The Mandalorian Season 1
Creator: Jon Favreau
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Rio Hackford, Gina Carano, Werner Herzog, Nick Nolte, Taika Waititi
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 8 episodes
What makes The Mandalorian work? A complicated question, but one with a simple answer; The Mandalorian is Lone Wolf and Cub. It’s a tried-and-true story that we’ve seen countless times, and yet still works. The premise of the gruff protagonist who knows his way around his world until it’s all thrown out of whack by his unexpected connection to a child. Now, throw a Star Wars skin on it and some Disney money and a hit is born.
I think everyone viewed the first episode the same way. Excitement at the action, amazement at the set designs and CGI, and curious of the hook. As cool as it all looks, what am I meant to hold onto? The Mandalorian himself barely speaks, he can’t emote through conventional means, and he has no personal life outside of bounty hunting. So how can an audience relate or care to a protagonist like that? Enter; Baby Yoda.
The end of episode one lit the lightbulbs above everyone’s heads. It immediately becomes clear why we’re to care. The Mandalorian (as well as the audience) felt an immediate connection to the little guy. The question of why he feels it never needs asking because he cares for the exact reason the audience does. He’s just downright adorable, no way around it. It doesn’t end there though, as the very existence of Baby Yoda piques interest and raises questions. Questions the audience genuinely wants to know the answers to. Where did he come from? Is it force sensitive? Are there more? This creates immediate investment in the story that some shows take entire seasons to build. Part of that is brand recognition, yes, but more than that it’s evidence of the show’s greatest strength; the beauty of its simplicity.
The Mandalorian isn’t a show with a lot of things going for it; instead, it has a few things going for it that work incredibly well. The cast is stacked but is utilized sparingly. The effects look great, better than many movies today, but those big explosive moments are rare. The show is quiet. It’s a throwback to a time before the mainstream serialization of television, but it doesn’t ignore the progress that’s been made since.
This is most evident at the midpoint of the season. Starting at episode four, lasting until episode seven, the show almost completely ditches its overarching plot. Though, there is still the loose thread of “What do I do with this baby?” that holds everything together. Beyond that, those three episodes work completely independent of each other, and their order is easily interchangeable.
While I happen to like this return to a simpler time of television, it certainly doesn’t come without issues and serves to demonstrate why so many prefer serialization today. These three episodes, (which I refuse to call ‘filler’, as that’s a garbage term) though all varying degrees of good, are undoubtedly the reason some find themselves less than in love with the show. Episode five is often cited as the worst of the bunch, and the three of them airing one after the other does feel like a bit much after it’s all said and done. Perhaps spacing them out differently would benefit the pacing better. Regardless, those episodes are still enjoyable and only come across as lackluster due to the outstanding episodes they’re sandwiched between.
On top of everything the show does well from a technical perspective, it’s also important to note how much right it does on the fanboy side of things. Star Wars is officially too big for its britches. Everywhere you look there’s discourse amongst fans about the direction of the franchise, the quality, the saturation. Star Wars has grown so much that it’s become possible for every person to love it for entirely different reasons, and with that comes the literal inability to please everyone. Yet, here comes The Mandalorian, literally pleasing everyone. Partially, that’s due to how small the show is. After all, it’s just about a man protecting his green baby.
More than that, though, is that it doesn’t make sweeping changes to the Star Wars world; it just lives in it. There’s no stepping on the toes of the franchise’s other contributors; instead, it pays tribute. Some may call that playing it safe, but I see it more as creators being entirely immersed in the world they’re playing in. It doesn’t need to change anything because the people behind it so clearly love what it is. If there are aspects that they find less desirable, then they don’t feel the need to tell us and instead only focus on the love.
Season one of The Mandalorian works because it knows what it is and where it comes from. It’s every Star Wars fan’s dream. Honestly, it’s such a longtime dream of mine that it actually feels a bit surreal that I’m even talking about it. Favreau and company manage to deliver a concise, satisfying, and nostalgic season from start to finish.
The Mandalorian Season 1
Season one of The Mandalorian works because it knows what it is and where it comes from. It’s every Star Wars fan’s dream. Honestly, it’s such a longtime dream of mine that it actually feels a bit surreal that I’m even talking about it. Favreau and company manage to deliver a concise, satisfying, and nostalgic season from start to finish.
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Writing8
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Acting8
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Production10