Lets Talk About...The Mandalorian

I don't want to say I am out on The Mandalorian. Yet. And yet I am very disappointed by the third series of the winning series so far. I feel the injection of Mando into The Book of Boba Fett was a mistake as it showed the producers of the live-action Star Wars series moving forward felt the only way to keep people interested was to keep giving people the man behind the mask and the creed and the way.

The new series shows Din seeking to bathe in the waters of Mandalore to be redeeming following his removal of the sacred helmet and revealing his Pedro Pascal face to Grogu. That sort of tale of redemption is one that could have been the basis of a series worth of stories, Din's journey to the waters, the obstacles along the way and yet he got there at the end of episode 2 and thus redeeming himself.

There, for this padawan, appears to be a confusion in the storytelling. In Episode 4, The Foundling we have now a tangent where we see Grogu being rescued from the Order 66 attack on Coruscant by the clone troopers by other jedi. This now paints the tale as Grogu being a very important foundling who demands constant attention and support - this made me ask the question is he really a clone of Yoda, did the Jedi use the technology to their own benefit in some way knowing that something bad was going to occur.

Like last week's episode 'The Convert' a tale that revolved around Dr. Pershing and his intrepid partner in supposed asylum crime on Coruscant, that diversion was interesting and heralded a tale where you where given time with periphery characters who were afforded time and a character made more whole. And yet that was bookended by some boring bits involving Din and Bo Katan being welcomed back into the group.

I think the problem they have with the Mandalorian is perhaps the man himself. He is now redeemed. He is no longer a bounty hunter. He is a surrogate father to Grogu. What is his journey now? Or is this series with four episodes remaining just a foreshadowing or warm up to the incoming Ashoka or Skeleton Crew series. What is Mando now if nothing more than a gatekeeper to more content from Star Wars universe. As a fan of that universe for so long I am not going to object to more content, yet you have to make it engaging and worthwhile. The tone of a lot of episodes currently is very plodding and playing with our attention that hopes for more to come, its just a matter of when will that be forthcoming.

Patience is a virtue and must be a part of the creed. This is the way.