‘The Mandalorian’ episode 1 is everything you hoped it would be
SUMMARY
Happy Disney+ Day, everyone. After all the hype, The Mandalorian has finally been released and it's the perfect Star War for anyone who has ever Star Wars'd.
It's clear right from the start that creator Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Swingers) gets it. He gets what makes Star Wars so special. From the mythos to the humor and even down to the silly-ass wipe transitions, The Mandalorian just feels right.
So let's get right into Chapter One. SPOILERS AHEAD:
"He's young, his musk will be sweet." Thank you for that line, Jon Favreau.
The Mandalorian, Disney+
The Mandalorian quickly sets the stage for our hero, a bounty hunter who is good at his job and who doesn't take any (forgive me) poodoo. The tone is light with moments of comedic release while still building the new world we're entering. Remember, this series takes place seven years after Return of the Jedi and the fall of the Empire.
There are other hints peppered in to keep us intrigued, such as when The Bounty, played by Saturday Night Live's Horatio Sanz, asks "Is it true you guys never take off your helmets?" and then is quickly frozen in carbonite. The helmet thing will apparently be important because it's brought up again later in the episode. I predict we'll see Pedro Pascal's debonair face eventually, but it sounds like it will be later rather than sooner.
The Mandalorian, Disney+
The Mandalorian delivers his bounties and accepts a curious new target from The Client, played by Werner Herzog (Rick Morty, The Simpsons). The target is wanted alive — and The Client will pay well, but he will accept "proof of termination" at a lower rate.
He hands over a block of beskar steel stamped with the Imperial insignia as a sort of down payment. We know from The Mandalorian's first mission (or from Star Wars Rebels) that beskar steel is significant, and Favreau politely informs us why in the next scene.
The Mandalorian, Disney+
The Mandalorian heads to a fellow Mandalorian armorer (played by The Mindhunter's Emily Swallow), who melts down the block of steel to forge a new pauldron for our hero, saying the excess will be used to sponsor "foundlings." Here we get the only heavy-handed backstory in the episodes: a series of flashbacks to a family fleeing during an attack and, I assume, the death of The Mandalorian's parents, which will eventually lead to him being found by his tribe.
"Has your signet been revealed?" she asked him. It hasn't, and I don't know what this means, but dammit Jon, you've got me for life and I trust that you'll let me know when you feel it's necessary.
"I have spoken." — my new catch phrase
The Mandalorian, Disney+
With that, our bounty hunter is off to a new planet to track down his bounty and learn to ride some blurrg (30 Rock, anyone?). He meet's Nick Nolte's Kuill, who drops some nice backstory for us (he wants to help The Mandalorian so he can restore peace to his planet) and some nice easter eggs (riding blurrg won't be a problem because the Mandalorians rode the legendary mythosaurs, don't you know).
Shout out to female blurrgs, who eat the males during mating. ?
This is the buddy comedy I want to see.
The Mandalorian, Disney+
With a nice clock wipe transition, it's time for some action, but before he can muster up a plan, The Mandalorian spies a bounty droid who we learn is IG-11 (voiced by Taika Waititi). The droid attacks the settlement and a blaster fight ensues. The Mandalorian joins in, suggests an alliance with the droid, and together they take out their many attackers.
This is the best sequence in Chapter One, not necessarily because the action was anything new (although IG-11's circular design is very clever) but because the banter between the two was very amusing. IG-11's programming won't allow for surrender, so, in the face of overwhelming odds, he continually tries to initiate a self-destruct sequence, which would kill them both. Lolz.
But of course our hero does some quick thinking, seizes his enemy's laser cannon, and defeats all of his attackers. Finally, we get to see who this important and secretive bounty is.
And guys? The reveal is...perfect.
OHMYGODILOVEYOULITTLEBABYYYYYY
The Mandalorian, Disney+
This little angel will never not be known as "Baby Yoda," am I right?
Of course, it's not actually Yoda, but here's what we know so far: the baby is fifty years old (this species, while remaining unknown, ages differently than humans; Yoda was over 900 years old when he died) and is probably Force sensitive (Yoda was a powerful Jedi Master and Yaddle, the only other member of the species we've seen so far, was also on the Jedi Council).
The Mandalorian kills IG-11 after the droid tried to terminate Baby Yoda the baby and then shares a nice little Adam-and-God moment with the child.
The Mandalorian, Disney+
Precious, huh?
Altogether, I have to say that this show promises to be one of the best creations in Star Wars canon. It feels nostalgic and new at the same time. It impressed me more than any of the recent films.
What did you think of it? Leave a comment on Facebook and let me know.
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