On a positive note, there are some well-choreographed fight scenes. They are probably the most engaging part of the show, the best of them are well thought out and impressive, but many of these fights are barren regarding emotional tension.
Also, the set designs and the VFX are, for the most part, excellent, and the polish and detail make many aspects of the world feel tangible. The atmosphere it provides is authentic to the Star Wars universe, and I find that rather charming, but I found much of the show underwhelming. I find the costume designs, in particular, to be a mixed bag. The main character's design is excellent, but many others are jarring. Designs like Ahsoka Tano's are a constant distraction. There's also the use of CGI for characters like Luke and Grogu, which seems to be what most people complain about, but I thought the CGI was adequate.
But where the show truly struggles is in its story. None of its characters have detailed arcs and more than anything. You could easily reorder the occurrence of a lot of the show's episodes, and it would not change a thing. I found this particularly annoying because of the runtime of these episodes, and many of the episodes are sadly forgettable.
And I want to talk about why the end of Season 2 didn't work for me, mainly because Mando doesn't go through a coherent arc. In theory, Mando's journey should've significantly altered his character. We know he suffers a massive change to his status quo; he betrays the guild code and endures the consequences. But his character is underdeveloped; he has solid motivations. He wants to spare Grogu from the war-torn childhood he survived, but this is all we know about him. And I thought this backstory was only serviceable; it's nothing particularly compelling. The only thing closely resembling an arc is Mando's willingness to remove his helmet throughout the series, where he finally takes it off in front of people in the Season 2 finale, but that's incredibly bare-bones. And when Mando gives up Grogu to Luke Skywalker, the show plays overbearing, somber music, but I feel nothing; I failed to have much investment in these characters.
I also must mention that Grogu is one-note. This is likely because he is a baby, but we know nothing about him. We know he's force sensitive and of the same species as Yoda, but his character is vague otherwise. As far as I know, the only depth we get for him is one of your conjectures.
Again, most of the characters in "The Mandalorian" feel incredibly flat. There are a lot of one-off-side characters throughout the show, but unless they come from the pre-established Star Wars universe, they're uninteresting. And when the show does bring in characters from other Star Wars properties, they play it incredibly safe.
The old characters they bring back (Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, etc.) They have been developed in other Star Wars media, but the show hardly utilizes them. There are no interesting character-specific moments. There are subtle fan service moments, such as the Darksaber and Boba Fett's confrontation with Mando regarding his armor, but that's about it. For me, it fails to provide anything emotionally engaging with these characters.
I am not the biggest Star Wars Rebels fan, but it was far more interesting in its utilization of previously developed characters. It provided moments such as the duel between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan, ending with the death of Darth Maul. The Mandalorian does not resemble this; including these characters feels contrived and pointless.
Review by IDKVIP 3BlockedParentSpoilers2022-04-14T09:37:22Z— updated 2023-04-19T13:08:37Z
I found this rather unengaging.
On a positive note, there are some well-choreographed fight scenes. They are probably the most engaging part of the show, the best of them are well thought out and impressive, but many of these fights are barren regarding emotional tension.
Also, the set designs and the VFX are, for the most part, excellent, and the polish and detail make many aspects of the world feel tangible. The atmosphere it provides is authentic to the Star Wars universe, and I find that rather charming, but I found much of the show underwhelming. I find the costume designs, in particular, to be a mixed bag. The main character's design is excellent, but many others are jarring. Designs like Ahsoka Tano's are a constant distraction. There's also the use of CGI for characters like Luke and Grogu, which seems to be what most people complain about, but I thought the CGI was adequate.
But where the show truly struggles is in its story. None of its characters have detailed arcs and more than anything. You could easily reorder the occurrence of a lot of the show's episodes, and it would not change a thing. I found this particularly annoying because of the runtime of these episodes, and many of the episodes are sadly forgettable.
And I want to talk about why the end of Season 2 didn't work for me, mainly because Mando doesn't go through a coherent arc. In theory, Mando's journey should've significantly altered his character. We know he suffers a massive change to his status quo; he betrays the guild code and endures the consequences. But his character is underdeveloped; he has solid motivations. He wants to spare Grogu from the war-torn childhood he survived, but this is all we know about him. And I thought this backstory was only serviceable; it's nothing particularly compelling. The only thing closely resembling an arc is Mando's willingness to remove his helmet throughout the series, where he finally takes it off in front of people in the Season 2 finale, but that's incredibly bare-bones. And when Mando gives up Grogu to Luke Skywalker, the show plays overbearing, somber music, but I feel nothing; I failed to have much investment in these characters.
I also must mention that Grogu is one-note. This is likely because he is a baby, but we know nothing about him. We know he's force sensitive and of the same species as Yoda, but his character is vague otherwise. As far as I know, the only depth we get for him is one of your conjectures.
Again, most of the characters in "The Mandalorian" feel incredibly flat. There are a lot of one-off-side characters throughout the show, but unless they come from the pre-established Star Wars universe, they're uninteresting. And when the show does bring in characters from other Star Wars properties, they play it incredibly safe.
The old characters they bring back (Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, etc.) They have been developed in other Star Wars media, but the show hardly utilizes them. There are no interesting character-specific moments. There are subtle fan service moments, such as the Darksaber and Boba Fett's confrontation with Mando regarding his armor, but that's about it. For me, it fails to provide anything emotionally engaging with these characters.
I am not the biggest Star Wars Rebels fan, but it was far more interesting in its utilization of previously developed characters. It provided moments such as the duel between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan, ending with the death of Darth Maul. The Mandalorian does not resemble this; including these characters feels contrived and pointless.