The Mandalorian is definitely a bright step forward for the Star Wars franchise. But I’m also left with some pretty big worries…
Spoilers for Season 1 & 2
I’m always a fan of spin-off pieces of media that aren’t afraid to go off the beaten path from the main series. It allows for the creator to explore aspects of that universe different from what made it popular in the first place.
The Mandalorian shows off a more serious and grounded take on the Star Wars universe. While there still are Star Wars staples like Stormtroopers and space battles, things like the Force and Jedi are treated with a lot more levity than the movies.
Some of my favorite spin-offs do their best to create new lore. A piece of media that can realize its place in a larger universe and still show off new characters really does a lot for me. And Star Wars is the perfect example of that. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Thrawn Trilogy, all pieces of media that snugly fit within the major plot points of the movies, but also create their own interesting narratives separate from them.
My problem is when a spin-off becomes a little too referential. A good spin-off (in my mind) finds a balance between creating new content and referencing old content. I do love when I see a character I recognize from an older movie I love, but once spin-offs start to rely on sheer recognition for all its emotional moments, I start to lose interest.
This was one of my main problems with the new Star Wars trilogy. Now don’t get me wrong, I think the movies do a lot right, but I wish they leaned away a bit from the references.
Woah, the Millennium Falcon… Oh look, it’s Han Solo! And he still has the hologram chess set installed, I remember that!
It’s hard for me to describe, but I’m not a huge fan of scenes that solely rely on evoking a “I remember that” feeling. The sequel trilogy leans into that a lot more than I’d wish.
Which is why I appreciate The Mandalorian stepping away from the mainline Star Wars movies. We can finally see some stories about a bounty hunter that isn’t Boba Fett.
Oh wait… He’s in the show now?
Yeah. That’s one of my biggest criticisms with Season 2. They lean back into the mainline Star Wars narrative.
Man… It was so fucking close. They were on a great path to establishing a group of new characters and locations that a new generation of viewers could attach to. But no. We have to see Boba Fett again. As for some of the “lesser known” characters like Ahsoka and the lady mandalorians from one of the animated shows becoming prominent characters, I’m a lot more optimistic.
I was initially upset about the inclusion of any character already established in another series, because I really wanted the Mandalorian to shine completely on it’s own without name-recognition of a Skywalker or Vader. But I think I’m okay with the show giving the spotlight to characters the mainstream audience might not know. Ahsoka’s popular for sure, but I’m curious how many people learned of her through the Mandalorian? I feel like a majority of people didn’t know who she was before she appears in Season 2, but I can’t really say.
Ahsoka name dropping Thrawn felt kinda cheesy. It took me out of the scene. If anything, it felt like the writers winking directly at me. Yeah I get it, you read the books and he’s probably gonna be a part of the show in Season 3 or beyond. You don’t have to make it that obvious.
Fuckin hell… Luke Skywalker. LUKE SKYWALKER. I was incredibly let down by the Luke reveal at the end of Season 2. It’s the biggest cop-out done for fan service in the whole show. I was reading alongside the reddit threads on the show’s subreddit, reading people’s predictions and criticism’s, and I got my hopes up. I saw some people hoping that Ezra Bridger, a character from Rebels, would show up in the last episode. I haven’t watched the show, but I was kinda excited for him to show up. I’ve never seen any media with him in it and I was interested to see how he’d interact with the main characters in The Mandalorian.
Instead we get Luke fucking Skywalker. Again. How many pieces of media has he appeared in? Like a gorillian? Too much probably.
The scene with him tearing up those droids was the most transparent bit of fan service, it makes me roll my eyes just thinking about it. The writers looked at Rogue One and wanted their Vader fight scene but with Luke, and it’s so obvious.
I’m generally not a cynical person in real life, but this really gets to me. It was the smart choice, because it got a lot more people talking than if some nobody from Rebels shows up. The superfans ate that shit up.
I mean, it’s not the worst thing in the world, but it just bothers me on principle, y’know? The whole reason I, and a lot of other fans, loved the show was because it was its own thing. It wasn’t reliant on lightsabers and Skywalkers, it was about bounty hunters. But as the show goes on, we get a little bit more lightsabers until we get full on Skywalker.
I feel that’s the progression for most Star Wars spin-offs. They start off with some original characters or locations, but over the length of that media, it slowly morphs into including characters we’ve been hearing about for decades. Rogue One, Battlefront II, Jedi Fallen Order, and now The Mandalorian.
I guess I should just accept that’s always gonna be the case. What’s Star Wars without Luke Skywalker or a Lightsaber? You can tell interesting stories without them, but Skywalkers and Lightsabers are what bring in the big audiences. I should just probably detach myself from Star Wars, because Disney is not going to forgo their most valuable assets to get butts in seats.
I hope I didn’t come off too cynical here. I liked a majority of The Mandalorian Seasons 1 & 2, but I felt more strongly about the nostalgia-bait, so I just rambled on about that. I’m still probably gonna watch Season 3. I just hope Chewbacca doesn’t become a main character or something…
Would I Recommend It?
I can imagine people that aren’t fans of Star Wars would enjoy this, and that isn’t something I’d say for a lot of Star Wars spin-offs. It took over the cultural zeitgeist for a few weeks for a reason. It’s a quality show. While I had some quibbles about the direction they’re taking the show, I feel like I’m in the minority. If nostalgia bait doesn’t get to you, then I’m sure you’d be hard pressed to find any negative aspect of the show.