Star Wars: The Mandalorian

"After the tea." "What?"

My son absolutely geeked out over Ahsoka, lived up to the hype. I think I geeked out more for the mention of Thrawn, tbh, but I think Dawson did a really good job with the character.

To find out more about why Ahsoka is searching for Thrawn, stay tuned for the entirety of Star Wars: Rebels on Disney+

Yeah, my deep-into-it pal had commented to me: "Filoni has this weird thing where he keeps turning his current show into his previous show. Rebels eventually just became an extension of the Clone Wars and now Mandalorian is becoming an extension of Rebels."

Continuing plot threads, imo

If The Mandalorian was strictly a Filoni-led thing I think we'd have been there a long time back but he's only done one episode a season; Favreau is clearly the lead guy in this thing.

Directing wise, sure, but I think Filoni has a stronger hand in this thing than that Ned. Considering his prominent place in the Gallery doc, he had more speaking time than anyone besides Favreau. I'm not complaining, mind, I don't think it's a bad thing to pick up these threads. I'd rather see Ahsoka than, I don't know, Poe Dameron's dad or something.

"Yoda" is a pretty dumb sounding name too but we've had 40 years to live with it.

my brother peeled baby yoda pic.twitter.com/JUj2kUGT8T

— nebula should have killed thanos (@gwenstacying) November 26, 2020

Gotta say, after watching The Vow, and Leah Remini's Scientology docu-series, all this Jedi talk about family attachments leading to fear/anger/the dark side reminds me a lot of cult behavior.

Given that I always thought that an unstated/understated theme of the prequels -- played out a little more in The Clone Wars -- was that the Jedi Order in specific was too wrapped up in themselves to realize what was happening, that's not far wrong!

that's why I loved The Last Jedi, that theme

Do any of the TV shows or books get into how the Jedi initiates were taken from their parents when they were very young? How did the parents react when the Jedi showed up at the door, talking about M counts, etc.?

"Padawan Cruise?"

The Jedi just explained to the parents how important it was to Clear the galaxy.

There is an episode with a bunch of force sensitive children who have been abducted. The idea that it was the Sith taking kids is met with “well this is bad, but...” *uncomfortable silence*

Not to mention a certain darksider who was basically bartered away as a kid who becomes a major antagonist!

His Daddy Warbucks got killed within days of adoption, so...

I thought this episode was really well done but I still wasn't always into it. It doesn't help when they establish Mando (or that Jedi, for that matter) as an unstoppable badass, but then end with an extended fight with the same people who were getting their ass kicked earlier in the episode (as well done as that fight was). Also didn't help that I know nothing about the cartoons, or books, or whatever; what I've liked about every episode so far was that they have not been particularly driven by myth, let alone plot, but this one seemed to be. And Mando must be pretty tired of hopping from planet to planet being told to find someone else. I honestly forget why he's doing this at all. Was it a favor for someone?

Again, well done! Just not what I'm into or hoping this show becomes. Oh, and I didn't even recognize Michael Biehn!

otm, i think. i don't wanna know all the lore all the time, but it's nice if it's not obviously inconsistent with the lore upon further inspection. i just don't wanna be the inspector tho. that's for people who like, finish reading the silmarilion or whatever.

i kinda like the concept that he's a cultist, and obsessed with foundlings on principle, and a bit of a nutter, and that's sorta good enough for me. i mean no one is more perseverative than a nutter with principle/s, imo. that'll move teh story.

Why not leave baby with Ahsoka, and do a few episodes where she plays lone wolf and cub for awhile before she realizes gorguts is cramping her style and now she has to track down mando who has somehow acquired more force toddlers?

I did kind of roll my eyes when she was like, "Now you must go to planet Blah blah blah...". The constant planet-hopping is starting to feel a little repetitive.

