Star Wars: The Mandalorian

I mean you guys obviously don’t have to agree with my take (and I’ll clam up now rather than continue to be a drag), but this isn’t a case of nitpicking on my part – the episode left me deflated and bummed out. I’m a fan of the show.

I like the Rodriguez shots where someone is jumping backward off of something while shooting toward the camera

what's the upside of being a stormtrooper? is it just that you get regular meals in an uncaring universe or is there something else

One thing I liked about the Boba Fett hand-to-hand combat in this one is that it really makes you feel how cheap and plastic and splintery the stormtrooper armor is and brings home the way they're just cannon fodder to their Imperial masters, their armor there to make them feel valued but not actually very protective in practice.

It's interesting thought cos this is pre-First Order, so these are Academy kids. Maybe a sense of pride and pleasing your far-right parents?

They’re not just leftover (adult) Stormtroopers from the Galactic Civil War?

well I mean they had gone through the Academy, there's definitely not an active Academy as the Empire seems to just be remnants at this point.

so yeah probably just leftover Troopers, plus whoever showed up for work that day

There do seem to be new recruits though, like the young assistant to the new Moff dude

(Or maybe he’s not new, just not in the movies - I check myself)

it really makes you feel how cheap and plastic and splintery the stormtrooper armor is

this was already fully established by the ewoks, who vanquished many a fully armored stormtrooper using slings, arrows, stone-tipped wooden spears, stone hammers, and just plain big rocks dropped on their heads.

and psychology

The mando “ok kid” stuff vs force field throw backs almost felt like an editing error - like they filmed similar scenes with similar dialogue only meaning to use it once, yet somehow we got all the takes.

lol it totally did

Watching that, I was like – “I guess Mando’s never seen those ‘Definition of Insanity’ memes on the HoloNet”

(I know I said I’d clam up, but if you guys are discussing it... lol)

Storm troopers have like opposite armor, where any glancing shot or blow is a kill shot. They are playing the game on the insane difficulty level.

Also I’d love to see the arcane calculus behind how many stormtrooper deaths equal one unmasked death, etc. when it come to trying to keep their TV14 rating.

Seriously though. That single episode featured more murders than the entire series of Hannibal.

I wouldn’t technically call them “murders,” but it was definitely violent.

Poll: is killing a stormtrooper murder vs is it okay to punch a nazi

Most of the killings were in self-defense. Fett could probably be charged with second-degree murder for shooting down the retreating troops, but I bet a good lawyer could get it reduced to voluntary manslaughter.

I always feel bad for Stomtroopers.

Disappointing episode and riding entirely off the "finally, we get to see Boba Fett kick ass" sequence.

I always liked how Boba Fetts reputation was never really explained, questions not answers coming from the 'No Disintegrations' comment in Empire.

Now, it looks like he is just some Marvel universe bad ass, who is interchangable with 100% of all other comic book movie bad asses.

The only way this episode would be redeemed, if there was no payoff to the jedi pager, and no help ever came..

Mandalorians are further explorations of what the bit part character mercenary/assasin Boba Fett were aren't they?
I don't have the lore on individual races etc in the Star Wars universe so I have missed the further expansions on what makes a Mandalorian what they are. Does Fett even have full body armour? Or is that something that came in in the books etc.

It's kind of weird if you have a this group of people are the group that this individual fits into when the introduction has been a bit of an outlier and has up to a certain point been the sole representative of that group that people will be likely to have encountered. I guess it is a bit of a trope though, may be why you have not encountered others of this type because the character that you meet is an outlier in having contact etc.

Mandalorians are further explorations of what the bit part character mercenary/assasin Boba Fett were aren't they?

Er, not exactly as Boba Fett is not a Mandalorian at all.

If Georgie hadn't done all the stupid Jango Fett clone stuff in ep II I guess they could've retroactively made Bobba Fett just a rogue Mando, which would've been less confusing.

Looks like that path to the creation of the Mandalorians did work backwards from having a character they needed a backstory for even if they added in convoluted sidesteps along the way.
Or did Lucas sit down during the creation of the Star Wars universe and write out a genealogy of the various peoples dotted around his universe prior to working out stories in a way I think I've heard JRR Tolkien did.

I think topography might have been a better word than genealogy, but basic pseudo scientific outlay of who is in the universe and where they came from and what motivations they have etc
Before introducing individuals from those people who have to interact in a story.
I think he was sketching things in and then giving them motivations for why, if he even did that later.

