He is not adding to the story. Yes he helped save Mando by getting the sulking Princess off her butt. But honestly he’s not needed.

This whole redemption arch and exploring what makes up a Mandalorian did not need the cute lil guy spinning chairs or hugging lil droid smiths. Grogu actually learning how to master his abilities in the Force is better more challenging writing.

But we gotta sell toys and merch. They reunited Grogu too quickly. I know there’s a “how Grogu escaped story” coming from the teaser trailers. Grogu can be cute with Luke as he could with Mando.

I wonder who else gets to taste Moff Gideon’s vengeance. Bo’s home destroyed. Pershing mind flayed. Will we see an attack on Fennic Shand? Is that how Boba Fett is drawn into this. Shoot Fett is probably on the vengeance dance card too.

I still think there’s interesting stories to tell that aren’t confined to Sequel Trilogy. That’s what 20-30 years away. You can have all sorts of interesting stuff happen in that time. Grand Admiral Thrawn, Imperial remnant, Mandalorians uniting, Jedi coming together Ezra/Ahsoka/Luke, new Republic can still be interesting or contribute… I do like one aspect of the Sequel Trilogy. The final battle at Jakku. That is an interesting time in the Sequel Trilogy’s past that gives promising story for future stories.

Thwipp!


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[fac]

With Bo hanging with the Watch I want to see a clash of “the way” vs what led to the Mandalorian home world getting laid waste. Why is it “the way”? I will consider this season a failure if they do not explore this.
......
Why did Bo Katan’s way fail? How did she lose the saber?

I like the idea that Bo is rethinking her dismissal of the old ways given the new ways has resulted in her having no power, no group supporting her, and no planet - all while this "nobody" Din has the Darksaber and if he hadn't been unconscious would have seen a Mythosaur...

This whole redemption arch and exploring what makes up a Mandalorian did not need the cute lil guy spinning chairs or hugging lil droid smiths. Grogu actually learning how to master his abilities in the Force is better more challenging writing.

But we gotta sell toys and merch. They reunited Grogu too quickly. I know there’s a “how Grogu escaped story” coming from the teaser trailers. Grogu can be cute with Luke as he could with Mando.

I still wonder if the long range plot/plan was to have Din be on his own for much of this season, but fears that Pascal had given up on the show meant they pulled an audible to have BoBF serve as a potential resolution of the Mando/Grogu storyline if Season 3 never happened, so Grogu is being forced into the story as an accessory. I agree that Mando on his own for a while dealing with the Mandalorian stuff and Boba Fett and so on might have gone better without Grogu and the reunion happening middle or end of the season would have had more punch.

I still think there’s interesting stories to tell that aren’t confined to Sequel Trilogy. That’s what 20-30 years away. You can have all sorts of interesting stuff happen in that time. Grand Admiral Thrawn, Imperial remnant, Mandalorians uniting, Jedi coming together Ezra/Ahsoka/Luke, new Republic can still be interesting or contribute…

I agree, I want to see more of that stuff as well - it is the undercurrent of seeing the rise of the First Order and that the wealthy could care less who is in charge and that life still sucks for many that I'd rather not deal with.

But I really wish they hadn't hinged everything in the ST on the main trio failing. I get the OT happened, at least in part, because the main characters of the 'previous story' failed, but come on. That wasn't how the story was told so I can't think of it that way.

Yep - the PT story had the heroes lose (more so than fail I think), and it is meant to be tragic, so that the OT heroes fix things - it works to build the natural story. The OT ends in a good spot, but they rip that up so that the ST heroes can fix things that we felt our original heroes had already fixed.

And the OT group in the ST all die poorly if you ask me - alone and unhappy and with regrets (granted, they had little choice with Carrie's untimely death). For instance, Ben dies in the OT, but he does so for a reason - trying to make up for the past and help the future to support Luke. Conversely Han dies for no good reason other than a character beat for Kylo Ren being evil. Han could have been written to have gone out a hero - maybe he leads the trench run on the Starkiller base, but this time he and Chewy can't do the last-minute escape and also destroy the base, and he chooses his exit and destroys the base. Maybe that is what brings Luke back, not begging from Rey, realizing that in his exile he had let down his friends, which was always his best character trait. Now I am all riled up about how much I want to forget the PT...

[SalemCrow]

I don't need to see the Snow White sequel where Prince Charming dumps her for a younger, hotter princess after Snow, in her 40's, has put on a few post-motherhood pounds, and we see Snow start drinking to compensate and have a hard time being a single mom, until she has to move back in with the Dwarves to take care of Dopey who was paralyzed in a mining accident - even if that is "realistic" and "good drama with honest conflict and emotions".

Dude - you could pitch this to Hulu and get a two season order.

He can't, because I already did.

Overall I'm enjoying this season, but I wasn't really invested in the scientist part of the last episode.

