The Mandalorian Season 1 Review - Let’s Be Honest, You Came to See Baby Yoda

For those of you who have somehow avoided the shadow of Baby Yoda that has been cast over this planet since November 8th, 2019, The Mandalorian is the first of the big Disney + original tv shows to be released. It follows a certain Mandalorian, a warrior creed that never takes off their masks, in his adventures across the outer-rim of the galaxy. The eight-episode story begins when the Mandalorian, called Mando by what seems to be the entire universe, accepts a special bounty from a vestige faction of the empire to capture some mystery character. His target, of course, turns out to be Baby Yoda, referred to as “The Child”. Baby Yoda, being the Baby Yoda he or she is, is so cute that the Mandalorian decides that he can’t let the empire do whatever have it so he goes into hiding with that adorable little green merchandise-seller. Along the way the Mandalorian meets many different characters and does various odd jobs before finally taking his original employer head-on in hopes of finally allowing space Kermit baby to live in peace.

The production design is excellent. Despite it being a TV show, you can tell that Disney spared no expense in making it and that they wanted it to be as enjoyable as possible. It also really feels like something new, this isn’t some formulaic money-maker that Disney will be churning out for us to mindlessly consume. You can tell that actual thought and care went into everything, they’re not just saying “Oh, look! Star Wars!” and expecting that to be enough.

The season itself, because it’s structured as a western where Mando pops into a place does some stuff and leaves, really only has four essential episodes to watch, but every episode is a fun ride and worth your watch even if they do seem a bit inconsequential. That inconsequential-ness is most apparent in the finale, which struggles from the empire not feeling like that much of a threat, especially since they unceremoniously kill off who seemed to be the main bad guy (Werner Herzog) and switching him out for a much less intimidating Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). At least the fact that he survived the final fight and now has a darksaber might make him a worthy adversary in the next season which has already been confirmed. 

The acting ranges from great to kinda forgettable. Pedro Pascal is terrific as the Mandalorian and the amount he manages to express while not talking and wearing an unresponsive mask is astounding. Baby Yoda is terrific as always, he or she’s yet to turn in a bad performance. Taika Waititi is fantastic as the droid IG-11, although he’s not allowed to Waititi out quite enough. Carl Weathers is fine as the bounty hunter contractor, he doesn’t really do anything extra-ordinary, and that kinda follows for the rest of the cast too. None of them are particularly engaging but they’re fine enough and don’t embarrass themselves.

The greatest strength of the Mandalorian is that it represents what, at least personally speaking, the Star Wars franchise should be now. The Skywalker Saga never really needed to be more than just the original and perhaps a film or two explaining Anakin Skywalker. What Star Wars should be is a universe, with an endless amount of stories able to be told there. The Mandalorian indicates that this is where the franchise is going, and for this reason it should be watched.

In the end, the Mandalorian isn’t something to get Disney + over, but it’s enjoyable and engaging and it has Baby Yoda, so it’s definitely worth your time.

P.S. The opening scene for the finale was the strangest, most bizarre thing ever and not at all what I expected to begin a season finale. That being said, it was also the funniest scene yet to be seen in the Star Wars universe.

Personal Rating: 8/10

Entertainment: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ☆

Depth: ⭐️⭐️ ☆ ☆ ☆

Comedy: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ☆ ☆

Tension: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ☆

Acting: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ☆ ☆

Directing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ☆

Cuteness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️