The Mandalorian: The Apostate
March 1, 2023 3:24 AM - Season 3, Episode 1 - Subscribe
The Mandalorian begins an important journey.
Note: If you gave up on the extremely mediocre Book of Boba Fett (I don't blame you), go and watch Chapter 5 which is essentially an episode of The Mandalorian, and explains what happened to Din and Grogu in between seasons 2 and 3. It's a good episode with minimal Boba Fett and a cool ring-planet.
Note: If you gave up on the extremely mediocre Book of Boba Fett (I don't blame you), go and watch Chapter 5 which is essentially an episode of The Mandalorian, and explains what happened to Din and Grogu in between seasons 2 and 3. It's a good episode with minimal Boba Fett and a cool ring-planet.
I'm not ashamed to admit I squealed when I saw the Purrgils. I'd lay odds they're getting ready to link this season to the upcoming Ahsoka show in some way.
posted by garrett at 5:30 AM on March 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by garrett at 5:30 AM on March 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
The name of the episode is “The Apostate”, not “The Jedi”.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:32 AM on March 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:32 AM on March 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ah my bad, I'll get it changed. I hate that Disney+ initially doesn't put the episode titles up straight away.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:35 AM on March 1, 2023
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:35 AM on March 1, 2023
Somewhat odd that IG-11's self-destruct system was in his torso but the part that survived it exploding was... his torso?
This detail annoyed me. They could have at least had a big hole in the torso or something. It seemed sloppy and lazy.
Overall, the writing in this felt a little dumbed down, like it was an episode of one of the cartoon series. You can have space pirates without them literally saying "avast". Cringe.
I hope it improves as we go along.
posted by Fleebnork at 5:40 AM on March 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
This detail annoyed me. They could have at least had a big hole in the torso or something. It seemed sloppy and lazy.
Overall, the writing in this felt a little dumbed down, like it was an episode of one of the cartoon series. You can have space pirates without them literally saying "avast". Cringe.
I hope it improves as we go along.
posted by Fleebnork at 5:40 AM on March 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
Poor Armorer, events have really gotten her down. Here comes Din all shiny and hopeful, wanting reassurance that he can be redeemed and she's all, Whatever.
Those cosplayers must have had SO MUCH fun filming that scene, so happy for them!
posted by orrnyereg at 5:57 AM on March 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
Those cosplayers must have had SO MUCH fun filming that scene, so happy for them!
posted by orrnyereg at 5:57 AM on March 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
Poor Armorer, events have really gotten her down. Here comes Din all shiny and hopeful, wanting reassurance that he can be redeemed and she's all, Whatever.
I almost laughed at how resigned "This is the way," came out of her after Din was like, "I'll be redeemed right if I do this?"
I'm not ashamed to admit I squealed when I saw the Purrgils. I'd lay odds they're getting ready to link this season to the upcoming Ahsoka show in some way.
100% absolutely freakin' yes. One, they were cool to see, and two, I guarantee we'll see them in a flashback in episode one of Ahsoka, or if Mando somehow bops into Sabine/Ahsoka this season. That way folks will go, "Oh yeah, I saw those in the first episode!" (for those who have not seen Rebels). [Which is to say, if any the fine folk in this thread haven't, you should, but those who have are very much happy to explain it all, too!]
This was a very Star Warsy episode of the Mandalorian and I enjoyed it. The pirates were totally up the alley of how Star Wars has presented them in recent years, so I wasn't too shocked by how much they leaned into the Pirates of the Caribbean. And I remain surprised that twice now Filnoi has passed up a clear opportunity to somehow squeeze in Hondo Ohnaka (which is fine).
Din: Where's Cara Dune?
Greef: She went and joined a spin off tv show, Rangers of the New Republic, which was canceled before it even got off the ground because the star turned out to be an anti-semitic anti-vaxxer.
Din: Oh, okay.
I'm here for Bo-Katan just lounging around depressed in her castle. I'm curious to know what is the state of the Mandalorian planets/moons. They may be a "scattered" people, but at the same time, Bo-Katan's place looks like a pretty nice home. As did the Wren Clan's place on one of their moons. An unstated amusing fact is that much of Mandalore was already a desolate place to begin with because of the Mandalorians fighting each other over the millenia. The Empire really was more of a finishing touch to the planet. I'm going to turn the dial up on the possibility of Sabine Wren's name being mentioned at some point in this season, if not an appearance. Granted, she's theoretically still over on Lothal waiting for Ezra Bridger.
The decision to conclude the story arc of Grogu's and Din's separation in the Book of Boba Fett remains one of the most underwhelming decisions of Star Wars' television arm. Added to the fact is the alleged statement by Jon Favreau that Grogu and Din were actually separated for a couple years or so (i.e., it was a couple years between the end of Season 2 and the events of BoBF)! In the future, the dissonance of this decision will be even weirder when someone is binging the show and rolls from the last episode of Season 2 into this one. The "story up to now" didn't even really address this. It's almost laughable, that the last thing people see is Grogu leaving with Luke Skywalker, very emotional, very dramatic, and then suddenly, Grogu and Din come flying in on a Naboo N-1 fighter to blast a giant alligator snapping turtle to pieces.
I loved IG-11's reversion to killer bot, it may be one of the most frightening things in the show so far, how it was animated is a question I would like to know.
I guess it's a wait and see if Din unites the Mandalorians or if he ends up in a fight with Bo-Katan and she takes the Darksaber and does so herself.
posted by Atreides at 7:36 AM on March 1, 2023 [8 favorites]
I almost laughed at how resigned "This is the way," came out of her after Din was like, "I'll be redeemed right if I do this?"
I'm not ashamed to admit I squealed when I saw the Purrgils. I'd lay odds they're getting ready to link this season to the upcoming Ahsoka show in some way.
100% absolutely freakin' yes. One, they were cool to see, and two, I guarantee we'll see them in a flashback in episode one of Ahsoka, or if Mando somehow bops into Sabine/Ahsoka this season. That way folks will go, "Oh yeah, I saw those in the first episode!" (for those who have not seen Rebels). [Which is to say, if any the fine folk in this thread haven't, you should, but those who have are very much happy to explain it all, too!]
This was a very Star Warsy episode of the Mandalorian and I enjoyed it. The pirates were totally up the alley of how Star Wars has presented them in recent years, so I wasn't too shocked by how much they leaned into the Pirates of the Caribbean. And I remain surprised that twice now Filnoi has passed up a clear opportunity to somehow squeeze in Hondo Ohnaka (which is fine).
Din: Where's Cara Dune?
