The Mandalorian, Season 2
Dec. 21st, 2020 03:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452The second season of The Mandalorian finished, and here are my thoughts on it.
As a whole, I would say I enjoyed the season very much.
I mostly enjoyed seeing Din navigating through things, trying his best at living the single dad life while on his mission to find the baby's own kind, as it was instructed at the end of the first season. Seeing his character development was really nice, but I most enjoyed seeing him meeting and interacting with other characters, especially established characters from the Star Wars franchise and kind of not knowing who they are in the grand scheme of things. Him meeting people like Boba Fett, Bo Katan, Ahsoka Tano, and even Luke Skywalker in the season finale, he has absolutely no idea who these people are and those moments was just so utterly delightful.
This is why I have no qualms of the idea that Grogu might not be a major factor in the third season*, because quite frankly I'm not entirely that enthused by the baby as most people seem to be. I do like the dynamic he and Din have, obviously, because I love him being a Dadalorian, but Grogu isn't the "be all, end all" for watching the show for me. I came for Din's character, and I'm happy that it's been confirmed that Pedro Pascal will be returning for the third season (putting to rest those bullshit rumors about him quitting/being fired from the show). Mainly, I'm intrigued with him going on his own personal journey considering that this season brought up things that challenged his worldview and beliefs. The show certainly setup some interesting aspects, and now that he's in possession of the Darksaber making him the ruler of Mandalore (by pure accident), it raises some fascinating questions of what will happen next, how will he navigate things from here on out. I don't want his journey to just be about Grogu, I want him to find himself, give himself an identity outside of being a faceless Mandalorian, to want to have something to live and strive for, find purpose in life. Some think that's Grogu, I think that Grogu was the start of that journey, but not the entire purpose of it.
(* We know that Grogu is going to be back, of course, Disney knows that he's a major selling point for most audiences so it would be pointless to not have him return and be reunited with Din, I just wanted to point out that I don't care either way.)
Things I Liked About This Season:
** The baby has a name, Grogu. I really like it, I thought it was fitting. People initially hated it, they groused and kept on saying, "that's stupid! what a stupid name! he's forever going to be Baby Yoda!" and not unsurprisingly people got over it pretty quickly, lol. I always thought people latching onto the whole "Baby Yoda" title was kind of ridiculous, so I'm glad that we officially got a name. Though it's such an odd situation, because narratively I understand why it wasn't revealed (Din cannot communicate with him the same way that Ahsoka and Luke can, so there was no way he could've known) and I can understand why the marketing didn't want to reveal anything too soon before that reveal happened, but y'know, Internet culture will take something and run with it. Either way, I'm glad that he has a proper name now.
** I'm not entirely certain whether this was planned back during the first season or they saw people voicing their displeasure that Ming-Na Wen was criminally underused, but I'm glad that they brought the character of Fennec Shand back for the second season and actually was a major player in the seasonal plot.
** I was worried that bringing in too much of a bigger plot and newer/established characters was going to distract from the storytelling and character moments, and while I do think there was less moments between Din and Grogu than I would've liked, it surprisingly wasn't as cluttered as I thought it was going to be. Somehow it worked out, and I think it works when you consider how clueless Din is about everything. He wants nothing to do with any kind of grander plot, he had no idea what a lightsaber was or the Force or the Jedi ("does this look Jedi, to you?" / "are you a Jedi?", the latter even said to Luke Skywalker in the season finale no less). My man is just a regular guy who is just trying to navigate the galaxy trying to find his son a Jedi kindergarten and wants to take a fucking nap. That's it. And I think bringing in all these bigger players who are like, "something big is happening" and he's just all, "....yeah, no thanks" is just perfect. It works incredibly well, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
** Katee Sachkoff reprising her role as Bo-Katan, and being live-action instead of just a voice-over, was so cool to see. I missed seeing her on my screen and she looked amazing.
** Even though we've already seen his face before (and we know what Pedro Pascal looks like), seeing his face again, and twice, still takes my breath away each time. Mostly because we know how difficult it is for Din to do this, he knows what he's risking, and I just, ugh, I love it. And his acting, too, was superb, you see his nervousness, how out of his element he is without the helmet on, and then later when he reveals his face to Grogu you see how emotional he is by having to say goodbye.
** As someone who has only been kind of casual with Star Wars, I was never that into Boba Fett. However, based on what I seen others say, The Mandalorian really kind of redeemed the character from previous installments and I can't lie, seeing him in action was pretty damn cool as fuck.
