The Mandalorian - Star Wars webseries from Jon Favreau

[sh9000]

Agreed with @Bolt and @technoblue about the drinker.  I think I've played only about 10 seconds of one of his older videos and never watched anymore.  Every time I see his videos posted on this forum I just scroll past them.  Thank goodness his videos don't show up on my youtube feed.

[technoblue]

7 hours ago, levzloi said:

I want my Star Wars to make sense and be internally consistent.  Andor has shown how good a well written Star Wars show can be.  This season of the Mandalorian has had to many "and then that happened"  moments.  It's just not great writing, and I'm afraid they haven't learned the lessons of The Book of Boba Fett or Kenobi.  I'm not going to tell you what art you can and can't like, but the numbers bear out that I'm not alone, and people are losing interest.

I would argue that it’s a little early to qualify this first bunch of season 3 episodes as “and then” moments following Parker and Stone’s definition. I do think there are loose connecting threads that could take the plot somewhere…give the new characters resolution. 

But maybe you’re right? We’ll see for sure. One thing I wish stayed finished was Mando’s Grogu quest to return him to the Jedi. The show now needs these extra beats to explain why the little guy is around, especially in the latest episodes with the other young foundling. With the story focusing on Mandalore culture, the homeworld, and Bo Katan’s involvement, transitioning to see this through the eyes of another young foundling would have been cool. 

Edited March 23, 2023 by technoblue

[Briandmd]

5 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Agreed with @Bolt and @technoblue about the drinker.  I think I've played only about 10 seconds of one of his older videos and never watched anymore.  Every time I see his videos posted on this forum I just scroll past them.  Thank goodness his videos don't show up on my youtube feed.

Funny, that I do the same thing with all the promo puff pieces you post.    Great minds think alike.    
 

I really liked Mando season 1 and 2.   The Book of Boba Fett was awful and season 3 is only marginally better.

[sh9000]

1 hour ago, Briandmd said:

Funny, that I do the same thing with all the promo puff pieces you post.    Great minds think alike.    
 

I really liked Mando season 1 and 2.   The Book of Boba Fett was awful and season 3 is only marginally better.

Eh the difference is that my posts are positive and are promoting the products.

[levzloi]

47 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

Eh the difference is that my posts are positive and are promoting the products.

 

2 hours ago, Briandmd said:

Funny, that I do the same thing with all the promo puff pieces you post.    Great minds think alike.    
 

 

I don’t think either is a more valid than the other, and the simple truth is, if Disney and others were putting out high quality to go along with their quantity, rage tubers wouldn’t have such a large audience.  I think this is my favorite video on the topic.

 

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by levzloi

[levzloi]

3 hours ago, technoblue said:

I would argue that it’s a little early to qualify this first bunch of season 3 episodes as “and then” moments following Parker and Stone’s definition.

And then Din is captured by a weird cyborg/droid (so that Bo had a reason to come rescue him), and then Din falls into the living waters (so that Bo has a reason to see the mythasaur) and then Bo’s home is attacked by Imperials (so that Bo had a reason to go to the Covert).  And then kid Mando is captured by creature (So Bo has a reason to show how capable she is).  Again, I’m not saying you can’t like it, and doubtless at least the imperial attack could be called a loose thread like you said, but it just feels like low effort writing to justify the scenes they want to shoot .  🤷‍♂️

[Roy Focker]

Andor was good because it wasn't Star Wars. Meaning they weren't following a formula. Like how every MCU movie follows a formula so does Star Wars under Disney's control. Andor is a good political thriller that could have been used with any movie franchise. Remove all traces of Star Wars and it still works. Writing a good Star Wars story isn't about coming up with popular characters and memorable moments. You need to have a very basic story that you want to tell. Want to tell a love story about finding love after suffering a terrible lost? Write all about that and just use Star Wars as the setting. Don't force the Star Wars formula when it gets in the way of the story. If the presence of Jedi and space battle at the end makes sense include it. If it doesn't leave them out.

Much of Disney's Star Wars in just following the formula of repeating what works without telling a basic story. If a good story is there it is risk getting drowned out by the inclusion of got to have Star Wars elements. The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 had a basic story. Strip away all references to Star Wars and its basic story still works. A traumatized man has to get a child to safety but ends up becoming its father figure. A basic story that works so well, the actor does it again in The Last of Us.

What is the basic story of this third season? A reluctant person learning to accept their destiny as leader of their people? A disillusioned leader being inspired to rise from the ashes? Friends who become bitter enemies? The challenges about being a single father? I don't know what this season is about. It could be about any of those or something entirely different. What it's about could change as the story progresses. At this point of the season, we should have clear idea of basic story is for the season. Instead stuff just happens.

