Spoilers The Mandalorian season 2 discussion

[Noname Given]

I liked it. It continues to be a Western with science fiction elements (which I like here). Also happy they got another floating
baby cart for baby yoda.

I also like the on screen world-building of the post-Empire era that they continue to toss in.

 

[CorporalClegg]

bartender from the slavers...but when he walked into the bar earlier he just called him "Weequay", like he never bothered to learn his name. Not a direct contradiction or anything but it does seem a little off. Like he's garnishing the facts to make himself look a little more heroic than he really was.

Nah.

Names don't really have a place in the show. Thematically speaking, they're almost treated like they're residuary. Mando is just Mando. "Din Djarin" just sort of hangs in the ether. Baby Yoda is just The Child. Swallow didn't have a name either. She was just The Armorer. Olyphant isn't so much Cobb as he's just The Marshall. So on and so forth.

 

[JD]

But on the other hand we do have Cara Dune, Greef Karga, and Dr. Pershing.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I didn't people don't have names. I said their names were residue. This is most obvious with Mando, be he's the main character in the show. But it's also true with the others - this is emphasized in Gideon's speech (or how he addresses them) to them at the beginning of last year's finale.

I suggested in last year's thread that I see the series as a meta-contextual celebration of all the people that make Star Wars. That endless list of names people either glance over or literally turn their backs to as they walk out the theatre.

 

[fireproof78]

There are so many variables at play in real life, I can't go so far as "of course." Would fewer ppl be watching Mando if there were fewer callbacks and a certain character didn't appear at the end? It's dubious.

I'm glad I'm not as much of a SW fan, b/c a lot of the fanwankery goes over my head. Gus Fring's black lightsaber, I didn't even notice it was special till I started reading about it here months ago.

There are a lot of variables, but having been a SW fan for a long time, and having indulge in the fan wank side of things I am fully aware that it can go too far. I know it can go too far.

Do I think that if there were fewer call backs people wouldn't watch? No, I think they would keep watching.

I also like the on screen world-building of the post-Empire era that they continue to toss in.

That is a great positive to this series.

 

[Reverend]

Nah.

Names don't really have a place in the show. Thematically speaking, they're almost treated like they're residuary. Mando is just Mando. "Din Djarin" just sort of hangs in the ether. Baby Yoda is just The Child. Swallow didn't have a name either. She was just The Armorer. Olyphant isn't so much Cobb as he's just The Marshall. So on and so forth.

And "Cobb Vanth" is what exactly if not a name..? Gor Koresh? Fennec Shand? Moff Gideon? Cara Dune? Greef Karga? Kuiil? Xi'an? This argument doesn't hold much water.

 

[Shawnster]

What on screen evidence supports the idea Weequay is a species name and not an individual's name?

Conveniently equipped, I would say. I've read all the books with Fett's coming back and it still doesn't make sense to me. Largely because his escaping makes the Sarlacc less of a threat. It's no longer a danger but a minor inconvenience to people.

Sorry, this doesn't track. This is like saying a lion, grizzly bear, or a great white shark or orca whale is not a big threat because a fully armed and armored person with a jet pack didn't get eaten.

Fett wasn't supposed to fall into the sarlaac. Unarmed humans with no protection were being fed to the sarlaac. Soft, squishy humans unable to defend themselves.

Turtles in their shell are harder to eat than turtles out of the shell.

 

[CorporalClegg]

And "Cobb Vanth" is what exactly if not a name..? Gor Koresh? Fennec Shand? Moff Gideon? Cara Dune? Greef Karga? Kuiil? Xi'an? This argument doesn't hold much water.

Where did I say there weren't names? I said they don't have a [thematic] place. But since anything beyond the most obvious and literal seems to be problematic, I'll instead say names don't matter. Because they don't. And most of those people you listed have a descriptive moniker that is used way more frequently than their names: 'Shocktrooper', 'The Ugnaught', etc. Now feel free to go back and watch last season and take count.

Then there's Mayfield's crew. And while you're counting, you can ponder why they might be different.

 

[fireproof78]

What on screen evidence supports the idea Weequay is a species name and not an individual's name?



Sorry, this doesn't track. This is like saying a lion, grizzly bear, or a great white shark or orca whale is not a big threat because a fully armed and armored person with a jet pack didn't get eaten.