[AdrienVeidt]

Imho, it is flat-out *impossible* for the ST to be canon simply because it's impossible to believe Redeemed Anakin would allow Palpatine to DO IT AGAIN to his grandson without any word from him, Ben, Qui-Gon, or Yoda. Without some very goddamned good retconning of where they all were while Palps was pushing both Kylo *and* Luke towards their confrontation that broke the new Jedi Order this whole tale simply cannot happen as those four simply would not sit on their ghostly asses doing nothing whatsoever. It's ludicrous nonsense to me and I flat-out reject the ST as canon.

[Bip]

I liked the episode but it felt short as hell. After the conversation between Bo Katan and the Armorer I was like where's the rest of it.

[Andron X]

I thought it was a nice redemptive moment for Ahmed Best. After the shit he went through playing Jar-Jar, they made him the Jedi that saves Grogu

[fac]

It was OK but a few things bugged me:

Spoiler! :

Good thing the flying dinosaurs don't eat all that fast on the planet....and Mom was going to only feed one of the baby birds?

The rest of the Mandalorians don't have ships to fly around in, only Bo? Have they considered maybe living somewhere that doesn't include giant predators?

I did like the somewhat cruel image of an empty helmet in the nest...

[Prophet924]

No spoilers tags?

Spoiler! :

I loved that they had Ahmed Best be the Jedi to help save Grogu. I’m sure I’ve read that on message boards before. “Just wait till they have Jar Jar rescue Baby Yoda” in the Mandalorian. Funny. Star Wars can be fun.

I like these episodes that feel more like Westerns. Hunting party to rescue the child taken by wild animal. It’s a simple story and can give the characters more time and space to have the character building moments. Bo is getting to use her leadership skills and walk the way. Know the people she is hoping to unit. Obviously she can still learn. I think she sees a wisdom in the way the Armorer keeps this group together. It will be interesting to see more about who this Armorer is. I still want to see the clash of ideals. Why is it the Way?

I think again they could have had a bit more in the dialogue with Bo as they were on the rescue. Dialogue between Bo and the Watch. Like how do you get to know each other when you can’t see a person’s face. Blind people still feel a face to get to know a person by “seeing” them.

Granted these episodes are short. Dialogue time is short. It was good to see them show some limitations in the jet packs. Their fuel doesn’t sustain long flights. It was also good they are integrating Grogu more in a the group. Hus fight with darts was clever. Showed us more about Randor(?) That was the kid’s name right? He was cocky just shooting one at a time. The judge said you can choose how to deploy the darts. Just zap Grogu three times and it’s over. Grogu figured it out. It will be interesting to see more between those two.

Why did the Armorer fashion a circuit loaded medallion thing for Grogu? Is it a portion of his chest armor? What is it going to do that the mail wasn’t going to do? Interesting piece.

I also wonder where the other ships are for this group. They have to get supplies from more than the resources on that planet. Are they making jet pack fuel? They gave to have a space ship of sone sort. How do more come to grow the he covert? It has to be some form of recruiter or guide that secretly gets them there.

Enjoyed it quite a bit.

Thwipp!


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[Akatsuki]

Very exciting episode! Two very cool rescue sequences.


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[TheSameIdiot]

The wheels are spinning, but we aren't actually going anywhere.

Grogu reuniting with Mando after zero (0) episodes apart is stupid. Bringing the two together again was somewhat forced by the Sequel Trilogy (of course), but it didn't have to happen this soon. Then Favreau says they were separated for two years. Sure would've been nice to see some of that time on the TV show The Mandalorian. Fortunately, over the course of those two untelevised years, Mando didn't develop at all as a character, and his/Bo Katan's quest for Mandalore was in stasis. At least the writers got the cheat code of a more powerful Grogu without having to do any of the actual work.

I thought the flying dinosaur stealing the kid was a waste of time. It recycled the turtle-crocodile storyline of Mando/his crew saving the extremist sect.

My only other comment is infant Grogu doing flips and shooting paintballs at the other kid looked ridiculous. I finally see where some of you were coming from with Yoda's duel against Palpatine in ROTS.

This show's fall from grace in my eyes has been about as abrupt as any I've ever seen. I loved season two until they brought Luke Skywalker in for a Glup Shitto-style cameo. Now I find it basically unwatchable.

[Ru_1977]

I don't see myself as one of those "can't wait for the popular thing to fail", as I really wanted to enjoy this show and be excited about it. But I forgot to watch the most two most recent episodes and am in no hurry to remedy that. My kids aren't into the show anymore which puts even less fire under me about it.

I also realized Last Of Us

Spoiler! :

kinda ruined me for shows with Pedro Pascal reluctantly taking on a young charge to get them to people who will care for them, only to find along the way that his practiced coldness and pragmatic yet violent nature falls away as he accepts and embraces the young charge like family. Even when given a choice to continue on with Pascal or go off with what is probably a safer and/or better option, the moment was handled masterfully compared to Mandalorian.

So yeah, if they weren't going to really explore the separation, then it would have been better to have Grogu make that choice then and there and tell Luke to take a hike.

I know there's some apples to oranges there but Mandalorian really lost a lot of its flavor for me. And that is a genuine bummer because I liked the first season, and liked the second even more. I was completely down with video game cut-scene Luke actually.

