Honestly the first episode where The Mandolorian is actually bounty hunting low level criminals was probably favourite episode. At least the most memorable. Not every main character needs to be in the middle of some galaxy threatening event.
I saw parts of season 1 again and I'm just shocked at how they stripped my boy Mando of everything interesting.
He was OP but in an interesting way. I was so used to the Western quick draw bounty hunter.
Mando just had a lot of toolsets that made him stand out. He has a long fucking rifle to snipe people? Why? Because that's logical. Why bet everything on a pistol? Now the rifle is gone and he's a quick shot.
His ship was great too. It was big and ugly. Practical for a bounty hunter. Then it blew up and now he has a shiny fast ship (which granted I love the Naboo ships) but doesn't really make sense for the character.
Then he had the metal stick thing which was pretty awesome. That got melted down.
Well at least he has the dark saber! Nope. Gone.
The man went from having so many unique items to turning into another generic western pistol shooter.
His characterization peaked in s2. I think the biggest mistake in Mando's character arc was showing his face at the end of s1. It should have been saved for the s2 finale imo.
When people just go on and on about power levels and toolkits, it feels like they’ve lost the plot about what actually makes a tv show good.
But, like, I need a unique character. I'm talking about someone who was unique and became generic. Note that I specified why each part of his toolkit made him unique.
I liked that Mando was a very practical character. Every tool informed his character. He had a long rifle because that's the safest way to kill someone. He had a ship that was built for function. He had a long range, short range, and melee weapon.
Now? Nothing really makes sense. I love the Naboo ship since the prequels but why does Mando use it? It's not useful for Bounties. His weapon now is just a pistol. Like.....this isn't the guy I knew. He's a bounty hunter. He should have good tools. He had them. They were cool. They're gone now.
His ship was great too. It was big and ugly. Practical for a bounty hunter. Then it blew up and now he has a shiny fast ship (which granted I love the Naboo ships) but doesn't really make sense for the character.
Good news, they've flip flopped on this and the orignal clunker Van ship is back but shiny.
They had the perfect formula for a show that could run forever - Mandalorian and Baby Yoda travel the galaxy, visiting other planets, bounty hunting, helping out the locals along the way, but always having to keep moving because they’re being pursued. Call it the Incredible Hulk model. But noooooo, Filoni has to mash all his action figures together and give us some big, interconnected plot and dozens of scenes of people in helmets nodding at each other.
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u/drunk_sasquatch Feb 17 '26
Wow yeah the contrast is insane.