The Mandolorian gets a lot of things right about Star Wars. It has the look and feel of the universe created by George Lucas, while also expanding its universe and paying hommage to the vast amount of expanded material. It walks a fine line between the now three established movie universes, while also including elements from the animated series. Visually it is a feast for the eyes, with incredible visual and practical effects, and gorgeous sets and costumes. There is also plenty of fan service, although it is rarely jarring. But if only the writing was a little better.
There is no character development to speak of, there is very little tension, and it is tonally very inconsistent. Almost every episode feels disjointed, as if remnants of various scattered ideas for that episode were just thrown together. Rarely does an episode for this show have a satisfying set up or conclusion and there are very little surprises or twists. Many plot points are often left unused, as if they were elements of scrapped ideas for that episode. The main character feels invincible and solves every situation by just shooting his way out, which severely undermines any chance for suspense. The main antagonist Moff Gideon, played by the fantastic Giancarlo Espesito, is given very little to do and the show does not do enough to build him up as a credible threat. The one-off adventure in every episode also feels like a dated fomat for this day and age, in a time when most shows construct larger narratives across multiple episodes.
The show is intended to be a mix between a western and a pulpy space opera, but it never really commits to its western angle, which is a real shame. It also becomes apparent after the first few episodes, what a problem it is to have your main character always be masked. Plus the writers clearly struggle with writing any dialogue for any of the characters. While all these problems could be forgiven for a first season, they are just as present in the second season. How is it possible that a show with such a big budget, has such weak writing? The show has yet to produce an episode with a plot that rises above (or equals) that of a saturday morning cartoon... and that is a very low bar.
There is no character development to speak of, there is very little tension, and it is tonally very inconsistent. Almost every episode feels disjointed, as if remnants of various scattered ideas for that episode were just thrown together. Rarely does an episode for this show have a satisfying set up or conclusion and there are very little surprises or twists. Many plot points are often left unused, as if they were elements of scrapped ideas for that episode. The main character feels invincible and solves every situation by just shooting his way out, which severely undermines any chance for suspense. The main antagonist Moff Gideon, played by the fantastic Giancarlo Espesito, is given very little to do and the show does not do enough to build him up as a credible threat. The one-off adventure in every episode also feels like a dated fomat for this day and age, in a time when most shows construct larger narratives across multiple episodes.
The show is intended to be a mix between a western and a pulpy space opera, but it never really commits to its western angle, which is a real shame. It also becomes apparent after the first few episodes, what a problem it is to have your main character always be masked. Plus the writers clearly struggle with writing any dialogue for any of the characters. While all these problems could be forgiven for a first season, they are just as present in the second season. How is it possible that a show with such a big budget, has such weak writing? The show has yet to produce an episode with a plot that rises above (or equals) that of a saturday morning cartoon... and that is a very low bar.