The Mandalorian – Chapter Three: The Sin Review

Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: Baby Yoda (which I know is not the Child’s name, but since the internet has decided to use that name I’m going to go with it until we get something else) is ridiculously cute. Hell, I’d watch an entire series that was just it cooing and giggling its way across the galaxy (which, to be frank, might end up being the sole reason I keep watching The Mandalorian from here on out). But boy, is Baby Yoda just perfection.

As for the rest of the show, well, it’s starting to get on my nerves. I absolutely understand what Jon Favreau is attempting to accomplish here: he wants to make a Star Wars western/samurai story. And yes, he’s doing great at that. This is a blow by blow, shot by shot, story point by story point replication of every major western/samurai tale starring a lone wolf character we’ve ever gotten. If that’s enough for you, then you should be loving every minute (and if that is you, good for you – I’m glad you’re loving this show). But that’s not what I want out of my entertainment. I don’t want a retread of a story we’ve seen over and over (even if the reason we constantly see the story is that it’s so beloved that it has stood the test of time). I want to see Favreau take that base story and build on it. Add to it. Give it the Star Wars treatment.

But we aren’t getting anything new, and I think we have to accept that, after three episodes, Favreau isn’t interested in breaking the mold with The Mandalorian. If that were the case, we’d have been introduced to an actual character by now.

“But Jean,” you might say, “There are characters! There’s Mando. And Baby Yoda, the cutest alien in the history of entertainment!”

Well, sure. There are characters in the sense that there are named (and unnamed) people and aliens that appear in the series. But these characters lack any actual characterization. Mando (not his real name, naturally, but the one others that aren’t Mandalorian use to refer to him) does not have a single trait to describe him beyond loyal – and even I would argue that loyal might not work following his betrayal of the Smugglers Guild (I know, I know, it was to save Baby Yoda, but think of what we would have learned about Mando if he had left him behind – I would have found such a decision far more interesting for the character than the obvious choice of saving Baby Yoda). He cares about his people, he’s traumatized by his past. And that’s about it. He has a heart of gold? Maybe? Outside of him, there are zero other characters on the series with any discernible trait beyond good/bad/out for himself/adorable alien baby. That’s not how one makes a good, complex show. That’s how one casts a series that is going to follow a well-trod formula to a set ending.

When it comes to IP like Star Wars, you have a solid built-in audience already primed to devour the story. I’m sure a massive number of Disney+ subscriptions were in anticipation of The Mandalorian, and I suspect that even non-ardent Star Wars watchers were willing to give it a go. But after three episodes, I’m starting to wane in my interest in the story. Following the formulaic path already set out, I suspect Mando will head to a planet where the New Republic is based to figure out how to handle his new little buddy.

There he will meet some good guys (maybe some Jedi, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this were a Jedi-free series), explain his situation and then need to team up with the good guys to save Baby Yoda from the remnants of the Empire. Which sounds like fun on paper, but only if the show gives us some interesting characters to make it worth our time. Right now, Mando has the personality of a sea slug and Baby Yoda, a dialogue-less puppet, is the star of the show. While I suspect Favreau expected Baby Yoda would be a hit, I don’t think he anticipated it becoming the star of a series named The Mandalorian.

Final Thoughts:

— Lest my critique come off too harsh, I will say this is an incredibly competently produced and directed series, even if the writing leaves something to be desired. The landscapes are gorgeous, the lighting is sensational (although the shoot-out in Werner Herzog’s bunker was a bit on the dark side – literally). Seeing the light catch Mando’s newly completed armor? Glorious. The music has also been great, often providing the actual emotion of the series. The Mandalorian is not, by any stretch, a bad show. It is, however, flawed. And the flaw is its writing, which is a major issue.

— We got some interesting Mandalorian mythology here, with the explanation that the remaining Mandalorian are in hiding in enclaves following the genocide of their people. Why Mando is the one chosen to get to go out and bounty hunt isn’t actually explained (I assume it’s because he’s the best one at it?), but the family first ideals of the tribe are made clear throughout the episode.

— I love me a good use of deus ex machina, and boy was the arrival of the remaining Mandalorians in the fire fight exactly that. In Greek plays, they would literally lower a god from the sky to save the day and make everything right with the conflict. Here, having the Mandalorians descend from the sky to win the battle was a great homage to that dramatic trope.