The Mandalorian: A Tale of Two Disneys
The Mandalorian…Doesn’t Suck?
I haven’t had any hope in Star Wars since Disney murdered it, wore its skin like an Aztec Priest, and then expected the audience not to notice. So, when I heard that there was going to be a Star Wars TV series following a Mandalorian bounty hunter my first thoughts were anything but optimistic. I was so pessimistic in fact, that I hoped the series would be bad so that Disney might get the memo that postmodernism sucks (spoiler alter, they never will).
But lo! To my surprise, my buddies told me The Mandalorian was not garbage. How can this be? Disney Star Wars is supposed to be an oxymoron. How can they mix together? Then I saw that my boy, Dave Filoni, directed and wrote the first and fifth episodes. Perhaps I should give it a try…just this once…I could carry it for a while.
Why Was 4 Afraid of 1, 2, and 3?
Well having watched episodes one through four here is my verdict: one and two were fantastic, three was great, and four was trash. I’m not even memeing when I say that the fourth episode was just as bad, if not worse, than Force Awakens and Last Jedi.
My current hypothesis is that Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and their ilk were able to sneak their corruption into the fourth episode. The difference in story quality is so stark between the first three and the fourth episode, I have to imagine that Jon Favreau and Filoni were given commands from the higher-ups. Regardless of the reason, I thought I would go through why the fourth episode was so bad and why one, two and three were so good.
The Mandalorian of Episodes 1, 2 and 3
The Mandalorian himself is the best part of the show. He is the best character since the original and prequel movies. Whenever his character is on screen, he exudes a cool and deadly vibe because A. He never takes his helmet off B. He is a man of few words C. He is a man of contradictions and conflictions.
An excellent scene that really expresses the Mandalorian as a character was when he straight up domed the assassin droid IG-11 before it could kill baby Yoda. Though this scene was a surprise, it was not out of the boundaries of his established character. At the start of the episode, it is inferred that he hates droids, plus he seems conflicted carrying out the will of the fallen Empire.
Another great moment in the first episode was when he freezes this dude in carbonite after saving him from thugs in a bar. However, my favorite part of the first three episodes has to be when he disintegrates Jawas without hesitation after finding his ship scavenged for parts. All of these scenes are examples of very solid writing that succeeds in presenting him as a gray gunslinger.
The Mandalorian of Episode 4
This Mandalorian is a different character than the first three episodes. For starters, he is way more talkative than he was in the past episodes. The vibe he once gave off as being cool and deadly has been replaced with clumsy and defensive. But wait, wasn’t that the point? To show that the character of baby Yoda had softened his heart? If that’s the case, it didn’t take long at all for him to become super trusting of strangers and to start blabbering his mouth away about his backstory.
The episode hardly follows the Mandalorian. The focus shifts between him, this warrior lady, and this farmer lady. Remember when I said that the Mandalorian as a character is the best part of this series? The reduced focus on him was a poor decision and led to a boring story that followed side characters who were uninteresting, and frankly just lame clichés.
The Story of Episodes 1, 2 and 3
One of the best ways to create a believable and well-connected story is to have the main character’s actions drive conflict. Or in other words, cause and effect. Our actions matter in real life, just as they should in narratives. This method is followed to great effect in the first three episodes.
For example, the Mandalorian goes on assignment to kill a target. He spares the target and has to take the long way back to his ship. His ship has been trashed by Jawas because he took so long. He has to make a ridiculous deal with the Jawas. During the difficult task given to him, he notices something special about his target. He returns to collect his reward. Has second thoughts about handing over the target to the fallen Empire. Rescues the target after murking a ton of Imperial soldiers. Bounty hunters are hired to kill him for his betrayal.
Notice how there is an invisible chain linking all of these events together? The Mandalorian makes a decision that results in a consequence of varying severity.
The Story of Episode 4
In this episode, the actions of others dictate the plot, which is fine sometimes for storytelling, just not after the past episodes were so closely linked. The story felt like filler because it honestly was. The overarching story is not present at all. Just a side story with side characters.
No action taken by the Mandalorian himself comes to bite him in the butt. He is merely at the whim of the characters around him. The plot’s only excuse for him landing on the planet, where the whole episode takes place, is because ‘it would be a good place to lay low.’ So weak.
The other major problem with the story of this episode was that it was the ultimate cliché. Gray character teaches villagers to defend themselves from bandits. Hmmm, where have I seen this before? Oh yes! The Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven (1960s), The Magnificent Seven (2016), and STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS! This plot has already been done outside and within the franchise itself. And to smear feces into the wound, this cliché plot wasn’t even executed well.
Conclusion
A buddy of mine suggested that episode four appears to be so bad because episodes one, two, and three are so good. This is a solid point. However, after sitting on episode four for a while I don’t think I could even bring myself to call it mediocre. I still would recommend The Mandalorian. It is, without a doubt, the best Star Wars content Disney has made (which unfortunately isn’t saying much). Just treat yourself to a nice lobster dinner king and skip episode four.