Fett wasn't supposed to fall into the sarlaac. Unarmed humans with no protection were being fed to the sarlaac. Soft, squishy humans unable to defend themselves.

Turtles in their shell are harder to eat than turtles out of the shell.

At the risk of sounding pentandic, I don't watch SW for completely realistic portrayals. As such, his survival undoes the drama of the scene, undoes the danger of the sarlacc and is frustrating to me. As I apparently have to repeat multiple times. This isn't unique to the Mandalorian-I hated it since I read it first.

Regardless, his survival was dubious at best, and him showing back is not additive and is detractive for me as a viewer, especially since we already have a helmet obsessed protagonist.

 

[kirk55555]

I loved the episode. The story was good, all the little references were neat without taking away from the story, and I lost it seeing Boba Fett. I really hope we get more of him this season.

 

[Kor]

7/10 from me. Solid, well-told story, but for the S2 opener I was hoping for something a little different than the "mysterious stranger rides in and saves the town" trope yet again.

Kor

 

[Beckerjr]

I'm with Kor. Its well made with a great action finale but this episode feels like a script left over from season 1.

Also can we please just put Tatooine into the idea/plot drawer for like the next decade or so. Go somewhere new guys.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I think it's kind of funny that they have Amy Sedaris as the mechanic in a role that requires her to act so unlike Amy Sedaris. Like Gina Carano is a lot like Gina Carano, Bill Burr is a lot like Bill Burr but Amy is so different from her normal self. I mean, she's fine, it's just interesting casting.

I liked seeing the Fett missile in action. If it is Fett, I'm curious how he got divorced from his armor.

 

[Kor]

I've probably said it before, but I really like the fact that The Mandalorian is not heavily serialized.

To me, more episodic television has better re-watch value than highly serialized shows. I can sit down and watch a standalone episode with a satisfying narrative, and not feel compelled to plow through the whole season to go through the rest of a longer narrative wherein each episode simply serves the purpose of forcibly getting to the next one in an hour of frenzied action and not actually telling a solid story in and of itself. And when the end credits roll, and I ask myself what just happened during the episode, all I can really come up with is "we got to the next episode." See Agents of SHIELD, Star Trek: Discovery, and lots of other shows from recent years for examples of that.

Kor

 

[valkyrie013]

Just realized.. He's knight rider.. Going from town to town helping out if needed.
I liked this episode, nicely paced, Tim was excellent. Glad he was a good guy that can come back.
So the Kryatt is a sand worm.. The spice must flow!
I like this format where there's an overarching story but each episode is more standalone I hope we don't have to wait the rest of the season to see moff Gideon

 

[Turtletrekker]

See Agents of SHIELD, Star Trek: Discovery, and lots of other shows from recent years for examples of that.

Kor

Two of my top five favorite shows for the last decade. I will happily see them over and over again.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I'm with Kor. Its well made with a great action finale but this episode feels like a script left over from season 1.

How do you figure? The entire conceit of the episode is working together with others, even those you don't want to - which is something Mando learns over the course of season 1.

 

[Timby]

Five goddamn posts in a row

We have a multi-quote function here. I strongly suggest you use it. Next time it's a warning for spamming.

 

[JD]

Just realized.. He's knight rider.. Going from town to town helping out if needed.

I had a similar thought, although I never really thought of Knight Rider as one of those kinds of shows. I was thinking more of the solo man on the road shows like The Fugitive or The Incredible Hulk. I don't really think of Knight Rider as one of those shows since he was part of a team, and was often being sent on specific missions by his boss, rather than just randomly wandering into situations like Mando, David Banner, and Richard Kimble.

 

[Reverend]

It really depends. One's first exposure to that (or any) format/sub-genre is bound to be the go-to whenever it's encountered again.

Personally though (as a child of the late 80's/early 90's), I think 'Incredible Hulk' would be the first thing that would come to mind ('The Littlest Hobo' is a close second.) Most of what I remember of 'Knight Rider' involved it having a cool high tech talking car with leather jacket wearing sidekick. For whatever reason, the episode-to-episode plot structure never stuck in my mind. Similarly, when I think of 'The A-Team', I mostly remember the van, the team and the crazy contraction they come up with in the third act. I suppose the reason I more readily associate it with 'Incredible Hulk' is because it's pretty much spelled out in the title sequence and the whole sad walking away thing.