Welcome everybody to the newest addition to the 9 Deuce family. In a rarity for this site, I won’t be writing the blog itself. Tanner Kocher wanted to do a review for this show and I was delighted to have him here. If you like what you see here, make sure to leave him a like or a comment. I’m sure that he’d appreciate it. Please enjoy!
Chapter One: A Star Wars Story
Upon first viewing, the first episode of the Mandalorian does a lot of things right. It has direction,
character, atmosphere, etc. Most importantly, however, it feels like Star Wars, without feeling retold. I very much enjoyed the episode, and I hope that the talent involved will continue to deliver an exceptional season.
[Spoiler warning ahead]
Perhaps the best thing the Mandalorian does is maintain the aesthetic of Star Wars. More so than any of the newer movies, the Mandalorian uses the 1970s capabilities of the original, along with the technological advances that we’ve made to create a breathing world that remains consistent with the stories we grew up with. I appreciated the use of Carbonite to freeze bounties, the droids reminiscent of Jabba’s Palace, and, obviously, the use of “traditional” Mandalorian armor. Various times throughout the episode, we are fed images of a dead Empire: rejection of Imperial credits, the decrepit state if the Stormtrooper armor, Baskar steel with the Imperial insignia etched into it, like a slab of Nazi gold; all of this deepens the galaxy, really introducing us to the beginnings of an economy that we’ve only gotten glimpses of before. That’s not to mention the use of holograms, blasters, doors, scanners, and so much more reestablished in this show. For God’s sake, even the tracking fobs, created for this show, and, as
far as I know, never used before, look like they came straight out of the Original Trilogy.
Story-wise, I think they have something pretty good set up. This is where that spoiler warning comes into full effect, so be warned! We have a couple of different storylines at play. The Mandalorian wants to finish each job, hunting not for glory, or pride, or honor, but for money. This isn’t a unique story; Han Solo has the same motivations when we first meet him, but I believe, uniquely, we will not see the Mando grow out of this trait. The second story we are introduced to is the plight of the Mandalorians. We see them scrounging in the hallways, building their armor piece by piece. The blacksmith reveals that Baskar Steel is, in some way, sacred to the Mandalorians, and it was all stolen from their homeworld. I’m left wondering what type of redemption the Mandalorian people will go through over the course of this series. Finally, the third story is about the Mandalorian’s final bounty of the episode. He finds his target, a baby of the same species as Yoda, stashed in a hidden base out in the middle of nowhere. It is unclear at this point what endears him to the child, other than a generic sense of goodness. It’ll be interesting to see what much of this means in the coming episodes.
With all the good things I have to say, however, there are some glaring issues with the show as well. I don’t necessarily think that this show argues with the Star Wars universe in any way, but I have already noticed at least one time the show contradicts itself. IG-11 informs the Mandalorian that the bounty was requested to be terminated, when earlier in the episode, the Imperials noted that the bounty was preferred alive. Now, it’s possible IG-11 only dealt with the commander, but even with his sneering rendition of the job description, it’s hard to believe IG-11, or anyone, could be so set on completing the job only in that way.
Now, I loved this first episode. To give it a score, I’d say 8 out of 10. The groundwork has been laid, and all that’s left to do is hope that the next episodes can expand appropriately on the story that has been delivered.