The Mandalorian

[Threash]

Because of what happened after Sabine gave her the Dark Saber, Bo Katan is very particular how to get it? She is as rote and formulaic about it as the Children of the Watch are about their helmets. I presume she wants to earn it by fighting and killing another wielder. Thats why she wanted to get if from Moff Gideon. She can't just pick it up because then she hasn't earned it, and she is not ready to kill another Mandalorian (or maybe specifically that naive hunk of a man that currently wields it) yet.

Think of it as Elder Wand rules basically.

She won it in combat from the last owner, won won it in combat from Mando. It would be silly if simply refusing to use it was a loophole to keep it.

[Tebonas]

The only thing that matters here is her perception of events. She picked it up from the floor, never seeing anybody using it. For most people that might be fine.

But Bo Katan thinks she lost her rule of Mandalore because she aquired the thing improperly the last time. She may think her home was glassed by the Empire because of that.
She thinks she must be extra sure this time. And yes, its about as logical as becoming ruler of England because a watery tart gave you a sword. Thats myths for you  

[Threash]

This felt like a bad episode of Andor more than anything else.

[eldaec]

I thought it was better than Andor.

Andor would not have been able to help itself showing Kane having a chat with her boss, who would turn out to be someone weirdly senior.

I say this as someone who loved Andor.

Last two episodes feel like a new show. One that isn't just great for star wars but is just regular great.

[Sky]

In general I hope they lean into the Imperial Warlords and cabals within the Republic machine, there was some cool stuff lurking in that. Including the wicked investigator. I think Mando could be a nice middle road between Boba type fan service/pure fantasy overthetopness and Andor's gritty 'realism'.

However, it was oddly jammed between some of the best Mando stuff since the beginning, the pacing and transitions were quite jarring.

Liked all of it, except the way they dropped it BAM in out of nowhere and BAM heeere's Mando again for the end.

The stuff with Bo, who I am unfamiliar with outside this show, was really well done. Sackhoff doing a great job with gesture acting with helmet on just like Pascal does. Having her character in the position she is in now added a great element to the stuff I was already looking forward to them exploring with Mando and the order.

[Khaldun]

I'm going to catch up but I really hated the first episode, so I hope the later ones are really different.

[Threash]

Well this last one felt like a set up for an entirely different show so there is that. At least mando and boba were tangentially related in the book of boba fett, this was just a pilot for a whole other show.

[eldaec]

I'm going to catch up but I really hated the first episode, so I hope the later ones are really different.

First episode is dreadful. Next two are much better.

[HaemishM]

I don't know, this season is all over the fucking place. It feels disjointed. The first episode felt like 3 different episodes all jammed together in odd ways. We go from "hey, I have a quest to get to Mandalore" then to "give pirates a reason to have a grudge" then "sidequest to get much needed droid part" which then gets almost immediately forgotten to make sure we have Bo Khitan in it for 2 minutes sitting all alone sulking in her castle. Cut to next episode and that oh so important "find a droid part to bring my dead droid friend back to life" gets immediately forgotten because side character has another droid to sell him that is totally unsuited to the task he needed the first droid for. By the time I get to sad Imperial doctor strains under the yolk of New Republican oppression, I was falling asleep. The best parts of the season have been Grogoo as usual. The pew pew dogfight was fun.

[Threash]

Yeah, I figured they were going more in a "mando realizes his cult is dumb bullshit and follows bo katan instead" direction, but apparently its the other way around.

[HaemishM]

It was pretty obvious whatever she saw down in the Living Waters was something she didn't expect and shook (or reawakened) her faith. No idea what that was or why it was important.

[Threash]

It was a mythosaur

[HaemishM]

canttellifserious.gif

*Quick Google Search*

OHHHHHHH, deep cut nerd lore fan service. Got it.

[Velorath]

canttellifserious.gif

*Quick Google Search*

OHHHHHHH, deep cut nerd lore fan service. Got it.

She literally read off of a plaque explaining it right before it happened.

[HaemishM]

I was very tired when I was watching that episode. It's quite possible I dozed off.

[Threash]

canttellifserious.gif

*Quick Google Search*

OHHHHHHH, deep cut nerd lore fan service. Got it.

Yeah, that's what happens when you let George Lucas name shit.

[Samwise]

I was very tired when I was watching that episode. It's quite possible I dozed off.

I think I had the same exact problem, except it was more like some part of my brain said “oh no, EU lore” and just switched off for about ten seconds.

[HaemishM]

I just assumed it was Dave Firloni lore from some animated series I didn't watch, like that gunslinger at the end of Boba Fett.

[Khaldun]

This is the problem with Mandalorian--it's like 1/3 its own  thing, 1/3 citations/ripoffs of other pop culture (Lone Wolf and Cub, Fistful of Dollars, Sorcerer, Magnificent Seven, etc.), 1/3 Star Wars easter egging. When the mix is right on target, it's chef-kiss delicious. When it's off-balance, the whole thing is like a pizza with a third pineapple-and-ham, a third anchovy-and-sundried tomato, a third peas and potatoes. You're not sure you want any of those and you're really sure that none of them taste good together.

