We’re talking about Star Wars again and I already feel exhausted. If only this year was 2012 and a show as popular and resonated as The Mandalorian came out back when Star Wars was probably my all time favourite Sci-Fi franchise. I to would be considering it my go to TV show, and I would also be excited each week to see what the writers had installed for us. Its a shame we live in the same world as The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, which ravaged my love for this franchise and I have come to a point in my life that what I want most from Star Wars, is for it to go away!

I am happy that 2020 has being a much better year for Star Wars. With no new movies in sight, Star Wars has been excelling best where it should remain for now on the Disney exclusive streaming service. Earlier this year we had the satisfying final season of The Clone Wars and now at the end we have the follow-up season of the only hit Disney+ series, The Mandalorian. I know I said in the Cobra Kai review that I admit to liking it, but still believe its a bit overrated. Lets crank that up to 11 with The Mandalorian!!!

Overall I view The Mandalorian as good junk food entertainment. Its enjoyable to eat and by the next day I have forgotten all about it. I guess where I differ from most fans, is I don’t really care about the story or characters and I never almost choke on my munchies every time a big reveal happens on this show. For the record before you get the wrong idea I don’t hate this show, far from it. I’m also not shunning anyone who does love this show, I’m asking for them to hear me out.

Now focusing on this latest season and its pretty much the same as the first. Faceless rogue Mando is on the run from a resurging Empire with Baby Yoda, just like in season 2. What’s new to this season is he has the objective to find more of his Mandalorian brethren and to find a Jedi Master to train Baby Yoda. Very simple stuff, could easily be a movie plot if wasn’t stretched over 8 episodes, however 4 of those 8 episodes make me wish it was.

It was bad in the first season and it continues on here. The first four episodes has Mando go somewhere to ask someone where he needs to go, only for that person to agree to help him, but only if Mando helps complete this high risk task first. I’m not a fan of how The Mandalorian flirts with being a show centered around standalone adventures while also been a show about telling a ongoing story. It makes the adventures feel tensionless because its a one off deal and you know everyone will make it out of just fine. While also frustrating as a viewer who wants to know where this story is going, but can’t get that, because these pointless side adventures keep getting in the way. The excuse is ‘Oh the writers are just paying tribute to the classic samurai and western movies from George Lucas’ childhood.‘ I see the influences, but I beg to differ. When George made his movies, the fun nail-biting adventures were there to benefit the story rather then pad out an episode. The Clone Wars also understood this, why does a show that has next to no plot get a free pass? On retrospect I feel perfectly fine with skipping the first four episodes of season 2. There is no harm in watching them if you choose to, but if you really want to get to the good stuff then just watch the generous recap at the start of episode 5 and you’re all good to go.

The final four episodes is where the spinning wheels starts to break its momentum. I’m not joking when I say the quality jump is unpresented, It felt amazing to be finally seeing some meaningful progression. Seeing Mando and Baby Yoda doing something that isn’t pointless busy work… *Gasps* You gotta see it to believe it, man! If you’re not that active with the news then I’m going spoil the fan favourite characters that show up in these latter episodes. Episode 5, gave us a sneak preview of Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano before we can see her in own upcoming Disney+ exclusive show. One episode later we get Jango Fett returning to play classic character, Boba Fett, just in time for his upcoming Disney+ exclusive show. The most shocking thing about seeing these characters again is that Boba Fett who is younger than Ahsoka and other returning Clone Wars favourite, Bo Katan, looks 50 years old than both of these two. Can’t blame him because damn these women have aged incredibly well. Especially Bo Katan who unlike Ahsoka is played by the same actress who voiced her young animated 20 odd year old counterpart, which I think The Clone Wars takes place roughly 40 years before The Mandalorian and yes that is not jarring in the slightest! Anyway I liked seeing characters I recognize. More so Ahsoka, as I can tell from Rosario Dawson’s somber performance that she’s being through some shit. If this convinced me that I need an Ahsoka Tv Show, I would say not really.

My favourite episode of this season is the one where Baby Yoda sits on a Jedi rock while the whole bloody Empire rock up to capture it. This episode displays what I like and find most amusing about this show.

• Mando getting shot a million times in his literal plot armour.
• When our heroes looked screwed, there is always someone popping up out of nowhere to get them out of it.
• Marvel like character banter in the middle and in-between action scenes.
• Stormtroopers continuing to be the least threatening enemy force in fiction with each release of a new Star Wars property.
• An Empire base or transport being blown up to smithereens.
• Long action set pieces of our badass heroes kicking ass!

This stuff is in pretty much every episode this season, but more so in Episode 6, which is why I like it so much. I guess there is some good character building stuff and some genuine touching moments in the final episodes, but its the bloody The Mandalorian we’re talking about.

This show has a long way to go to prove to me that its as great as the later seasons of The Clone Wars, for now its still junk food entertainment for me. I can admit it looks great, the action is fun and the acting is also well done. The fact it doesn’t feel like someone is trying to pinch my wallet for the whole bloody time, speaks high volumes of how I can truly believe the people working on this show want nothing more but to please Star Wars fans. Congrats you succeeded, but me personally I would like more weight to the show instead of a passive adventure. For season 3 make your show less like an old Flash Gordon serial and more like Star Trek Next Generation or The Witcher, and you have me sold.

That’s just me, you can choose to disregard this review if doesn’t meet stellar Mandalorian review standards. Who knows if Season 3 is the exact same as this, then be prepared to not hear another word from me about this show. I have been The Blog Complainer, signing out.