Actors these days take whatever jobs they get but I can't see Pedro excited about playing Mando this season based on the episodes so far. Go back to Return of the Jedi. Harrison Ford thought they should just kill of Han in the movie because the character had really nothing to do. There was no further growth for the character. They were just there. What personal challenges is Mando facing this season? Does Pedro get to act or he just here to collect a paycheck by reading lines from a remote location? Obi-Wan was a disappointment but there was still a basic story about a man who lost his faith and regains it in the end. Season 3 hasn't shown what it is yet and time is running out.

 

[Roy Focker]

16 hours ago, technoblue said:

I’m sure the drinker entertains somebody, but that somebody isn’t me. He comes off like a crazy uncle who repeats bad jokes and myopic views. That schtick got old quick.

Never watched his videos but seeing how often they get posted here I assume it the usual bitching that appeals to the worst type of fanboys. I'll give it a watch...

And here we have it at 2:28

"this presided over by an incompetent diversity hire" him speaking about Kathleen Kennedy. I don't support many of her decisions with Star Wars but referring to her as diversity hire is a sexist statement. She been involved in producing some of the greatest block busters since before many of these angry fanboys were born. She could have handled Star Wars better, but she was qualified for the job. 

 

[Dynaman]

18 hours ago, jvmacross said:

JarJar saved Grogu?

If you count the actor who played Jar Jar, also playing the Jedi that saves Grogu as JarJar saving Grogu then yes.

[Dynaman]

17 hours ago, levzloi said:

Definitely, No actor deserves crap for giving the performance that the director asks for, and he and Jake Loyd took a lot of crap.

Truth there.  Lucas is the ONLY one to blame for Jar Jar and little Darth.  I had no problem at all with the acting of Jar Jar, just the writing.  Jake Loyd should never have been cast as Annakin.  Kids either have the talent to pull off a role or they do not and once again it is all Lucas fault - but in this case for a bad casting choice.

[technoblue]

8 hours ago, levzloi said:

And then Din is captured by a weird cyborg/droid (so that Bo had a reason to come rescue him), and then Din falls into the living waters (so that Bo has a reason to see the mythasaur) and then Bo’s home is attacked by Imperials (so that Bo had a reason to go to the Covert).  And then kid Mando is captured by creature (So Bo has a reason to show how capable she is).  Again, I’m not saying you can’t like it, and doubtless at least the imperial attack could be called a loose thread like you said, but it just feels like low effort writing to justify the scenes they want to shoot .  🤷‍♂️

Well, I’m not reading that from you or asking anyone else their permission to like it. Thank goodness. I just see things differently. My own experience as a writer feeds into it too, so there’s my bias. I agree that it’s important to use tropes sparingly but I wouldn’t say the presence of a writing trope—even multiple “and then” instances—automatically makes something bad. Certainly not this.

There could be a whole reconciliation plot with Din, the other Mandalorians, and Mandalore itself. The imperial attack on Bo’s home could be a red herring to throw people off or it could be introducing another important character into the mix. We don’t know at this point. There isn’t enough info, and so I’ll wait it out.

@Roy Focker: Yeah, the ranting about Kathleen Kennedy is gross. The sequel series could have been better. We can certainly have a discussion about how to make SW better and still include new/younger audiences. It’s just a difficult convo to have while toxic fans are still driven by this rage addiction.

Edited March 23, 2023 by technoblue

[sh9000]

Jedi Kelleran Beq.  Badass.

[jvmacross]

45 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

Jedi Kelleran Beq.  Badass.

Yep.  Jedi Survivor....he obviously did much better at surviving the initial Order66 attack than most of the "known" Jedi Masters who we saw get killed at the end of ROTS...

Is he a new Jedi Character or one resurrected from the old SWEU?  Hope we did not see the end of him....

[Bolt]

2 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

Is he a new Jedi Character or one resurrected from the old SWEU?  Hope we did not see the end of him....

Off the top of my head , i know he was featured in the Jedi temple challenge game show. Otherwise, I don't recall him from any of the post order 66 comics or EU novels.  

[Mog]

His brother was also at the Coruscant nightclub in AOTC (along with some dude that sounds like Threepio). 😉

[Briandmd]

2 hours ago, technoblue said:

Well, I’m not reading that from you or asking anyone else their permission to like it. Thank goodness. I just see things differently. My own experience as a writer feeds into it too, so there’s my bias. I agree that it’s important to use tropes sparingly but I wouldn’t say the presence of a writing trope—even multiple “and then” instances—automatically makes something bad. Certainly not this.