Greef: She went and joined a spin off tv show, Rangers of the New Republic, which was canceled before it even got off the ground because the star turned out to be an anti-semitic anti-vaxxer.
Din: Oh, okay.
I'm here for Bo-Katan just lounging around depressed in her castle. I'm curious to know what is the state of the Mandalorian planets/moons. They may be a "scattered" people, but at the same time, Bo-Katan's place looks like a pretty nice home. As did the Wren Clan's place on one of their moons. An unstated amusing fact is that much of Mandalore was already a desolate place to begin with because of the Mandalorians fighting each other over the millenia. The Empire really was more of a finishing touch to the planet. I'm going to turn the dial up on the possibility of Sabine Wren's name being mentioned at some point in this season, if not an appearance. Granted, she's theoretically still over on Lothal waiting for Ezra Bridger.
The decision to conclude the story arc of Grogu's and Din's separation in the Book of Boba Fett remains one of the most underwhelming decisions of Star Wars' television arm. Added to the fact is the alleged statement by Jon Favreau that Grogu and Din were actually separated for a couple years or so (i.e., it was a couple years between the end of Season 2 and the events of BoBF)! In the future, the dissonance of this decision will be even weirder when someone is binging the show and rolls from the last episode of Season 2 into this one. The "story up to now" didn't even really address this. It's almost laughable, that the last thing people see is Grogu leaving with Luke Skywalker, very emotional, very dramatic, and then suddenly, Grogu and Din come flying in on a Naboo N-1 fighter to blast a giant alligator snapping turtle to pieces.
I loved IG-11's reversion to killer bot, it may be one of the most frightening things in the show so far, how it was animated is a question I would like to know.
I guess it's a wait and see if Din unites the Mandalorians or if he ends up in a fight with Bo-Katan and she takes the Darksaber and does so herself.
posted by Atreides at 7:36 AM on March 1, 2023 [8 favorites]
Pleasant to return to the show, which (Andor aside) has been the best of the live action TV offerings. This was a pretty flat episode, though: procedural moving of pieces here and there, functional dialogue, a fetch quest, pirates who did everything piratey short of saying, “Yarrrr.” Bonus marks for IG-11’s surprise resurrection and getting Taika Waititi back for two lines.
I suppose we have to celebrate its return as a marker of hope more than achievement, and see where this goes in the next seven episodes.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:33 AM on March 1, 2023 [6 favorites]
I suppose we have to celebrate its return as a marker of hope more than achievement, and see where this goes in the next seven episodes.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:33 AM on March 1, 2023 [6 favorites]
2.5 years after the previous season, with only BOBF in between, I was hoping this episode would get me excited for the show all over again. It didn't. Having "resolved" its season two cliffhanger on another show, this episode felt like absolutely nothing changed between seasons. Apart from all the changes on Navarro. But Grogu is still doing little force tricks and there's no evidence he learned anything from his time with Luke. I guess it's hard to show a change in the relationship between a masked man and an infant character who doesn't speak, but the show feels like it should just do the same thing as it used to do.
I always loved the low-stakes of this show. But this episode felt almost no stakes. Hard to get invested in giant space battles when you know Din is going to get out of it.
And the character of Bo Katan is... well, I have not watched much Clone Wars, so that final scene with her played like it was some big deal change in her character and I just didn't feel anything. He's got the saber. She used to want the saber. Now meh? Roll credits.
posted by crossoverman at 3:09 PM on March 1, 2023 [6 favorites]
I always loved the low-stakes of this show. But this episode felt almost no stakes. Hard to get invested in giant space battles when you know Din is going to get out of it.
And the character of Bo Katan is... well, I have not watched much Clone Wars, so that final scene with her played like it was some big deal change in her character and I just didn't feel anything. He's got the saber. She used to want the saber. Now meh? Roll credits.
posted by crossoverman at 3:09 PM on March 1, 2023 [6 favorites]
I hate that Disney+ initially doesn't put the episode titles up straight away.
It's listed on screen, in the episode.
posted by crossoverman at 3:10 PM on March 1, 2023
It's listed on screen, in the episode.
posted by crossoverman at 3:10 PM on March 1, 2023
Greef: She went and joined a spin off tv show, Rangers of the New Republic, which was canceled before it even got off the ground because the star turned out to be an anti-semitic anti-vaxxer.
But hey if you're looking for a marshallSeth Bullock Raylan Givens Cobb Vanth is back from the dead and looking for a job.
posted by nathan_teske at 4:44 PM on March 1, 2023 [12 favorites]
But hey if you're looking for a marshall
posted by nathan_teske at 4:44 PM on March 1, 2023 [12 favorites]
I kept waiting for something to happen and then nothing really happened but also, I get my Sexy Lone Wolf & Cute Puppet Cub in Space so I don't care.
posted by edencosmic at 6:05 PM on March 1, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by edencosmic at 6:05 PM on March 1, 2023 [9 favorites]
That giant crocodile fight was really disappointing, visual effects-wise. It just made no sense, either.
Did dig Grogu'ssidetop-car.
Mando's ride's gonna get flooded.
posted by porpoise at 6:34 PM on March 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
Did dig Grogu's
Mando's ride's gonna get flooded.
posted by porpoise at 6:34 PM on March 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
Old heads will appreciate that the pirates appeared to be flying R-41 Starchasers from the 1994 video game Tie Fighter.
I liked the little dudes who said “bad baby”
posted by rodlymight at 7:13 PM on March 1, 2023 [11 favorites]
I liked the little dudes who said “bad baby”
posted by rodlymight at 7:13 PM on March 1, 2023 [11 favorites]
Man, Katie Sackhoff is so good at playing self-destructive bad-asses. She doesn’t have the greatest range ever, but that’s a heck of a niche.
posted by Mr. Excellent at 7:57 PM on March 1, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by Mr. Excellent at 7:57 PM on March 1, 2023 [9 favorites]
The big time jump between movies (or in this case, seasons) is a time-honored Star Wars tradition; normally those gaps get filled in later with other media (books, comics, video games) but I guess in this case, they got a jump on the filling-in-the-blanks with Book of Boba Fett. I'm fine with that.
I do wonder how our Exiled Apostate Mando found the Armorer's new hideout. She doesn't seem to be as good at picking really secret locations for her secret hideouts as she thinks she is. (Obviously not great at picking baptism locations, either!)
