The Mandalorian

[Circa]

Kinda shocked there isn't a thread for this here, since I think overall it has been well received and shit posts would be at a minimum. I'd prefer it to be that way. Let's discuss the Mando, likes/dislikes and be civil and concise about your reasonings. I have to put this on anything about new Star Wars content, unfortunately. Any personal vendettas to constantly shit on the topic at hand will be warned.

This is also spoiler heavy, so don't keep reading if you haven't watched it all yet. It's only available on Disney+ right now (legally) and nothing has been said about a physical release yet.

Overall I really liked season 1. It's some of the best Star Wars we've had since Revenge of the Sith. My main complaint about it is that the episodes are way too short. I think they wanted to play it safe and keep them shorter so kids can watch them easier, but in my opinion it ruins the pacing a bit to have them so short.

The Mandalorian as a character is really well done. He's introduced as a mysterious gunslinger bounty hunter, and as the season goes on, we learn more and more about him, eventually learning his actual name. They did really well with implementing Mandalorian culture throughout it, even canonizing some legends stuff that hadn't been yet. I think it's interesting that the Mandalorians that he's a part of became extremely strict about their rules after the Purge, not even allowing their helmets to be removed. We don't see that in previous Mandos in Clone Wars or Rebels, so it must be a way to preserve their culture in a new way since their numbers were thinned out and scattered. I hope we see more of that.

The ending shot was extremely cheesy, with the Darksaber. But it was still cool to see it in live action. Really looking forward to seeing how that guy got it, and if Mando ends up with it.

[Circa]

They just announced a new series on Disney+ about the making of The Mandalorian, airing on May 4th. Looking forward to that!

https://twitter.com/starwars/status/1250408538263949313

Edited October 31, 2020 by Circa

[Noodle]

I liked it a lot. I think the episode's duration was related to the whole concept of doing things "faster and more intense".  My favorite episode was the one where they infiltrated on the republic transport. 

[NumberWan]

I didn't like the show overall, but some scenes and episodes were good. The introduction of the Mandalorian was well-made and enjoyable, however the general feel was closer to Star Trek than Star Wars (imho). I guess in this series we could say, that the unknown appearance of the main character without emotions on the "face" works both ways – a mysterious warrior, but with the story pace too slow. Again, this is how I feel about the character.

The blue alien in S01E01 was too Star Trekish. I wish they kept the IG droid a little longer in the series, instead there was just tooooo much of the Little Green Guy. And jokes around him were a way too repetitive.

Jawas were most welcome, but I didn't like them being outside their home of Tatooine. I mean it's possible they could be seen on other planets, but it looked more like a parody for A New Hope experience. They could make Jawas different here, like that they have some sort of a factory or small town, which could move around the rocky planet. Instead of a very similar Sand Crawler. The whole adventure with the egg looked fun, but not more. Most planets remind of Tatooine or Endor, which was boring. I wish they added something more extraordinary like Felucia or Christophsis.

Seeing Tatooine was a nice touch however, and I enjoyed the Lady Mechanic there. Probably my favourite character on the show. The bounty hunter was dull.

The episode with AT-ST didn't impress me. But the simple, yet quite active plot with the Republic Prison ship was good. It had all the things I expect from a short Star Wars story.

Clone Wars Flashbacks are always welcome.

I guess the show works very nice for those who enjoys Westerns – it has all the classic moves and motives in here. Personally I would like to see Season 2, as with the experimental stuff around Star Wars, the second try usually works better (e.g. Rogue One). There are already interesting rumours surrounding the new episodes of Mandalorian.

[Circa]

Okay, so first episode of Season 2 was extremely good. Spoilers:

Spoiler

The KOTOR references were so well done. Not only was the krayt dragon amazing looking (one thing KOTOR got wrong, imo, since it's based on the skeleton we see in ANH), but the way they went about taking it down was very similar. Communicating with the Tuskens was awesome as well, something we've never seen much of in any medium, but in KOTOR you use HK-47 to translate, but Mando straight up learned their language directly.

The best nod to KOTOR though was the Krayt Dragon pearl that they removed from the corpse. I got so happy at that point. ? 

Involving Cobb Vanth was really cool and kind of expected. I was worried that Mando would see he's a good man and let him keep Boba's armor but was relieved that they didn't do that.

