The Mandalorian

[Alben Barkley]

It’s definitely the best Star Wars thing Disney has done. Probably the best Star Wars thing period since 1983. Not perfect, and I don’t think I liked the second season quite as much as the first, but pretty good and the closest I’ve come to feeling like I’m watching the originals of any Star Wars media since them. What I like most about it is how it expands the universe to show what it’s like for just random people across the galaxy. The Star Wars universe started out with tons of potential to explore but for decades they left it feeling pretty small by keeping it largely confined to a few characters, locations, alien races, storylines, etc. The Mandalorian changed that quite a bit while at the same time feeling more true to the spirit and tone of the originals than the other movies. Without spoiling too much, the second season kinda walked that back a bit by introducing more familiar faces and getting a bit fan servicey at times, but it’s still way better than something like Rogue One or the sequels. Even the fan service felt more natural and true to the originals.

[Alben Barkley]

I've been enjoying it quite a bit. I think one of the best things about this season is the way a lot of stuff from before is tying in with the larger universe.

I've always hoped Star Wars would move more towards streaming like this. I look forward to seeing a lot more. There seems to be quite a bit in the pipeline.

This thread inspired me to watch the season finale (I was up to date but for that). Whoa...

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I felt the same way. As soon as I saw the lone X-Wing that didn't respond, I had a feeling. Seeing the green lightsaber in someone dressed in black? I knew. But yeah, whoa.

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I felt like I got it kind of late. But after a few scenes of the green lightsaber, it all clicked. I've got mixed feelings about it. I loved realizing it was him, but I've never been a fan of the CGI face substitution nonsense. I would have gleefully accepted a situation where they never showed his face via camera angle manipulation.

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I think they could have just recast him with someone who looks close enough and it would have worked better. I don’t care for the uncanny valley thing. That said, was better than Tarkin and Leia in Rogue One, and also unlike that movie wasn’t disrespecting the dead. Hamill himself apparently provided the voice which was also de-aged. Better than the face, which didn’t work so well. That said, assuming this was a one-time thing and Luke isn’t going to become a recurring character (which I certainly hope is the case for reasons I alluded to), it’s not so bad.