The Mandalorian

[Benny]

If you only watched one episode of the first season and didn't like it, then honestly don't bother. You won't get anything more out of this one, especially if you've not watched the previous season.

[Distinct muttering]

1 hour ago, mushashi said:

I watched Episode 3 of S1 ages ago (primarily because of Werner Herzog) and thought it was fine, if unremarkable. I've been recommended to watch S2 of this.

 

My question being, is the hype real or is this a case of for fans only again? The IMDB/RT scores are stupidly high and I'd like to know if they are actually justified.

Maybe just devote 15 min of your life to find out for yourself, or do you rely on internet strangers to guide you through every decision in life?

[Stig]

Just finished season 2 and thought it was great, I enjoyed it much more than season 1. It wasn't till the last 2 episodes of season 1 where I really felt the show click for me. But this one I was drawn in throughout. Not to mention it looks amazing in 4k. Best looking TV show I've seen, even more than GOT.

 

I felt each epsiode had much more enjoyable missions, great action and a proper sense of an overriding arc. I also liked how its starting to fill in gaps between Jedi and Force Awakens and you can see the start of the rise of the First Order.

 

The last epsiode was awesome and I'm annoyed the

Spoiler

Luke reveal was spoilt for me but I enjoyed it all the same. It was pretty obvious it was him before he showed his face though. Green saber, black glove over the hand etc. Also, I never get tired of seeing R2 

 

I do wonder where the show goes from here now though because with Ahsoka getting her own show you'd expect the

Spoiler

Thrawn

stuff to be in that rather than this. I guess they'll just make new stories further removed from the main SW films, which obviously isn't a bad thing at all.

 

Also the love the post credit

Spoiler

in Jabbas Palace and I defiantly heard a "Maclunkey" in there from Bib Fortuna 

 

[HarryBizzle]

Final episode:

 

Spoiler

I think despite it being the best Star Wars in God knows how long, I still agree with @BitterToad

 

Once the initial awe of Luke being a space Ninja wore off, I was left wondering what him being there actually added other than to make us fanboy. We're left with a smaller universe once again, and more importantly, it feels like Mando and Grogu's story is ultimately just a footnote of the Skywalker saga, rather than something in its own right.

 

We also managed to take Mando, an absolute badass, who was able to hold his own against a Jedi (Ahsoka), and make him and all his pals look utterly impotent in comparison to Luke.

 

And lastly, what felt like it should have been the most important bit of the episode, Mando taking his helmet off to say goodbye to Grogu, not because he had to (like in the last episode), but because he wanted to, was totally overshadowed by Luke showing up and then standing there like an uncanny-valley CGI robo-puppet thing.

 

[kensei]

Spoiler

What other Jedi could or should have turned up? Grogu did his force call to the Galaxy; Ashoka already said no. 

 

Your options are:

 

* Bring back someone that should be dead

* Fan service a spin off character which is like the Luke reveal but shitter

* No one turns up and the show goes a third series on essentially the same plot

 

Luke is the only one that makes sense from a universe perspective. And he should, in fairness, be walking through all but the most serious threats. Him taking Grogu both lets the show take a new direction and leaves open the chance at a reunion later. 

 

Luke was fun, but the helmet removal scene is why the show is great. The latter enables you to have the former and it not be shit. When the excitement over Luke settles, that'll be clear. 

 

Think the end enables them to expand the universe and not shrink it, and will be disappointed if season 3 starts with him picking up Grogu again immediately. 

 

 

[Delargey]

26 minutes ago, kensei said:

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What other Jedi could or should have turned up? Grogu did his force call to the Galaxy; Ashoka already said no. 

 

Your options are:

 

* Bring back someone that should be dead

* Fan service a spin off character which is like the Luke reveal but shitter

* No one turns up and the show goes a third series on essentially the same plot

 

Luke is the only one that makes sense from a universe perspective. And he should, in fairness, be walking through all but the most serious threats. Him taking Grogu both lets the show take a new direction and leaves open the chance at a reunion later. 

 

Luke was fun, but the helmet removal scene is why the show is great. The latter enables you to have the former and it not be shit. When the excitement over Luke settles, that'll be clear. 

 

Think the end enables them to expand the universe and not shrink it, and will be disappointed if season 3 starts with him picking up Grogu again immediately. 

