Mando is losing its luster for me

Not to say you can't take SW serious, I mean take SW as serious as you want. But I agree, for me it's the fantastical escapism that I need for a lot of reasons.

 

I've read through your lengthy discourse on Din's helmet removals and have to strongly disagree with you.

First, there was a clear story arc to Mando's helmet removals over the course of the two seasons which you either failed to address or didn't see. The first time the helmet is removed (in S1:E8) gives the audience the clear sense that Din would rather DIE than have anyone remove his helmet to give him medical aid. If you ask me, that's as strong of a position as it gets. It was only after the droid emphasized the he was 'not a living person' that Din relented.

The second time (in S2:E7) shows the audience how dramatically Din has changed over the time he's been with Grogu. When pushed to the limits (again), THIS TIME he's willing to sacrifice one of the key tenants of his religion if it meant saving Baby Grogu. This was a highly emotional moment -- and if you've ever watched a Mandalorian fan reaction video, you know what I'm taking about.

The final time (in S2:E8) was the absolute perfect good-bye ending for Din and Grogu. If THAT was not great 'theatrics,' I guess we disagree on what the term means. Great writing and acting is all about creating a strong emotional response from the audience. Most fans admit that this particular scene was a highly emotional moment for them. Was it lessened because of what happened in the previous episode? I say just the opposite: It strengthened it because it completed the story arc and created a classic reprise of ROTJ's Father & Son moment: "Let me see you with my own eyes."

When it comes to pure theatrics, I would argue it's hard to find a better example in all of the Star Wars films than the ending of Mandalorian: The Rescue.

 

Mando has lost its Muster for me and I reckon season 3 might be cancelled.

Such a waste.

 

One side character? What? Mando S3 begins shooting next year after Boba Fett. You're being delusional if you think one side character is going to cancel S3.

 

You've gone to great lengths to address some of your issues with the story - yet you are willing to overlook a huge plot hole for the sake of a more 'energetic' final reveal?

We need the 2.7 reveal to show the audience how much this tough bounty hunter has changed over the course of his relationship with Baby Grogu. The reveal in The Believer episode shows us that Mando has gone from a willingness to die to follow the code to a willingness to ignore the code in order to save the Child. Without that important story arc, you'd be saying that the 2.8 reveal was 'illogical' because Mando is breaking the code...for a little peek-a-boo?

Thanks to 2.7, the audience understands that Mando has changed so that the final reveal is all about the love between 'father' and 'son,' period, without people like the two of us trying to overthink it.

 

Calm down, after all its my loss not yours.

 

But what makes you think S3 is going to be canceled over this?

 

Mando books getting cancelled, backlash against Lucasfilm etc.

But hey I've been wrong before

 

You mean like an action that goes contrary to the show's established logic that Din would rather DIE than reveal his face to another living being?

And I wrote that if the audience did not see him reveal his face in 2.7, Din's helmet removal in 2.8 would have had some fans grousing about how completely illogical it was, given what we know about Din. However, 2.7 removed that plot hole (you know, something contrary to the show's 'established logic') by having Din demonstrate he was willing to break the code in order to save Grogu's life.

Hey, you're entitled to your opinion. That's totally cool. I simply wanted to make it clear that there are compelling reasons to view the situation very differently from the way you do.

I'll get to them---give me some time, I just joined the board.
Cheers.

 

Let's hope you're wrong again!
Mando is Lucasfilm's one profitable product at the moment. Maybe Obi-Wan will deliver. Maybe the Jedi: Fallen Order sequel will be better than the first game. And sure the schedule and plans look nice, but we all know what they say about plans*, and we've seen the plans of other such companies fail...heck, we've seen Lucasfilm's own plans change drastically. Right now Mando is all they really have to connect to the mass audience, and I highly doubt they'll let it go.
Is Lucasfilm overreacting by cancelling the book and visual dictionary? Absolutely. But Disney has been known to overreact, so it's not surprising either.

Honestly, I think Lucasfilm would get more backlash if they stopped the Mandalorian than if they continued it.

As for losing luster, I can't really help. When Star Wars as a whole lost its luster for me, I took some time away from it for the most part and thought about what I wanted from the franchise and why I felt as upset as I did. Ultimately, I ended up having to change my entire view of the franchise along with my level of interaction with it while also searching for what fed me what this franchise frankly couldn't. And I think I'm in a better place because of that. Maybe doing the same will help you?


*Either "man plans, God laughs" or "the best made plans/schemes of mice and men often go awry," would work.

 

Woah there.

I like Star Wars, love it even, but I don't let it get in the way of my life. I'd be in the exact same place in my life if I completely abandoned Star Wars as I have far far more pressing matters and struggles that I face daily. Star Wars is a luxury and an escape for me, but in the grand scheme of life its not important just the same as any other work of fiction.

If I like something I'll say so, likewise if I don't, that's just how I am and its gotten me through a lot of blast in my life and I'm quite happy, if you have a problem with that then I really can't help you.

 

Cool, good to hear that. You'll have to pardon this board newbie but "The theatrics were poorly played," did seem rather absolutist to me.

A person can love the art of cinema without trashing a scene that other 'art of cinema' lovers would consider well-crafted and executed. I get that it didn't work for you but literally hundreds of Youtube fan reaction videos make it crystal clear it was a highly emotional moment for most fans.

Ah, but I would make the counter-argument that showing Din's face being scanned in 2.7 was what made that scene so dramatic and emotionally powerful. Pedro did an amazing job in that entire cafeteria scene of communicating the vulnerability he feels without the helmet on. Keeping his face hidden would - IMHO - have ruined the scene. Pedro's face is what gives the scene its dramatic juice.

Again, I don't expect to change your opinion, but others -- including people who love cinema and the art of movie making -- can respectfully disagree with you.

 

That's fair! My point was just that if it's become less of a luxury than it has been in the past for any reason, sometimes taking a step back to analyze why can be helpful.

 

I already know why, i have my reasons and it won't stop me enjoying the stuff that I like

 

Funny thing, I look at the same tonal and style changes between episodes that you see and consider them as one of the show's biggest strengths.

Jon Favreau once said in an interview that in creating a new Star Wars show, he chose to go back to George Lucas' original influences for inspiration: American westerns, samurai films -- and those old Saturday afternoon matinee popcorn serials. Therefore, the changing styles (based on the script and the director) were intentionally designed to give us that 'old movie serial' feel. However, what I find really amazing about the show is that -- thanks in large part to the amazing technology they now employ -- each of these episodes have their own unique, big screen, cinematic feel to them.

I get that you would have preferred one consistent tone and style throughout all of them. Again, it's perfectly fine for you to feel this way. But with all due respect, a season of The Mandalorian was never meant to be viewed as a feature film .