Then of course, that last shot, the one we've all been wanting since hearing about this show. Boba himself is confirmed alive. I hooped and hollered at the TV and the people I watched with had no idea what I was on about. They didn't really recognize him, so we had to back it up and they were OH WOW IT REALLY IS HIM.

So excited for this season.

[Noodle]

I think its pretty cool that the mandalorian (a man from a warrior culture) shows more respect for the tusken raiders (another warrior culture) than for the gipsy-like jawa scavengers. Its one of those things that feel like it'd happen in real life too. 

[fullkevlar]

On 10/31/2020 at 11:38 AM, Circa said:

Okay, so first episode of Season 2 was extremely good. Spoilers:

  Reveal hidden contents

The KOTOR references were so well done. Not only was the krayt dragon amazing looking (one thing KOTOR got wrong, imo, since it's based on the skeleton we see in ANH), but the way they went about taking it down was very similar. Communicating with the Tuskens was awesome as well, something we've never seen much of in any medium, but in KOTOR you use HK-47 to translate, but Mando straight up learned their language directly.

The best nod to KOTOR though was the Krayt Dragon pearl that they removed from the corpse. I got so happy at that point. ? 

Involving Cobb Vanth was really cool and kind of expected. I was worried that Mando would see he's a good man and let him keep Boba's armor but was relieved that they didn't do that.

Then of course, that last shot, the one we've all been wanting since hearing about this show. Boba himself is confirmed alive. I hooped and hollered at the TV and the people I watched with had no idea what I was on about. They didn't really recognize him, so we had to back it up and they were OH WOW IT REALLY IS HIM.

So excited for this season.

It was a very fun episode.   

Spoiler

The whole puke dragon fight reminiscent of Game of Thrones (which Pedro Pascal was on) was great.  They even included the ballista's.

Im highly certain Cobb Vanth will show up again.   He may be gifted some sort of armor from Din, after he finds out Boba Fetts armor is not beskar.   Or come back later for reinforcement in a later flight.

And the acid damaged eyebrow-less Boba was intriguing, I'm glad he was not fully as he was when he went into the sarlac.   

 

[Circa]

1 minute ago, fullkevlar said:

It was a very fun episode.   

  Hide contents

The whole puke dragon fight reminiscent of Game of Thrones which Pedro Pascal was on was great.  They even included the ballista's.

 

I didn't even think of that reference. Ha. That's interesting.

[fullkevlar]

10 minutes ago, Circa said:

I didn't even think of that reference. Ha. That's interesting.

I do not know if it was intentional, but that was my thought when I watched the episode.

[fullkevlar]

Less enthused with today's episode.  It was okay, though seemed mostly filler due to the presentation.

Spoiler

The inclusion of a marvel ant-man ant as an alien was a bit cheese,  and the frog quest so far also was a bit predictable.  I called out most of the scenes before they happened.

Also, for mando to be absolved of his involvement of the prison break was too quick.  Justice for Davan!

Also, baby yoda eats babies.

 

 

[the_raven]

While I love the show, I have to say, I've noticed that the second season feels different. It's less gritty, less moody, feels more family-friendly and the pacing is a bit messy. If in the first season there were many shots that would drag on setting the mood, showing off the surroundings, now it feels like we're just jumping from one action scene to the next.

Maybe it's just because of the pandemic that the production is a bit sloppy, or maybe it's just me. I don't know.

On 10/31/2020 at 5:38 PM, Circa said:

 

  Hide contents

Then of course, that last shot, the one we've all been wanting since hearing about this show. Boba himself is confirmed alive. I hooped and hollered at the TV and the people I watched with had no idea what I was on about. They didn't really recognize him, so we had to back it up and they were OH WOW IT REALLY IS HIM.

 

Wait, what? That was him?? I may be a bit thick in the head, but how could anyone recognize him? ?

 

23 hours ago, fullkevlar said:

Less enthused with today's episode.  It was okay, though seemed mostly filler due to the presentation.

  Hide contents

The inclusion of a marvel ant-man ant as an alien was a bit cheese,  and the frog quest so far also was a bit predictable.  I called out most of the scenes before they happened.

Also, for mando to be absolved of his involvement of the prison break was too quick.  Justice for Davan!