 

 

 

Spoiler

I think each of the "fan service" call backs were fine in and of themselves, but together, it makes the world seem smaller. You have Mando bumping into 4 legacy characters in a short period.

 

I wish they just saved it for Luke, but obviously, they needed to set up the new series.

 

[Jammy]

1 hour ago, kensei said:

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What other Jedi could or should have turned up? Grogu did his force call to the Galaxy; Ashoka already said no. 

 

Your options are:

 

* Bring back someone that should be dead

* Fan service a spin off character which is like the Luke reveal but shitter

* No one turns up and the show goes a third series on essentially the same plot

 

Luke is the only one that makes sense from a universe perspective. And he should, in fairness, be walking through all but the most serious threats. Him taking Grogu both lets the show take a new direction and leaves open the chance at a reunion later. 

 

 

No, there is another.

 

Spoiler

I thought with Ahsoka back we might have encountered a certain Mr Bridger. But I guess that’s likely wrapped up in the Thrawn/Ahsoka story that her own show will tell.

 

[womblingfree]

I just realised why Gus/Moff Gideon was so familiar. 

 

[sir stiff_one]

That guy man, wow! Always wondered why he had such an odd fitting name. Turns out he’s danish born half American half Italian. 

[kensei]

4 hours ago, Delargey said:

 

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I think each of the "fan service" call backs were fine in and of themselves, but together, it makes the world seem smaller. You have Mando bumping into 4 legacy characters in a short period.

 

I wish they just saved it for Luke, but obviously, they needed to set up the new series.

 

 

Spoiler

Going to Tatooine annoyed me a bit. That one does make things smaller. 

 

But there's a a certain amount of TV logic I think you have to just forgive. Familiar elements help the audience, or that's the the theory anyway. 

 

Now they've soft piloted all their new shows, hope things open up a bit more. 

 

[Ste_S]

The Disney Gallery episode for series 2 doesn’t cover

 

Spoiler

Luke at all. Are they going to cover him in another episode? They cover Ahsoka and Boba.

 

[Escape]

On 19/12/2020 at 11:24, c-cat114 said:

Loved almost everything about it. 

 

That said: I can see what the naysayers are saying. The arrival did relegate

 

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Mando to a passenger voyeur on his own series finale. I desperately wanted them to open the blast doors and take on the remaining dark troopers prior to the lift opening to help Luke out of a potential stand off. There was so many ways Mando could have been given a few heroic moments to parallel Luke's actions.

 

I'd like to have seen...

 

Spoiler

Mando waiting to the side of the bridge doors with his spear ready just after the X-wing came in, because he couldn't have attacked those farthest away without exposing himself or his spear, but he'd have downed some for sure, so why not have Luke saving the day shortly after Mando's been disarmed, swapping the Jedi combat for action on the bridge? At least injure if not kill a couple of the others.

 

They chose to have Mando standing there with his completely ineffective blaster, forgetting he'd recently one-shotted a Darktrooper with his Beskar spear, to instil tension. It's a tropetastic series, but that one had an obvious solution of having Mando and his mates overrun to show his spear wasn't godmode.

 

The bridge doors were another, where two DTs were almost through them in about the same time they needed to break the plexi windows on their bay doors. Those doors were wider, so why not have four DTs bashing them instead? Or they could've formed a robot scrum as an AI response to their earlier failure.

 

The prison episode in season one was pretty bad for this, where Kurgan was easily handled by Mando on the Razor Crest, but Hulked-out later on. Or IG-11 self-detonating to clear a bunch of Stormtroopers, when at any other point Mando would've just rocketed past throwing a couple of bombs. I felt they did a great job of levelling Mando up in the early episodes, but they've been chronic difficulty changers since.

 

And I reckon this is just me, but I actually found it easier to relate to Mando's emotions with his lid on. Whenever it was Pascal instead I was watching Pascal, y'know? The realworld equivalent of 8-bit imaginations! I think it's a case of either never showing us his face (characters can see it), or showing it a fair bit more so we're used to Spacewood with a helmet in place of a poncho.

 

As an areligious person, I also found it interesting that I liked the covert ‘cult’ the most. Probably just 'cause of the Armourer, though. Hers was definitely my way.

 

But grumbles aside (too many Saturday-arvo away missions, graboid excluded), I think it's the best Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back (and better than both that and the original), has my favourite score since Game of Thrones', and I think Mando's a better character than they've ever had. A Luke/Han amalgam, really. But a Vader-tier villain next time, please.

