The mandalorian [Spoilers]

[Janx]

No. This is not at all a requirement of good writing.

um, for good story-telling, it usually is.

Dan Harmon Story Circle: The 8-Step Storytelling Shortcut

Learn about the Dan Harmon Story Circle: an approach to storytelling used by the Rick and Morty creator, which can help you write better books.

blog.reedsy.com

Now these episodes may be self-contained circles, but they also are parts of a larger circle.

As Imaculata points out with the helmet being just taken off, there's not a build up and pay off. The convict tells him there's a line that everybody has and there's something that'll make him cross it.

Five minutes later, Mando just pops off his helmet to get into a computer. One that doesn't even seem to use face recognition. Everybody who saw his face (except the convict who tells him he didn't see it happen) is dead. There's not a whole lot of consequence or release here. It's like in RPGs somebody takes a flaw and then a moment where it becomes a liability, they bypass it and there's no big deal.

Now maybe this was one of the rare times never taking that stupid helmet off was going to be a problem. But there wasn't much pushback. They didn't go try another terminal (which could have been out of order). it was just, ok, I'll take it off.

Another weak spot was emailing Moff Gideon a "I'm coming after you because that baby is everything to me." Again, not enough build up for that level of emotion. Just all of a sudden, Mando's realizes he loves the kid? It's not even a good idea to announce to your enemy that you're his enemy, let alone that you're coming for him.

 

[MarkB]

EDIT: Oops, I meant to reply to @MarkB!



I'll have to watch the episode again, but I'm pretty sure after Mayfield saw his old CO and got cold feet . . . he told Mando that he had to be the one to access the terminal, because it would require a face scan.

It was two separate things. First, Mayfield wouldn't go into the cafeteria because of the officer. And then, after Din volunteered to go in his place, Mayfield told him about it requiring the face scanner.

So Mayfield wasn't concerned about getting his face scanned, otherwise he'd never have agreed to do it in the first place. He was only concerned that he might be recognised by that officer.

More importantly, he wasn't worried that anything would happen if the terminal scanned Din's face and didn't recognise him, so it clearly was not a face-recognition authorisation process. Apparently they built in the face scanner purely in order to confirm that the terminal was being used by (a) someone who had a face, and (b) possibly someone whose face wasn't in a database of known criminals, assuming that the terminal even bothered to check that, which wasn't confirmed on screen.

 

[Sacrosanct]

He deserves credit for making a Star Wars show that looks and feels like Star Wars. He does not however deserve praise for the writing. Like I said, I am not a script writer. I have never written a book, nor written a script for a movie or tv show. However, I do write plots (as I presume most DM's do for their D&D campaigns). I can tell when a plot is well written, and when it is not. There are certain basics that are important for writing a tv episode, such as using your time efficiently, and having all things come to a full circle at the end.

LOL. Writing a plot for a D&D game doesn't suddenly make you a subject matter expert on knowing when a good plot has been written in a TV show any more than me writing a poem in high school makes me an authority to recognize when a song has been well written or not.

You're also wrong. Things don't need to come full circle in a TV episode. This isn't 80s hour, where every sitcom episode has to be resolved at the end. This is an ongoing storyline, and in fact it's general practice to not resolve or answer every question in each episode for a serial (which is what Mandalorian is), but to have things brought up previously not come to light until later episodes. It's the difference between episodic and serial. And if you think a TV plot isn't good unless it's episodic, well, then I don't know what to tell you other than that's just your opinion, and one not shared by many.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I also enjoy the easter eggs, which is obviously a big focus for this show. Not just the obvious ones (like the TPS report reference), but things like how they keep pairing Mando with a spear. First the beskar spear, and now a fight scene using a spear. Which I think is a call out to how Pedro played Obyrn (sp) in GoT and used a spear there. So I look forward to seeing some of the same choreography in the show down with Gideon that we saw him use in GoT.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

um, for good story-telling, it usually is.

Dan Harmon Story Circle: The 8-Step Storytelling Shortcut

Learn about the Dan Harmon Story Circle: an approach to storytelling used by the Rick and Morty creator, which can help you write better books.

blog.reedsy.com

Now these episodes may be self-contained circles, but they also are parts of a larger circle.

As Imaculata points out with the helmet being just taken off, there's not a build up and pay off. The convict tells him there's a line that everybody has and there's something that'll make him cross it.

Five minutes later, Mando just pops off his helmet to get into a computer. One that doesn't even seem to use face recognition. Everybody who saw his face (except the convict who tells him he didn't see it happen) is dead. There's not a whole lot of consequence or release here. It's like in RPGs somebody takes a flaw and then a moment where it becomes a liability, they bypass it and there's no big deal.

Now maybe this was one of the rare times never taking that stupid helmet off was going to be a problem. But there wasn't much pushback. They didn't go try another terminal (which could have been out of order). it was just, ok, I'll take it off.

Another weak spot was emailing Moff Gideon a "I'm coming after you because that baby is everything to me." Again, not enough build up for that level of emotion. Just all of a sudden, Mando's realizes he loves the kid? It's not even a good idea to announce to your enemy that you're his enemy, let alone that you're coming for him.

If you didn’t see sufficient build up for that moment, you didn’t watch the whole show or something.

And no, things coming full circle within an episode is never necessary.