Her saying that seemed consistent to me, the speed with which he accepted it and flew the hell outta there was sorta convenient.

http://i.imgur.com/fWbZHdE.png

I mean...episodic TV where characters go from one place to another, with a general goal that may get modified as it goes, and in each episode they help people with their Personal Problems along the way, is not unknown! And this is a series in a franchise where harkening back to various established forms of entertainment is constant! I'm not saying anything new here, I'm just surprised there's surprise about this.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Perilsofpauline.jpg

Ned otm, I feel like we've been so spoiled by the "prestige TV era" that we've already forgotten how formulaic TV could be, for better or worse. And considering that one of A New Hope's primary influences was the early serials, this is extremely on-brand. I don't mind it, since it's been pretty built into the series from the start it doesn't feel all that lazy or out of character.

I get all that; it just seemed like the planet-hopping was less relentless in S1 (like he stayed on a single planet for a few eps. straight, or they mixed it up in other ways). Maybe I'm misremembering.

Ned otm, I feel like we've been so spoiled by the "prestige TV era" that we've already forgotten how formulaic TV could be, for better or worse.

Also, for all the prestige TV claims for These, Our Times, worth remembering that the smash continuing series of the past two decades have been things like NCIS and SVU and etc. -- standbys, procedurals, etc.

All of which may sound like I'm damning The Mandalorian with faint praise but if anything it shows how readily resilient the wider franchise is when it adapts to a slightly different but (per Hunt3r's point) far from unrelated form.

Not so different from us driving a car place, is it?

They should have him visit Earth sometime

place to place*

i mean every stop seems to be a spaceport with a bunch of barren space around it. It's just not a very efficient galaxy.

I think it's not so much the constant motion as the string of characters specifically directing Mando to go to different planets; it's just a little funny. Like if every episode of Star Trek had ended with a rock-skinned or gloopy alien telling Kirk, "NOW YOU MUST GO TO... (ETC.)."

I don't disagree with your point, but it's really just a galaxy sized scale up of the old, "oops, actually the treasure isn't in this chamber here, it's actually in that one over there, across the moat" stakes raising, no?

Right. Kirk boldly goes, Mando just goes. This is the best illustration of the difference between Trek and Wars!

xp

It's the Outer Rim, it's meant to be empty and inefficient -- as Elvis Telecom said about the original film, non-special edition, he especially liked Mos Eisley as it was because it seemed more like Barstow than anything else.

Less ST maybe more Battlestar Galactica reboot (which, not the best comparison on several levels). I'm starting to think about it like The Fugitive in a way, endlessly chasing down leads while being pursued by assholes.

All good points - I just hope the "What do I do with this kid?" storyline reaches some kind of resolution, or at least takes a long detour to mix things up.

I think Mando pretty boldly goes, imo.

he's gathering an army. in the hour of his greatest need, all these people he's helped will appear out of nowhere to save him, just like that joe biden avengers video

lol

Certainly he confidently goes

place to place*

i mean every stop seems to be a spaceport with a bunch of barren space around it. It's just not a very efficient galaxy.

Whatever else happens I just realised I will probably pop hard if the Slave I actually shows up in the finale.

i think the appearance of macaroons in the last episode shows anything is possible here

All good points - I just hope the "What do I do with this kid?" storyline reaches some kind of resolution, or at least takes a long detour to mix things up.

― meditate in my direction (morrisp)

The standing comparison to an existing story is Lone Wolf and Cub, and I think the show’s going to run with that. There might be a change in the status quo, but “Mando and the kid” is pretty much the premise at this point

Would be cool if we could see some stories examining the complicity of Mando indoctrinating an innocent in a philosophical, hellish tale of revenge.
Sadly, probably not. Can you imagine?

I love the charmingly episodic nature of the show, I just hope that it doesn't become episodic in service of a broader arc. It's the mythology that bogs down so much of the (particularly more recent) Star Wars franchise. The most refreshing aspect of this show has been that it's seemingly content to amble from place to place and situation to situation, and only gave cursory lip/fan service to the Big Picture. Regardless, it's not like this most recent episode was some big exposition dump or anything like that. It was still pretty low-key, which I appreciated. I just hope it stays that way, because every time they introduce or allude to some big bad I quietly think to myself, please, just this once, let's not do that.

i completely agree with the Mando and the Kid assessment and direction but

episodic TV where characters go from one place to another, with a general goal that may get modified as it goes, and in each episode they help people with their Personal Problems along the way

which is fine by me!

smh at asohka tano's yaddle erasure