pukunui
Legend
Yeah. But then hardly anyone calls the Mandalorian by his name either. He's still mostly referred to on and off screen as "Mando".
The mandalorian [Spoilers]
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Imaculata
Hero
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 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.
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Enevhar Aldarion
Hero
LOL Seriously? You are saying that about the episode that pretty much everyone is calling the best of the entire series? And you are insulting Dave Filoni's writing too?
Imaculata
Hero
Yeah, it was terrible. I'm presuming you recently watched it. Can you recall any memorable dialogue from the episode? Did you ever feel the main characters were in any real danger? Was there any surprise in the plot?
Apart from the cool visuals, the fan service, Ahsoka's cameo and her cool lightsabers, what was good about the episode's actual plot?
Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
"Where is General Thrawn?"
"You're like a father to him."
When Ahsoka was trying to kill Mando, but only for a little bit.
General Thrawn. Grogu. Beskar spear.
Imaculata
Hero
Those are just name drops. Were there any plot developments in the episode that were any surprise?
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
You know, you can just stop watching the show and give us all a break.
MarkB
Legend
There wasn't any reason Ahsoka couldn't take the town by herself. She wasn't waiting for backup, she was just giving them time to either surrender or start panicking.
But if she went in alone, she'd have had trouble drawing enough attention to herself to prevent them from killing hostages, especially as she didn't know where the hostages were, so their combined attack most likely saved lives.
I'm glad that they've kept the Child's involvement in the resolution of the conflicts to a minimum. There was a real risk of him becoming a Force-power-of-the-week deus ex machina, and it's been a relief that they haven't used him as such during this season.
Zardnaar
Legend
Thrawn thing.
Depends how they wrap things up. See how the threads connect up later.
Could be great, could be GoT season 8 or the sequel trilogy qualify.
Imaculata
Hero
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.
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 Mando at 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.
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