– Spoiler Review –
A new era of Star Wars arrived with the launch of Disney+, as the first ever live-action TV show premiered: The Mandalorian! In “Chapter 1,” The Mandalorian deep-dives into Star Wars’ Western roots, as we find the intrepid gunslinger off on a dangerous new bounty, getting into bar fights and taming a mount even, while it ends with such a surprising and intriguing development, it’s easy to look past a short, compact overall episode.
Star Wars has always been seeped in Western tropes and imagery, but the deep-dive The Mandalorian’s “Chapter 1” takes, and will likely hold for the rest of the season, is one of its deepest yet. The opening bar brawl, as the Mandalorian narrows in on his target, feels like it could be ripped from some Clint Eastwood Man with No Name movie, while the overly talkative bounty and mostly silent gunslinger might as well be a Man with No Name movie; this might sound like a critique, but if this is the tone/feel they are going for, they’ve absolutely nailed it. Later in the episode, as the Mandalorian narrows in on a high-profile, off-the-books bounty, he learns from an old-timer local how to tame himself a blurrg mount, like something out of many Westerns when a good-natured local takes in the gunslinger to help them on their journey, as the mercenary on their doorstep might be bad, but they’ll be better than the trouble new outsiders have brought to their calm and peaceful way of life. There’s even a giant shootout in the end, with a far happier ending than Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid, completing the Western trifecta to really set viewers into the different tone/outlook the show presents.
The world-building presented in “Chapter 1” is both impressive in scope, scale, and depth, though maybe a little too much for the barely 40-min runtime. As Western as the show leans in its premiere, there’s no mistaking this is Star Wars…there’s an ugly, alien-looking walrus that attacks the Mandalorian in the opening moments for Force’s sake! But the rest of the show is dripping in alien species and familiar droids, all with minor variations and varieties that greatly add depth to the universe, even in ways I feel like some of the recent films haven’t been able. And there’s a lot of terminology thrown viewers’ way, and while some of the context of a scene helps, it didn’t always do enough lifting, like with some of the minutia of the bounty hunting trade (the codes and chits and whatnot) or what importance a Mando’s “signet” has to them or how they get it, is left a bit confusing. “Chapter 1” could’ve benefited from, at the very least, another five minutes to add a little more background to some aspects, as my first viewing felt longer than the show actually was, as I was taking in everything and enjoying my friend’s reactions to things, but the second watch through made it very hard to ignore just how quickly the show is paced for all it’s trying to introduce.
By focusing on things to introduce, the characters get lost a little in the shuffle. The Mandalorian, our Man Without a Name (for now*), is played with swagger and confidence by Pedro Pascal, and while throughout you can tell he’s having fun, it’s in the firefight at the end he seems to be having the most fun, but beyond flashbacks of him as a child and a glimpse of his Mando tribe, there’s not much to connect with quite yet; the final moment of the episode was the first time I felt like there was something to connect to than just the armor and badassery. Carl Weathers as Greef Karga played the part well and I hope we see more of him, otherwise he felt like more of a cameo at the moment but he already feels perfectly suited for the role. Werner Herzog’s Client, adorned with an Imperial necklace and surrounded by his Remnant stormtroopers, was imposing, especially since he approached the Mandalorian, weaponless, to get him to stand down, and I want to learn more about how he got so confident. Emily Swallow plays the Armorer, the female Mandalorian in charge of our main characters’ tribe, but beyond her craftsmanship, we didn’t get to learn much about her, though her actress did drop some extra details on Instagram (via JediNews) and I sincerely hope she gets a bigger role on the show as she’s, right now, the only female character. IG-11, voiced by Taika Waititi, was a blast to see in action, especially for how robotic and stiff his movements were, as it gave him a very distinct flavor, beyond the iconic design as first seen with IG-88. Doctor Pershing, played by Omid Abtahi, didn’t get much to do beyond an introduction, but an interesting detail spotted on his outfit and the target he and the Client send the Mandalorian after points to him having a far bigger part in the show going forward (which I’ll discuss shortly). Nick Nolte’s old-timer Ugnaught Kuiil is easily one of my favorite parts of the episode, as his now famous line, “I have spoken” brought plenty of laughs and already has its own hashtag/emoji on Twitter. I both loved how similar Kuiil looks to Nolte and also found it a little off-putting, which somehow seemed to make him an even better character? Magic. I even enjoyed the chatty bounty at the beginning, though he was easily forgotten by the time the credits rolled. Overall, the cast has lots of men unfortunately and not much to connect with, but there’s promise throughout.