There could be a whole reconciliation plot with Din, the other Mandalorians, and Mandalore itself. The imperial attack on Bo’s home could be a red herring to throw people off or it could be introducing another important character into the mix. We don’t know at this point. There isn’t enough info, and so I’ll wait it out.

@Roy Focker: Yeah, the ranting about Kathleen Kennedy is gross. The sequel series could have been better. We can certainly have a discussion about how to make SW better and still include new/younger audiences. It’s just a difficult convo to have while toxic fans are still driven by this rage addiction.

Unfortunately, he has a point when you look at her track record at Lucasfilm.   Does anybody have to be reminded on the projects and directors gone during her ten year?   

[Duke Togo]

7 minutes ago, Briandmd said:

Unfortunately, he has a point when you look at her track record at Lucasfilm.   Does anybody have to be reminded on the projects and directors gone during her ten year?   

Does anyone have to be reminded how much money the Sequels made? Or how hugely successful The Mandalorian has been? Or how great Andor is? Yeah, a lot of noise and nonsense from clowns like that guy on YouTube. 

Disney wanted to turn Star Wars into Marvel. I can't blame Kennedy for that. They were smart enough to pull black from that plan after Solo. If something hasn't gotten off the ground since then, it's probably because it wasn't good enough. And if that's the case, we're better off without them being made.

[Roy Focker]

I watched the rest of that video.  It sure is feeding the mindset of toxic fans.

Here's the thing about "diversity" and "the message" ruining things; It's not. Crap would still be crap even if without diversity. Rabid fans believe these pop culture properties belong to them. If there's a new element that doesn't look like their own reflection than that's something to blame any failure on. Not every good speaking role needs a specific race or gender. Everyone is just so used to seeing white leads they automatically cast them. They do make an extra effort to cast minorities in the lead or rewrite a script to make a female the lead instead of prize to be fought over between the male hero and male villain. Inclusion isn't ruining things. Stuff is bad because it is bad. Once you start watching one of these bitter fan reviewers YouTube's AI will start feeding you more from other fans bitching about the same things. Watch those videos and then YouTube will recommend more videos bitching about diversity. This time the videos aren't about diversity ruining your favorite movie it is about diversity ruining your everyday way of life. Then next Thanksgiving you're the Facebook uncle of the family.

[azrael]

4 episodes into this season...Is the point of this season is finding one's faith or finding hope when you've lost it? Cuz that's the sense I'm getting so far.

And wouldn't finding a settlement in a less dangerous place be better for the community? Living next to a body of water where a bunch of Mosasaurus-like creatures also hang out...is that for building your danger sense or something?

[Dynaman]

5 hours ago, azrael said:

4 episodes into this season...Is the point of this season is finding one's faith or finding hope when you've lost it? Cuz that's the sense I'm getting so far.

And wouldn't finding a settlement in a less dangerous place be better for the community? Living next to a body of water where a bunch of Mosasaurus-like creatures also hang out...is that for building your danger sense or something?

They are trying to stay off the radar and the Star Wars galaxy is pretty crowded, and they are bonkers enough to most likely consider the danger a good thing.

[Bolt]

Carl gonna knock em out ! 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Bolt

[Mog]

Yes, the last ep is formulatic and a bit silly at times.

But it was fun and had a bunch of bits to be enjoyed by fans of different aspects of Star Wars. 

[Roy Focker]

Stuff finally happens and we get info for stuff will be happening later this season. I'm thinking they could have given us a few of these scenes in earlier episodes to remind us there was a plan.

A few things I found weird.

Why would people want to live on Nevarro and how does it make money to support itself? The planet is a barren wasteland. I don't think it is on a trade route either. You don't see a bunch of transports stopping by.

Mr. Smee from Disney's Peter Pan cartoon shows up.

I get they want to show cracks in the New Republic structure but how does an uncaring pencil pusher get promoted to Colonel? I assume people with such rank in the New Republic were veterans of the Rebel Alliance. Did the Rebel Officers in the original trilogy strike you like such a person? Maybe the New Republic has been promoting outside of the Rebel Alliance vets. This guy was a corporate middle management type, and they decided that enough experience to earn that rank without actually taking part in the struggle.

Another cameo by the cartoon universe. This guy can't let his characters go. Decades past and all these cartoon characters are still alive and haven't aged a day. You'd think most of them should be dead.

