TV Review: The Mandalorian S01 (2019)
What's up, pussyboi's? Today, I'm going to be going over one of the more recent popular shows that has come out. I'm sure pretty much everyone including the deceased spirit of your grandfather has seen this show by now, but I figured hey, you'd probably like to see me spew my dumb ass thoughts about it as well. If you haven't watched this show yet, chances are you've still been touched by it like a priest with 9 foot arms in a room of grade school children, due to the fact that Baby Yoda memes were fucking insane for the last few months. And, it just so happens Baby Yoda is a key character in this tv show. I think some of this is kind of bullshit, as Baby Yoda is most certainly a rip off of the much lesser loved Gizmo from Gremlins, but that's an argument for another day.
Now, I'll just say right off the bat that this show is my cup of cum. I absolutely fucked loved most of this series, and it's by far the best star wars related piece of media to come out in a very, very long time. The latest trilogy of Star Wars films was like a sewn together homunculus made out of dug up bones, solidified body grease and the tears of an entire fan base. The Mandalorian takes things back from being so chaotic and ridiculous and simplifies it in such a good way, similar to the original trilogy. It's such a god damn breath of fresh air for this series, and was much needed. I guess I should stop just giving this show a reach around and get into why it's actually good though, eh?
One of the reasons why I said this takes things back to the old star wars is it takes a similar template and utilizes it. The main character of this series is a combo between a ronin warrior and a cowboy/gunslinger, very similar to what they did with the concept of Jedi Knights. I personally like old westerns and dig the vibe of them, so at least to me I really enjoyed them using these aspects for the character. While this show isn't absolutely perfect, I just cannot say enough how nice it was to watch through most of the series. I say most because the middle episodes, 4 and 5 to be specific, leave a taste of raw, unwashed asshole in your mouth. The main reasons why I think these episodes aren't very good compared to the rest is that they are basically filler episodes, except that they do have minor things to do with the ending of this season. I'm always one for trimming the fat off from films/TV, and I just think not much would have been lost for episodes 4 and 5 to vanish or at least just be combined into one episode. The pacing just dragged hard here and I didn't enjoy them much. I also think perhaps the directors of these episodes could have just not been a good match compared to the rest, but who really knows.
The show had a very strong set of characters which was another aspect that really made me spread my cheeks hard. Pedro Pascal fucking killed it as the main character, soley based on his acting chops. He keeps his helmet on throughout the show never showing his face, yet you have no problem understanding how he feels and his emotions which is something I doubt most actors can pull off. The only thing I really had an issue with with his character is that they could have done a better job of showing how capable of a warrior he was in the first few episodes. Earlier I mentioned Baby Yoda just being kind of a rip off of Gizmo, but, I definitely still enjoyed the character and the design. His neat little force powers made for some fun moments, and he brought some entertaining comedy relief throughout. I'm honestly surprised they didn't push more merch out for the character when it was dropping around the Holidays, though the stuff I did see come out looked absolutely fucking horrendous. One of which was a t-shirt that had an uninspired drawing of baby yoda with THE CHILD on it, seemingly made for what must certainly be a sex offender, as I'm not sure who else would wear that shit. Anyways, there are plenty of good side characters in this show as well throughout. I actually found myself caring about them and feeling sad at points, which is shocking to me as a person in 2020. I can't remember the last time I actually could feel human emotions over a character in a TV show.
Something that I was scared about was the creators of the show pulling a memberberries type of move and showing us shit we've had shoved down our throats for decades. But, instead, they gave us some expanded looks into the universe of star wars with new planets, locations, creatures, etc. and it was so fucking nice. I've had enough of tatooine and the same old fucking places. I also enjoyed that one big element of the show was focusing on his warrior religion and the mandalorian people with their traditions. There is a little bit of memberberry stuff here and there, like carbonite being used in the first episode and some other things. But, I think they handled it all quite well and never overused it.
Narrative wise, I think the show is pretty solid and tells a good tale for the most part. I definitely look forward to seeing where it all goes in the second season. I don't really wanna go too in depth with the story for spoiler reasons, but there are a lot of powerful moments that help you bond with the characters and a lot is left open ended and not explained in this first season, so there is heaps left to explore for the future seasons. While it kind of falls into the characters being good department, I think the casting was very well done for the smaller characters in addition to the mains. While I wouldn't say it's stacked, it's pretty nipple hardening. Carl Weathers has a spot in here and does a fantastic job, and I was pretty surprised at how well he has aged. Besides him, we have the likes of Bill Burr, Clancy Brown, Nick Nolte, Taika Waititi, and plenty of others you'll probably recognize from something else.
Special effect wise The Mandalorian did a good job as well. I was happy that Baby Yoda wasn't just a CGI ball of green mold with bug eyes. In fact, besides the droid characters, pretty much everyone was some sort of practical effect instead of CGI, which is another reason why I just loved the effects more than I normally would. All of the costumes were well done and designed, including the storm trooper armor. Which looked like it had been bathed in a homeless mans cardboard box for months on end. It was very fitting considering the timeline and circumstances. All of the bits where they did use CGI for battles and what not were well done, though. I can't think of too much of the action where I thought it was super goofy or weird. Though there is a scene towards the end which looks like something out of The Rocketeer that I could see making some people laugh. Pretty damn solid overall though.
Overall, I have to say I really liked this series and I would highly recommend you crawl out of your filthy infested caves to check it out if you haven't already. Lots of great characters that you actually give a shit about, lots of good action, tons of entertainment with some pinches of comedy relief here and there. I'd say there's something for everyone to get their pants wet to in this series. While the middle episodes could have been better and dragged, the start and ending to this season were fucking fantastic and made it all well worth the watch. I really have nothing else to complain about with this show. Just go fucking watch it and then prepare to worship the alter of Baby Yoda, like a real man. Especially since you're all fucking trapped inside for the next few months most likely :)
Until next time, slutterbutts. Later!
