The Mandalorian (TV series)

[MinionZombie]

I enjoyed episode six much more than five. It just felt a bit more rounded and fleshed out. Episode five felt kinda it didn't really have an awful lot of meat on the bone, whereas six felt the opposite way. The next episode is tomorrow (18th), and then the last is on the 27th.

[Moon Knight]

I enjoyed episode six much more than five. It just felt a bit more rounded and fleshed out. Episode five felt kinda it didn't really have an awful lot of meat on the bone, whereas six felt the opposite way. The next episode is tomorrow (18th), and then the last is on the 27th. I just love how they showcase ALL the classic and Obscure SW races unlike the newer films where all the Alien and droid characters are used for laughs.

[shootemindehead]

I enjoyed episode six much more than five. It just felt a bit more rounded and fleshed out. Episode five felt kinda it didn't really have an awful lot of meat on the bone, whereas six felt the opposite way. The next episode is tomorrow (18th), and then the last is on the 27th. 6 is fine. But again, outside of it's own 40 minutes, it's kinda pointless to what was building over the first 3 episodes. Moss's voice kept taking me out of it though. - - - Updated - - - So 7 is easily the best episode of the series so far. I was grinning like a little boy at several stages. I won't spoil anything though.

[MinionZombie]

Yep, episode seven was great. I would argue, though, that the first four episodes were all closely linked (being that the events of four - escaping to a distant planet in search of a hideout and hoping to find a place to stash "the kid" - is directly linked to the main story). Episodes five and six, on the other hand (five especially), do feel 'outside of that' and are yet to yield any purpose to the main story (episode four impacts on episode seven, for instance). Anyway - really enjoyed episode seven. It was tense, it had action, it was well paced, more mystery surrounding "the kid" etc etc - good stuff! The characters are lightly drawn, but not in a lazy or underwritten way - it's more like the subtle character shadings of a western - and it's so nice to have characters that don't have to project every inner thought and struggle all the damn time with clumsily wedged-in monologues. In "The Mandalorian" actions are what speak louder than words, what the characters do and are shown to be thinking rather than just stating for the record. It's also really good to see the heroes struggling in fights now and then. They're not just awesome at everything and that's it, because they actually have to fight during a battle by using their skills and smarts and all the tools at their disposal, and that garners for more respect and investment from the audience.

[shootemindehead]

Mmmm, well the first three episodes definitely built up what seemed to be a central story. Episode four goes off on a bit of a tangent with its poor 'Seven Samurai' effort, but not as much as five and six do, as they add practically nothing at all to the main Yodakid story. The feel very much like short side quests in an Elder Scrolls game. It's all been relatively interesting, but the show has a curious journey. There's a good bit of fan service going on, too, but in a good way. It doesn't feel ham fisted. There's a particular moment in Werner Herzog's Imperial compound that was just excellent.   When the Kenner Imperial Troop Transport whizzed into frame, kid me grinned from ear to ear. As for the characters abilities, it's good to see that they have to struggle in a scrap. Although Carano's character is a bit silly in this regard. The fact that she's an MMA fighter is getting a bit laboured and I hope that's the end of those kind of references. But, it does seem that Disney's Star Wars handlers have understood the "Mary Sue" criticisms about Rey in the sequels and toned down the uber powered hero factor. All in all, and I know Eight is not out yet, it's been a decent show. Better than I expected. As an aside, Disney could do worse than give Deborah Chow a crack at a full length feature. She's shown that she, at least, understands the property in a way that JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson clearly did not.

[MinionZombie]

Well, it'd be a bit silly to hire Carano and not use her fighting abilities on-screen! Deborah Chow - apparently she'll be heading up the series centering around Obi-Wan Kenobi. She did an excellent job with eps 3 and 7, that's for sure - speaking of, Bryce Dallas Howard did a really good job with ep4. It's interesting to note that eps 5 and 6 were both not written by Jon Favreau, but the other six episodes were/are written by JF.

[shootemindehead]

Nah, I thought Howard's episode was easily the weakest. It had an unconvincing plot and a flat out awful attempt at a romance subplot that didn't work for second. Plus, the actual plan that was the centre of the story was ridiculous. In addition, the idea that the bad guys are just going to leave that "Polynesian" village alone now is just silly. Um, so 5 and 6 were written by some one else? That may explain the feeling that they were kind of unconnected to the over all plot of the series. For the second series, I'd like to see much tighter scripting. The villain of the week angle just isn't satisfying TV any more for dramatic television.

