Mando season 3

[Argyle King]

I don't, in any way, agree that Andor is better than Mando.

However, I also don't feel that Rogue One was particularly good either, so I didn't go into trying to watch Andor with much enthusiasm.

I do believe there are aspects of more recent Mando episodes which left a lot to be desired, but those aspects come across as Mando acquiring influence from Disney/Kennedy's vision (now that Mando has become a larger brand).

I don't understand why the first episode of season 3 has received poor feedback. Overall, I liked it, and I felt it was a good re-introduction to the show.

Apparently, people on Twitter are upset, but... well, what can I say? Twitter being upset is something which happens virtually every day, and often due to opinions which don't in any way reflect real life.

Criticisms I have:
--I think the plot to try bringing back IG-11 is kinda bleh. The show should move forward, not back.
--While Mando's new ship looks cool, I don't particularly care for it. It comes across as a visual representation of the show possibly leaving behind tones and themes which were a part of why I enjoy the show, to possibly start embracing more of the aspects which I don't like about contemporary Star Wars.
--Before the first episode (of season 3) aired, the Fett episodes featuring Mando should have been shown. Forcing people to sit through Fett to understand Mando doesn't do Mando any favors.

 

[Ryujin]

Yes, Twitter is generally a cesspit and I have several friends who have quit it, outright, to save their sanity.

 

[Bolares]

However, I also don't feel that Rogue One was particularly good either,

I thought it was a fine movie, but the third act, and mainly the last 15 minutes are some of the best star wars we've ever gotten. It actually improves de viewing of episode 4 in my opinion.

 

[Argyle King]

I thought it was a fine movie, but the third act, and mainly the last 15 minutes are some of the best star wars we've ever gotten. It actually improves de viewing of episode 4 in my opinion.

The last 15 minutes were great.

The first 40-45 minutes were a bit of a mess for me. I think there were a lot of great ideas within that movie which would have made good films, but Rogue One didn't seem to know what kind of movie it wanted to be.

For me, a lot of the individual scenes and characters were great, but how they fit together was a bit of a mess.

Something which particularly stuck out to me about Rogue One was noticeably bad tactics in what was supposed to be a war movie. My expectations aren't high for sci-fi or Star Wars; I understand tropes and fan service. But, even with giving leeway for "well, it's Star Wars," certain things stuck out as particularly bad (in the same way that Boba Fett, a professional bounty hunter, had noticeably bad battle-choreography in his show).

I think Rogue One contained a lot of great ideas. I wish one of them had been expanded into a good overall movie rather than trying to jam everything in and ending up with poor execution for most of them.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I disagree that boba Fett counts as The Mandalorian.

I mean, on what possible basis do you disagree when 2 entire episodes of Boba Fett were completely dedicated to The Mandalorian, and another one was like 66% about Din and Grogu? That's out of like, 7 episodes. Thus over a third of Boba Fett's runtime was Mandalorian-character stuff.

Dave Filoni is a great part of the show.

He's barely a part of it at this point. It's just a fan-meme that he is, because a lot of the early publicity focused on him (for obvious reasons given how successful his animated shows were).

Filoni has written solo-written 2/17 so far with the Mandalorian, and co-written 0/17, and he's not a showrunner.

Favreau has solo-written 13/17. With Fett they co-wrote one episode. Favreau wrote the other 6.

Filoni's lore is a significant part of The Mandalorian, but this is completely Favreau's show. Filoni isn't even a producer, he's an EP, and he's not the showrunner, Favreau is.

 

[Dire Bare]

I enjoyed the episode quite a bit. Yes, it was a slow start to the season, but I'm enjoying it so far.

The opening battle between the Mandalorians and the sea monster was fun. Introducing Mando's new quest was slow paced, but got me excited for what's to come.

Mando's conversation with Greef was fun, there were some fun bits. I loved it when Mando told Greef, "His name is Grogu" . . . and Greef responded with a shrug, "If you say so". The interaction with the pirates both on the planet and in space was fun. Although the pirate leader was really weird looking, and not in a good way. The pirate capital ship was pretty bad-ass though . . . .

Hopefully the second episode has a more zippy pace, but I'm looking forward to it. We're going to see a lot of Mandalorians in this season, based on the previews so far!

 

[pukunui]

@Dire Bare: Agreed, that pirate “king” looked like a cartoony seaweed monster. Definitely kind of jarring.
EDIT: Apparently that was Nonso Anozie (aka Xaro Xhoan Daxos), who likens his character to Swamp Thing.

I also couldn’t help but notice that the pirate crew was made up of Trandoshans, Niktos, Quarrens and other stereotypically “bad guy” species.

I disagree that boba Fett counts as The Mandalorian.

They used scenes from Boba Fett in the recap at the start of the episode. It absolutely is part of the Mandalorian. They probably should have called it The Mandalorian: The Book of Boba Fett to make the connection clearer.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I find it surprising that they recap the "must redeem myself in the eyes of my cult" part but not the "Grogu is back" part, which seems kinda more important. Maybe they wish we'd rather forget Luke Ex Machine and Grogu finally getting an education? Or they really think everyone did or needs to watch Boba Fett. But then, I don't think anyone watches Mandolorian Season 3 that didn't watch Season 2, so why recap that? Especially if you have a scene with the armorer that basically tells you the stuff again?

The Mandalorian cult guys really don't have their sh*t together. The attack should either have been part of their ritual, not have happened because they wouldn't let their rituals interrupt by local fauna, or be a quick affair where the Mandalorians systematically take down the beast.

The new spaceship is kinda cool, but I still miss the Razor Crest. It just makes more sense for a Bounty Hunter and it feels it had more character. Though the Naboo Starfighter certainly looked never better.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Or they really think everyone did or needs to watch Boba Fett.

There's not really a "they" in this case.

It's Jon Favreau all the way down.

He showruns both shows. He writes the vast majority of episodes of both shows. There's no writer's room for either show in the same way there is for a lot of other SF shows. There aren't a whole bunch of people looking over his shoulder.

So yeah I think it's safe to say Favreau is assuming everyone watched Boba Fett (which they definitely did not lol). Even the scene with the cult seemed to be recontexualizing it so Mando was the one making the decision, and it was Mando's idea, where previously it wasn't.

They probably should have called it The Mandalorian: The Book of Boba Fett to make the connection clearer.

That would have made a lot more sense, yeah.

 

[pukunui]

Holy crap! Episode 2 really delivers. That was fantastic!