Star Wars: Go home (M)Ando(r), the Zillo Beast Is Back (Again!)

[Darryk]

19 minutes ago, Kalnestk Oblast said:

He almost got killed by random scavengers. He then blundered into a trap and used like none of his weapons against a big robot droid, and then couldn't escape by himself. And then he just walked into the water off a cliff. Compare this behavior to his ninja skills on the prison ship or his ability to fight hordes of dorks in the first ep, or how bad-ass he was in Boba Fett and he seems pretty weaksauce. 

Hell, the whole plot about resurrecting IG-11 was incredibly stupid. Instead of requiring a super sturdy droid of awesomeness he just rolled the dice with an astromech, and that was...fine. What was the point of any of that plot to go to Nevarro? And his route is 'go to Nevarro to try and get droid, go to Mandalore because...uh, go to Tattoine to get part, go back to Mandalore again'. So dumb.

Yup he's been made into a loser so Disney can finally turn this into the Baby Yoda show. He's completely lost his coolness factor

The only character I like right now is Bo-Katan. She seems to have become the new badass of the show and I like Katee Sackhoff.

[Corvinus85]

48 minutes ago, Kalnestk Oblast said:

He almost got killed by random scavengers. He then blundered into a trap and used like none of his weapons against a big robot droid, and then couldn't escape by himself. And then he just walked into the water off a cliff. Compare this behavior to his ninja skills on the prison ship or his ability to fight hordes of dorks in the first ep, or how bad-ass he was in Boba Fett and he seems pretty weaksauce. 

Seriously?

Spoiler

1) He defeated 3-4 primitive, but powerful looking beings in close-quarter that he had never encountered before. Hardly qualifies as almost being killed. Bo-Katan did slightly better than him, but she was ready. Din does have a problem with wielding the Darksaber but that's probably part of his development as a character.

2) No one, maybe not even a Jedi could have seen that trap. I mean look. Judging by the number of Mandalorian helmets in that thing's lair, I think a fair number were successfully trapped by it. Would Bo-Katan had seen that coming?

3) Once he got caught, he was done. The thing had him tight and injected him with some drug. He could not possibly use his own weapons and not long after they were taken away.

4) Yes, the walk off the ledge in the water was a bit silly. But I maintain that his focus was on reciting his creed and was in awe of the moment. Plus the water was dark.

So I really fail to see the incompetence here.

Edited for spoilers

[dbunting]

1 hour ago, Kalnestk Oblast said:

Hell, the whole plot about resurrecting IG-11 was incredibly stupid. 

This I totally agree with, and the funny thing is, where would IG-11 sit on the new ship? 

[Rhom]

14 minutes ago, dbunting said:

This I totally agree with, and the funny thing is, where would IG-11 sit on the new ship? 

Strap him to the wing.

[dbunting]

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

Strap him to the wing.

I hear Flex Seal makes some amazing products

[HokieStone]

On 3/9/2023 at 2:43 AM, Denvek said:

Given that this is the Star Wars universe where everyone knows each other, I'm assuming that Mando's new R5 unit is the same one that broke after Luke tried to buy it from the Jawas in New Hope.

Since she called him "R5-D4", yes...this is the same droid that Luke (or, Uncle Owen) bought in A New Hope.

[Frey family reunion]

22 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

Seriously?

  Hide contents

1) He defeated 3-4 primitive, but powerful looking beings in close-quarter that he had never encountered before. Hardly qualifies as almost being killed. Bo-Katan did slightly better than him, but she was ready. Din does have a problem with wielding the Darksaber but that's probably part of his development as a character.

2) No one, maybe not even a Jedi could have seen that trap. I mean look. Judging by the number of Mandalorian helmets in that thing's lair, I think a fair number were successfully trapped by it. Would Bo-Katan had seen that coming?

3) Once he got caught, he was done. The thing had him tight and injected him with some drug. He could not possibly use his own weapons and not long after they were taken away.

4) Yes, the walk off the ledge in the water was a bit silly. But I maintain that his focus was on reciting his creed and was in awe of the moment. Plus the water was dark.

