Disney+ introduces new show to Star Wars franchise

Disclaimer: This review of “The Mandalorian” talks about the events that take place in the show, and therefore contains spoilers. At this time, there are six episodes available on Disney+. This review will cover the first episode for the majority, but will mention events that take place in other episodes that demonstrate common elements of the show.

Leading up to Disney+’s release on Nov. 12, Disney heavily advertised a new show titled “The Mandalorian”. Hype for this new show outshined that of other popular shows such as “Game of Thrones”, “The Flash”, “Stranger Things” and “The Crown”. After watching the first episode, I became hooked on “The Mandalorian” due to the elements of suspense, action, mystery, lore and more action.

“The Mandalorian” takes place in the Star Wars canon timeline after the events of “Return of the Jedi”. At this point in time, the galaxy finds itself under the control of the new republic after they destroyed the empire. The area of republic influence fails to reach the outer rim of the galaxy at his time, leaving the area in a sea of lawlessness.

The first episode begins with the protagonist, The Mandalorian (called “Mando” by most other characters in the show), tracking down a bounty, explicitly letting viewers know that he is a bounty hunter. Bounty hunters show up quite a few times in the Star Wars universe as anti-hero characters, working for both good and bad.

After taking in his bounty, Mando returns to the planet Nevarro where the rest of the Mandalorians hide underground. There, Mando obtains his bounty from Bounty Hunter Guild contact, Greef Karg. Karg then tells Mando about a high risk, high reward bounty for Mando. Mando takes the offer and receives instruction to meet the client in an undisclosed location.

The client is revealed to be an imperial officer that evidently escaped the fall of the empire. Accompanying him stand a number of stormtroopers, all present in this secret base. The officer explains that he needs a target brought to him dead or alive, and reveals the believed location of this target.

After multiple setbacks to increase the suspense of the episode, Mando arrives at the compound where the target resides. After an intense blaster fight with the pirates who call this base home, the Mando reveals the target as a small creature that the internet named “Baby Yoda” because of its close resemblance to the famed movie character.

Baby Yoda appears harmless enough, except to the frogs he occasionally swallows. Mando turns Baby Yoda over to the Imperial officer in episode three, but has a change of heart and rescues him later in the episode. Mando now must flee from the Bounty Hunter’s Guild because of this infraction. This concept of keeping Baby Yoda safe sets up all of the episodes to come.

Chapter 6. Streaming Now.#TheMandalorian #DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/4niQ30aIis

— The Mandalorian (@themandalorian) December 13, 2019

While establishing how Mando performs his work, the show displayed his combat skills as well. Mando uses a variety of different gadgets such as a blaster pistol, sniper rifle/taser staff, grappling hook and flamethrower. I appreciated the variety because it allows the show to insert situations into the storyline that Mando solves using these unique tools.

The Madalorian title in general contains links to extended lore within Star Wars. Mandalorians reference both people from the planet Mandalore and the way of life of Mandalore’s warriors. It is this way of life that the protagonist follows. As revealed in the first episode, he was taken in by the Mandalorians after he became an orphan. The Mandalorians conduct their business in secret and never remove their helmets in front of others.

“The Mandalorian” contains many fight scenes and deaths within the sequences of action. As for the episodes out as of now, there exists no majorly gory scenes apart from a stormtrooper that fell victim to Mando’s flamethrower. Most other accounts of death in the show are by blaster fire (lasers) and explosions.

I have enjoyed watching this series so far because of the cinematography and lore appeal. As a Star Wars fan, I love the connections that the show makes with the movies. However, this may make fully understanding the show more difficult for viewers watching “The Mandalorian” as their first Star Wars experience.

There exist a few things that I would critique about this show. First, the episodes sometimes show intervals where the storyline takes a while to develop. This leaves me frustrated because I become anxious awaiting the next development in the story. Another thing I think hinders the storytelling is Mando’s armor. The armor, made of a metal called beskar, withstands almost any amount of damage without breaking. This allows Mando to be near indestructible, which might seem cool at the start, but becomes slightly dull when he never obtains so much as a scratch.

“The Mandalorian” is available for streaming exclusively on Disney+. Episodes are released every Friday and the last episode of season one releases on December 27. The second to last episode, however, releases on December 18, a Wednesday.

For a full overview of Disney+, read Disney+ launches, provides streaming alternative.

For more reviews, read “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” places dark spin on classic Disney story

Brayden Iest can be reached via Twitter and email.

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