What really hooked me, beyond the excellent world building and commitment to tone, was the episode’s big surprise ending. Part of me almost didn’t want to talk specifically about it because it is such a good and surprising reveal, but it’ll be impossible not to discuss going forward so might as well start now. Between the spoiler review tag at the top of this review, and a warning right now we’re about get extra spoilery, this is your chance to scroll on through.
Still with me? Turns out the Mandalorian’s 50 year old target, the same one IG-11 is after and a boatload of Niktos are protecting, is a Yoda baby!?!?!!!!! That’s right, a new member of Yoda’s species, at 50, and still a bit of a baby…and damn cute at that, as the reveal both felt like one of the bigger surprises in Star Wars cinema for a while (the comics have had some good ones recently) but also the damn cutest one of all time. What would this Imperial Remnant want with a young member of Yoda’s species? Dr. Pershing, as seen with the Client, was discovered to have a Kaminoan marking on his scientist outfit, so could they be trying to clone this young member of Yoda’s species? That opens up other questions, like does the Empire have control of Kamino at the moment and why would they want to clone Yoda’s species? Are they using it to unlock longer life, maybe somehow tying into Palpatine’s Contingency/how he’s able to be in The Rise of Skywalker? Or is it far less sinister than that? Considering the reward for the bounty is a giant stash of Beskar, the metal the Mandalorians make their vaunted armor from, will the Mandalorian turn in the baby or will he protect it, which seems like a possibility due to him destroying IG-11 before it could kill the baby? I think character development will be coming much sooner than later, considering the choice ahead of him. Like I said, this opens so many questions, and it’s such an interesting surprise, it distracted me from my critiques of the episode. Of course the biggest remaining question is: will we finally, actually get a name for Yoda’s species?
Here are a few other things:
- Earlier this year, the western influences on the saga were exceptionally felt in Age of Rebellion – Boba Fett #1, where I finally got behind some of the hype for the masked character for the first time since I was a young kid due to how the issue’s art did most of the talking for the character. Both the comic and “Chapter 1” feel similar in some respects, though I imagine the Venn diagram of readers of the comic and watchers of The Mandalorian isn’t very large.
- *Curious to learn the Mandalorian’s name? I guess Pascal dropped it in an interview with ScreenSlam (at the 2:30 mark): Din Jarrin (spelling unconfirmed at the moment). So put all your theories to bed now, folks.
- Enjoy Ludwig Göransson’s soundtrack already? I know I am, and now you can listen to it separately on Spotify, where each new episode’s music will land after the episode is available.
- Don’t forget, “Chapter 2” drops 11/15 and subsequent episodes drop every Friday, besides December 18, a Wednesday, as it’s to avoid the indie movie release of The Rise of Skywalker. The final episode of season one drops December 27.
- Ming-Na Wen will be playing Fennec Shand later in the season, read up more about her in Vanity Fair’s post.
- Dave Filoni directed this first episode and he chatted about the show on the Star Wars Show!
- The end credits including concept art from the series? *CHEF’S KISSES*
- Season Two is definitely on its way, as Jon Favreau posted a picture of the Mando’s helmet from the set.
“Chapter 1” is a solid, genuinely entertaining premiere for The Mandalorian, proving Star Wars production values can survive and thrive on the small screen.
+ It doesn’t get more Western than this…
+ …but it’s still Star Wars!
+ Um, that holy what the Force twist!
– Packs a lot in a short runtime, leaving some aspects by the side
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
THE MANDALORIAN REVIEWS
Season One: Chapter 2 – The Child | Chapter 3 – The Sin | Chapter 4 – The Sanctuary | Chapter 5 – The Gunslinger | Chapter 6 – The Prisoner | Chapter 7 – The Reckoning | Chapter 8 – Redemption