What I Love About “The Mandalorian”

At this point, the first three episodes of Disney+ original The Mandalorian’s second season have been released on the streaming platform. For Star Wars and sci-fi fans alike, this was a highly anticipated sequel season due to the first season’s success. I was certainly excited for this season. The whole reason why my family purchased Disney+, in the first place, was to watch the first season. After watching the first three episodes, I have yet to be disappointed.

For those who may not know, The Mandalorian follows a bounty hunter who is tasked to find The Child and later return him to the Jedi. To tie it into the original Skywalker saga, the series takes place in between the Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

The main reason why I love the show so much is how grounded it is. With little to no direct ties to the Skywalker family, the show follows a simpler path of the people who live on these planets in the galaxy. As the Mandalorian travels to different planets you get to see these creatures and lifestyles that are so much smaller and unphased by the drama of the Skywalker family. The show reminds me a lot of the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While that movie is set more in the main storyline, it has a similar disconnect that I also really enjoy because the main characters are separate from the Star Wars leading roles. There are few references to other characters in the main storyline as well as other spin-off series that are also fun to point out and see.

The writing and directing of the show are also amazing. Jon Favreau created something wonderful with this show as well as the entire team of directors. It was so interesting to see how each of their episodes still meshed together so well into the main plot of the show. Despite this, the directors’ style still peeked through each episode to individualize them. I especially liked the added comedy in the last episode of the first season, directed by Taika Waititi, which aligns so well with his style. Personally, I had first seen this in Thor: Ragnarok, so it was fun to see that humor in another series.

Aside from the plot of the story, the production and set design of The Mandalorian are so extremely beautiful. Because each episode usually is on a different planet, you get the chance to see all of these different environments and the people that live there. Every new episode, I fangirl over the production value because everything looks so down-to-earth. The main characters are never in the most high-tech cities, but they’re so detailed, nonetheless. In the second season so far, my favorite location was in the first episode where the Mandalorian helps the town of Mos Pelgo on Tatooine from the Krayt Dragon. While Tatooine is not the most exciting planet, I liked the simplicity of the small town and the enormous creature that they have to defeat.

Last but not least, I can’t leave what was basically an appreciation post for The Mandalorian without talking about the Child. While I still call him Baby Yoda in my head, the Child is so adorable and I love the way that they make him move and react. I also appreciate how much talent in the puppetry there is in the show, which is very classic Star Wars.

I definitely recommend this show to anyone who enjoys the Star Wars franchise, western-style shows, and fictional space and galaxy exploration. You won’t be disappointed.

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• disney plus
• star wars
• The Mandalorian
• tv show