Or did Lucas sit down during the creation of the Star Wars universe and write out a genealogy of the various peoples dotted around his universe prior to working out stories in a way I think I've heard JRR Tolkien did.

lol no

when did clone troopers become storm troopers? are they all conscripts now or are some of them still leftover clones? is boba fett murdering a bunch of clones of himself?

i'm kind of torn on this one just because it felt so egregious to see boba fett finally use all the weapons that are part of his suit all at once

egregious???? (in fairness we've been seeing those weapons used throughout the series/season, particularly that rocket, so it was kinda built up)

“Lucasfilm is the biggest Kenner Playset a boy could have!” - Jon Favreau

mando's used all of his stuff but when I was a kid everyone was like "oh shit boba fett has a missle and hidden rockets in his knees and that periscope thing" but he never actually used any them so they remained the stuff of legend

actually now that you mention it, i was like "rocket knees!?" when it happened

doesn't sound very practical for your knees unless you have bionic knes opr soemthing does it?
Would recoil not be a problem?

Re Tolkien: believe me he did not dream up a consistent universe first and then write it. A lot happened via random inspiration and revision of draft ideas.

I thought i'd heard he was more meticulous about back story than others might be, could be i couldf have picked a better example, but main point was about that semi randomness and the direction of fit of teh backstory. So the fact that he was less organised in that way might conceivably work in support of the point i was making.
Did think there was a direction of fit of how one went about world building taht he might be an example of one way of doing things as opposed to a more random I have to fill out a universe by randomly coming up with facts taht I want to project onto the individual that I see for a couple of minutes in a story. I mean that character has been filled out a bit more elsewhere and subsequently to his initial appearance and so on.

I was wondering about the clone thing with the stormtroopers too since i thought they had all been supposed to be interchangeable which might explain their disposability. BUt I think they have had more individuality. Plus teh feamle sidekick was either supposed to be one or the officer leading a bunch of them. I think.
I still don't know exactly what the events on Tatooine she was involved in are supposed to be
y had

That's what I remembered too, but then I just looked it up and Fennec was not in the Empire but another mercenary bounty hunter who had run afoul of the Guild, like Mando was in season 1.

Don't remember which Star Wars lore outlines it, but a) the Clones were not designed to live for very long and b) the Empire eventually decided they were too unreliable and replaced them with conscripts (actually this makes sense, considering Palpatine's plans)

Yeah, they’re not clones anymore.

Rebels definitely shows a lot of the academy and shows 'retired' clones fighting for the Rebel Alliance

speaking of, on Season 4 of REbels and lord is it good

Gotta get in on that. Finally made it through Clone Wars just a month ago

Not complaining here so much as making an observation(!) – but I do agree w/the comments above that this episode seemed to lose that balance between “fun stuff for newcomers / casual fans” and “deep references for true heads that you don’t have to worry about if you’re not one.”

It was wrapped up in Mandalore / Fett lore (including this newly introduced notion of Jango being a “foundling”); the idea of Boba more as the kid from the prequels (whom few may remember) than the cool bounty hunter dude; what-the-heck-is-a-Darksaber (and why should Grogu “remember” it), etc.

Suppose you didn't know who Boba Fett was - I think you would understand that he was another displaced/untraditional Mandalorian, like Din is - one who's done questionable things and lived to tell about it. Not the same creed, but still believes in family, honor, regaining his armor, all that jazz.

I didn’t even realize that Jango’s armor and Boba’s armor were one and the same; and that Boba had just “reskinned” it somehow.

Beskar - the WinAmp of armor

Boba Fett is a simple man doing a job well

and that job is bounty hunting or whatever

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/arts/television/the-mandalorian-boba-fett-temuera-morrison.html

for you non-subscribers:

[q]How long have you been awaiting your opportunity to return to the “Star Wars” series?

There was a lot of stuff online about a possible “Star Wars” bounty-hunter film, and then I was watching all the new “Star Wars” movies coming out, wondering if they were ever going to do anything with Jango Fett. My agent and I had a number of discussions — when are they going to call me? But then I kept forgetting about it. In this day and age, they have a number of options. They could have called other people to play the part. They can go with a fresh face. They could have called the Rock. I felt so grateful that after all this time, something came to be.

What happened when you finally got the call that the series creator Jon Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni wanted to meet with you?

I wasn’t even quite sure what “The Mandalorian” was about, but I kind of knew that Jango and Boba had their own Mandalorian history. At the time, I was in Los Angeles, meeting on another film, so I was pleasantly surprised to get the call. I actually got to the meeting quite early — I was so excited I got there about two hours early — and there were conceptual drawings on the wall. I saw an image that looked like me, and I said, I’m sure that’s me. But even then, I didn’t want to get too excited.

What did you discuss with them in that meeting?

I was just listening — I wasn’t discussing anything. I’m just nodding, going, yes, yes. Obviously they had their ideas about what they wanted to do, and they must have told me that they wanted me to play the role again. But I was so nervous that some of it was just going straight over my head. I was just going: “Wow! This is great.” It wasn’t until I got back in the car after the meeting that I went, “Is this actually going to happen?” But as you saw, it happened, all right.

Did they talk about his being a different, more seasoned Boba Fett than we saw in the early “Star Wars” films?