This was mostly a "check in with all the [remaining] cast and see how everybody's doing" episode to set things up (and I enjoyed checking in with everybody and got a kick out of seeing High Magistrate Greef all cleaned up but still wheeling and dealing, and even broody, disillusioned Bo-Katan in her lonely castle on the windswept moors) so I'm also fine with how little of importance actually happened here, but I did note that it seems like Din's being a little ADD here:
1. Get the Armorer to (resignedly) agree that his cockamamie redemption plan is legit: okay, sure, I guess that's a reasonable first step.
2. He lands on Navarro because he wants the only droid he's ever trusted to help him explore the supposedly poisonous, probably radioactive hellscape of Mandalore - okay, makes sense.
3. The droid can't be fixed, even with all of Babu Frik's extended family doing their best Fraggle Rock impressions. Gotta get a part. Okay, fetch quest initiated, par for the course.
4. Aaaaand then, instead of going off on the fetch quest, Din just flies straight to Bo-Katan's castle to announce to her his plan to go to Mandalore (and gets directions of where to go once there), but zero mention of the robot or missing part or even explanation for why this was his next stop instead of wherever it is he thinks he can get that part (my money's on Jawas, you know we can't avoid Tatooine for an entire season).
I think if they'd switched it up just a little bit, so he goes to Bo-Katan next after the Armorer, and Bo-Katan (with presumably more up-to-date info about the condition of Mandalore than Din has) tells him he's gonna want a robot to help him scout the blasted wastes (given his relationship with droids, it really doesn't seem like an idea that would occur to Din unprompted), and then he goes to Navarro - well, it would've made it seem more like he was following an actual train of thought, instead of just a checklist of characters he needed to visit. But probably the Disney suits were more concerned with making sure we had a properly balanced sequence of action -> talking -> action -> talking (after all, he can't fight the pirates till after he meets them on Navarro, so my reordering would push that whole space dogfight to the end of the episode) than actual in-character logic.
posted by mstokes650 at 7:58 PM on March 1, 2023 [10 favorites]
I do wonder how our Exiled Apostate Mando found the Armorer's new hideout. She doesn't seem to be as good at picking really secret locations for her secret hideouts as she thinks she is. (Obviously not great at picking baptism locations, either!)
This was mostly a "check in with all the [remaining] cast and see how everybody's doing" episode to set things up (and I enjoyed checking in with everybody and got a kick out of seeing High Magistrate Greef all cleaned up but still wheeling and dealing, and even broody, disillusioned Bo-Katan in her lonely castle on the windswept moors) so I'm also fine with how little of importance actually happened here, but I did note that it seems like Din's being a little ADD here:
1. Get the Armorer to (resignedly) agree that his cockamamie redemption plan is legit: okay, sure, I guess that's a reasonable first step.
2. He lands on Navarro because he wants the only droid he's ever trusted to help him explore the supposedly poisonous, probably radioactive hellscape of Mandalore - okay, makes sense.
3. The droid can't be fixed, even with all of Babu Frik's extended family doing their best Fraggle Rock impressions. Gotta get a part. Okay, fetch quest initiated, par for the course.
4. Aaaaand then, instead of going off on the fetch quest, Din just flies straight to Bo-Katan's castle to announce to her his plan to go to Mandalore (and gets directions of where to go once there), but zero mention of the robot or missing part or even explanation for why this was his next stop instead of wherever it is he thinks he can get that part (my money's on Jawas, you know we can't avoid Tatooine for an entire season).
I think if they'd switched it up just a little bit, so he goes to Bo-Katan next after the Armorer, and Bo-Katan (with presumably more up-to-date info about the condition of Mandalore than Din has) tells him he's gonna want a robot to help him scout the blasted wastes (given his relationship with droids, it really doesn't seem like an idea that would occur to Din unprompted), and then he goes to Navarro - well, it would've made it seem more like he was following an actual train of thought, instead of just a checklist of characters he needed to visit. But probably the Disney suits were more concerned with making sure we had a properly balanced sequence of action -> talking -> action -> talking (after all, he can't fight the pirates till after he meets them on Navarro, so my reordering would push that whole space dogfight to the end of the episode) than actual in-character logic.
posted by mstokes650 at 7:58 PM on March 1, 2023 [10 favorites]
I was excited to see the Armorer at work, but I gotta admit that helmet looked pretty plastic out in the sun.
For all that Mandalorians are supposed to be trained from birth in defense, that was some piss-poor tactics in handling the giant alligator. First you send the kids & noncombatants out of harms way. Then you use ranged weapons against something that can smash you flat, or very carefully use those mines. Instead they kept getting in close to something that could and did kill quite a lot of them, for no real reason. It was clearly not super agile on land, and probably they could have pulled out of range and outlasted it.
The scene with Din and the Armorer was basically an awkwardly-written rehash of the same scene in BoBF. I expected Din at least to point out that she had told him this before, although to be fair this time the Armorer was a lot more down on the idea of going back to Mandalore. And WHY doesn't Din point out that not every Mandalorian believes in the weird helmet fetish. (How do these people have children? How do they raise children? Do they not have dentists?)
The Nevarro stuff was okay, I guess, although I was surprised Din thought he had the chops to rebuild a droid. And in fact he didn't.
I did love Grogu cooing to the purrgils! That was neat, and they looked really cool: it's always a crap shoot to see how something will translate from animated to live action.
As for Bo-Katan, that was... weird. Why did Bo-Katan never even stand up? OK she's depressed, but she's always struck me as a character who got a lot of motivation out of spite: why not do something instead of sitting awkwardly in her cold castle?
Basically, that was reasonably fun, but the writing was not great: clunky and awkward in a lot of places. Hopefully next week will be better.
posted by suelac at 8:21 PM on March 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
For all that Mandalorians are supposed to be trained from birth in defense, that was some piss-poor tactics in handling the giant alligator. First you send the kids & noncombatants out of harms way. Then you use ranged weapons against something that can smash you flat, or very carefully use those mines. Instead they kept getting in close to something that could and did kill quite a lot of them, for no real reason. It was clearly not super agile on land, and probably they could have pulled out of range and outlasted it.
The scene with Din and the Armorer was basically an awkwardly-written rehash of the same scene in BoBF. I expected Din at least to point out that she had told him this before, although to be fair this time the Armorer was a lot more down on the idea of going back to Mandalore. And WHY doesn't Din point out that not every Mandalorian believes in the weird helmet fetish. (How do these people have children? How do they raise children? Do they not have dentists?)
The Nevarro stuff was okay, I guess, although I was surprised Din thought he had the chops to rebuild a droid. And in fact he didn't.
I did love Grogu cooing to the purrgils! That was neat, and they looked really cool: it's always a crap shoot to see how something will translate from animated to live action.