[Commander Jameson]

Me and my GF just did a binge watch of S1 and S2. She's not a Star Wars fan at all but really enjoyed this. We're just in the middle of watching Justified and both squee'ed at the Marshall.

 

I read through the whole thread last night and was surprised by the reactions to the music early on. I really liked Göransson's work on Venom and Tenet, and got into the music here very quickly. I think his work does take a couple of listens to worm its way into your brain. I know it did me.

 

This was the most Star Warsy thing I've seen in ages. I saw that some episodes were not as popular, like the village one or the prison one, but I enjoyed all of them immensely. I think being shown part of a world that you know but also don't know was very well done.

 

Can't wait for S3.

[FiveFootNinja]

3 hours ago, Commander Jameson said:

I read through the whole thread last night and was surprised by the reactions to the music early on. I really liked Göransson's work on Venom and Tenet, and got into the music here very quickly. I think his work does take a couple of listens to worm its way into your brain. I know it did me.

Totally agree with you. I was really surprised by the lukewarm reaction to the score. I loved it straight away and the S1 tracks are some of the most played on my Apple Music from this year. S2 pushes it on even further quality wise.

[sir stiff_one]

There’s a video on YouTube of him talking about making it. It’s brilliant.

[Eighthours]

Yeah, the music’s bloody awesome.

[Festoon]

On 31/12/2020 at 20:04, FiveFootNinja said:

Totally agree with you. I was really surprised by the lukewarm reaction to the score. I loved it straight away and the S1 tracks are some of the most played on my Apple Music from this year. S2 pushes it on even further quality wise.

 

People don't like the score? Really? The single best thing about the Mandalorian, for me.

[Pob]

 

1 hour ago, Festoon said:

 

People don't like the score? Really? The single best thing about the Mandalorian, for me.

 

I was reading through the earlier part of this thread and loads of people had an instant dislike of it, me included. I think it's because it wasn't used in the best way in the early episodes. The main theme is dropped during the blurgg riding scene in episode 1 and doesn't really fit. Or maybe it just grows on you. I didn't like that theme when I first heard it, now I watch the credits all the way to the end every time.

[Mogster]

8 hours ago, sir stiff_one said:

There’s a video on YouTube of him talking about making it. It’s brilliant.

 

One of the Gallery episodes is all about the score too, which is probably where the Youtube video is ripped from based on that Ahsoka video earlier in the thread.

 

Chalk me down as another who loved the score from the start too. I was really surprised to see that some didn't when the show started, but glad to see it's apparently a grower.

[mushashi]

On 27/12/2020 at 19:29, Benny said:

If you only watched one episode of the first season and didn't like it, then honestly don't bother. You won't get anything more out of this one, especially if you've not watched the previous season.

 

So you need to consume it in its entirety to get anything out of it? That's always a turn off if the episodes can't convince you on their own of their inherent quality.

 

I just started watching DEVS, the first episode was enough to get me interested, but I like Alex Garland's previous works, so that probably helps.

 

I'm not adverse to Star Wars, having given Disney enough money in the past to watch prior stuff based on it, but the episode of S1 of this didn't seem to be more than a TV-level effort, so I was curious if S2 had stepped up the quality level. I also only watched one episode of Picard, and apparently my initial feelings about that show were accurate according to a Star Trek-loving friend.

 

I was recommended to try E4, the one directed by Carl Weathers, so once I've finished DEVS, I'll give that one a go and see if it's any better.

[mushashi]

dupe.

[AfromB]

How about starting with the first episode and working through them in order so that you can follow the story?

[sir stiff_one]

2 hours ago, Mogster said:

 

One of the Gallery episodes is all about the score too, which is probably where the Youtube video is ripped from based on that Ahsoka video earlier in the thread.

 

Chalk me down as another who loved the score from the start too. I was really surprised to see that some didn't when the show started, but glad to see it's apparently a grower.

 

[sir stiff_one]

32 minutes ago, AfromB said:

How about starting with the first episode and working through them in order so that you can follow the story?

Just drop it man. I have no idea what he’s looking for, but it’s like the opposite of what we stand for here in Mando town. This is the way.

