When the behemoth that is Disney announced that it was creating its own streaming service, there was certainly some excitement that it would be unrivalled. After all, they own all of their own properties as well as Marvel and Star Wars. The first of their shows was the Star Wars drama; the Mandalorian.
The premise of the show is that the Mandalorian is an effective bounty hunter who is given a job to bring in a target alive to an old Imperial agent. However, when he identifies the target, his conscience prevents him from finishing the job. This puts him in the crosshairs of the entire Bounty Hunter guild as well as Imperial guards. However, the Mandalorian is a formidable fighter, and along with a handful of allies he picks up on the way he puts up a fight.
So I tweeted when I was halfway through the series that I had struggled to figure out the plot of the entire show. I think part of me would still stand by that opinion at the end of this season. Each episode is visually impressive and written and directly excellently, but I think that the connecting stream of the story between them is perhaps a little poor.
With a massive conglomerate such as Disney backing them, obviously casting issues were never going to exist. Pedro Pascal, of Game of Thrones fame, plays the titular character. His acting is pretty good in the series, as is that of the supporting cast. Taika Watiti’s IG11 was also a fun character to watch.
Again, with the sets, it was evident that no expense was spared when it came to creating this vast universe. The nostalgic feeling of some of the buildings brought back memories of old films. One point that has to be mentioned is the soundtrack, of which the Mandalorian’s theme is easily the best piece of music.
Overall, it was a good series which I think has a lot of potential for the future. It was one of the few pieces of Star Wars media that didn’t divide the fandom the way the films have. With the recent headline that Season 2 will contain characters from the Skywalker Saga, we have loads to look forward to.
Rating:
Story: ★★★★
Acting: ★★★½
Filmography: ★★★★
Integral vs Filler Episodes: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★★