The first season of The Mandalorian was a strong first outing for the series. It proved to people that a live-action Star Wars TV series could work, packing in creative visuals, thrilling action, and pure Star Wars cheese.
The Mandalorian has a very simplistic story, but it's also very effective. On one of his missions, the Mandalorian (who we'll just call Mando) learns he has to give a child of Yoda's species (who we'll call The Child) to the empire. Most of the season sees Mando flying around the galaxy to evade bounty hunters and empire soldiers who want the child back. It's a simple premise, but it's incredibly well-executed.
In some of my earlier reviews, I mentioned how TV shows nowadays can visually resemble movies, but The Mandalorian takes that to another level. The production values are astonishing, utilizing amazing practical and visual effects to create a world that fits in perfectly well with all of the other Star Wars movies. Given how shoddy the CGI can look in sci-fi shows, what The Mandalorian is able to pull off is genuinely impressive. There are tons of really sweet action scenes from Mando chasing down a Sandcrawler in Episode 2. to a thrilling prison escape in Episode 6. The backing score is also amazing, helping to give a tone that feels incredibly un-Star Wars.
And that's probably the strongest aspect of The Mandalorian. It does a great job at letting you look at the Star Wars universe through a different lens. Iconic Star Wars aliens like Jawas and Pit Droids return, but are utilized in a way that makes them feel fresh. There's a lot of world-building that helps the Star Wars universe feel lived in. The cast is also really strong, all of the characters are unique and have a good dynamic with each other, made even stronger when they unite in the last two episodes. Pedro Pascal is great as Mando, managing to convey lots of emotion without even taking off his helmet.
My biggest gripe for the season is in terms of its pacing, as it doesn't really seem to know whether or not it wants to be a more serial or episodic show. The first three episodes seem to hint at some greater plot, but then the pacing slows to a crawl as we get three planet-of-the-week episodes in a row. The last two episodes return to the overall story, but it feels like they're almost overstuffed. Maybe this wouldn't be as concerning if the season wasn't eight episodes, but for a while, it felt like they weren't going to be able to get to everything by the end of the season.
Regardless, there are still a bunch of really notable episodes:
The Child: The experimental first half of this episode is probably some of the best Star Wars ever produced, completely lacking in dialogue and stuffed to the brim with beautiful cinematography, creative cinematography, and a creative use of the Sandcrawler. If any episode warmed me up on the series, it's definitely this one.
The Sin: Despite how much I liked The Child, I think this is the episode that warmed most people onto the series, being a character-driven outing that focuses on Mando deciding what he wants to do with The Child. I think Pedro Pascal really proves his acting chops here, as you can always tell what Mando is thinking even with his helmet on. The final chase scene at the end is also great and feels like season finale material.
The Reckoning: This was a pretty fantastic set-up for the season finale, a fun "getting the band together" sort of episode that brings together a lot of disparate plot points from previous episodes, sets up force healing in a neat tie-in to Rise Of Skywalker, and ends on a gutwrenching cliffhanger.
Redemption: I'm still stunned at how much ground this finale managed to cover without feeling too overly packed. We get tons of great character moments, some of the best action in the season, a lot of huge revelations about Mando and the rest of his clan, and an incredibly intriguing cliffhanger. Moff Gideon is a great and terrifying villain, and Taika Watiti did a great job at keeping this more intense episode light and humorous. Easily one of the best Star Wars films Disney put out to date.
Overall, The Mandalorian had a really strong start, with amazing production values and tons of great Star Wars goodness. Even if the pacing was a bit off, the story has a solid base and the finale was awesome. I think this show has a lot of room to grow into one of the best sci-fi TV series of all time.
4/5 Stars
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