Star Wars site synopsis:

After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

list of episodes: 8

Exclusive on Disney+ (regions like UK and others will be able to watch Disney+ on March 31)

Created by Jon Favreau

Merchandise! The quest for more money!

Star Was is  well-known franchise that has spawned many fans from its movies. With its introduction in the movies in 1977 and created by George Lucas. George was involved with all the movies and until he decided to end it all with a total of six movies. Episode III would be the last movie he would work and it would be the conclusion of the prequels which ties everything we needed to know about he antagonist Darth Vader’s past. However despite the series being popular in movies, Star Wars would be expanded in different types of media such as books, TV shows and video games. Star Wars was handled carefully and many fans praised the franchise as treasure. However, in 2012, George Lucas sold the rights of Star Wars to Disney and Disney would later capitalize the franchise with movies, TV shows and merchandising. In the past, George mentioned that he was planning to do nine movies instead of six but he later changed his mind and stuck with six. Now that Disney owns Star Wars, they would later do the remaining three movies. However, the way Disney handled Star Wars projects was both a double edged sword because that also meant that they would take advantage of a title and use it monetary purpose instead of focusing on quality and sometime they would even cut projects completely. Movies like The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker has had its fear of mixed reviews from new and old fans. They also tried to do more spin-offs such as movies like Rogue One and Solo and do TV animation series like Rebels and Resistance. Overall, Disney had Star Wars and they wanted to spread out in media more than just focusing on movies. When Disney announced Disney+, a streaming service that allowed fans to stream Disney content, they announced they were going to be streaming a Star Wars TV show called The Mandalorian. Based on the trailers, this show would focus on a mysterious bounty hunter and this story would be told in a TV series exclusively on Disney+.

In this review, I am going to be talking about the first season of The Mandalorian without spoiling the show.

Plot: This is the way… not the Jedi nor the Sith.

Taking place after the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and before Episode VII: The Force Awakens, a bounty hunter called the Mandalorian, also known as Mando, goes across the galaxy and collect bounties. While looking for higher payment, he takes a job from a high paying client to retrieve an unknown alien. After fighting through waves of security, the Mandalorian finds the alien and it turns out it’s a baby in which it also nicknamed “the Child” (the internet calls him Baby Yoda). After seeing how much this client is desperately trying to get this child, Mando decides rather than giving the baby to the buyer, he decides to betray him and protect the baby. With his expertise in armor and weapons, the Mando must survive the galaxy from other bounty hunters who wants the Child.

Characters: A bounty hunter and a baby

The main character is the bounty hunter called the Mandalorian. Mando is a character who strictly follows the code of the bounty hunters and always has a serious appearance. Despite his intimidating appearance, he is also caring and looks out for his partners and people that needs help. The Child is a baby who comes from the same species from Yoda. Even though this Child is a baby, it sometimes act very mischievous and toys around with Mando and irritate him. Throughout the episodes, Mando and the Child encounters many characters that either poses a threat or even helps them out. We have the ex-shock trooper Cara Dune, Greef Karga who is the leader of the bounty hunters, the robot bounty hunter IG-11 who is ready to fight and die and the helpful farmer named Kuiil.

Review: A new original story that shows that being a bounty hunter is cooler than a Jedi and Sith

For eight episodes and consisting over 40 minutes each episode, was The Mandalorian a good Star Wars show? In my opinion, this show was a ride that I wish it didn’t end. The Mandalorian takes something that already exists and create something new. When I saw this show, I was reminded by how much I enjoyed the movie Rogue One. To go further into details what I mean, I want to say that The Mandalorian tells a story that it can rely on the Star Wars universe without having leaning heavily on already existing characters and story elements. For example, in Rouge One, this movie introduced new characters and taking place in a crucial story plot from Episode III and IV. The movie brought up interesting characters were different and it showed that they were part of the Star Wars universe without sticking around. In the trilogy sequels we got new characters like Rey, Finn and Poe which was a nice way to introduce the trilogy but the way the movies handled them made it feel like they needed to stick around with the classics. Long story short, the Sequel Trilogy heavily depended on already existing key elements from the original trilogy. In The Mandalorian, the story feels opened and free where even though they do mentioned the Original Trilogy, they can talk about moments from the past and be its own original story. So overall, in story-wise, The Mandalorian offers a new story that anyone familiar with the classic Star Wars can jump right in. The pacing in the show can be slow but it is pretty nice because we get to see Mando and the Child interact with other during situations. We see the cold, harden warrior Mando and see him transform into a protector of the innocence. I am not going to spoil the last episodes but the remaining episodes does show that the next season will have an interesting story involving the Child and the next odyssey for Mando. The characters are a fun bunch and I really like Mando interacting with them. With the mask on, I can tell by Mando’s voice and tone whenever he gets annoyed by people he is hired or the enemies he faces. Besides Mando, I really like IG and Cara because they both are awesome fighters and they have their quirky personality. This is my opinion, I really like the background music whenever the show begins, transitions and ending. The music has a tribal like background music in which it feels like a story about a warrior. The credits of the show also reveals concept art of the episodes and we get see how was the episode planned.

Conclusion: An fun addition or a not needed add on story?

The Mandalorian is a brand Star Wars story in which we get to see the adventures of bounty hunter who goes from capturing people for money to saving a life and earning money to better fit himself against dangerous hunters who hide from the New Republic. Even though you would have to pay to have Disney+, The Mandalorian is a show in which I highly recommend if you like Star Wars. The show is only eight episodes but they are lengthy so can sit and enjoy some intergalactic adventures. Despite the showing taking place between the original and sequel trilogy, the show does its best to remain its own original story and use knowledge from the Star Wars universe. Like I mentioned about the characters, the characters are fun to watch and interact in each episodes. I really like the character development of Mando and seeing him change from episode 1 to episode 8 makes me want to see more adventures with him in season 2. Season 1 is a slow season but it helps introduce characters and explore stories in which you do wouldn’t see in a story between light and dark. Thanks to Jon Favreau, he took a character like Mando show us the struggle of a lone warrior who has new goal in which he must save a life than take one away.

To those who has Disney+, what do you think about the show’s season 1? Are you looking forward to season 2?