As for Bo-Katan, that was... weird. Why did Bo-Katan never even stand up? OK she's depressed, but she's always struck me as a character who got a lot of motivation out of spite: why not do something instead of sitting awkwardly in her cold castle?
Basically, that was reasonably fun, but the writing was not great: clunky and awkward in a lot of places. Hopefully next week will be better.
posted by suelac at 8:21 PM on March 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
"Magistrate." "HIGH Magistrate!"
"Grogu." "Huh?"
"His name is Grogu." ".....oh. If you say so."
I love how people IN THE SHOW hate this terrible name too.
Adorable baby moments: in his own little seat, on Mando's lap, spinning in the spinny chair, has another floaty, telepathically grabbing food...
"Grogu! Not a pet!" "Bad baby!"
Pet? Kid eats live things :P
I kept waiting for something to happen and then nothing really happened but also, I get my Sexy Lone Wolf & Cute Puppet Cub in Space so I don't care.
This is entirely how I feel about the show. Let baby do cute baby things while Mando does "business" and periodically tries to stop him is a hilarious good time.
So, plot of the episode: Mando wants to baptise himself in Forgiveness Waterfall which may or may no longer exist. To that end, he heads to a cleaned-up Navarro and asks to get the IG droid remains back because he needs a droid he can trust to investigate Mandalore for him. Getting IG fixed goes...poorly, as IG now shoots at him/the baby again. Mando offers to get the right part for it, somehow. Then he goes to Bo-Katan to offer his services and she's all "I give up, fuck off." That's the plot, right?
AV Club review.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:07 PM on March 1, 2023 [5 favorites]
"Grogu." "Huh?"
"His name is Grogu." ".....oh. If you say so."
I love how people IN THE SHOW hate this terrible name too.
Adorable baby moments: in his own little seat, on Mando's lap, spinning in the spinny chair, has another floaty, telepathically grabbing food...
"Grogu! Not a pet!" "Bad baby!"
Pet? Kid eats live things :P
I kept waiting for something to happen and then nothing really happened but also, I get my Sexy Lone Wolf & Cute Puppet Cub in Space so I don't care.
This is entirely how I feel about the show. Let baby do cute baby things while Mando does "business" and periodically tries to stop him is a hilarious good time.
So, plot of the episode: Mando wants to baptise himself in Forgiveness Waterfall which may or may no longer exist. To that end, he heads to a cleaned-up Navarro and asks to get the IG droid remains back because he needs a droid he can trust to investigate Mandalore for him. Getting IG fixed goes...poorly, as IG now shoots at him/the baby again. Mando offers to get the right part for it, somehow. Then he goes to Bo-Katan to offer his services and she's all "I give up, fuck off." That's the plot, right?
AV Club review.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:07 PM on March 1, 2023 [5 favorites]
Yodicito definitely wanted to eat the Anzellans.
Not enough happened in this episode. My partner is quarantining so we don't catch his case of covid so we were comparing notes over chat while we watched, and I spent the whole episode complaining about how impractical the N-1 Starfighter is for a dad. "I'll grant it's very nimble but it doesn't even have room for a car seat" grousing. This is not the reaction of a person who was on the edge of her seat.
My only really excited reaction was "PURRGILS????" cause I'm hoping that's foreshadowing that we're gonna see my boy Thrawn in this season. And uh Filoni come on man, I've said it in every Star Wars show, NOW TELL ME, WHERE IS HONDO, FOR I MUCH DESIRE okay seriously I'm sorry I know he's telling me loud and clear he's not going to put Hondo on the show, he had an obvious opportunity and he didn't take it, I hear you, but this is a show that could really benefit from some fucken Hondo, okay?? Hondo would never say "avast". HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
posted by potrzebie at 10:40 PM on March 1, 2023 [7 favorites]
Not enough happened in this episode. My partner is quarantining so we don't catch his case of covid so we were comparing notes over chat while we watched, and I spent the whole episode complaining about how impractical the N-1 Starfighter is for a dad. "I'll grant it's very nimble but it doesn't even have room for a car seat" grousing. This is not the reaction of a person who was on the edge of her seat.
My only really excited reaction was "PURRGILS????" cause I'm hoping that's foreshadowing that we're gonna see my boy Thrawn in this season. And uh Filoni come on man, I've said it in every Star Wars show, NOW TELL ME, WHERE IS HONDO, FOR I MUCH DESIRE okay seriously I'm sorry I know he's telling me loud and clear he's not going to put Hondo on the show, he had an obvious opportunity and he didn't take it, I hear you, but this is a show that could really benefit from some fucken Hondo, okay?? Hondo would never say "avast". HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
posted by potrzebie at 10:40 PM on March 1, 2023 [7 favorites]
This is not the reaction of a person who was on the edge of her seat.
I guess I had one of those reactions too because I kept hearing people say "Have you ever taken off your helmet" and wondering if everyone has agreed on exceptions for eating and tooth-brushing and so on. And why didn't they give that poor long-haired kid a haircut before plopping 20 pounds of metal he's not allowed to remove onto his head?
Despite this I enjoyed it. I loved the tiny muppet guys and Carl Weathers "translating" their almost-always-understandable language by bending down and yelling into their tiny door. And Yodito casually spinning an office chair using The Force. And IG waking up in murder mode was genuinely scary.
I guess what I'm saying is, I don't come to this show to be on the edge of my seat. That's only happened twice so far: Once when they were attacked by ice spiders, and once when I was worried that Grogu was going to eat all of the poor frog-people's bébés. Come to think of it, those were the same episode...
One thing that was hard to ignore in earlier episodes of Mando (and Boba, and Loki) was that the StageCraft virtual set thing worked really well for creating scenes where "One or two characters take a long walk or drive through a desolate alien landscape" and so they included lots of those. I liked how this episode didn't include one of those scenes. (Bo-Katan's Castle of Nihilism was undoubtedly filmed using that, but it didn't fit the stereotype.)
posted by mmoncur at 12:38 AM on March 2, 2023 [6 favorites]
I guess I had one of those reactions too because I kept hearing people say "Have you ever taken off your helmet" and wondering if everyone has agreed on exceptions for eating and tooth-brushing and so on. And why didn't they give that poor long-haired kid a haircut before plopping 20 pounds of metal he's not allowed to remove onto his head?
Despite this I enjoyed it. I loved the tiny muppet guys and Carl Weathers "translating" their almost-always-understandable language by bending down and yelling into their tiny door. And Yodito casually spinning an office chair using The Force. And IG waking up in murder mode was genuinely scary.