The show could take a whole season for something to come back around, and that would be fine. Beyond that, good story telling often leaves questions unanswered, threads hanging, etc. It’s a valid tool in the story telling toolkit.
Not every damn handshake and comment in the show has to matter beyond the scene in which it appears.

 

[Imaculata]

I think you are all not getting what I'm saying. I am not saying that every question needs to be answered by the end of the episode. But an episode of a tv show shouldn't be just a bunch of ideas thrown together. If you introduce a bunch of aliens attacking the convoy, it should fit into the plot, and not just be an excuse to have a fight on top of a vehicle. That is something you need to address. If you are a decent writer, you find some way to have that come up later on in the episode. Maybe one of the characters cares for the plight of these aliens, and they decide to help them take out the base, rather then only steal the data? You don't need to have any writing job to see why that would be good writing. It is the basics of any plot: you introduce something, and it comes back into the plot later.

Likewise, you need to clear up any lack of logic. If you have Mayfield pretend to be a Stormtrooper, you can't have him just walking around the base without a helmet no questions asked. Likewise, if Mayfield is afraid of being recognized (which is only because he took his helmet off), then nothing is stopping him from putting his helmet back on. These are inconsistencies that need to be solved. This is usually why someone comes in to 'punch up' the first draft of a script.

Lastly, there is the issue of Mando's face being scanned, and the computer not immediately setting off an alarm. It is possible (but not likely) that this will be addressed in a later episode, but it should have been addressed in this one. Note that none of the characters were worried for a second about being identified by the computer. It was weird.

And I haven't even mentioned larger issues, such as setting up the villain, and establishing some stakes before the season finale. The only thing we got, was Mando threatening the villain at the end of the episode, and proclaiming a love for the child that has yet to be established.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

If you introduce a bunch of aliens attacking the convoy, it should fit into the plot, and not just be an excuse to have a fight on top of a vehicle.

False. Sorry, but no. That isn’t true. That logic, if adhered to strictly, makes stories boring and contrived.

 

[MarkB]

I think you are all not getting what I'm saying. I am not saying that every question needs to be answered by the end of the episode. But an episode of a tv show shouldn't be just a bunch of ideas thrown together. If you introduce a bunch of aliens attacking the convoy, it should fit into the plot, and not just be an excuse to have a fight on top of a vehicle. That is something you need to address. If you are a decent writer, you find some way to have that come up later on in the episode. Maybe one of the characters cares for the plight of these aliens, and they decide to help them take out the base, rather then only steal the data? You don't need to have any writing job to see why that would be good writing. It is the basics of any plot: you introduce something, and it comes back into the plot later.

That part seemed straightforward enough. The Empire had set up their mining operation with no consideration of the locals (which was mentioned), so the locals were rebelling against them by sabotaging their convoys. And part of the point here is to emphasise that these protagonists aren't part of all that. They're not working for the Empire, but they're not working against them either, except to the extent that it coincides with their interests, so they don't get involved.

Likewise, you need to clear up any lack of logic. If you have Mayfield pretend to be a Stormtrooper, you can't have him just walking around the base without a helmet no questions asked. Likewise, if Mayfield is afraid of being recognized (which is only because he took his helmet off), then nothing is stopping him from putting his helmet back on. These are inconsistencies that need to be solved. This is usually why someone comes in to 'punch up' the first draft of a script.

Is there some reason why a trooper can't walk around within their compound with his helmet off? Mayfield clearly doesn't think so, and he's the ex-Imperial. And he knew there was no point in him putting his helmet back on, because he'd have to take it straight off again once he got to the terminal.

And I haven't even mentioned larger issues, such as setting up the villain, and establishing some stakes before the season finale. The only thing we got, was Mando threatening the villain at the end of the episode, and proclaiming a love for the child that has yet to be established.

If you think that has yet to be established, then you really haven't paid any attention at all.

 

[Imaculata]

False. Sorry, but no. That isn’t true. That logic, if adhered to strictly, makes stories boring and contrived.

Well lets take this particular point a bit further, although it really wasn't my biggest complaint about the episode by a long shot.

The episode shows us that the natives on this planet are poor and suffering. We get a close up of it and all. Storytelling wise, this tells us that this is important information. And yet it does not come up again in the episode.

We are told that the empire is transporting a volatile substance to their base on a regular basis, and apparently these transports also get raided often. This raises all kinds of questions. Why are the transports not guarded, or escorded by Tie-fighters? Where is the stuff coming from, and why not have the imperial base be at the place where it is mined? If so many people attack these transports, how can only 2 people capture one? And if the plan is to attack the defense turrets on top of the base with snipers and escape, why not take them out first and attack the base with Boba's ship?

 

[cbwjm]

EDIT: Oops, I meant to reply to @MarkB!



I'll have to watch the episode again, but I'm pretty sure after Mayfield saw his old CO and got cold feet . . . he told Mando that he had to be the one to access the terminal, because it would require a face scan.

So, when Mando walked over to the terminal anyway and tried to access with his helmet . . . I was confused. When he took off his helmet, and the scan worked . . . I was even more confused. I assumed the scan was a bio-password . . . and now I'm not sure the point of the facial scan.

I thought, maybe there's some reason for Mando's face to be in the imperial database and unlock the terminal access . . . .

I feel like the face scan was less for allowing access and more for having a record of who accessed the terminal.