Also, baby yoda eats babies.

 

Agreed. To wait for a whole week just to get...

Spoiler

...a filler about eggs and spiders that ends on a cliffhanger.

I suppose it's decent in terms of expanding the universe's lore, but other than that, just meh.

But what's the big deal about baby-Yoda...

Spoiler

eating babies eggs? They're not fertilized yet, so they're not babies. Don't we all eat eggs and caviar (which is technically fish eggs)?

 

[Circa]

7 hours ago, the_raven said:

While I love the show, I have to say, I've noticed that the second season feels different. It's less gritty, less moody, feels more family-friendly and the pacing is a bit messy. If in the first season there were many shots that would drag on setting the mood, showing off the surroundings, now it feels like we're just jumping from one action scene to the next.

Maybe it's just because of the pandemic that the production is a bit sloppy, or maybe it's just me. I don't know.

I think it's just you. There are tons of shots still that way, mood feels exactly the same to me. Family friendly isn't even close to being accurate either. We see some pretty brutal scenes so far, the whole dragon bit for starters was pretty terrifying, as was the spider scene in episode 2. Other than scare factor, we see him kill people with no remorse, even in episode 2 at the start, he lies to the scavenger creature and sets off his jetpack, letting him fall to his death. Also, all his killing and lying and other things are done in front of the child, who we already see have a major temptation for the dark side.

8 hours ago, the_raven said:

Wait, what? That was him?? I may be a bit thick in the head, but how could anyone recognize him? ?

 

Spoiler

Not sure how you wouldn't be able to recognize him. It's clearly Temuera Morrison. Obviously older than we saw him in 2002, but definitely him and already confirmed to be Boba. Here's a screenshot for a better look if you'd like.

 

[the_raven]

On 11/7/2020 at 11:44 PM, Circa said:

I think it's just you. There are tons of shots still that way, mood feels exactly the same to me. Family friendly isn't even close to being accurate either. We see some pretty brutal scenes so far, the whole dragon bit for starters was pretty terrifying, as was the spider scene in episode 2. Other than scare factor, we see him kill people with no remorse, even in episode 2 at the start, he lies to the scavenger creature and sets off his jetpack, letting him fall to his death. Also, all his killing and lying and other things are done in front of the child, who we already see have a major temptation for the dark side.

  Hide contents

Not sure how you wouldn't be able to recognize him. It's clearly Temuera Morrison. Obviously older than we saw him in 2002, but definitely him and already confirmed to be Boba. Here's a screenshot for a better look if you'd like.

 

Maybe. But the jetpack scene felt kinda Looney Tunes-y to me. Also, like I've said, the new episodes jump from one (cool or not) action scene to the next a lot quicker than the previous season's episodes did. I'm guessing it's because many morons people complained about how the show had very slow pacing.

As to Boba/ Morrison, I don't really follow his career or life, so it's understandable that I wouldn't recognize him. The only non-AotC movie I've seen him in was an Australian sci-fi film about an alien invasion, and he still looked more-or-less the same as in AotC (granted, he did look older and I didn't recognize him right away). That being said, he's also bald here, which is another factor.

[fullkevlar]

Good well rounded third episode.

Spoiler

The new imperial ship was cool,  the action was good, and the various little gags were nice and not over the top.

I do not watch any of the cartoons, but what they did so far with what I understand to be cartoon characters, made a good live action transition.

 

[fullkevlar]

Todays episode was pretty good.    It had me wondering, are they adding things from Dark Forces, Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy? 

Is Michael Biehn Kyle Katarn?

Spoiler

Looks like they might be including what looks like Dark Troopers into the Mandalorian season 2 based on the end scene with the mysterious black armor-  Is Michael Biehn from the Terminator and Aliens movies going to be Kyle Katarn?   

The actor is set to be a guest star in this season, and I would argue he looks like an aged Katarn.      

It would be an interesting homage to his role in the Terminator, where he faced ..... overpowered robots bent on destruction and domination..

[Circa]

Pretty good episode!

On 11/20/2020 at 11:39 AM, fullkevlar said:

Todays episode was pretty good.    It had me wondering, are they adding things from Dark Forces, Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy? 

Is Michael Biehn Kyle Katarn?

