The Mandalorian

   When ads for the Mandalorian first started appearing, I took notice because I'm into Star Wars, but also it was even more than usual plastered with the Disney name which seemed a bit suspicious. As soon as it began to air, however, the groundswell of people saying it was really good was very notable. And apparently there was a baby yoda, I'm not calling that a spoiler because it quickly became a pervasive meme. So I quickly felt that this was a thing I should watch. And then I saw Disneyplus was advertising a week of free access! Score!

   The Mandalorian is... great. Fantastic. Everything Star Wars ever should have been. I saw a meme somewhere baout how its funny directors aren't having to blame things on "toxic fans" when they actually for once get things right. I think the real secret is that they remembered that Star Wars was originally, at it's heart, a kind of space western. The original story wasn't about complicated space trade embargoes and space bureaucracy, nor was it about changing scenes every 7 seconds, maximum explosions, and unnecessary stupid characters inserted just for marketing purposes. The Mandalorian I'm glad to say doesn't have the frenetic pace of the most recent Star Wars movie nor the coterie of hateable characters, nor does it have any resemblence to the prequels. It's like finally being home again in the original trilogy.

   I didn't hate the most recent Star Wars movie, I felt like it was "pretty good," but it left me wondering, is it me? Can no future Star Wars movie measure up not because the original trilogy was amazing but rather because I've made the original trilogy holy in my mind and am too crochety for anything new to "measure up?" But I feel Mandalorian has answered that question ... no, when it actually seems true to the originals, it can still be epic.

( Commentary with spoilers )

   In conclusion, I loved it, for once I think something Star Wars has _fully_ lived up to the quality of the original series, and will totally re-subscribe to Disneyplus for the duration of next Mandalorian season ;)