So I really fail to see the incompetence here.

Edited for spoilers

Spoiler

I think the Darksaber problems may be a plot point going forward.  I think we may find that Din just can't create a bond with it in the same way that Bo-Katan (or heck even Moff Gideon) could.  My gut tells, me that at some point something happens where Bo "earns" the right to the Darksabre again.

I I think perhaps that Din with significant help from Grogu will end up "taming" the Mythosaur.  Which I guess is why they may have wanted the scene where Grogu calms the Rancor.  Perhaps something similar happens which allows them to ride the Mythosaur.

So Bo gets the Darksaber and probably resumes leadership of Mandalore, and Din and Grogu fly the Mythosaur and sail become some sorty of Mandalorian legend.

 

[Frey family reunion]

On 3/9/2023 at 10:36 AM, dbunting said:

Spoiler

His metal is supposedly light otherwise he wouldn't be able to fight in it.

 

Spoiler

My takeaway was that he sunk based on the combination of the weight of his armor and he was still weak from his blood loss.

 

[Maia]

On 3/9/2023 at 10:04 PM, Kalnestk Oblast said:

He almost got killed by random scavengers.

Eh, I didn't think that it was that close, particularly since the sheer drop turned out to be a fake-out that wasn't at all dangerous to him. He just shouldn't have tried to use the darksaber until he resolves his mental handicaps. Bo Katan was fore-warned and also familiar with the creatures, so she did better.

 

On 3/9/2023 at 10:04 PM, Kalnestk Oblast said:

 

He then blundered into a trap and used like none of his weapons against a big robot droid, and then couldn't escape by himself.

? The cyborg clearly was specialised in trapping Mandalorians in a manner that made it impossible for them to escape and subsequently killing them. It has done for dozens or even low hundreds of them, it looked like. Bo Katan didn't have to contend with that because Din had already sprung the trap, so she was able to get a drop on it in turn. There was no indication that she would have done any better than Din otherwise. And yes, she is not weighed down by whatever prevents Din from using the darksaber, but then she was presumably trained by people who knew what they were doing.

 

On 3/9/2023 at 10:04 PM, Kalnestk Oblast said:

 

And then he just walked into the water off a cliff.

 

I too thought that he was dragged down by the mythosaur.

Generally, I like that Din is bad-ass, yes, particularly when he is the one on the offensive, but fallible. I mean, he has been captured by Jawas in the first season and often it is pretty clear that he only wins because his armor is pretty much indestructible. The cyborg cleverly turned Mandalorian reliance on the armor against them.

 

On 3/9/2023 at 10:04 PM, Kalnestk Oblast said:

Hell, the whole plot about resurrecting IG-11 was incredibly stupid. Instead of requiring a super sturdy droid of awesomeness he just rolled the dice with an astromech, and that was...fine.

Really? I thought that the episode conclusively demonstrated that being accompanied by a capable killer droid on a jaunt to Mandalore was an excellent idea! That didn't pan out. But not everything a protagonist tries has to be successful, surely?

 

P.S. "But IG-11 wouldn't have fit in the hotrod!" is another contrived objection, since all the combat droids shown so far can fold themselves into much smaller packages. He could have ridden in Grogu's compartment, with Grogu sitting on Mando's lap, like happened in the actual episode. Not that I don't agree that Din needs a proper ship - I shudder to think how grotty his face is and how close he must be to getting suffocated by his beard like the Man in the Iron Mask, without a vehicle that he can actually live in.

I  would have preferred if the idea of ressurecting IG-11 hadn't been floated, as I really dislike the reset button. And, sadly, I suspect that it is going to happen eventually. But in _this_ episode I felt that it worked well  that we saw the consequences of Mando not having anybody guarding  his back or taking point for him.

[Corvinus85]

An interesting, but weird episode of The Mandalorian. It felt a bit like some of the recent better episodes of The Bad Batch.

Spoiler

But in truth they were really 2 episodes in one.

The conclusion of Din's redemption with his covert + a kewl space battle and a reason for Bo-Katan to join him for a longer term.

