Wow, so the day that many Star Wars fans have been waiting for is here! That would be because the new (and first), Star Wars live action tv show, The Mandalorian is finally upon us.
For some this is a chance to get Star Wars back on track after the latest movies. For others, this is another way to expand the Star Wars universe that they know and love. And for non-Star Wars fans, it may be their first foray into the galaxy far, far away (that would be Disney’s hope anyway).
Our intro to ‘Mando’
First off, how about that intro leading right into the show!? They cut from helmet to helmet of Star Wars characters, in solid colors, and what looked like chrome helmets. It was a bit Marvel-like, but was an eye-catching intro, that my son found intriguing as well. I’ll be curious if they use that going forward.
This was an action-packed episode from the get-go, but still managed to tell a story, and throw in some lore. We are introduced to The Mandalorian right-away, as a bounty hunter who doesn’t speak much, and is willing to take out anyone to get to his bounty. He takes down approximately four patrons in a cantina to get the one he wants.
With his bounty in tow, they look for a transport back to The Mando’s ship. Hey! Did you notice Brian Posehn’s cameo!? Oh, bye-bye Brian, well that was fun! At least he got to live out a geek’s dream.
We are again reminded of The Mandalorian’s callous nature aboard his ship, when his bounty mentions wanting to get home to the family for Life Day, and Mando replies, “probably not,” and freezes him in carbon.
Next, we meet Carl Weathers character, Greef Carga. This is who The Mandalorian goes to in order to turn in his bounties, as well as accept bounties. After complaining about pay not covering the cost of gas these days, Greef mentions there is one other bounty, but it must be face to face.
The Bounty
From here we are taken to what looks like an old Imperial hold-out (this is after the movie Return of the Jedi, and the fall of the Empire), where we meet Werner Herzog’s character. I am not sure we get his name, but he seems to be an Imperial sympathizer.
Doctor Pershing (played by Omid Abtahi) is also in this scene, and while he and Werner Herzog’s character both want this bounty, the Doctor absolutely wants the bounty brought in alive, while Herzog says that “proof of termination is also acceptable.” I’m curious how this disagreement might play out.
After getting a down payment in beskar (also known as Mandalorian Iron), which is what Mandalorians fashion their armor from, our Mando heads someplace where there are several other Mandalorians, in a stronghold?
A cool scene cutting from present to flashback ensues, of what I can only imagine is The Mandalorian as a child. All the while the beskar is being molded into a new shoulder armor piece, perhaps by an elder, or leader. They also mention this beskar was gathered during “The Purge,” and that the excess “will sponsor many foundlings!”
Taming of the blurrg
With his new armor piece affixed to his shoulder The Mandalorian heads to the planet of his bounty. He quickly is attacked by two blurrgs (two-legged, stumpy dinosaur-like creatures), and is saved by Kuiil, an Ugnaught character voiced by Nick Nolte.
Kuiil informs our adventurer that to get where he is going, he must ride a blurrg. While struggling to tame a blurrg to ride, The Mandalorian asks for a land speeder, or speeder bike, to which Kuiil challenges him and says “you are a Mandalorian, your ancestors rode the great Mythosaur! Surely you can ride this young foal.”
After taming the blurrg, The Mandalorian is lead to his destination by his new-found friend. He also finds out that Kuiil does not want any payment, he just wants peace back in these parts. Oh, and is “I have spoken,” going to turn out to be the coolest new catch phrase!?
Shoot out at the…
Here is where The Mandalorian sees IG-11 (a bounty droid), who walks straight into where the bounty is kept and starts firing upon everyone. This ruins and sneak attack that The Mandalorian had in mind. We also get a sense that the Mando doesn’t have a great fondness for droids.
What happens next is a gun-fight scene straight out of our geekiest childhood dreams, where The Mandalorian, and IG-11 take on an entire militia. There is also some good comedy here where IG-88 keeps saying he will self-destruct, and The Mandalorian must keep telling him not too.
After hopping on a huge blaster, apprehended from the opposing fighters, The Mandalorian takes out the remaining fighters, and finally makes his way to where the bounty is held.
When IG-11 and Mando uncover the bounty, they are both very surprised to see that it’s… a baby!? (I won’t spoil anymore at this point). Here is when IG-11 says his mission is to terminate the asset. A blaster is fired, and for a split second you aren’t sure what happened, until you see IG-11 fall to the ground from a blaster shot to the head.
Final Thoughts
What an amazing episode this was! It wasn’t perfect by any means, and I am definitely not a critic, but it seems to have started of on a good foot. I was trying to temper my own expectations leading into this, as expectations everywhere else have been extremely high.
But I can say with certainty that I was not one bit let down by this episode. I am intrigued on where it may go from here, and if this baby will be around for the long haul. And what about that awesome IG-11, and Ugnaught character, will we see them again?
What did everyone else think of The Mandalorian?
You can catch new episodes of The Mandalorian every Friday over at Disney+.
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