Things I Didn't Like:
** As I mentioned, bringing in some major players into this kind of didn't allow us to have more character moments that I loved from the first season. It raised the stakes and brought us many questions about where the story is heading, for sure, and it does work for what they were able to do, but I still think they could have spaced it out a little more. Also, I feel like they were just having certain characters appear so they could be toted out for their own shows rather than having a major impact on the story. The season finale did feel more like a series finale, in my opinion, as well. As a whole it wasn't entirely bad, but I think it could have been done a bit better.
Overall: Season two was pretty good. I don't really have much else to say, because I was entertained, I love Din Djarin and as long as we stay on course with his character journey then I'm all in.
As a whole, I would say I enjoyed the season very much.
I mostly enjoyed seeing Din navigating through things, trying his best at living the single dad life while on his mission to find the baby's own kind, as it was instructed at the end of the first season. Seeing his character development was really nice, but I most enjoyed seeing him meeting and interacting with other characters, especially established characters from the Star Wars franchise and kind of not knowing who they are in the grand scheme of things. Him meeting people like Boba Fett, Bo Katan, Ahsoka Tano, and even Luke Skywalker in the season finale, he has absolutely no idea who these people are and those moments was just so utterly delightful.
This is why I have no qualms of the idea that Grogu might not be a major factor in the third season*, because quite frankly I'm not entirely that enthused by the baby as most people seem to be. I do like the dynamic he and Din have, obviously, because I love him being a Dadalorian, but Grogu isn't the "be all, end all" for watching the show for me. I came for Din's character, and I'm happy that it's been confirmed that Pedro Pascal will be returning for the third season (putting to rest those bullshit rumors about him quitting/being fired from the show). Mainly, I'm intrigued with him going on his own personal journey considering that this season brought up things that challenged his worldview and beliefs. The show certainly setup some interesting aspects, and now that he's in possession of the Darksaber making him the ruler of Mandalore (by pure accident), it raises some fascinating questions of what will happen next, how will he navigate things from here on out. I don't want his journey to just be about Grogu, I want him to find himself, give himself an identity outside of being a faceless Mandalorian, to want to have something to live and strive for, find purpose in life. Some think that's Grogu, I think that Grogu was the start of that journey, but not the entire purpose of it.
(* We know that Grogu is going to be back, of course, Disney knows that he's a major selling point for most audiences so it would be pointless to not have him return and be reunited with Din, I just wanted to point out that I don't care either way.)
Things I Liked About This Season:
** The baby has a name, Grogu. I really like it, I thought it was fitting. People initially hated it, they groused and kept on saying, "that's stupid! what a stupid name! he's forever going to be Baby Yoda!" and not unsurprisingly people got over it pretty quickly, lol. I always thought people latching onto the whole "Baby Yoda" title was kind of ridiculous, so I'm glad that we officially got a name. Though it's such an odd situation, because narratively I understand why it wasn't revealed (Din cannot communicate with him the same way that Ahsoka and Luke can, so there was no way he could've known) and I can understand why the marketing didn't want to reveal anything too soon before that reveal happened, but y'know, Internet culture will take something and run with it. Either way, I'm glad that he has a proper name now.
** I'm not entirely certain whether this was planned back during the first season or they saw people voicing their displeasure that Ming-Na Wen was criminally underused, but I'm glad that they brought the character of Fennec Shand back for the second season and actually was a major player in the seasonal plot.
** I was worried that bringing in too much of a bigger plot and newer/established characters was going to distract from the storytelling and character moments, and while I do think there was less moments between Din and Grogu than I would've liked, it surprisingly wasn't as cluttered as I thought it was going to be. Somehow it worked out, and I think it works when you consider how clueless Din is about everything. He wants nothing to do with any kind of grander plot, he had no idea what a lightsaber was or the Force or the Jedi ("does this look Jedi, to you?" / "are you a Jedi?", the latter even said to Luke Skywalker in the season finale no less). My man is just a regular guy who is just trying to navigate the galaxy trying to find his son a Jedi kindergarten and wants to take a fucking nap. That's it. And I think bringing in all these bigger players who are like, "something big is happening" and he's just all, "....yeah, no thanks" is just perfect. It works incredibly well, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
** Katee Sachkoff reprising her role as Bo-Katan, and being live-action instead of just a voice-over, was so cool to see. I missed seeing her on my screen and she looked amazing.