Want to reach out and touch someone? All messages from planet to planet appear to require traveling to them in person. Not sure how time works. Somebody asks for help. Then there's about 4 trips take place before help arrives. Nobody seems to be in a rush during these trips.

[Mog]

We’re not certain that Lesat is THAT Lesat.  But it’s a brief cameo, no biggie.  Was just kinda cool to see all those Rebel pilots (including aliens) just chilling.

Regarding the Colonel, welcome to the bureaucracy.  Hell, even back in the day, all the Republic could spare was a chunk of Anakin’s 501st to go after Maul and liberate Mandalore (a planet that also wasn’t part of the Republic).  So, I could see a middle management type not barking a red flag up the chain.

Unfortunately, we have way too many real world examples, where this is the case.

I thought they said that Nevarro has a bunch of asteroids around it that are ripe for mining.  Hence, the economic boom they were experiencing.

[azrael]

'Took 5 weeks for this season to get going. It's not a bad episode, I'm just disappointed it took this long to get to this episode.

Also the world building+foreshadowing...ugh shows can't be self-contained anymore can they? We're bleeding into Ashoka, Skeleton Crew, the defunct Rangers of the New Republic, etc. 😔

Also the cameo from the Lesat IS THAT Lesat. It's in the credits.

[Mog]

Honestly wasn’t sure, as I didn’t see his name in the credits with the drawings scrolling by.  Guess, it pops up in the later credits.

Just never thought of him as a pilot (though, could totally see him as a gunner).

So,

Spoiler

where’s his work-spouse, the former Agent Kallus?

 

[Bolt]

Great episode. 

Spoiler

It's interesting the Mandalorian armorer decided to believe Bo actually saw a Mythosaur. And even chose her to unite the clans. I do believe Bo has the temperament to do this, but is she now obligated to challenge Din for the dark saber. Sort of the elephant in the room..

 

[Mog]

Spoiler

We all know who’s taming the Mythosaur and eventually gonna wield the Darksaber:  

ALL HAIL THE GROGU-LORIAN!

[Roy Focker]

3 hours ago, azrael said:

Also the world building+foreshadowing...ugh shows can't be self-contained anymore can they? We're bleeding into Ashoka, Skeleton Crew, the defunct Rangers of the New Republic, etc. 😔

Every Star Wars show is just a cute side kick, catchphrases and a memorable action scene. The rest is to promote the next series. Pretty much the Marvel formula.

[Mog]

Don’t forget the villain with a similar power to the main hero and the badly lit CGI end fight.

[Roy Focker]

Is Mando even the star of this show any more? He had a quest during the first 1.5 episodes and since then he's just going along for the ride.

[Dynaman]

9 hours ago, Roy Focker said:

I get they want to show cracks in the New Republic structure but how does an uncaring pencil pusher get promoted to Colonel? I assume people with such rank in the New Republic were veterans of the Rebel Alliance. Did the Rebel Officers in the original trilogy strike you like such a person? Maybe the New Republic has been promoting outside of the Rebel Alliance vets. This guy was a corporate middle management type, and they decided that enough experience to earn that rank without actually taking part in the struggle.

He said the reason but they really made it seem like he is more of an uncaring jerk then the reason.  The Alliance is already overstretched keeping their own systems safe and do not have the resources to keep unaligned systems safe.  I think that was what all that paperwork shoved on the desk was supposed to mean.

The scene would have gone better if he (the pencil pusher) had seemed more caring and if the outpost rebel base didn't seem to have people just sitting around.

[Tking22]

Finally a solid episode, easily one of my favorite cameos yet too.

Spoiler

Seeing Zeb in live action was awesome, it's confirmed in the credits, same voice actor too. That makes three Rebels characters that have jumped to live action, Zeb, Chopper and Ahsoka herself. 

 

[Roy Focker]

Latest episode the good

The pacing of the episode. Bo and Mando finally have an overall quest for the season. On their journey they take a side mission to help a planet with a problem.

As for the bad. Enough with the celebrity cameos. People liked Bill Burr how about more comedians. It is getting distracting. Especially when the celebrities are more known for being celebrities instead of actors that disappear into their parts.

[Duke Togo]

9 minutes ago, Roy Focker said:

As for the bad. Enough with the celebrity cameos. People liked Bill Burr how about more comedians. It is getting distracting. Especially when the celebrities are more known for being celebrities instead of actors that disappear into their parts.

I was actually amused by the cameos in this episode. That said, three in one episode felt like a little bit too much.