Summary: Mando lands on a quiet planet to lay low for a while. He swiftly comes to blows with Cara Dune, an ex-imperial shocktrooper who is also hiding on the planet. Mando decides to leave the planet upon Cara's request so that they both won't draw attention to themselves. Some villagers come to Mando asking him to help their village which is being attacked. Mando and Cara go to the village to help and they work together with the villagers to fight off a horde of bandits, destroying an AT-ST in the process. Mando is offered to stay at the village, but he decides to leave when a bounty hunter tries to kill Baby Yoda.
The Good: The production of the show remains wonderful. The visuals in this episode were stunning, ranging from the outstanding village set to the frightening red eyes of the AT-ST. The entire episode was put together very well. The show also continues to pay homage to Westerns in a unique way, and there was even a nod to Jurassic Park in this episode with the AT-ST which I appreciated. The examination of Mando remains interesting to me. Here we learn why the Mandolorians don't take off their helmets in front of others, and it was a good question to answer as there was a certain disbelief to the idea that Mando never removes his helmet. I also thought it was a good idea to explore why Mando refuses to stay in one place for a long time, and the story of him grappling with the idea of staying at the village is a good one. The Bad: This episode didn't work. This show as a whole works so well because of how it blends live action drama with animated TV shows. This episode simply felt like a 40 minute animated TV show episode in a lot of ways, and that completely destroyed the balance between live action and animated. In the end, this felt less like "The Mandalorian" and more like a live action version of "The Clone Wars". Now I do enjoy some episodes of "The Clone Wars", but my least favourite episodes were often the ones which had generic, predictable plots which I was never given much reason to invest in. I understand that Jon Favreau is a fan of "The Clone Wars" and wanted to reference that show's style of storytelling in this episode, but I feel like there is a better way to reference "Clone Wars" without having an episode that falls into the same trappings. I found it difficult to get invested in the villagers. They were very simplistic and 1-dimensional, like they were designed specifically so kids could like them. That's an issue because these characters seem designed specifically for kids. The best characters in family friendly shows can appeal to both kids and adults. Just look at the success of a character like Han Solo and the failure of a character like Jar Jar Binks as an example of this. In this case, the show missed the mark and ended up creating characters that felt silly. The biggest misfire was the mother who immediately took a liking for Mando. We don't know why she likes Mando, we are given no reason for her to like him, and we are given no reason to care for their relationship. That's an issue, especially considering how important this relationship was for this episode. The action sequence at the end of the episode was okay, but there was never any tension. It's a shame that the fantastic visual of the AT-ST was wasted in a subplot where the main characters were never in any danger. Now if the AT-ST appears again in a scene that tries to be suspenseful, it won't feel as special. The action sequence never got me to the edge of my seat, and it was crystal clear that nobody would die and that the bandits would be easily defeated. I had dozens of nitpicks for the plot of this episode, but I won't bother to list them here. I'm pretty sure that most readers will know what I'm talking about even without me listing some examples. The problem with making an episode that is designed to appeal to kids is that there are almost always going to be plot holes and questionable character decisions that break your immersion, and most people who watch the show will notice them. That is another factor that worked against this episode. This episode also had the underlying feeling of being filler. Nothing significant happened here outside of Cara's introduction, and this feels like a waste of an episode in an 8-episode season. It's also quite disappointing that this uninteresting plot was somehow the longest episode of the series so far. The Unknown: Cara Dune is an interesting new character and I really hope that there is more depth to her than what we have seen so far. Her imperial background could be a good set-up for some backstory for her, which would be very good. As it stands right now, her character seems like the generic "strong female type" that Disney likes to include nowadays in order to avoid controversy. I've put her introduction in The Unknown because I'm not sure if I'll look back and like her inclusion in the story or dislike it, as my feelings for her are quite mixed. Where will Mando go next? Will the bounty hunters keep following him? What happens with Cara? Will she go with him? Or will she stay on this planet? Best Moment: I'll go with the reveal of the AT-ST. Such a brilliant visual. Character of the Episode: Mando. Conclusion: This was disappointing. With Mando free to go anywhere in the galaxy following the last episode, I was expecting to get something new. To retread old ground that "The Clone Wars" had already visited was a poor choice, even if it was made with the intent of honouring a TV show that the showrunner enjoys very much. Hopefully this episode was just a bump in the road and we can get to better content in episode 5. Score: 49
3 Comments
Ben
12/5/2019 12:43:09 pm
I actually really enjoyed this episode, but I enjoyed it in a goofy and guilty pleasure kind of way. Still, there wasn't much I had to complain about, and I really liked the addition of the AT-ST and of Dune's character. I thought the opening scene was especially impactful, and I was genuinely worried that the mother and child were going to be spotted and killed when hiding underneath the basket within the river. I haven't seen The Clone Wars so I can't compare. This certainly had a cartoon feel to it even more so than the previous episodes, but I can't say that really effected my enjoyment of the episode.
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Aaronic
12/6/2019 12:49:05 pm
It's nice to get thoughts from somebody who never watched The Clone Wars. I can confidently say that I would have enjoyed this quite a bit more if I hadn't seen some episodes of The Clone Wars. It's never satisfying to see a story repeated practically beat for beat, and that took away from my enjoyment. I do agree with your thoughts about the opening scene which I didn't get around to complimenting in my review.
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Ben
12/6/2019 01:21:23 pm
I recommend Damon Lindelof's new show, Watchmen, by the way, if you haven't seen any of it yet. I've just seen the first three episodes so far, but it seems really good. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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