I guess what I'm saying is, I don't come to this show to be on the edge of my seat. That's only happened twice so far: Once when they were attacked by ice spiders, and once when I was worried that Grogu was going to eat all of the poor frog-people's bébés. Come to think of it, those were the same episode...
One thing that was hard to ignore in earlier episodes of Mando (and Boba, and Loki) was that the StageCraft virtual set thing worked really well for creating scenes where "One or two characters take a long walk or drive through a desolate alien landscape" and so they included lots of those. I liked how this episode didn't include one of those scenes. (Bo-Katan's Castle of Nihilism was undoubtedly filmed using that, but it didn't fit the stereotype.)
posted by mmoncur at 12:38 AM on March 2, 2023 [6 favorites]
The helmet thing has always been stoopid. Like hello, is everyone in your tribe fucking starving all the time because they can't eat except when alone? (I think it's been said they're allowed to take it off when alone.) Bo-Katan is right that the Children of the Watch are a cult for that stupid reason alone, albeit at least it's not a "takes all your money" sort of cult.
But really, the whole point of the helmet thing is (a) look cool, (b) so he can take it off for the sake of the baby and everyone goes "awww."
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:35 AM on March 2, 2023 [7 favorites]
But really, the whole point of the helmet thing is (a) look cool, (b) so he can take it off for the sake of the baby and everyone goes "awww."
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:35 AM on March 2, 2023 [7 favorites]
I was thinking that the helmet thing might have come from a need to protect identities so no one would put the rest of the group at risk, but everyone can just be identified by the fact that they are always wearing a helmet.
Maybe they just kept losing their helmets when they took them off to do stuff?
posted by snofoam at 4:20 AM on March 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
Maybe they just kept losing their helmets when they took them off to do stuff?
posted by snofoam at 4:20 AM on March 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
Pre-Mouse and maybe also Post-Mouse EU material tells us that Mandalore is basically Afghanistan (or perhaps more accurately the West's vision of Afghanistan): a land so beset by war, often brought in from outside, for long enough to in many ways define it, and certainly to make its people profoundly edgy about outsiders. It's an interesting idea for a franchise about constant wars around many stars, it helps IMO to justify the helmet thing, it's the lens through which I personally have been viewing Mandalore stuff (e.g. in my recent Clone Wars rewatch, which is just about to end), and it's my highest hope for this season that they'll include serious grown-up overtones of "what ceaseless war does to a people" in kind of the same way that Andor included serious grown-up overtones of "what living trying to live under an authoritarian regime is like."
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 5:18 AM on March 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 5:18 AM on March 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
I never dove deep into the Karen Traviss Mandalorian lore (big EU source - KT later turned out to be also an awful person) that George Lucas pretty much ignored and obliterated with everything that he created that blinked in the direction of Mandalore, so most of my knowledge is based on the films and animation. Practically, the Mandalorian helmet originally arose in the preproduction in the movies as a possible Stormtrooper design that was later adapted for Fett's character. Everything Mandalore flowed from that decision.
Removing that background from the equation, we have the visual idea of the helmet as part of one's armor, i.e., a European knight. In universe, the armor are family heirlooms, passed down to each generation due to the relative preciousness of beskar steel and simply as something honored. The helmets also work as identifiers for different clans and houses. Thus, outside of our wonderful Children of the Watch here, typically, Mandalorians coming from the same entity will have similar armor (this indicates the Children really are a motley bunch). For the non-Children of the Watch, i.e., the majority of Mandalorians we've met until this show, the helmet was only on for battle. That's it. Yes, they'll chill like Bo-Katan in her armor on her throne, but the helmet is off unless there's a fight.
Why the Children don't remove their helmets (except when alone, eating, brushing their teeth, general hygiene that takes place above the neck), has never really been shared with us. Death Watch (see Clone Wars), a group of Mandalorians whom the Children of the Watch appear to be an off shoot of, did remove their helmets. The idea that Mandalorians are a persecuted group is relatively recent in-universe, essentially from the Empire repeatedly being pissed off at this martial society's constant rebellion against its authority. So hiding their identities isn't a long Mandalorian tradition (unless it's some weirdo tradition from long time ago) or I think, indicative of a distrust in strangers. Honestly, if the Mandalorians DID want to hide from people, they would remove their armor and helmets and blend right in. Instead, i think it goes to Din's origin, that he's a Foundling.
The Mandalorian people have faced repeated decimation at the hands of the Empire, their culture is fractured, and so they (the Children of the Watch) have resorted to adoption to maintain their society. As we see from the Armorer's nonchalant acknowledgment that Grogu is basically part of Din's clan and considered a Foundling, this is not a club that is exclusive to humans. So the helmet and the armor now gains a new trait, other than protection in battle, but creating a uniformity among the Children. Everyone is a Mandalorian, regardless of who or where they're from, because they wear the helmet. When you remove the helmet, you're shattering this unity - hence the taboo. It's possible that if the helmet rule is some kind of weirdo ancient mostly forgotten custom, it could have arisen in a time when the Mandalorians were just as fractured and decimated.
As for Bo-Katan, that was... weird. Why did Bo-Katan never even stand up? OK she's depressed, but she's always struck me as a character who got a lot of motivation out of spite: why not do something instead of sitting awkwardly in her cold castle?
You're forgetting how the Mandalorians are all about the drama. But seriously, you kind of see this setting in in the Season Two finale, when she realizes Din won the Darksaber in combat against Moff Gideon. There's big, "Oh fuck my life" type of realization that this is going to ruin all her plans because of the Mandalorians' crazy adherence to the Darksaber. We still don't know completely how she lost the Darksaber the last time, but the fact that it was given to her and not won in combat, may have ended up leading to a weakness that undermined her command of the Mandalorians so she knows that without taking the weapon in a fight in the future, everything is just a complete and total waste.
posted by Atreides at 7:03 AM on March 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
Removing that background from the equation, we have the visual idea of the helmet as part of one's armor, i.e., a European knight. In universe, the armor are family heirlooms, passed down to each generation due to the relative preciousness of beskar steel and simply as something honored. The helmets also work as identifiers for different clans and houses. Thus, outside of our wonderful Children of the Watch here, typically, Mandalorians coming from the same entity will have similar armor (this indicates the Children really are a motley bunch). For the non-Children of the Watch, i.e., the majority of Mandalorians we've met until this show, the helmet was only on for battle. That's it. Yes, they'll chill like Bo-Katan in her armor on her throne, but the helmet is off unless there's a fight.
