Mandalorian is Finally Moving, Is it too Late?
It only took 7 episodes. The Mandalorian has stumbled through its third season, not only in terms of story but in ratings. The audience wasn’t excited for the third season to begin with, and after a number of boring, disappointing, and cheap episodes, most have checked out. It’s clear after watching episode 7, that they thought the big climax and finale would tie it all together and satisfy fans but… is it too late?
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 7 OF THE MANDALORIAN SEASON THREE
We now know the season is about the reclaiming of Mandalore by Bo Katan and the scattered Mandalorians. It isn’t about Din Djarrin and Grogu. There are the fanatics that won’t take their helmets off, and a small force of mainstream Mandalorians who saw the planet fall and totally take their helmets off all the time.
They unite, with a small task force of ships, and return to their home to begin rebuilding. There is also a scene where we see Grand Moff Gideon is free and part of a shadow empire plotting their return to power.
It’s interesting, it’s a couple nice reveals, it throws us straight into the epic climax of the season, but there’s a couple reasons it doesn’t work that well.
First, little of the big dramatic reveals and action of episode 7 is earned. We know Gideon escaped with help from someone with beskar armor. We learn it was a new class of stormtroopers from an imperial base on Mandalore that we somehow didn’t see last time. It might’ve helped to clarify that the waters of purification and the forge were in two different places because I was left wondering how no one saw the big Imperials base last time.
We’ve had extremely few scenes of the imperials other than the attack on Bo Katan’s house and the sketchy Imperial in the reeducation program. Why the Republic has a reeducation program, uses numerical designations, is mired in bureaucracy and still uses a device called the mind-flayer are all very big questions unanswered.
Why show us all that?
Aren’t they supposed to be the good guys? If they are, why do they seem to operate a lot like the Empire? Are we to conclude that the only difference between the two is the colors of the uniforms and the Republic folks are just a little nicer? They’re weaker, which explains their less heavy-handed tactics, but are we to guess that when they’re rebuilt, they’ll be just as Machiavellian as the Empire?
Why? Is this a lead-in to the next season? A new show like say, Ahsoka’s? A new movie, like one of the projects that was just announced?
The show seems to be using a ton of time setting up things beyond this season and beyond this show. This is rarely a good idea. Most of this season should’ve been about the titular character and his story IN THIS SEASON! The Easter eggs, allusions and hints of things to come are supposed to be subtle and in the background. At least, that is how good shows do it.
It is similar to an author who wants to write a trilogy and uses the first book to setup the second and third. This creates problems if the story in book one can’t hold up on its own. It’s worse if the first novel feels like prologue. Having a mediocre book one isn’t a good way to hook readers into reading book two.
The same is happening here. The audience is leaving before you get to book two or “the good stuff.”
Back to The Mandalorian: This show has shown very little of this shadow empire in season three. Gideon is defeated, his forces captured, and the empire was defeated after The Return of the Jedi. So, for someone who has only watched the Disney shows to date, they have to be asking themselves: “what the fuck is going on?”
For those that read the Timothy Zahn books and know who Thrawn is thanks to those novels and the Star Wars Rebels show, then you might be excited and perhaps have some built up tension and interest from the reveal.
Where is Thrawn? Not even the shadow empire leaders know, except for one guy who keeps saying “trust me, he’s coming back. And it’s going to be awesome guys! Trust me.”
If you don’t have this background, then this season feels like a waste. If you are a hardcore fan who has largely abandoned Disney Star Wars, these are teasers for more mediocre content.
Simply put, most of the fan base is skeptical Disney can execute the story successfully, and are suspicious it will be subverted, with significant changes to the characters and story (from the Expanded Universe version). Disney has done this before and it has almost never been positively received.
A skeptical fan base, a casual audience that is abandoning Disney+ and you decide to do a slow burn season. Not a recipe for success.
The unification of the Mandolorians is not earned either. The suspicion and animosity between these two groups has been mentioned and shown in tiny snippets here and there, but otherwise we are just meant to except it as premise. The scenes of their unification and return to the home world was painful to watch. A show that thinks it is showing a huge, dramatic moment instead is an awkward moment with little emotional weight.
Why? Because their rivalry has never come to life! That and it’s a hundred or so people wanting to reclaim an entire glassed planet. Visually, it just didn’t come across like a proud people were on the ascent. If anything, their mission seemed a little Quixotic. Mandalore was a world with millions of people, a significant strategic power in the galaxy. A hundred exiles aren’t gonna bring all that back anytime soon.
Second, the acting is still underwhelming. Katee Sackhoff can act, yet she seldom changes her facial expression, her hair remains perfect despite wearing a helmet, and people just seem to listen to her despite being given reasons not to. The dialogue has revealed a lot more and gives desperately needed context but this is episode 7 of 8, and is being delivered in a painfully wooden fashion.
We know the cast is better than this. Why are the directors and writers getting so little out of them? Why do half of the actors appear visibly bored in their scenes?
What is especially disappointing is the wasted moments. The revelation of the Imperial base on Mandalore could’ve been so much stronger. It makes sense for them to want to exploit the beskar armor. It makes sense to explain why the planet wasn’t reclaimed, at minimum why it didn’t persist as a mining colony.
Finally, Grand Moff Gideon is a solid villain, yet I am baffled at the overly-animated, almost cartoonish villain level delivery of his lines. Is this show for kids now?
Disney appears content to deliver Disney Channel level quality in story and acting, while throwing a few extra bucks at special effects and costuming from time to time. It is lazy.
Was Episode 7 a good episode? It was probably the best of the season so far. The action was solid, and the big reveal was satisfying to a point.
In the end, this exciting episode and climax just didn’t earn the dramatic weight the showrunners attached to it. Acts I and II matter. You can’t use three-quarters of your season for a mixture of filler, teasers, fan service, with just a bit development on the broader story arc.
We wanted a story about the Mandalorian, not Lizzo and Jack Black, not Imperials on Coruscant, not the Bo Katan show. I like Bo Katan, she could have her own show or even movie, but the name of THIS show is The Mandalorian. Does that mean it can be about any Mandalorian? Is it plural?
Disney seems prepared to subvert audience expectations straight into bankruptcy.
Back to the big question: Is it too late? Yes, it is. Star Wars is dead.