Over the course of its two seasons (so far),The Mandalorianhas become one of the hottest television shows out there. The series marked the first time thatStar Warsdelved into the realm of live-action TV shows, and the results have been better than imagined. Grogu (or Baby Yoda if you prefer) is one of the most recognizable faces of the entire Disney-owned era of the franchise, and the central Mandalorian, Din Djarin, has become a fan favorite as one of the coolest characters to come from theStar Warsuniverse. The series’ success has paved the way fora slew of new live-actionStar Warsshowsthat continue to come down the pipeline, and with season three premiering in February things are only looking up for this series.
Star Warshas a lengthy history of great content. Whether it be the original trilogy, the prequels, the various animated series, or spin-off movies, there’s an array of content forStar Warsfans to love and watch endlessly. However, amongst all that material nothing has matched the quality of the original trio of films,A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, andReturn of the Jedi. While some may argue that eitherRogue Oneor theClone Warsanimated series have come the closest,The Mandalorianis the property that has best upheld the legacy of the original trilogy the best and come closest to matching its quality. Here’s how:
A Fresh and Simple Story
At its core, the story ofThe Mandalorianis about as straightforward asStar Warscan get. It’s a man with a tough exterior doing his best to take care of a child. With the exception of the pilot episode, every episode of this series has Din doing something new that he believes will be best for Grogu. Whether it be fighting a Krayt Dragon at the beginning of season two, or helping a small village fend off a group of raiders mid-way through season one, every chapter ofThe Mandalorianis ultimately about Din protecting Grogu. The simplicity of that story keeps the series from getting overly complicated or bogged down in the complex lore ofStar Wars. It helps the show to maintain its accessibility to mainstream audiences, as they do not need to be familiar with the stories of the overall universe to enjoyThe Mandalorian.
On top of that, the series presents a new story for the universe. Unlike everyStar Warsfilm, the basis ofThe Mandalorianis not defined by its relationship to the original films.All nine films in the Skywalker Saga, as incredible as some of them are, are intensely focused on continuing the same story. Whether it be Anakin’s fall to the dark side in the prequels, Luke’s defeat of the Sith in the original trilogy, or Rey embracing the family legacy in the sequel trilogy, all of those stories tie the Skywalker Saga together in an interesting but somewhat restrictive manner. Even the likes ofRogue OneandSoloare pitched entirely by their proximity to the original trilogy.The Mandaloriandoesn’t bother with all of that. It’s a new story set in a new time period, and it is primarily focused on entirely new characters. Because of that, the series is free to tell whatever story it wants, which dramatically expands the horizons of whatStar Warscan be.
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Episodic Approach to the Universe
The Boys’ showrunnerEric Kripke recently gave his thoughtson the current era of streaming by stating that shows still need to give the audience a reason to watch each week, rather than leaving all the good stuff until the end of the season.The Mandalorianis a series that puts this into practice by taking a very episodic approach to its story, with each chapter having its own conclusive story to tell. By doing this, the series emulates the serialized television of years past by providing a new mini-adventure for Din and Grogu every week. With each season of theStar Warsshow consisting of eight episodes, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were smart enough to be consistent in ensuring every episode ofThe Mandalorianalso works as a standalone story.
By taking this episodic approach toStar Wars,The Mandalorianis able to explore many different avenues of the universe. There are a few episodes in each season that focus on the overall mystery of why the villainous Moff Gideon and his Empire loyalists are so keen on capturing Grogu, but then there are also individual one-off adventures that take the story to other corners of the galaxy. Throughout the two seasons, fans have been treated to Western-inspired episodes on Tatooine, a prison break thriller, a Jedi-centric episode that introduced Ahsoka Tano into live-action, and many other exciting and refreshing stories for theStar Warscanon. This adventure-of-the-week approach is one that Filoni already perfected throughhis animated showsThe Clone WarsandStar Wars Rebels, and bringing it into live-action withThe Mandalorianhas really shown the strength of the model and givenStar Warsfans something to look forward to every week.
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Returning the Franchise to its Roots
The largest differentiating factor betweenThe Mandalorianand films likeThe Force Awakens, is that the Disney+ series is intentionally not copying what has come before. While the sequel trilogy took George Lucas’scomments thatStar Warsrhymesto heart, that approach ultimately led to the films not really going anywhere new with the franchise. However, withThe Mandalorian, Favreau has stated that the creative team is less honed in on re-emulating whatStar Warshas been, and instead is taking inspiration from the same creative sources that influenced Lucas initially.He said“I like the image of the Mandalorian because it really hearkened back to the Westerns and samurai films that had originally influenced Lucas. It’s a deconstructed version of Clint Eastwood in ‘The Man with No Name.’ That’s a great, mysterious, fun character to see the world through.”
This approach to telling the story ofThe Mandalorianhas ensured that the show has a standout presence in the myriad ofStar Warsmaterial. The series works so well because it’s not trying so hard to beStar Wars, and instead it has taken what has made the franchise work in the past and applying those ideas in new ways. Whereas the sequel trilogy was doing its best to recreate the energy and atmosphere ofStar Wars,The Mandalorianis instead pulling directly from the same creative sources as the original trilogy. The series uses the same ingredients to create something new, rather than trying to follow the recipe and recreate the dish altogether. The result is that the show is able to simultaneously exist in its own creative space while still having similar flavors to the original trilogy.