Why the Children don't remove their helmets (except when alone, eating, brushing their teeth, general hygiene that takes place above the neck), has never really been shared with us. Death Watch (see Clone Wars), a group of Mandalorians whom the Children of the Watch appear to be an off shoot of, did remove their helmets. The idea that Mandalorians are a persecuted group is relatively recent in-universe, essentially from the Empire repeatedly being pissed off at this martial society's constant rebellion against its authority. So hiding their identities isn't a long Mandalorian tradition (unless it's some weirdo tradition from long time ago) or I think, indicative of a distrust in strangers. Honestly, if the Mandalorians DID want to hide from people, they would remove their armor and helmets and blend right in. Instead, i think it goes to Din's origin, that he's a Foundling.
The Mandalorian people have faced repeated decimation at the hands of the Empire, their culture is fractured, and so they (the Children of the Watch) have resorted to adoption to maintain their society. As we see from the Armorer's nonchalant acknowledgment that Grogu is basically part of Din's clan and considered a Foundling, this is not a club that is exclusive to humans. So the helmet and the armor now gains a new trait, other than protection in battle, but creating a uniformity among the Children. Everyone is a Mandalorian, regardless of who or where they're from, because they wear the helmet. When you remove the helmet, you're shattering this unity - hence the taboo. It's possible that if the helmet rule is some kind of weirdo ancient mostly forgotten custom, it could have arisen in a time when the Mandalorians were just as fractured and decimated.
As for Bo-Katan, that was... weird. Why did Bo-Katan never even stand up? OK she's depressed, but she's always struck me as a character who got a lot of motivation out of spite: why not do something instead of sitting awkwardly in her cold castle?
You're forgetting how the Mandalorians are all about the drama. But seriously, you kind of see this setting in in the Season Two finale, when she realizes Din won the Darksaber in combat against Moff Gideon. There's big, "Oh fuck my life" type of realization that this is going to ruin all her plans because of the Mandalorians' crazy adherence to the Darksaber. We still don't know completely how she lost the Darksaber the last time, but the fact that it was given to her and not won in combat, may have ended up leading to a weakness that undermined her command of the Mandalorians so she knows that without taking the weapon in a fight in the future, everything is just a complete and total waste.
posted by Atreides at 7:03 AM on March 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
It was nice to see the characters again, but also odd, as if nothing much happened. More importantly, nothing smart seem to be happening.
Ok Mando needs a droid, but only trusts the assassin droid that when woken up, tried to kill Grogu? He wants to be a Mandalorian again, even though he knows he doesn't have to live that way, yet he still chooses it? It all seems a bit odd at this point and not a great welcome. Hell, even Grogu treating one of the small engineers as a pet seemed out of place, like come on dude, you're not dumb, why are you doing that to an obviously intelligent life form?
It's not like I'll stop watching the show, just hoping things pick up and become more interesting next episode.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:08 AM on March 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
Ok Mando needs a droid, but only trusts the assassin droid that when woken up, tried to kill Grogu? He wants to be a Mandalorian again, even though he knows he doesn't have to live that way, yet he still chooses it? It all seems a bit odd at this point and not a great welcome. Hell, even Grogu treating one of the small engineers as a pet seemed out of place, like come on dude, you're not dumb, why are you doing that to an obviously intelligent life form?
It's not like I'll stop watching the show, just hoping things pick up and become more interesting next episode.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:08 AM on March 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
I loved IG-11's reversion to killer bot, it may be one of the most frightening things in the show so far, how it was animated is a question I would like to know.
I definitely got some classic stop-motion vibes from that scene.
posted by mikelieman at 7:26 AM on March 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
I definitely got some classic stop-motion vibes from that scene.
posted by mikelieman at 7:26 AM on March 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
As long as there’s stuff like Grogu popping up in his dome after the ship lands in the beginning and force grabbing space Reese’s pieces, the rest doesn’t matter all that much.
posted by snofoam at 7:33 AM on March 2, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 7:33 AM on March 2, 2023 [11 favorites]
Old heads will appreciate that the pirates appeared to be flying R-41 Starchasers from the 1994 video game Tie Fighter.
Damn I knew they looked familiar!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:32 AM on March 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
Damn I knew they looked familiar!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:32 AM on March 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
You have to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka Mandaloria
posted by nathan_teske at 8:33 AM on March 2, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by nathan_teske at 8:33 AM on March 2, 2023 [12 favorites]
I do find it odd that one would swear a solemn oath to never remove the helmet without including the established caveats. Wouldn't diminish the pledge to add a "... in the presence of others".
How does the armorer build the helmet to spec without measuring the head? Does he just ask for a size 12? Do they measure themselves?
posted by NailsTheCat at 10:57 AM on March 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
How does the armorer build the helmet to spec without measuring the head? Does he just ask for a size 12? Do they measure themselves?
posted by NailsTheCat at 10:57 AM on March 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
We don't question the Armorer, NailsTheCat.
But the line of questioning at Din that set this whole silly apostate thing off was, "Did you remove your helmet?" "Yes." "In front of others?" "Yes"
Would a "No" answer to the second question lead to a dizzying array of qualified circumstances when it was okay to remove your helmet?
"Did you have a bug crawling on your nose?"
"No."
"Were you shampooing and conditioning your hair?"
"No."
"Was the wind speed the appropriate level to gently caress the nape of your bare neck?"
posted by Atreides at 11:01 AM on March 2, 2023 [10 favorites]
But the line of questioning at Din that set this whole silly apostate thing off was, "Did you remove your helmet?" "Yes." "In front of others?" "Yes"
Would a "No" answer to the second question lead to a dizzying array of qualified circumstances when it was okay to remove your helmet?
"Did you have a bug crawling on your nose?"
"No."
"Were you shampooing and conditioning your hair?"
"No."
"Was the wind speed the appropriate level to gently caress the nape of your bare neck?"
posted by Atreides at 11:01 AM on March 2, 2023 [10 favorites]
This episode was ... kind of stupid.
That's disappointing.
posted by kyrademon at 2:26 PM on March 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
That's disappointing.
posted by kyrademon at 2:26 PM on March 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you took Star Wars and split it through a prism I think you would get Andor on one side and this on the other. This had all the bits of Star Wars that Andor did not. Trees full of Kowakian monkey-lizards, becloaked (high) magistrates, space pirates who are for no sane reason dressed like cartoon pirates and all say things like "Avast Matey", Tiny droid muppets!, absurdly niche callbacks! Pointless megafauna! It's all in there.