[Surlyboi]

I just assumed it was Dave Firloni lore from some animated series I didn't watch, like that gunslinger at the end of Boba Fett.

Nope. Mythosaur is old school EU/Canon.

[Sky]

I mean


I reiterate that I love that Bo's faith in her unfaith has been shaken and that she's now wondering if This Is The Way. It felt like a setup to Mary Sue Mando into the Chosen One kinda thing, like /he/ was going to be the one to have the revelation. Instead, it's Bo, which is a far more interesting revelation. Besides a great setup for her rebuilding the Mandalorians, it gives Din an out to go be space cowboy with the kid. The setup was disjointed, but that's been this season (I would've pushed Imperial Doc subplot over into Andor and expanded on Bo's past a bit (for those of us who haven't watched the cartoons)).

[Velorath]

I just assumed it was Dave Firloni lore from some animated series I didn't watch, like that gunslinger at the end of Boba Fett.

Nope. Mythosaur is old school EU/Canon.

First mentioned in the old Marvel Star Wars comic hence why it has the dumbest name possible.

[HaemishM]

The ship doctor's storyline couldn't have gone into Andor. Andor takes place before the Death Star is blown up, Mando is after the Empire has fallen in Empire Strikes Back.

[Khaldun]

I thought it was after Return of the Jedi?

[Riggswolfe]

I thought it was after Return of the Jedi?

It is. Haemish probably just had a brainfart about it.

I agree the doctor storyline was misplaced. It felt really hamfisted and I saw where it was going pretty much from the minute the biscuits were left at his door. It really screwed with the flow of the episode and I spent the whole time his story was going on wanting to get back to Mando and Bo Katan.

If they really needed to shoehorn that doctor's storyline in, they should have spread it out between episodes. There were definitely points in his story that would have been natural stopping points to continue it in a new episode. Unless his storyline is going to impact Mando starting next episode that would've been a better way to do it and even if it was, put the start of it in episode 1, another part in episode 2 and the rest in this episode.

All in all, this is easily my least favorite episode of the entire series and it's all because of that story with the doctor bringing Mando's story to a halt.

[HaemishM]

I thought it was after Return of the Jedi?

It is. Haemish probably just had a brainfart about it.

Yeah, that's it. Brain is mush today.

[Khaldun]

I just think the folks doing this don't know where they want to go any longer.

The obvious thing would have been for Mando to embrace being a "heretic"--that's 100% consistent with the Western/Man With No Name/Lone Wolf With Cub vibe. Holding the Darksaber, grateful still for being rescued but now completely ambivalent about the Mando cult, loyal really only to Grogu. Growing up, being his own man, working the contradictions. That's super-resonant, there's lots of interesting stories in it. But I think they really don't know which way to jump tonally or narratively. I also think there are too many cooks in the background.

[Velorath]

Hard to know what exactly is going on in the writers' room because Favreau is credited as writer on just about every episode of Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett, with Filoni listed as a writer on two episodes and a co-writer on three. Rick Famuyiwa has two writer credits, and Noah Kloor has a co-writing credit. I remember hearing rumors back when the first season came out that Favreau wasn't actually that involved with the show, but who knows.

I just kind of figured that bringing Grogu back onto the show and resolving that plot thread in Book of Boba Fett was somebody realizing too late that Baby Yoda merch is the biggest financial success to come out of Disney+. I don't doubt that all this stuff on Mandalore was planned in advance though.

[Sky]

The ship doctor's storyline couldn't have gone into Andor. Andor takes place before the Death Star is blown up, Mando is after the Empire has fallen in Empire Strikes Back.

Oops yeah, I was thinking thematically not timeline.

[Samwise]

Is it established in the EU lore that the Mandalorians get off on being eaten by dinosaurs, or is this monster-infested beach the only vacant piece of property they could find in the entire galaxy?

[Velorath]

I think it's become clear that while the Mandalorians may have many skills, self-preservation doesn't seem to be one of them. I realize Boba Fett is not technically a Mandalorian, but he certainly seems to have pioneered their current trend of almost getting eaten by giant creatures.

[Samwise]

me, yelling at the screen during last night's episode: "Why do they still LIVE here?  This is the WORST NEIGHBORHOOD."

[Tebonas]

Given they worship the Mythosaur and what it is, that may well be an established Mandalorian kink.

Most last remnants of a decimated species wouldn't have their daycare next to a lake where they get regularly eaten, but Mandalorians might think that builds character.  

[Threash]

Well they can't disguise themselves so their only option for hiding is space Australia.

[Khaldun]

I was once reading some parliamentary papers of the Rhodesian government in the 1970s--during the most hardcore period of defiant white supremacy and brutal counterinsurgency--and there was a legislator who got up to read a little poem: "I'm a Rhodesian born and bred/Strong as an ox and thick in the head".

That kind of feels like Mandalorians, minus the white supremacy. Really into insanely stubborn demonstrations of their toughness, profoundly self-defeating in every way possible, and pretty goddamn dumb for the most part.