The mandalorian [Spoilers]

[Zardnaar]

Am I wrong though? Is there something I'm missing? I'm not saying you can't enjoy the show, or that there is nothing to enjoy in the show. But I find it odd that so many people in this thread salivate over such a poorly written episode.

All I want is surprises and stakes, set ups and resolutions, which imo is the bare minimum one can expect of any show. It is the sort of thing that shows like the Queen's Gambit or Cobra Kai do very well (to name a few other shows I've recently watched). Heck, you could take any episode of Avatar the Last Airbender and find a better written plot.

It's a popcorn space western not a drama.

Queens Gambit and Cobra Kai are great shows but different genres.

Mandalorian feels like Star Wars. Good Star Wars has never been a complex drama.

 

[embee]

I enjoyed the mood and look of the episode, plus it was fun to see a live action Ahsoka. But the writing was the weakest in this entire season. A few things bothered me:

There was no tension or conflict. There was never any doubt that Mando would work together with Ahsoka, or that either one of them was in any danger. Some sort of conflict between Mando and Ahsoka would really have given this episode some stakes. The episode also continues the trend of making it feel like no one is in any danger. The episode's opening establishes Ahsoka as pretty much invincible and we've already seen lasers bounce off of Mando's armor. I also felt it wasn't clearly established that the prisoners were in any imminent danger, until they gave the order. Something like a time constraint would have helped the plot, along with an imposing villain that was a match for the two of them. I'd like to see some actual stakes, some conflict, and a chance for failure.

There was no plan. They just went inside and killed everyone, like they resolve every episode. For once I would like to see some semblance of a clever plan. Yes, there was the reveal that Mando wasn't dead... which the bad guys should have seen coming miles away. Where are the surprises for the audience though? And was there any reason why Ahsoka couldn't just take this whole town by herself? Why didn't they use Mando's ship to attack the town's defenses? How did Ahsoka get past the town's defenses so easily, and why did she need Mando again? I wish there were stakes, and that a direct attack would be impossible, forcing the main characters to come up with a plan. Mando could have pretended he killed Ahsoka instead, which would have made much more sense, and would have allowed him to walk straight into town past its defenses. Or anything else apart from just running in guns blazing. I'm starting to think the writers can only write action scenes. They are terrible at writing plots and dialogue.

The Child was barely involved in the plot regarding the town, and it seems the writers were really struggling to find a reason for it to stay with Mando and not with Ahsoka. Throughout this show the Child is purely a reason for Mando to go from planet A to planet B. But the plots themselves rarely involve the Child at all. The dialogue between Ahsoka and Mando was also terribly strained and didn't flow at all. I know Mando is a man of few words, but you'd think these two characters would have a lot to talk about.

They have all this wonderful material, all these wonderful characters and worlds, and yet are unable to write a good script for any of the episodes. You'd think with 2 seasons they'd have accidentally written a good plot by now. Sorry to be such a harsh critic. I still enjoy the show for its visuals and mood, but this really bothers me.

There's a famous line by Miles Davis. "Jazz isn't about the notes you play. It's about the notes you don't play. "

That episode wasn't about the dialogue. It was about the silence around the dialogue.

The episode was half Kurasawa homage and half spaghetti western tribute. It was a distillation of Filoni's vision of Star Wars - a pulpy science fiction western with space wizards and samurai.

 

[Imaculata]

It's a popcorn space western not a drama.

Queens Gambit and Cobra Kai are great shows but different genres.

Mandalorian feels like Star Wars. Good Star Wars has never been a complex drama.

No, but even the original trilogy had a proper plot and things at stake. Its villains felt like a threat and there was character development. The elements I mention aren't just exclusive to those shows' genres, but elements of any well written show, regardless of genre. There have to be stakes, set ups and pay offs.

I'm not asking for all the complex storytelling like in the Expanse, or the clever twists and turns like in Firefly. I'm asking for basic plot writing on top of the show's amazing visuals. Some basic character development, instead of the show's lead just getting a new gadget for that season.

There's a famous line by Miles Davis. "Jazz isn't about the notes you play. It's about the notes you don't play. "

That episode wasn't about the dialogue. It was about the silence around the dialogue.

The episode was half Kurasawa homage and half spaghetti western tribute. It was a distillation of Filoni's vision of Star Wars - a pulpy science fiction western with space wizards and samurai.

I can appreciate the homage and the visual tribute. But that is just style over substance. Can't we have style with the substance? Can't we have some stronger writing along with the pulpy scifi western stuff? The movies they pay tribute to had really strong writing and dialogue too.

 

[embee]

No, but even the original trilogy had a proper plot and things at stake. Its villains felt like a threat and there was character development. The elements I mention aren't just exclusive to those shows' genres, but elements of any well written show, regardless of genre. There have to be stakes, set ups and pay offs.

I'm not asking for all the complex storytelling like in the Expanse, or the clever twists and turns like in Firefly. I'm asking for basic plot writing on top of the show's amazing visuals. Some basic character development, instead of the show's lead just getting a new gadget for that season.



I can appreciate the homage and the visual tribute. But that is just style over substance. Can't we have style with the substance? Can't we have some stronger writing along with the pulpy scifi western stuff? The movies they pay tribute to had really strong writing and dialogue too.

Go back and watch The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Not a lot of dialogue in it. In fact, there's no dialogue at all in the first 10 minutes.

And as for the Original Trilogy, I wouldn't go hanging your hat on Lucas' script. The plot was completely rewritten by Marsha in the editing booth because George didn't understand the basics of plot structure.

 

[pukunui]

I was thinking earlier that they may have written themselves into a bit of a corner with the whole “never take off your helmet” thing, because it means they can’t ever really put Mando in danger of being captured or beaten into submission lest the bad guy take his helmet off by force.

Yes, I know he willingly took it off in front of Cara Dune at the end of last season, but that was a special case and he thought he was going to die.

But outside of a case like that, they can’t ever really put him in a position of powerlessness, because he would be unable to stop someone else from forcibly removing his helmet, which would potentially ruin his mystique.

Unless they decide to make that an actual plot point later on! Like he gets captured and his helmet taken off and he has to reckon with what that means with his beliefs and all that.

 

[Zardnaar]

Helmets going to come off at some point.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I'm also foreseeing some serious problems with the conclusion of this season. They have yet to establish Moff Gideon as a credible villain. They have Giancarlo Esposito, who is fantastic subtle actor who excels at playing a menacing villain (as we've seen in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul). But they barely use him at all. We have seen only one real confrontation between him and Mandoat the end of season 1, where he was pretty easily taken down. If they want to have any stakes towards the end of season 2, they have to show us that Moff Gideon is an actual threat, and they have to do so soon. They can't wait till the final episode of the season again. They have to show Moff Gideon succeeding and beating the heroes, maybe even killing some of the good guys, or there is no reason to take him serious.

Plenty of time for that. Esposito already let it slip that we would see more of Gideon in season 3.

 

[Zardnaar]

Plenty of time for that. Esposito already let it slip that we would see more of Gideon in season 3.

This if they just pulled a massive fleet and everything out of their butt that's just stupid.

If he has Thrawn as a commander, super soldiers and Thrawns TIE Defenders well he will be credible.

 

[Maxperson]

I'm just not feeling the name "Grogu". Surely they could've come up with something "cuter" than that. My girls and I are probably just going to keep calling him "Baby Yoda".

Sounds like the name of an Ogre. I guess he does kinda resemble a very small Shrek.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Grogu seems like the name of someone who is a member of Yoda's species. They all have strange names.