[Prophet924]

I thought the Luke moment was pretty special. Yeah Luke Skywalker is important to me and him being the Jedi I remember as opposed to the one in the sequels was more memorable.

I thought some of the visuals were silly too in this episode. But I watched this with my whole family. My 14 year old acknowledged it was goofy but had fun watching this kind of goofy. He roots for his buddy Grogu. So while it looks goofy. Maybe the story is being put together with not the same care as the previous episodes but it appealing to all ages is probably better than it being more of the gritty gunslinger. Put it in perspective to me.

Fall from grace is a really odd perspective. Grace being what massive hype? Popularity? Being exempt from harsh criticism? Nope it’s not as popular as it was. It seems the story is not really going somewhere but rather just separate stories told in this world. Is that the fall from Grace? I don’t know fall from Grace seems harsh.

I read somewhere Grogu cheated. I don’t think it was these boards. Seemed to me he learned. The judge said you can fire your darts however you like. First to three. The kid in an over confident manner blasts Grogu one at a time. Grogu dodges the last shot from hitting him, distracts the kid with his ability in the Force, then lands all three of his darts on the kid. Now Grogu may not understand the importance of sparring. It’s not clear what he was taught at the temple. But he learned from that encounter while it may have seemed he was disadvantaged, he wasn’t.

Luke basically reignited probably a latent ability in his species. That’s all the training we saw on screen in a differently named program. It seems it’s an important part of who Grogu is. Yes Yoda as a much older member of that species looked ridiculous. I think that has more to do with us younger folk who equate old with being slow and not nibble. But apparently his species can jump.

Watching the show with my wife and two sons changes how I enjoy the show. We laughed and joked about the Grogu waddling in the sand. But we all liked it. Probably because we like to see Grogu in live action. I love the Muppets so I’m fascinated how they even get the shots with that puppet. Sone shots work better than others. It’s okay. I bet the film makers learn too.

Thwipp!


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[fac]

I think one issue is they have turned Din into something of a narrative device to get to the bigger stories Filoni wants to continue from the prior shows. Din as the mysterious loner who ends up taking care of Grogu as his adopted child has kind of run its course, narratively, once Grogu chose Din over the Jedi Training and we know Mando will choose Grogu over everything else as well. Now it is just Din and Grogu on adventures - which is fine, but it has become the connective story to bring back Boba Fett, continue Bo Katan's story of the rebirth of Mandalore, reintroduce Ashoka and maybe pick up from Rebels, and now build towards trouble in the New Republic. Given how slowly Grogu is developing, I also suspect that adult Grogu is going to be the link to a post ST timeline at some point - like Star Wars:The Next Generation set 100 years from current SW times.

All of those are interesting stories potentially, but are they Din and Grogu's story right now? The leads have become a plot device to tell other stories...

This is why resolving Din and Grogu's separation so soon was a mistake I think (and absurd to do so in a different show, even if it was a spin-off/continuation). Din having a season alone, where he is dealing with Boba Fett, needing a ship, trying to get back in the Covert's good graces, and explore Mandalorian lore/politics - so far none of that needs Grogu. We could have flashed to Grogu getting trained every few episodes, maybe have Din visit as he did, and then have the reunion/Grogu's choice come at the end of this season after Din has figured out what sort of Mandalorian he is going to be, which would have meant we knew that real time had passed.

So I think the problem so far is they don't have a compelling Din/Grogu driven storyline. They have dropped in links to the other post OT stories they had in the works (like Ashoka) for series have yet to appear, or (like the Rangers of the New Republic) for series that are not going forward - now part of this show whether it really fits or not.

If you had told me the original plan was to do Book of Boba Fett without any Grogu/Din reunion stuff, I'd believe it; if you told me the storyline with the scientists, space pirates, and rehabbing Imperials was originally part of the planned Rangers of the New Republic storyline, I'd believe it; if you told me that the Grogu and Luke scenes were originally going to be part of the Ashoka series, I'd believe it. And if you told me they repurposed all of those story ideas into BoBF and this season of Mando because of things going off the rails behind the scenes, including Covid production delays, and firing Carano, and not sure if Pascal was going to continue in the role, etc., I'd believe it.

[Aleks]

This show feels more and more like a video game, and not even a good one. Useless quests, characters who were not given enough dialogue or development. I just can't take this "This is the way" shit seriously anymore. What are you, !@#$ Uganda Knuckles? Stop it.

Throughout the second episode, the characters go back and forth exchanging simple dialogues. Bo-Katan could have gone with Din from the very beginning, so we wouldn't have to go through the same caves again and again. Maybe then she would ask him about the saber, cult, or what he really wants. But it seems that the writers simply have nothing to say through these characters at all. Only generic things that we already know. The third episode was too long, but at least they tried to show something new...New Republic and how stupid it was (thanks sequels). The fourth episode is another sidequest. BUT LOOK! Bo-Katan now has a new shoulder pad, so we can sell a new version of the toy! You even have Glup Shitto cameo! (and honestly, it was the best part of this episode).