This Is The Way
The Mandalorian has done what the past Star Wars live-action media has failed to do: unite the fandom! “The Mandalorian”, now streaming on Disney+, has amassed a following for a variety of reasons. One of the most persuasive and adorable reasons is “The Child”, officially dubbed “Baby Yoda” (not actually Yoda), by fans and critics alike. Here are some other things that make the Mandalorian so great (and some that don’t).
The “nitty-gritty” space aspect of The Mandalorian is one of the things that makes it so amazing. In the movies, they focus on the big spaceships and unbelievably huge structures to make an extravagant scene. While this isn’t a bad thing, the Mandalorian focuses on the backstreets and alleyways, “the little guy”, if you will. Luke Skywalker may have been the savior of the galaxy, but this guy is just your friendly neighborhood Mandalorian. He goes from planet to planet with his trusty sidekick, “Baby Yoda”, and fights crime or occasionally takes on another bounty. Remember, He can bring you in warm, or he can bring you in cold.
Another aspect of “The Mandalorian” that makes it a great show is the amount of time it gets to show off its assets and different props. The Mandalorian boasts a $120 million budget for season 1 and the different ways that they used that budget are incredible. Instead of using a green screen to fill in all the scenery, they surround the actors with large LG LED screens that fill the background instead of editing in a landscape later. It’s more authentic and it’s easier for actors to perform method acting. It also means they can have a multitude of directors which results in a very diverse story which they pull off really well.
One thing, however, is that it doesn’t continue the original saga of star wars in a major way. Does it extend the story and add to the lore, yes. But does it continue the Skywalker saga in a major way? No. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but we’ve had so much other media that’s similar in the sense of expanding the universe that it would be nice to get a little something that isn’t a movie but still adds on to the Skywalker saga and pertains to the main characters.
Another thing that would have been really cool to see would be a stronger visual aspect. Although it was a western-style, it could have had a more space-based aspect to it considering it is Star Wars. If you compare to the movies, the movies have amazing scenes such as the scene in “The Last Jedi” when Vice Admiral Holdo sacrifices herself for the resistance by going lightspeed through the First Order fleet. That scene was done with a strong visual appeal. Although the Mandalorian isn’t on par with the movies, it still pulls off some amazing scenes and some amazing characters.
Can we all just take a second to appreciate Baby Yoda? Done? Well, Baby Yoda is one of the cutest things to grace the internet. But there is an underlying meaning that some people don’t realize. Besides being cute yet deadly at the same time, the fact that they are exploring a possible relative of one of the most mysterious characters of Star Wars, Yoda, means that they are going to delve into the more embedded lore of Star Wars. We may finally find out the name of Yoda’s species and where he was born! All in all, The Mandalorian has way more pros than cons and is an all-around spectacular show. The only thing left to do is wait for season 2 which will hopefully answer any and all questions from the season prior.
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Humza Maqsood is a Senior at Ames High. He swims for Ames High and likes to play table tennis for fun. He really enjoys watching movies and is also a member...
