The Mandalorian season one review (Spoiler free)
My relationship with Star Wars is strained right now. The OG trilogy, representing the de-facto pinnacle of Star Wars storytelling, will always have nostalgia on its side and the understanding from fans that George Lucas made those films (the first one at least) on a shoestring budget and cobbling together whatever he could get his hands on. It's mostly downhill from there. Fast forward to the prequel trilogy and you have 3 films that are stunning achievements in visual FX…and also oft-unwatchable save for Qui Gon Jin/Ben Kenobi versus Darth Maul and the lightsaber porn that is Kenobi versus Anakin Skywalker on Mustafar. The sequel trilogy, also a crowing achievement in whizz bang CGI wizardry, is an overall letdown. This is why The Mandalorian is such an out of nowhere surprise. The show is simply sublime. That’s high praise coming from someone whose love of Star Wars is largely borne from the intoxicatingly beautiful dance and satisfying hum of lightsaber duels (mild spoiler alert: there are no lightsaber duels in season one).
The titular Mandalorian is the classic scoundrel with heart. Essentially all conflict he faces stems from his desire to go out of his way to do the right thing. It’s a strange position for a bounty hunter that quite literally kills for money, but at no point is the characterization of Mando confused or ambiguous. He is the hero of the tale. He’s just not thrilled about it. The marketing leading up to season two has confirmed that we are getting Jedi. I couldn’t be more excited to see how The Mandalorian, interesting and thrilling enough in season one to stand on its own without them, introduces those earth-tone cloak wearing space samurais. This is most definitely the way.