It's astonishing really that Andor and The Mandalorian exist in the same fictional universe. And yet they do, and somehow this cavalcade of absurdities is still just a whole bunch of fun.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:37 PM on March 2, 2023 [9 favorites]
It's astonishing really that Andor and The Mandalorian exist in the same fictional universe. And yet they do, and somehow this cavalcade of absurdities is still just a whole bunch of fun.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:37 PM on March 2, 2023 [9 favorites]
If you took Star Wars and split it through a prism I think you would get Andor on one side and this on the other. This had all the bits of Star Wars that Andor did not.
It's wild that you would say this about two shows that don't have any regular characters who are Jedi knights! Disney Star Wars is truly a new era.
posted by potrzebie at 4:52 PM on March 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
It's wild that you would say this about two shows that don't have any regular characters who are Jedi knights! Disney Star Wars is truly a new era.
posted by potrzebie at 4:52 PM on March 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
I was surprised Din thought he had the chops to rebuild a droid.
I would remind you of Chapter 2 when Din and Kuiil had a trailer full of metal pieces and reassembled a hyperspace-faring craft that supports human life using only a blowtorch and a hammer. The reparability of electronics might be the most 70s aspect of Star Wars.
posted by Gary at 5:23 PM on March 2, 2023 [17 favorites]
I would remind you of Chapter 2 when Din and Kuiil had a trailer full of metal pieces and reassembled a hyperspace-faring craft that supports human life using only a blowtorch and a hammer. The reparability of electronics might be the most 70s aspect of Star Wars.
posted by Gary at 5:23 PM on March 2, 2023 [17 favorites]
Has anyone mentioned the High Magistrate's robe-bots yet? I mean!
posted by Isingthebodyelectric at 8:15 PM on March 2, 2023 [17 favorites]
posted by Isingthebodyelectric at 8:15 PM on March 2, 2023 [17 favorites]
I dont know if I can get back to Filoni Star Wars after seeing Gilroy Star Wars. I know different strokes and all, but the near constant self references of Filoni to Clone Wars and Rebels, etc really dont do it for me. I quite enjoyed S1 and soured on Mando during S2 when all the Jedi shit kept creeping in. The Luke stuff in BoBF was awful imo, not just from a technical standpoint, also all the toxic Jedi ideology from the prequels was present in full.
posted by Megustalations at 11:17 PM on March 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Megustalations at 11:17 PM on March 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
robe-bots
For a second I thought they were (meat) servants. But SW. Droids. Right.
Did lose sight of them when Weathers went to draw. Should have had a droid pull the robes back for him.
posted by porpoise at 3:19 AM on March 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
For a second I thought they were (meat) servants. But SW. Droids. Right.
Did lose sight of them when Weathers went to draw. Should have had a droid pull the robes back for him.
posted by porpoise at 3:19 AM on March 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Things my husband and I said to the screen during the crocodile/dinosaur/lizard-thing fight:
"Hey, did you guys see there's a cave back there? I bet you could all fit."
"How about retreating...to that cave...that is right there."
"Oh, look, there's a cave. Where you could go. To not be dead."
"Did anyone think to check for killer crocodiles before baptizing the youth?"
"Ever think about retreating? To that HANDY CAVE?"
posted by cooker girl at 7:08 AM on March 3, 2023 [10 favorites]
"Hey, did you guys see there's a cave back there? I bet you could all fit."
"How about retreating...to that cave...that is right there."
"Oh, look, there's a cave. Where you could go. To not be dead."
"Did anyone think to check for killer crocodiles before baptizing the youth?"
"Ever think about retreating? To that HANDY CAVE?"
posted by cooker girl at 7:08 AM on March 3, 2023 [10 favorites]
It's wild that you would say this about two shows that don't have any regular characters who are Jedi knights!
Fair point. I spose, but this one does have a tiny baby yoda, as well as featuring Luke Skywalker and Ashoka Tano.
So I was sort of putting the Space Wizard bits on their shoulders.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:19 AM on March 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Fair point. I spose, but this one does have a tiny baby yoda, as well as featuring Luke Skywalker and Ashoka Tano.
So I was sort of putting the Space Wizard bits on their shoulders.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:19 AM on March 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
I dont know if I can get back to Filoni Star Wars after seeing Gilroy Star Wars.
Yes.
I know different strokes and all, but the near constant self references of Filoni to Clone Wars and Rebels, etc really dont do it for me.
Yes!
I quite enjoyed S1 and soured on Mando during S2 when all the Jedi shit kept creeping in.
Yes!
The Luke stuff in BoBF was awful imo, not just from a technical standpoint, also all the toxic Jedi ideology from the prequels was present in full.
YESSS!!!
It's sofa king annoying that Filoni is supposed to be the guy who really GOT Star Wars and "saved" the prequels, but he shows Luke after Return of the Jedi repeating all that "attachment is bad" bullshit. LUKE'S ARC IN THE OT WAS DISCOVERING HE WAS BEING GROOMED BY THE FAILED REMNANTS OF THE OLD JEDI ORDER TO ASSASSINATE HIS FATHER, BUT CHOOSING LOVE AND NONVIOLENCE AND SAVING THE GALAXY. (You know, like Rian Johnson understood in TLJ, triggering howls of fanboy rage across thegalaxy internet.)
posted by The Tensor at 11:47 AM on March 3, 2023 [19 favorites]
Yes.
I know different strokes and all, but the near constant self references of Filoni to Clone Wars and Rebels, etc really dont do it for me.
Yes!
I quite enjoyed S1 and soured on Mando during S2 when all the Jedi shit kept creeping in.
Yes!
The Luke stuff in BoBF was awful imo, not just from a technical standpoint, also all the toxic Jedi ideology from the prequels was present in full.
YESSS!!!
It's sofa king annoying that Filoni is supposed to be the guy who really GOT Star Wars and "saved" the prequels, but he shows Luke after Return of the Jedi repeating all that "attachment is bad" bullshit. LUKE'S ARC IN THE OT WAS DISCOVERING HE WAS BEING GROOMED BY THE FAILED REMNANTS OF THE OLD JEDI ORDER TO ASSASSINATE HIS FATHER, BUT CHOOSING LOVE AND NONVIOLENCE AND SAVING THE GALAXY. (You know, like Rian Johnson understood in TLJ, triggering howls of fanboy rage across the
posted by The Tensor at 11:47 AM on March 3, 2023 [19 favorites]
Things my husband and I said to the screen during the crocodile/dinosaur/lizard-thing fight:
I was thinking, "So, it's the size of a large building, guys, small arms fire probably isn't going to do more than annoy it. Yes, even fancy chaingun-style small arms fire. Hmm, what's was your plan for after the grapple-harpoons land? Flex your forearm muscles REAL HARD?"
posted by The Tensor at 11:50 AM on March 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
I was thinking, "So, it's the size of a large building, guys, small arms fire probably isn't going to do more than annoy it. Yes, even fancy chaingun-style small arms fire. Hmm, what's was your plan for after the grapple-harpoons land? Flex your forearm muscles REAL HARD?"
posted by The Tensor at 11:50 AM on March 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
Cara Dune died on the way back to her home planet.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:27 PM on March 3, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:27 PM on March 3, 2023 [8 favorites]
I dont know if I can get back to Filoni Star Wars after seeing Gilroy Star Wars.
