Oh Star Wars. One of the most beloved and successful franchises of all time, it has seen trying times ever since Disney acquired the rights. With a fandom completely ripped apart and a trilogy that didn't have a clear vision going in, there was a lot going against the franchise. With the unveiling of Disney+, Jon Favreau brings the audience a show that deals not with the Jedi, the Sith, or the Skywalkers, but rather takes a look at a different type of character: a Mandalorian. Already, it was indeed refreshing to see this side of the universe, and the result has been quite possibly one of the best things to come out of this franchise in a long time. In this review, I will go over exactly what makes the first season of The Mandalorian an absolute success, and whatever quibbles it may have that could be improved upon with time:
UPS
- Mando. To start things off, I have to talk about our titular protagonist, who is as great as they come. He's incredibly badass, and yet what really sells him is his heart and humanity. The more the season goes on, the more layers are peeled back to reveal the psyche of this character. Best of all, almost all of it is done with body language instead of dialogue. That right there is enough to sell this show as something that is truly pushing the franchise in a different direction in regards to storytelling.
- Baby Yoda. I know, he's all everyone's talking about, but I still think he deserves mentioning. It's not so much about him being so damn adorable (which he really is,) but it's also about what he represents, and that is the personification of Mando's humanity. All that he does is in service of preserving the life of this innocent little creature. The bond these two share is the clear heart of the show, and I hope the show builds upon this relationship in the second season as the child gets older and more powerful.
- I really enjoyed how the season was structured. Many had a problem with how the middle three episodes essentially boiled down to being standalone stories that had no bearing on the plot, but I found myself really enjoying them. I thought they worked well in worldbuilding and of course showing us different parts of the galaxy, and I really enjoyed the characters introduced in these episodes. Of course, the series was at its strongest when dealing with the core story, with Episode 3 and the season finale in particular being the highest points of the season. Overall, the show should break away from the standalone episodes going forward, but for the first season, I found them fitting in just fine.
- The theme song. It's just...so awesome!
DOWNS
- This going to be a little controversial, but I wasn't a fan of the premiere. It did pretty much what a premiere is supposed to do, but it felt more like a checklist instead of an actual episode. It didn't have a good flow and it felt like a lot got crammed in just so the producers could move on to the next thing. Fortunately, the first and last scenes are some of the best of the season, and the show obviously got better from there.
OVERALL
The first season of The Mandalorian is a breath of fresh air for Star Wars. I hope the series only gets better from here and hopefully be something that will be cherished by everyone who has the pleasure of viewing it.
And that's it for this post, guys! As always, tune in for more coming your way and till then, take care :)
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