[Stoppy2000]

14 hours ago, mushashi said:

 

So you need to consume it in its entirety to get anything out of it? That's always a turn off if the episodes can't convince you on their own of their inherent quality.

 

I just started watching DEVS, the first episode was enough to get me interested, but I like Alex Garland's previous works, so that probably helps.

 

I'm not adverse to Star Wars, having given Disney enough money in the past to watch prior stuff based on it, but the episode of S1 of this didn't seem to be more than a TV-level effort, so I was curious if S2 had stepped up the quality level. I also only watched one episode of Picard, and apparently my initial feelings about that show were accurate according to a Star Trek-loving friend.

 

I was recommended to try E4, the one directed by Carl Weathers, so once I've finished DEVS, I'll give that one a go and see if it's any better.

This is a very bizarre way to try to watch a TV show surely? Picking random episodes of an overarching narrative in the hope they appeal to you? Just watch season 1 episode 1. If you don't like that then you won't like the rest of it. 

[Stoppy2000]

14 hours ago, AfromB said:

How about starting with the first episode and working through them in order so that you can follow the story?

Haha missed this post which pretty much sums up my own response. 

[SharkyOB]

On 19/12/2020 at 22:46, Hamus said:

 

So they introduce this amazing Mandolorian character who's kickass, and new Yoda kid.

Who could well be set up to be an awesome new Jedi.

Which is a long set up and not puddle deep. Both things you've cried for.

It's very fresh - a mercenary killer who won't show his face, and he spins it all around because of a child.

 

This is a massive sell to parents too, don't underestimate that. It works, it pulls strings and it has depth I imagine you cannot fathom.

Once you have kids you get it. It's there. Mando understands that.

 

Star Wars has always been about family. This series took two wholly separate and different souls and crashed them together to form a family.

Which, heartbreakingly, then ended.

Yet it managed that, without someone saying I'm your father/cousin/nephew/clone/all the Jedi/sith/etc.

 

To make a family from two such juxtaposed characters, is far beyond what Star Wars has ever achieved before.

 

It's masterful, and bookending it with the *that bit * which many of us wanted for 30+ years is the absolute best way to close it off...and push it forward.

 

Has your poetry ever been published?

[cavalcade]

I'm one of those tiresome people who doesn't really like the Mandolorian. I've forged on with Season 2 and I have to say my overwhelming feeling is that it's such a waste. Some of the visuals are spectacular - proper 70s scifi paintings come to life. Absolutely beautiful imagery hobbled by such ponderous, terrible characters and dialogue. 

 

Imagine if Firefly was blessed with this sort of budget and quality of CGI. That would be a show and a half. Imagine if the Mandolorian had any sort of humour, soul or verve in the writing. The introduction of Katie Sackhoff in an episode just served as a reminder for how BSG was characters first, SFX second and all the better for it. 

 

I think some of the hollowness feels almost deliberate. As if it's designed to be consumed with an associated cloud of Youtube videos and articles pointing out that X's toenail was a reference to a Star Wars game in the late 90s, or whatever. I'm not, not enjoying it. It's fine, I guess. Just a shame it's not better.  

[Stoppy2000]

Just stop watching it then. 

[CarloOos]

On 02/01/2021 at 19:29, mushashi said:

 

So you need to consume it in its entirety to get anything out of it? That's always a turn off if the episodes can't convince you on their own of their inherent quality.

 

I just started watching DEVS, the first episode was enough to get me interested, but I like Alex Garland's previous works, so that probably helps.

 

I'm not adverse to Star Wars, having given Disney enough money in the past to watch prior stuff based on it, but the episode of S1 of this didn't seem to be more than a TV-level effort, so I was curious if S2 had stepped up the quality level. I also only watched one episode of Picard, and apparently my initial feelings about that show were accurate according to a Star Trek-loving friend.

 

I was recommended to try E4, the one directed by Carl Weathers, so once I've finished DEVS, I'll give that one a go and see if it's any better.

 

Honestly, complaining that you can't just watch random episodes of something and fully appreciate it, whilst using the intricately plot-focused Devs as your counter-example, is one of the most absurd things I've seen in a while. You should have watched episode 3 of that first, see how far you got.

 

I'm not a Star Wars fanboy and have a short attention span for TV shows, but you can watch a whole season of this in around the same time as a long film. They're only 8 episodes each and they're mostly 30mins. It's not a big commitment.