[MinionZombie]

The 'romance subplot' was barely a subplot, and didn't feel at all intrusive or at-odds to me - it just further helped clarify who Mando is and what a Mandalorian is and, really, it's fitting with the western vibe of the whole show. We've seen the stoic hero be the person of interest/affection/desire/whatever for a female side character before in westerns, but their gunslinging ways just won't allow for them to settle down or even contemplate the idea - they're of a different breed to the mere civilians who surround them. The raider gang seemed to really only be 'hard' because they had an ATST, now they don't and the villagers have been given some training, so they're not a walk over now either - so they've at least been given a chance to defend themselves. When Mando returned there was no news of anything untoward, so it must be assumed that the battle in ep4 was successful.

[shootemindehead]

The 'romance subplot' was barely a subplot, Exactly, so it comes across as forced, unrealistic and wholly unnecessary. The episode would have been better without it completely. it's fitting with the western vibe of the whole show. Its western vibe doesn't leave it free from criticism. There's too much of the episode that just soppy and when it isn't being soppy, it's being kinda silly. The whole plan to get rid of the AT-ST for instance it ridiculous, when the Mandalorian has a ship armed with two massive cannons. But, that's down to the writing as much as anything. It just isn't that good an episode, made worse by the fact that we've seen the story done much. much better elsewhere before. The raider gang seemed to really only be 'hard' because they had an ATST, now they don't and the villagers have been given some training, so they're not a walk over now either - so they've at least been given a chance to defend themselves. When Mando returned there was no news of anything untoward, so it must be assumed that the battle in ep4 was successful. Nah, I don't really buy that Mini. The raider gang are all huge brutes. The village is made up of Polynesian fishermen. The idea that these guys will never bother going back there again because they lost a vehicle isn't even remotely convincing. In the end, it doesn't have to be anyway, because this was pretty much a bottle episode and we'll never see that place again, more than likely. But that won't eliminate its shortcomings.

[MinionZombie]

Well, I didn't say that it's western vibe excludes it from criticism, what I did say was that the 'no chance of a romance for the hero' idea is entirely in-keeping with the western vibe. The Man With No Name got some positive female attention now and then, but it's just not what's in store for his character and it's not what his life is about - same thing with Mando, even more-so because of his allegience to the Mandalorians and their ways. They don't spend much time on it in the episode and it's just there to make a point about Mando and further add to the intrigue and mythos surrounding him. Fair point about not using his ship, but whatevs. We did see that planet again (he returns to it in ep7 to get Carano's character) and aside from a (friendly) bar fight for money, everything seems quite peaceful and she doesn't report anything untoward - ergo, their battle with the raiders worked (thus far at least).

[shootemindehead]

We did see that planet again (he returns to it in ep7 to get Carano's character) and aside from a (friendly) bar fight for money, everything seems quite peaceful and she doesn't report anything untoward - ergo, their battle with the raiders worked (thus far at least). Well, it's the village I'm talking about. The odds that the show will go back there is quite low. Maybe the Mando might offload the kid there in the end.

[MinionZombie]

So how did folks find the last episode? I enjoyed it.   The scene where IG-11 sacrifices itself to protect The Kid was quite powerful - oh, and I loved the early scene with the two troopers shooting the shit (and failing to shoot with any accuracy).

[Moon Knight]

Loved the finale. Had a little bit of everything.

[MinionZombie]

Loved the finale. Had a little bit of everything. Yep. A really good mix. Action stuff, funny stuff, emotional stuff - a nice blend and all balanced really well to boot. Apparently there were idiot fans on Twitter (where else?) who were going after Jason Sudeikis (who played one of the troopers) for hitting the bag. Some would be having a bit of fun with it, but others just take things too far - and it's just hatred and nastiness for the sake of it. Did I like the bag getting hit? No - but it's also entirely fictional! You're not supposed to 'like' that moment, and there's no need at all to go after the actor portraying that fictional character. Good grief! Anyway - I found the season to be very entertaining and very confident throughout (mostly - episodes 5 and 6 aside, as they just felt a bit too 'outside' of the main story, a bit too 'adrift' of the thrust of the story). The balance of tone in particular was excellent and I really felt the show understood the original trilogy in terms of tone and storytelling as well as inspiration (e.g. 1930s serials, Kurosawa, westerns etc).

[bassman]

Season two begins in just a few weeks(Oct. 30th)! I’ve burned through the first season four times now. I’m skeptical to say it’s the best Star Wars release in recent years because it’s still in its infancy, but I’m realllly leaning that way. Feloni and Favreau have hit on something great if they can keep it up.