When I first started watching the Mandalorian, it didn’t seem to have much of a plot. He went around capturing people for bounty money and enjoyed upgrading his armor. Even when he found “Baby Yoda” it seemed he was going from mission to mission with no real goal. The different missions (like saving a village from an imperial walker) were entertaining, but there was no clear direction of where he was going long term. We also find out that he sometimes associated with criminals if necessary.
I also found him to be a lot like Batman (Star Wars Version) because he hides his face, has various gadgets for fighting, along with the armor. The strong, silent type, possible Mando anti-hero also reminded me of Clint Eastwood and his many lone-wolf type roles. Space Opera and Westerns do have some things in common. Also, the Mandalorian has a name (Din Djarin) but it’s not used much.
The rescue of Baby Yoda from the remnants of the Empire was the first hint of a character arc. It was also the first time the Mandalorian did something for someone other than himself. Like Clint Eastwood, people started to like Mando, even if they couldn't see his face.
At the point where he decided to take Baby Yoda to his own people (the Jedi), the plot became more engaging because this was a long term goal. As the series continues, he makes friends with good people that keep returning from previous episodes. The character arc of Mando can be summed up. He goes from being a rather cold, yet a skilled bounty hunter, to caring about someone else. This lines up with the father/son theme in many of the Star Wars movies.
I ended up (like most people) hooked on the series. The end of season two left some questions unanswered. There was a problem regarding the dark saber and who could have it.
Another observation:
Men seem to like that lone-wolf type with all those cool weapons, and women seem to love Mando for keeping that adorable Baby Yoda (Grogu) safe. This is a win/win.
Predictions:
What could season 3 be about? I would hope that Mando hasn't gone back to bounty hunting, and is doing something more meaningful, like helping his own kind. The one mission per episode format will probably continue. (Please don't be like Han Solo.) As for Grogu, he is going to be missing Mando and will be tempted to leave the Jedi. That's the usual trouble starting point in Star Wars.
Since he has the Darksaber, he will probably have to go to Mandalore to try to unite the Mandalorians there. He might have to fight Bo Katan or someone else because the only way to get the Darksaber is to take it in a blood duel. Though maybe they'll do like that old Star Trek and have him pretend to die so Bo Katan can take the Darksaber and lead the Mandalorians, which is obviously not something Din Djarin is really capable of.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what's going to happen with Grogu. He has to leave Luke Skywalker at some point because he's not in the sequel trilogy, but if they had Ben Solo kill him along with Luke's other students, fans would riot. Though it's only about 5 years after Return of the Jedi so there's still probably 10 years or so before the destruction of the Jedi Temple.
Before Season 3 it'd probably help to rewatch the episodes of Clone Wars and Rebels that deal with all the Mandalorian stuff.
Yes, the Darksaber is probably going to be a problem. Grogu will be back one way or another.
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