Hard same. It's just so sooo slow.
posted by potrzebie at 2:41 PM on March 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Hard same. It's just so sooo slow.
posted by potrzebie at 2:41 PM on March 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
I dunno, the things I like about The Mandalorian are kind of the opposite of the things I like about Andor. This was anti-prestige tv, just a guy and a goblin having adventures. But the show is at it's weakest when it tries to do ongoing grand narratives, and if they're going hard in that direction as they seem to be, well, you could say "I've got a bad feeling about this."
posted by rodlymight at 3:49 PM on March 3, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by rodlymight at 3:49 PM on March 3, 2023 [5 favorites]
Before the Armorer put that kid's helmet on, he really should have used a space scrunchy or something to pull his hair back. I mean, what if the helmet pulled a bunch of hair down in front of his eyes, and then he wasn't allowed to take it off again?
posted by abraxasaxarba at 9:39 PM on March 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by abraxasaxarba at 9:39 PM on March 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
> "Grogu." "Huh?"
> "His name is Grogu." ".....oh. If you say so."
> I love how people IN THE SHOW hate this terrible name too.
I idly made a Mastodon poll: what's his name, Grogu or Baby Yoda? It was a small polling size - a couple of dozen people - but Baby Yoda had three times the votes as Grogu.
(Also, when I was surprised by its return, my reflex was to post "hey, the Baby Yoda show is back.")
Pirates in the Courtyard is the name of my Star Wars Panic! At the Disco cover band.
posted by Pronoiac at 6:43 AM on March 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
> "His name is Grogu." ".....oh. If you say so."
> I love how people IN THE SHOW hate this terrible name too.
I idly made a Mastodon poll: what's his name, Grogu or Baby Yoda? It was a small polling size - a couple of dozen people - but Baby Yoda had three times the votes as Grogu.
(Also, when I was surprised by its return, my reflex was to post "hey, the Baby Yoda show is back.")
Pirates in the Courtyard is the name of my Star Wars Panic! At the Disco cover band.
posted by Pronoiac at 6:43 AM on March 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
1. Din wanting to help/ be accepted by his old clan makes sense, they're his only family. People keep offering him ways to leave it/settle down.
2. Is it even Star Wars without pointless megafauna?
3. It's possible the Children of the Watch only adopt, not reproduce themselves.
4. Ugh, the Darksaber.
5. I feel like the whole Redemption Bath subplot is just to get a look at Mandalore which we all want to do
posted by emjaybee at 7:15 AM on March 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
2. Is it even Star Wars without pointless megafauna?
3. It's possible the Children of the Watch only adopt, not reproduce themselves.
4. Ugh, the Darksaber.
5. I feel like the whole Redemption Bath subplot is just to get a look at Mandalore which we all want to do
posted by emjaybee at 7:15 AM on March 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
> "3. It's possible the Children of the Watch only adopt, not reproduce themselves."
*two helmets clonk*
"OK, this ... just isn't working for me."
posted by kyrademon at 10:17 AM on March 5, 2023 [11 favorites]
*two helmets clonk*
"OK, this ... just isn't working for me."
posted by kyrademon at 10:17 AM on March 5, 2023 [11 favorites]
*two helmets clonk*
... I may have written a 3-sentence story about this exact issue?
It's very short.
posted by suelac at 10:35 AM on March 5, 2023 [9 favorites]
... I may have written a 3-sentence story about this exact issue?
It's very short.
posted by suelac at 10:35 AM on March 5, 2023 [9 favorites]
This was anti-prestige tv, just a guy and a goblin having adventures.
I love this sentence which sums up everything I love about The Mandalorian.
This felt like a bit of a non-episode, it was just nice to see everyone again. Felt comfortable and homey, like a pair of old slippers.
posted by unicorn chaser at 7:39 AM on March 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
I love this sentence which sums up everything I love about The Mandalorian.
This felt like a bit of a non-episode, it was just nice to see everyone again. Felt comfortable and homey, like a pair of old slippers.
posted by unicorn chaser at 7:39 AM on March 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
I always loved the low-stakes of this show. But this episode felt almost no stakes
I spent the entire half hour asking myself, "was this show always this goofy and pointless?" Like, genuinely, I don't remember. But basically nothing of note happened in this episode. It's written like a video game: you gotta go to a place; you can't go to that place because you need the thing; now the thing is trying to kill you (also all the NPCs make really dumb decisions).
I dunno man, maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but I have zero interest in finding out what happens next (although honestly ... I'll probably watch anyway).
posted by uncleozzy at 11:53 AM on March 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
I spent the entire half hour asking myself, "was this show always this goofy and pointless?" Like, genuinely, I don't remember. But basically nothing of note happened in this episode. It's written like a video game: you gotta go to a place; you can't go to that place because you need the thing; now the thing is trying to kill you (also all the NPCs make really dumb decisions).
I dunno man, maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but I have zero interest in finding out what happens next (although honestly ... I'll probably watch anyway).
posted by uncleozzy at 11:53 AM on March 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
I think a big flaw in this episode was that it was not accompanied by a second episode. The second episode could have taken the "let's go on a mission!" setup and...gone on the mission. Instead, people get a reintroduction of the major players and then have to wait until tomorrow.
posted by Atreides at 1:56 PM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Atreides at 1:56 PM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
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The creatures that Grogu sees in hyperspace are Purrgil (space-whales that can travel through hyperspace), previously seen in Rebels.
Somewhat odd that IG-11's self-destruct system was in his torso but the part that survived it exploding was... his torso? The fact that it turned into the Terminator was pretty funny though.
The Anzellans were great. Much more amusing and cool than I expected. Good Muppet energy.
They really went heavy on the pirate part of space-pirates huh? I'm into it though.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:38 AM on March 1, 2023 [3 favorites]