** Even though we've already seen his face before (and we know what Pedro Pascal looks like), seeing his face again, and twice, still takes my breath away each time. Mostly because we know how difficult it is for Din to do this, he knows what he's risking, and I just, ugh, I love it. And his acting, too, was superb, you see his nervousness, how out of his element he is without the helmet on, and then later when he reveals his face to Grogu you see how emotional he is by having to say goodbye.
** As someone who has only been kind of casual with Star Wars, I was never that into Boba Fett. However, based on what I seen others say, The Mandalorian really kind of redeemed the character from previous installments and I can't lie, seeing him in action was pretty damn cool as fuck.
Things I Didn't Like:
** As I mentioned, bringing in some major players into this kind of didn't allow us to have more character moments that I loved from the first season. It raised the stakes and brought us many questions about where the story is heading, for sure, and it does work for what they were able to do, but I still think they could have spaced it out a little more. Also, I feel like they were just having certain characters appear so they could be toted out for their own shows rather than having a major impact on the story. The season finale did feel more like a series finale, in my opinion, as well. As a whole it wasn't entirely bad, but I think it could have been done a bit better.
Overall: Season two was pretty good. I don't really have much else to say, because I was entertained, I love Din Djarin and as long as we stay on course with his character journey then I'm all in.
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no subject
Date: 2020-12-22 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-12-22 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-12-22 06:00 pm (UTC)You know, I thought I'd miss Grogu more, but I really didn't in the episode he wasn't in and I wouldn't mind if he didn't play a big role in S3.
I'm still super excited about the show and really enjoyed this season.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-22 08:24 pm (UTC)I think it's because we know Grogu will be back in some way or another, so there's no actual loss there. I am sad for Din, though, because obviously he feels this connection with Grogu and it must've been hard for him to complete his mission when that connection was really strengthened this season.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-23 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-12-23 08:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-12-23 02:56 am (UTC)Him meeting people like Boba Fett, Bo Katan, Ahsoka Tano, and even Luke Skywalker in the season finale, he has absolutely no idea who these people are and those moments was just so utterly delightful.
He's a bit like a viewer starting with this show in that way.
I'm not entirely certain whether this was planned back during the first season or they saw people voicing their displeasure that Ming-Na Wen was criminally underused, but I'm glad that they brought the character of Fennec Shard back for the second season and actually was a major player in the seasonal plot.
All seconded.
** Katee Sachkoff reprising her role as Bo-Katan, and being live-action instead of just a voice-over, was so cool to see. I missed seeing her on my screen and she looked amazing.
That was really exciting to hear about! I hadn't even realized it was Katee when I watched The Clone Wars and Rebels. I love anything that ties the continuity of the animated series and live-action together and reinforces that it's all canon, like the Jedi voice cameos in The Rise of Skywalker.
As someone who has only been kind of casual with Star Wars, I was never that into Boba Fett. However, based on what I seen others say, The Mandalorian really kind of redeemed the character from previous installments and I can't lie, seeing him in action was pretty damn cool as fuck.
It's nice to see him with character development as other than just a villain, especially after his appearances as a kid in The Clone Wars 'cause they were sad knowing he'd die in Return of the Jedi without turning back from his dark path, and he was the original onscreen Mandalorian.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-26 08:45 pm (UTC)He's a bit like a viewer starting with this show in that way.
Yeah, especially since they've integrated a lot of other SW lore and information from outside of the movies, such as the animated shows, which most audiences aren't aware of. Hell, I wasn't that aware of much outside of the movies aside from little bits of details here and there, so The Mandalorian has me quite intrigued by some stuff, especially in regards to Mandalorians in general.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-23 12:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-12-23 08:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-12-24 08:47 pm (UTC)I can't wait to see what season 3 has in store for Din.
I'm also stoked that this show has SO.MANY. awesome women characters, and it all feels so organic. I warmed up to Cara immediately and I was stoked when Katee Sackhoff and Ming-Na Wen showed up.
I also love that they're low-key showing men that are nurturing and responsible.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-27 08:18 pm (UTC)I find it refreshing and really lovely that this show isn't afraid of showing men being vulnerable, that Pedro Pascal, even without seeing his face and just his voice alone, can make you feel that vulnerability and tenderness he has, that's so great. I want more of that in media, please.