The Mandalorian is a live-action Star Wars TV show that first came out in 2019 when Disney+ made its debut. The show is the first live-action spin-off in the Star Wars franchise and it focuses on a Mandalorian warrior living as a bounty hunter. We’ve seen Mandalorians before in the Star Wars films with Jango and Boba Fett, but neither are quite like the Mandalorians that we see in the show.
According to Wookiepedia, “the Mandalorians are a clan-based ethnic group comprising of members from multiple species all bound by a common culture, creed, and code.” Mandalorians also wear beskar armor that is resistant to damage and equipped with dozens of weapons and tools meant to aid in battle. It is also true that traditional Mandalorians choose to never remove their helmet or armor. This is a big difference between the titular character Mando in the show and the Fett Mandalorians from the films. If you’re interested in more facts about the Mandalorian people and culture, check out the Wookiepedia page on it!
The show is set 5 years after the events of Episode Six: Return of the Jedi during the tumultuous period after the fall of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the New Republic. At the beginning of the show, Mando is working as a bounty hunter to earn enough money to forge the rest of his armor. One of his first missions was to retrieve an asset and bring it back to the client, a remnant of the fallen Empire.
Mando discovers that the asset is actually a force-sensitive child of the same species as Yoda. Pop culture has now dubbed him baby Yoda, but Mando usually refers to him as the child. Mando brings the child to the client but has already bonded with the infant so the cost of his remaining armor comes at a great price.
I won’t spoil the rest of season one, but I will tell you that this show is a great watch. I would describe it as a space western with lots of cool fight scenes, tense moments, and tough decisions for Mando. Baby Yoda also brings some comic relief throughout the show as he’s a tiny baby in the care of a battle-hardened warrior. If you love Star Wars, then this show is perfect for you. Even if you’ve never seen Star Wars, you don’t need to know anything about the Star Wars universe to watch the show!
All of season one is out now and new episodes for season two air on Fridays.