Yes. When we find Boba, he’s well-worn, and he’s been through a lot. He’s a survivor, and he’s weathered. Now it was time to find out more about what makes Boba tick. Is he more than just a simple man, trying to make his way through the galaxy? Is he tired of all the fighting? Is he tired of all the killing? The one thing I can relate to is, I’m quite a mature man now and things always change. Sometimes you’re in Hollywood, in all the magazines and newspapers. And sometimes you end up in the fish and chip shop in New Zealand, where all the old magazines and papers go. You’re old news. [Laughs.]

Did your makeup and costume also help you find the character?

I was doing that kind of background work — what’s this guy going to look like? What’s he going to sound like? — and while they’re applying makeup, I’m going, well, here he is. We did quite a number of makeup tests and I worked closely with the makeup artist Brian Sipe. When I saw some of the scars on my face, I thought, well, maybe he does talk a little bit gravelly. Maybe his vocal cords have been affected as well. Then you put the costume on and it gives you a sense of power. The costume makes you feel like Superman. When I put the armor on for the first time, it just felt right.

How did you want to incorporate your cultural background into the role?

I come from the Maori nation of New Zealand, the Indigenous people — we’re the Down Under Polynesians — and I wanted to bring that kind of spirit and energy, which we call wairua. I’ve been trained in my cultural dance, which we call the haka. I’ve also been trained in some of our weapons, so that’s how I was able to manipulate some of the weapons in my fight scenes and work with the gaffi stick, which my character has.

How were you originally cast in the “Star Wars” prequels?

I give praise to George Lucas who made me Jango Fett in the first place. We filmed in Sydney, so he used quite a few actors from New Zealand and Australia. It wasn’t long after “Once Were Warriors” that I met with the casting people of “Star Wars,” and I feel that’s the movie that launched me in Hollywood. It wasn’t a big box-office movie here in America, but people in the industry saw it, and that opened a few more doors for me, that’s for sure.

What do you remember about your time on the set of “Attack of the Clones”?

I just had so much fun. I think I might have been killing George because I’d be singing on set, playing around with the weapons and wearing the outfits. I think I had too much fun. But I thought, man, if I get another opportunity to do this, I’m going to really get into it and do the best job that I can.

Did George Lucas explain to you that you would end up playing all these other characters who were cloned from Jango Fett?

Even when I finished the filming process, there was still quite a bit of work to do — I would keep getting calls from George: “OK, I just need you in the studio to voice some more stuff.” One moment I’m the voice of this, and then another guy, and then Commander Cody, and then a whole elite strike force. Things just kept going and going and going, but I didn’t mind.

Do you often hear from “Star Wars” fans who felt that Jango Fett suffered an unexpectedly abrupt death?

Yes, well, I know the feeling. I ended up watching “Attack of the Clones” in Dallas, and I was so excited to watch it with this new Dolby sound at the theater. I was just starting to enjoy myself when I got killed. “Wow, this is good. There I am.” (pause) “But anyway.” My journey in “Attack of the Clones” was pretty short-lived. But that was a long time ago. Now I’m back again.

I’m sorry that you’re going to get this question a lot, but “The Tragedy” doesn’t address how Boba Fett survived his encounter with the Sarlacc. Has that been explained to you? And do you know how the character stayed alive?

Ah, no, I don’t. There’s quite a bit of loose ends, and I’m not one of those guys that knows too much about the actual history. The fans of “Star Wars,” they have better knowledge of, What’s happened? How can he still be alive? I thought he was stuck in this place? I can find out more on the internet.

Has there been any talk of your returning as Boba Fett, whether on “The Mandalorian” or other “Star Wars” projects — even a series of his own?

I’m just going to have to wait and see. I think a lot of it depends on how things go with this season, but I don’t really know. I wanted to bring everything I had to that [episode] and give them a glimmer of what I can offer. There’s room for this to go someplace. I hope I’m going to be included.

Are you hoping to team up with Baby Yoda at some point?

Baby Yoda’s probably the biggest actor in Hollywood at the moment, but I never got to work with him very closely or with the people who move him around. I was using him in a not-so-good way, as bait. But hopefully I’ll get to meet him and we can have a little bonding session.[q]

consummate professional interview, there

the possibility of egregious knee missiles sets the tone

feels: whole ep was very *pew pew pew BOOM pewpew*. i liked fett alright, thought the whole speaking rock needed a little less mystery about what was happening to grody, and yeah, less ridiculous, wooden "ok kid, let's go..."*BOOOIIIIINGG!* the bad guy was sufficiently cruel and hateful, poor grody. warden seemed a little to comfortable, would like to see her attempting to meet expectations in her job but hating it/feeling actual stress a little more. like, you didn't know she could have an earnest side, and there it is, but it is NOT HER. more clearly.