The Mandalorian: Chapter 1 Review - Welcome to a New Star Wars

The Mandalorian: Chapter 1 Review - Welcome to a New Star Wars

Initial Air Date: November 12th, 2019

Directed by: Dave Filoni

**The episode reviews will contain no major spoilers, but be warned that I will be dropping little plot details and moments throughout the review. You have been warned.**

The Review

When Disney+ was first announced, fans were not completely ready to give their lives over to Disney even more than they already had. While the idea of being able to see all your favorite Disney shows and movies was enticing, there wasn't an "it-factor" that had fans clamoring to sign up for the service.

Enter the Mandalorian. 

Disney was quick to announce an all-new, live-action show produced and overseen by Marvel legend Jon Favreau. The story was to take place a few years after Return of the Jedi and was set to explore the adventures of a rogue bounty hunter. Immediately, and especially after the first few trailers, fans immediately bought into the streaming service. With the launch of Disney+ on November 12th came the first episode of the Mandalorian.

And while the episode was not necessarily everything that I had expected, which admittedly caught me off guard for a moment, it was truly a fulfilling experience as a Star Wars fan.

Right away, the episode establishes the silent warrior that everyone refers to as Mando. And right away, we begin to see why Mandalorians are so revered throughout the galaxy. There is an action set piece that takes place relatively close to the beginning of the episode where Mando gets to showcase all of his tricks and skills. And through simple body language and subtle acting, Pedro Pascal is able to reveal little bits and pieces about the Mandalorian's character.

As we journey through the episode, we begin to see glimpses of a world post-Return of the Jedi, where the Empire has fallen and the New Republic is beginning to take shape. Mando journeys across a couple different locations where we're able to see what life is like outside of the Core worlds that we mostly experience in the feature films. Dave Filoni is able to bring his Clone Wars sensibilities to the episode and showcase some new and interesting planets.

The episode though is not without fault, in my opinion. There are two side characters that appear towards the end of the episode, one an alien and the other a droid. Both were absolutely fantastic (one voiced by a rather notable person in the entertainment world). But there was one towards the beginning that felt extremely un-Star Wars. He talked in a semi-Southern accent that felt like he was a person from Earth pulled directly from the US onto a Star Wars set. That was jarring. Some of the lines he spoke as well were rather prequel-esque.

There is also the runtime. Thirty minutes is not a long time in terms of television. Granted, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a thirty minute episode. Absolutely not. But with such a short run-time, there's absolutely no time to waste if the scene does not service the story or the characters. And I have to say that there are some scenes that feel that they are there to pad an already short running time. There are moments in the show that are quick, and build tension quite nicely, but there are moments that release all of it. It creates this wavering feeling of being unsatisfied. 

However, overall, the first episode did exactly what it needed to. It introduced to a different side of Star Wars that we will be exploring for the next couple months. The Mandalorian is an intriguing character, and ESPECIALLY with the twist at the end of the show, I'm excited to see what new directions Favreau and his team decide to take the character.