Mando

A little late to the bandwagon, but I'm finally watching the Mandalorian on Disney+. It's helmed by Jon Favreau, who continuously does great work for Disney. He directed the first Iron Man (and played Happy Hogan), and more recently did Jungle Book (which we loved) and Lion King (which we haven't seen yet). The Mandalorian is the first original content to be released exclusively on Disney+.

The Mandalorian

So far I'm impressed. The show is being smartly built and has high production value, so it feels and looks like a quality show. If you didn't know, it's Star Wars, but has little to nothing to do with the films, though there are certainly connections. The show visits Tatooine, you see Jawas, the first scene takes place in a bar much like the Cantina in Mos Eisley.

Our protagonist is a new character. We know he's a Mandalorian, but we don't know what that means initially. You find out in bits and pieces. What is spelled out immediately is that he (and the others like him) never remove their masks. Combine that with being a mostly silent bounty hunter, and he's quite enigmatic. He said that 'Weapons are part of my religion' so we know it's at least a partial religious order. They highly value a particular metal in payment, and upon receipt turn it into armor. So not only does it protect them, but the outfit shows off their reputation. He takes jobs from the bounty hunting guild, something else we didn't know anything about, and we get to see some of the methods for taking bounties, tracking individuals, and more. I also don't entirely get if Boba (and Jango) Fett were Mandalorians or just wore the armor, and I doubt we'll hear anything about them.

This all clearly has a western feel. My first thought was that 'Mando' was a lot like Clint Eastwood's 'Man with No Name' from the Dollars trilogy. Most people have heard of 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' but not everyone knows it's a trilogy of excellent films. Another largely silent protagonist. Bounty hunter. He doesn't wear a mask but shows little emotion. Everything takes place in the barren old west following the Civil War. Kinda like on Tatooine following the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi. Hmmmm.

The Man With No Name

Now the events of the show thus far really have me making another comparison. When thinking about this post, the best succinct description is 'space western.' And there's one great example of that genre in recent years, that being Firefly. Firefly is a bit more about a larger crew, but Mando does really remind me of Mal, and baby Yoda sure has some similarities to River. Though that may be premature, as I haven't finished the season and need to see how it plays out. Luckily the Mandalorian is backed by Disney and its unlimited resources, so it won't be cancelled so early.

These comparisons aren't complaints. If anything it's making a good show great in my mind. And that's on top of it being exciting to see something fresh with Star Wars. It doesn't need to be a world beating blockbuster, include Skywalkers or Death Stars. There should be plenty to explore in that universe with a little creativity and this is a good start. You know what else is nice? The episodes are only 30-40 minutes long.

This is the way.