Disney+’s Only Hope

Disney+ has had a rough start. Between the abysmal cropping on their catalogue of The Simpsons and the fact that they still lack a number of their more famous intellectual properties due to preexisting ties with Netflix, one would find themselves hard-pressed to shell out the fee that Disney+ demands for their half-baked program. Yet within the chaos and uncertainty, a shining beacon remains. A knight in beskar armor, one of the few lone bastions of quality in the wastes of their desolate streaming platform, it is…The Mandalorian.

Until the arrival of the now-delayed Marvel shows, The Mandalorian remains Disney’s only relevant original show (no, High School Musical: The Musical is n o t relevant) and it’s not hard to see why, what with the 150 million dollar production cost. Directed by Dave Filoni and written by Jon Favreau, the men behind some of Star Wars and Marvel’s more successful projects, The Mandalorian displays excellent cinematography and engaging dialogue, well complemented by its top notch costumes, props, and set design in addition to CGI that would put some feature films to shame. But enough about the background, what’s the show actually about?

So much for so little… Photo courtesy of engadget.com

Set in the Star Wars universe 5 years after Return of the Jedi, The Mandalorian is a space western that follows the exploits of Din Djarin, a bounty hunter on the outskirts of the galaxy and one of the few remaining Mandalorian warriors after the Empire purged Mandalore of its people prior to its fall. A skilled combatant and a quick thinker, Djarin would take on any well paying job, no questions asked. At least he did until he met…BABY YODA (Disney would like everyone to refer to him as “The Child” but we all know Baby Yoda’s obviously his real name). After taking a job to deliver a 50 year old toddler of the same species as Yoda to an ex-imperial warlord and his faction of thugs, he soon rethinks his old business model once he realizes that they plan to carry out cruel experiments on the extremely marketable and manipulatively cute critter. After breaking Baby Yoda out, a bounty is put on Djarin’s head and he’s forced into hiding, doing whatever it takes to keep the both of them afloat and safe–well as safe as one could realistically be when shooting people is your bread and butter.

I mean…c’mon just look at him! Photo courtesy of Disney

The world of the Mandalorian feels lived in and immersive with each set and locale on Djarin’s journey feeling distinct with its own history, adding to the atmosphere of the show. Furthermore, The Mandalorian manages to convey a great deal of exposition through its visuals alone, something essential in a season with so few episodes. Things such as the dirty armor all the stormtroopers have or the empty state of the once bustling Mos Eisley cantina tell the audience scores of useful information without ever a word drawing attention to them.

Exemplary set work on The Mandalorian Photo courtesy of Disney

The characters of the show are memorable and entertaining, if somewhat one-note, but the real stars of are the puppet artists behind Baby Yoda and Pedro Pascal’s performance as the titular Mandalorian. Despite the former being mute, speaking only in sounds and coos and the latter being characterized by his stoic unwillingness to talk, they achieve a surprising degree of relatability. Pedro’s Din Djarin is even more impressive when considering the fact that his character wears a concealing helmet for all but one scene in the entire show, entirely eliminating facial expressions as a means to emote to the audience. Yet perhaps this too worked to the show’s favor. A helmeted protagonist allows the average viewer to better project their own feelings and emotions, likely making up for what Pascal’s physical performance could not convey.

The action is perhaps what The Mandalorian does best. Action set-pieces are consistently well shot and choreographed throughout the season and there’s always enough of it in an episode to keep the adrenaline flowing. Though it is a tad convenient that the bad guys only shoot at Djarin’s armor…

The Mando fights off cannon fodder Photo courtesy of Disney

While season one of the show is an overall success, there are still certain aspects that could have and really should have been improved before release, namely the main plot. While the plot served was serviceable and succeeded at what it tried to do, it was still fairly cliched and was easy to predict from the very moment Djarin met Baby Yoda. Gruff man meets child, man grows a heart while taking care of the child, it’s been done a million times. Another significant problem was the purpose of each episode. While the individual subplots are entertaining enough on their own, they only somewhat advance the overarching narrative which is a major issue considering the season only has 8 episodes. While the Mandalorian does receive crucial characterization and humanization in them, similar moments could have been written in episodes with a greater emphasis on the larger narrative. As it is, Din Djarin and Baby Yoda end up meandering their way through the galaxy without a clear end goal or destination, something essential when writing compelling characters. Hopefully Disney takes into account the many successes as well as the failings of the first season of The Mandalorian and provide a stellar follow-up come October. Here’s to hoping!

Featured image—Din Djarin in his signature Mandalorian armor, looking awesome as heck Courtesy of Disney

By Alexander Chu