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Possible spoilers ahead.
The Mandalorian, which made its debut in November 2019, continues to put Disney+ on the map after a surprisingly dry year for the streaming service. The latest season of the Emmy-award winning Star Wars phenomenon (which premiered October 2020) offers a refreshing story about a lone mercenary trying to make his way in a deadly world. Set in the aftermath of one of Star Wars’ major events the show spotlights the adventures of the Mandalorian (played by Pedro Pascal) and a mysterious young alien creature, known as The Child.
At the end of season 1 the Mandalorian (Mando for short) defeats the equally mysterious villain, Moff Gideon, a warlord bent on capturing the Child for sinister purposes, leaving Mando to find a home for the Child. As it becomes clear that Gideon will stop at nothing to find him Mando must reunite the Child with his own kind. However, this task proves to be a challenge because with every turn our heroes take Gideon’s men and other rogues seem to be around every corner. Accompanying Mando is a charismatic supporting cast. Cara Dune (Gina Carano), a former rebel shock trooper turned sheriff assists Greef Karga, (Carl Weathers) the Mandalorian’s former boss, as Mando struggles to navigate the untamed and crime-ridden outer territories of the Star Wars galaxy.
In addition to an all-star cast, the plot of the series takes many interesting turns as new avenues are explored and characters evolve. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly series creator, Jon Favreau, states, “As we introduce other characters, there are opportunities to follow different storylines,” Favreau remarks, “The world was really captivated by Game of Thrones and how that evolved as the characters followed different storylines — that's very appealing to me as an audience member.” While it is absolutely not mandatory to have seen any other previous installments of Star Wars in order to understand The Mandalorian, I personally recommend for viewers to have at least watched the first three movies before watching this show. As there are many characters and callbacks that are featured in this series (especially in season 2!)
Furthermore, the visual effects are astounding. I have never seen a television series with this much effort and skill put into it. You can tell that the crew and artists on The Mandalorian gave it 110%. This is also in part to the VR camerawork used on the set in order to simulate extremely realistic backgrounds. “The Mandalorian is the first production ever to use real-time rendering and video wall in-camera set extensions and effects,” Favreau told Collider. So it’s no wonder why the wide expanse of space or the sand dunes of a desolate desert planet look absolutely beautiful in this production.
However, despite an extremely talented cast and crew the show isn’t without its flaws. For a series with only 8 episodes per season, which rarely go over 40 minutes, there are a surprising amount of filler episodes. These chapters usually don’t do much to advance the plot and that can really take the viewer out of the experience. I suggest skipping the first two episodes of the show if you are on borrowed time. With that said, most of these episodes usually introduce a new character that comes into play later on so they aren’t a complete waste of time.
All in all, after a year of delays and disappointments The Mandalorian swooped in on its spaceship and offered a fresh new take on the Star Wars franchise. From the stunning visuals to its intriguing characters and storylines The Mandalorian earns its 4 ½ stars out of 5. Personally as a hardcore Star Wars fan I believe this series is one of the best things to happen to this franchise. And the season 2 conclusion made my jaw drop. Finally, if you make it long enough to the end don’t forget to watch through the credits as there is a Marvel style end-credit scene for those who stick around for the last few seconds.
Cover photo courtesy of starwars.net.
About the writer:
Michael Ybarra is a staff writer for for The Lion's Roar. You can learn more information about the writer by clicking here.
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