Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (February 9, 2025)
As the Star Wars “Sequel Trilogy” came to an end with 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, Disney didn’t decide to give the franchise a break. Immediately before – and during – the theatrical film’s appearance on multiplex screens, a new series called The Mandalorian ran on the Disney+ streaming channel.
Set between Return of the Jedi and the Sequel Trilogy events that first came to us with 2015’s The Force Awakens, Mandalorian follows its title character. All eight of Season One’s episodes appear on these two 4K UHD discs, with plot synopses straight from the show’s official site.
The Mandalorian: “A Mandalorian bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) tracks a target for a well-paying, mysterious client (Werner Herzog).”
Even though he enjoyed scanty screen time, when Boba Fett appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, he quickly became a fan favorite. This led to an expansion of the character via other media as well as his “origin story” as part of Attack of the Clones.
Of course, 1983’s Return of the Jedi killed off poor old Boba – or so Star Wars lore held for decades. In any case, Mandalorian focuses on a character who goes unnamed at this point in the series.
This debut episode involves new roles and circumstances, albeit with a nod toward concepts and situations familiar to Star Wars fans. Nonetheless, it needs to do a lot of expository groundwork to set up its lead and launch Season One’s narrative.
Which it does fairly well. We don’t learn much about the Mandalorian himself, as this opening episode prefers to leave him mysterious.
However, we get some hints at his past and a feel for his nature and personality. Although I won’t cliam this show launches Season One with a rocket, it gets the series off to a generally positive start.
The Child: “Target in hand, the Mandalorian must now contend with scavengers.”
Because this website takes up all my TV viewing time, I didn’t watch one second of Mandalorian until I got this 4K UHD package. Nonetheless, I knew of this episode’s titular “child”, popularly called “Baby Yoda” back in 2019.
We will eventually learn the role’s full name, but “the Child” will do for now, I guess. We briefly met the Child in the prior show, but this episode gives us a more extended view of the character.
My cynical side feels like Mandalorian introduced a young member of Yoda’s species partly for “fan service” and partly for merchandising possibilities. Both proved accurate, as Star Wars aficionados loved the character and the Child also sold boatloads of toys, shirts and other items.
Nonetheless, I do find it intriguing to get to know another member of Yoda’s tribe. Though established as 50 years old, those critters age slowly, so the Child indeed appears to be essentially a toddler here.
That seems like a clever twist, one that makes the Child more interesting to us than a mature character might’ve been – though a sullen teen Yoda might be cool to see. “The Child” formally launches the Mandalorian on S1’s journey and gives us a good take on where matters might go from here.
The Sin: “The battered Mandalorian returns to his client for his reward.”
That synopsis abbreviates the episode’s scope, as the Mandalorian redeems his prize early in the show. After that, we follow him as his conscience gets the best of him and he goes back for the Child.
Spoiler alert? Hopefully not, as I suspect anyone interested in the series knows that the Child sticks around longer than the brief appearances already seen so far this season.
Though it did surprise me to see the Child delivered to the client so quickly. I assumed that the Mandalorian’s mission would occupy virtually all of S1 and he’d deal with the completion of his assignment at the end.
Instead, “Sin” depicts his regrets and what he does to correct his error. This allows “Sin” to give S1 a twist and orient us toward where the rest of the year presumably will go.
Sanctuary: “The Mandalorian teams up with ex-soldier Cara Dune (Gina Carano) to protect a farming village from raiders.”
With the Mandalorian on the lam, “Sanctuary” follows a distinct Seven Samurai vibe – albeit with fewer samurai. This contributes to the title role’s gradual evolution from hard-bitten loner to more fully-developed human.
Which doesn’t seem like the most original theme. Plenty of stories pursue isolated, detached characters who gradually warm up to humanity.
“Sanctuary” really does borrow heavily from Seven Samurai, but it’s not the first property to rework that tale, so I don’t mind. This turns into a fairly exciting episode.
The Gunslinger: “On a familiar desert planet, the Mandalorian helps rookie bounty hunter Toro Calican (Jake Cannavale) who is in over his head.”
Given all the planets involved in the Star Wars universe, it feels more than a little like fan service to drop the Mandalorian on Tattooine. However, I recognize that anything related to this franchise needs to toss bones like this at viewers, so I don’t object.
As an episode, “Gunslinger” works fine. It doesn’t do much to advance the overall S1 narrative, but it offers enough action and intrigue to entertain.
The Prisoner: “The Mandalorian is part of a crew of mercenaries springing convict Qin (Ismael Cruz Cordova) from a prison ship.”
Proof I’m a whiner: I always complain that TV series these days focus on season-long arcs at the expense of good old-fashioned standalone episodes. Mandalorian consists essentially of individual programs linked by a general theme and I find myself wondering why it can’t tell a single long narrative.
Honestly, I think the trend toward long arcs just left me so accustomed to the format that a series with less linked episodes feels “off”. But it’s a sturdy system, even if it went out of style.
Of course, a show about a bounty hunter makes sense within the standalone structure. Even though Mandalorian’s attempts to keep the Child safe add a general theme, the character’s nature allows for these kinds of individual programs to feel logical.
These choices certainly allow for a lot of variety, as each episode adds new roles. Some fare better than others, and the motley crew of “Prisoner” falls among the more dynamic. Throw in some good action and this winds up as a satisfying episode.
The Reckoning: “Old contact Greef Carga (Carl Weathers) extends an invitation for the Mandalorian to make peace with his enemies.”
The reference to an “old contact” might imply a character not seen in S1, but that doesn’t become the case. Indeed, Greef Carga acted as the catalyst for the mission that allowed the Mandalorian to meet the Child.
The Mandalorian’s choice to “Yoda-nap” the Child and go rogue became S1’s main theme, and it starts to build toward a climax here. That seemed inevitable.
I guess Mandalorian could’ve embarked on a Fugitive-style series in which the lead travels from location to location forever with heat on his tail. However, I think it makes more sense to wrap up this particular narrative in S1 and allow for a different arc in Season Two.
“Reckoning” pushes toward that climax via the reintroduction of various characters we got to know in earlier episodes. They connect in an organic manner that adds personality to the show.
We also get a good glimpse of the remnants of the Empire after its Jedi-era collapse. All of these factors help turn “Reckoning” into a solid lead-in to the season finale.
Redemption: “The Mandalorian and his allies come to know their true enemy, who already knows much about them.”
S1 wraps with some revelations such as the title character’s actual name as well as aspects of his childhood trauma and how he joined the Mandalorian tribe. We finally get to see our lead without his helmet – briefly, at least.
Of course, “Redemption” wraps S1’s main arc and also points toward the path Season Two will follow. I don’t view this as a cliffhanger, however, as the narrative we should get in S2 exists as a logical extension of S1’s.
“Redemption” also includes some of S1’s most creative action, particularly in the climactic battle between our lead and the season’s Big Baddie. “Redemption” winds up a pretty good season on a pretty good note.