And Dr. Pershing's story with its disturbing aspects of how the New Republic has been treating ex-Imperials and Gideon's former comm officer who is or isn't still loyal to the Empire, or maybe she just has sociopathic tendencies that fit well with the Empire.

 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

2 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

An interesting, but weird episode of The Mandalorian. It felt a bit like some of the recent better episodes of The Bad Batch.

  Reveal hidden contents

But in truth they were really 2 episodes in one.

The conclusion of Din's redemption with his covert + a kewl space battle and a reason for Bo-Katan to join him for a longer term.

And Dr. Pershing's story with its disturbing aspects of how the New Republic has been treating ex-Imperials and Gideon's former comm officer who is or isn't still loyal to the Empire, or maybe she just has sociopathic tendencies that fit well with the Empire.

 

Spoiler

That was a strange combination.  New Republic security… sucks.  The conductor droids cannot lock down the trains?  They just leave someone by themselves with a device that can wipe someone’s mind?  I kept waiting for Luthen to show up on Couresant.

 

[Frey family reunion]

4 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

An interesting, but weird episode of The Mandalorian. It felt a bit like some of the recent better episodes of The Bad Batch.

  Hide contents

But in truth they were really 2 episodes in one.

The conclusion of Din's redemption with his covert + a kewl space battle and a reason for Bo-Katan to join him for a longer term.

And Dr. Pershing's story with its disturbing aspects of how the New Republic has been treating ex-Imperials and Gideon's former comm officer who is or isn't still loyal to the Empire, or maybe she just has sociopathic tendencies that fit well with the Empire.

 

I thought it was an awkwardly paced episode. 

[Corvinus85]

1 hour ago, Frey family reunion said:

I thought it was an awkwardly paced episode. 

The pacing was awkward, but the story was interesting.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

The other amnesty officer is on Star Trek SNW… right?

[Maltaran]

6 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

An interesting, but weird episode of The Mandalorian. It felt a bit like some of the recent better episodes of The Bad Batch.

  Hide contents

But in truth they were really 2 episodes in one.

The conclusion of Din's redemption with his covert + a kewl space battle and a reason for Bo-Katan to join him for a longer term.

And Dr. Pershing's story with its disturbing aspects of how the New Republic has been treating ex-Imperials and Gideon's former comm officer who is or isn't still loyal to the Empire, or maybe she just has sociopathic tendencies that fit well with the Empire.

 

Spoiler

I got the impression early on that she was up to something but I assumed she was still loyal to the Empire and was trying to get the doctor to restart his research for that. Based on the ending however, turning up the mind wipe device to maximum, it makes me think she really wants to make sure he can’t recreate it ever.

 

[DaveSumm]

Yea it was an odd episode, it maybe could’ve used some kind of ‘hand over’ from one story to the other … it really did just stop being Mandalorian and then switch back equally abruptly. But it’s good they’re widening the scope of what the show can do. 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Is there any explanation as to why the sect Din belongs to cares so much about keeping their helmets on?

[Kalbear]

19 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Is there any explanation as to why the sect Din belongs to cares so much about keeping their helmets on?

The armorer is hideous, I explained that earlier

[hauberk]

1 hour ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Is there any explanation as to why the sect Din belongs to cares so much about keeping their helmets on?

Seems like the same could be said of many terrestrial sects and sub-cultures. 

[hauberk]

11 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

An interesting, but weird episode of The Mandalorian. It felt a bit like some of the recent better episodes of The Bad Batch.

  Reveal hidden contents

But in truth they were really 2 episodes in one.

The conclusion of Din's redemption with his covert + a kewl space battle and a reason for Bo-Katan to join him for a longer term.

And Dr. Pershing's story with its disturbing aspects of how the New Republic has been treating ex-Imperials and Gideon's former comm officer who is or isn't still loyal to the Empire, or maybe she just has sociopathic tendencies that fit well with the Empire.

 

It was an odd episode of Mando but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Bad Batch, for me, was a letdown after last week’s episode.