  Hide contents

Looks like they might be including what looks like Dark Troopers into the Mandalorian season 2 based on the end scene with the mysterious black armor-  Is Michael Biehn from the Terminator and Aliens movies going to be Kyle Katarn?   

The actor is set to be a guest star in this season, and I would argue he looks like an aged Katarn.      

It would be an interesting homage to his role in the Terminator, where he faced ..... overpowered robots bent on destruction and domination..

That would be very interesting.

Implementing Dark Troopers would be crazy. I'm excited to see what happens with that. We have to keep our expectations for that low though, especially with Kyle. There's a good chance they won't be using the Kyle Katarn name. I will be shocked if they do, but a lot of this show has shocked me, so who knows.

 

[fullkevlar]

17 minutes ago, Circa said:

Pretty good episode!

That would be very interesting.

  Reveal hidden contents

Implementing Dark Troopers would be crazy. I'm excited to see what happens with that. We have to keep our expectations for that low though, especially with Kyle. There's a good chance they won't be using the Kyle Katarn name. I will be shocked if they do, but a lot of this show has shocked me, so who knows.

 

Spoiler

Well they did incorporate things from Knights of the old Republic, in the dragon fight and the pearl.

And they did re-release the jedi academy games this summer on consoles, perhaps to get Kyle Katarns name out to people.

It's a fun thought, I'm not expecting anything, but you never know.   

I also have been surprised by a lot of what they put out for content, it's way better than I expected thus far.

 

 

 

[Circa]

I think spoiler tags can be avoided, I have put a warning at the top so people know that this topic will contain spoilers. Will make it easier for us to read going forward.

58 minutes ago, fullkevlar said:

Well they did incorporate things from Knights of the old Republic, in the dragon fight and the pearl.

And they did re-release the jedi academy games this summer on consoles, perhaps to get Kyle Katarns name out to people.

It's a fun thought, I'm not expecting anything, but you never know.   

I also have been surprised by a lot of what they put out for content, it's way better than I expected thus far.

Very true, although Krayt dragons were a thing before KOTOR, seen and heard (sorta) in ANH, but I get what you mean. The whole plot of that episode was clearly KOTOR inspired. We'll see!

[fullkevlar]

Good stuff today.

New planet, Laser shotgun, Baby grogu.

I think luke might be making an appearance at some point, which would be interesting.  Probably season 3, to not detract from the other characters being brought in this far.

Also, I'm glad they gave Pedro back his spear from Game of Thrones.  Now all he needs is a hulking enemy to face in one on one combat... Lucky his helmet might be crush proof.

Funny thing, one of the first maps I built I was a spice mine map that includes a warlord/magistrates lair, housing a spear on display.(amount other things). 

 

[Circa]

Wow. This episode was amazing, definitely my favorite of the season so far. I was super worried about seeing Ahsoka in live action and casting who they did, but it ended up being great. I found it interesting that they made her look like she did in season 7 of the Clone Wars rather than Rebels. She should have longer horns and lekku technically, but looking past that, it was good. Seeing her fight with her dual white sabers was insane.

Glad we finally got the name for the child. It was getting a little absurd how long we went without knowing it. It's a good name too, fits the Yoda-esque.

The fact that she name-drops both Thrawn and Tython was very unexpected but very exciting! That means there's a chance we could see some Heir to the Empire sort of story beats. And Tython! Really hope it looks similar to how it does in SWTOR. I think it was the best part of that game, it really captured the perfect essence of the ancient Jedi. I wonder what it'll look like in the show.

[Mandalorian]

Back from the dead! Last episode was a dream come true for me.

Boba getting his armor back and Slave1! Teaming up with Din! Dark Troopers too!

[fullkevlar]

I guess the Razor Crest was not in the Rise of Skywalker.

The Razor Crest mapper is in for a surprise.

 

[NumberWan]

I feel somehow, that Slave I might end in the hands of Din in the future. Not this season, but in the end perhaps.

 

[Noodle]

9 hours ago, fullkevlar said:

I guess the Razor Crest was not in the Rise of Skywalker.

The Razor Crest mapper is in for a surprise.

 

My first thought when the Razor Crest got killed was "oh no! that poor mapper is gonna suffer so much!"

[Teancum]

Do you think Boba put the armor back on and thought he needed to lose a little weight?