Mandalorian season 1 (2019) & 2 (2020)

2021.11.23
Got Disney+ yesterday, mostly to try Mandalorian. First episode OK; remaining hopeful.

2021.11.27

Up to #3 and it is still light and fun, but minutes and hours afterwards I start having those "hey, wait a minute..." fridge moments.

* minor spoilers *

The world building is fun, but they are really piling high the little bits of fan service. I do like the disgraced Imperials dirty uniforms, that kind of detail adds story instead of just service.

In episode #2 I can kind of forgive the whole Jawa hijinks, but in episode #3 "The Mandalorian" (I hope they just give him a name soon) goes from hardened bounty hunter to... what? Is this the first time he's ever handed over an innocent? Or a child?

2021.12.29

I've been hearing "Baby Yoda" for years now while avoiding spoilers - what was I supposed to think? I've also long heard the lore the Mandalorians are basically extinct so putting these together I thought this was some prequel to Yoda's youth. After a while the evidence piles up that this must be the "present" taking place soon after the destruction of the two Death Stars.

Summary: light adventure in a fantasy universe; original Star Wars fans must at least check it out. It's a rather violent but simple kids show that doesn't try and get dark and edgy for modern audiences. It's entertaining, and you sometimes feel like you're back in the Star Wars universe, which hasn't happened since at least the second trilogy.

I liked it. There's a line between exploitation and deep lore, and this did a fairly good job of keeping it meaningful. I'm watching the making of, and there's at least one guy there who really gets Star Wars, and it's like he's the soul of the show, maybe even more than the producer.

I've heard of internal struggles at Disney between the producers. Now I can finally find out more about that, and see what my favorite reviewers think.

*** TOTAL SPOILERS ***

* if you were a fan of Star Wars especially don't ruin season 2 *

2022.02.20

Finally got around to watching the making of for seasons 1 & 2. Seeing how much care and effort was put into it really elevated for me. At first I just thought it was so much fan service on top of fan service, but I appreciate now how much more it is than just that. The ending of season two only gets better the more I think about it, and see how much it meant to everyone. Watching people react on YouTube helped me realize how much it meant to me - I'm so used to being cynical about everything I didn't let it get to me at first.

It goes without saying but let it be written: I got more Star Wars out of any one episode of the Mandolarian than all of the 2010s Star Wars movies combined. And at the end of season two, it felt like going back to the source.

Midnight Mass (2021)

2021.11.23

Forgot to note this one. Netflix says I watched it 11/16/21 - 11/18/21.

It started slow, with lots of world and character building, then picked up speed somewhere in the middle of its 7 episodes. It did enough smart and interesting things to get me to binge it, instead of the preferred 1 a day.

At the end, there's not much to think about or remember, and it faded from memory so quickly I forgot to note it. But for a little while it reminded me of The Serpent and the Rainbow and The Seventh Sign. It was well done so I think it's worth seeing.

Squid Game (2021)

Watched this a few weeks ago. Started strong; totally shits the bed at the end.

* spoilers *

There are setups in the beginning that are not only not paid off at the end - they are horribly betrayed. One of the biggest motivations at the start is our hero is a deadbeat dad, and he'll do anything to fix it. By the end of the story he has different goals, and doesn't even seem to remember he has a kid who needs him.

The twist at the end was a terrible choice. It totally invalidates the old man character, and a lot of sacrifices made by various characters. I plodded through the end, and quickly forgot about this series.

I hear now remakes are coming. With this ending to build off, it will almost certainly be bad.