The Mandalorian | March 2023 for S3

[Porthos]

That was probably a better season opener than the actual season opener,  both in theme and in story progression...

 

Spoiler

Not entirely in love with how loosely it connected to last week's episode in regards to IG, but I'll reserve judgement to see if the IG plot really has been dropped just as soon as it was raised. 

 

Do like how they're continuing to show that Din Djarin isn't an Ultimate Bad Ass (which is something I noted on my rewatch) and is someone who really does need the help of others sometimes.

 

But... Hmmm...  Have to see how it works in totality.

 

Kinda ironic that I'm... not so much complaining as critiquing that the plot is perhaps moving too quickly after the slow paced Boba Fett — but just goes to show how difficult of a dance this can be at times.

 

Solid enough in isolation and on pure points/execution better than last week's.  Think I'll reserve more thoughts until later.

[Menor the Destroyer]

It was good, I definitely preferred it to last week, but...I do think something feels a bit off about this season, just doesn't feel like it's capturing the magic as well. Maybe I preferred the show when it was a bit more episodic, I don't think it shines as much when it's feeling this serialized. 

Spoiler

I will say I absolutely loved how Mandalore was visualized. The creepy cyborg thing that captured Mando was also super cool, and the Mythosaur looked awesome

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Menor Reborn

[George Parr]

I would agree with that. Definately a step up from the first one, but not really a match for the best the show has shown in the past.

 

There is some cool stuff in there, but the flow isn't there yet. Dare I say it, it is almost a bit JJ Abrams'esque in the way it rushed through stuff so far and even dropped earlier storypoints quickly.

 

Spoiler

I'm not sure why they spend quite a bit of time on the rebuilding of IG-11, only to drop it right away in the next episode. He "needed" IG-11, because it was the only droid he trusts. Yet he stopped rather quickly looking for parts, took another droid instead, and the whole thing wasn't all that important when he was on Mandalore anyway. Why all that focus on IG-11 then?

Feels like a waste of time to spend all that screentime building up the necessity for this particular droid, only to not do anything with it in the next one.

 

Come to think of it, if that was were the story was heading, it may have been a better fit to have him go to Tatooine at the end of the first episode. Have him settle on R5 instead, and THEN go and visit Bo-Katan. Going Nevarro->Tatooine->Mandalore system, stopping by at Bo-Katan's place, makes more sense then him suddenly visiting Bo-Katan - which didn't fit to his need to find parts for IG-11 - then heading for Tatooine, and then going back to the Mandalore system.

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by George Parr

[Ozymandias]

Lol wtf was that at the end?  Mando steps in the pool, falls, and somehow ends up at the bottom hundreds(or maybe even thousands) of feet down SUPER fast...faster than Bo Katan's jet pack because she immediately jumps in seconds after him.  If he sank, he dropped like rock.  Or was he dragged down by a monster?  So weird and its never clear what happened.

 

Also, why does a droid need to go out of line of sight from the ship and into a cave to take an air sample of the planet's atmosphere?  A number of weird-bad writing instances like this in this episode.

 

I liked some of the scenes between Bo Katan and Mando and that droid creature that captured Mando. 

 

Overall an improvement over the premiere but this is still largely forgettable stuff with some dumb shit in it and a huge comedown from Seasons 1 & 2.

[Knights of Ren]

I’m enjoying it so far, think people are being a bit dramatic.  It’s still to early to be speaking in absolutes 

[SnokesLegs]

1 minute ago, Knights of Ren said:

I’m enjoying it so far, think people are being a bit dramatic.  It’s still to early to be speaking in absolutes 

Likewise, just feels the same as season 1 and 2 to me, this show was never overly clever, just fun. I feel like people watched Andor and it’s messed with their expectations of the other shows. Mando spending an episode making mistakes and getting into scrapes is definitely in keeping with his character.

[dudalb]

I always liked the show because I am such a huge fan of Sergio Leone Western, and the series is pretty much a Leone Man With No Name Western set in the Star Wars universe. Even the Main title music singaled that.

I also loved it took place mainly in the scummier parts of the SW Universe...nice change from the squaky clean we got in the movie, even in the VIllians laiirs.

[Potiki]

Forgot this was an hour early and got a shock when I saw it up early haha. Some more great dogfighting to begin this episode. 

 

Spoiler

Can already here the complaints that this is meant to be a show about Mando but kind of like we are getting a backstory on the ex empire characters and I'm sure it will all tie together either at the end of the episode or later in the season. 

 

[Potiki]

Whilst this season hasn't hit the highs of Season 2  each episode has so far been progressively better than the last. I'm also interested to see how to middle part of this episode plays a part in the season. 

 

I feel like the groundwork has been established now and I'm very much looking forward to the remaining episodes of this season. 

[Porthos]

2 hours ago, Potiki said:

Forgot this was an hour early and got a shock when I saw it up early haha. Some more great dogfighting to begin this episode. 

 

  Hide contents

Can already here the complaints that this is meant to be a show about Mando but kind of like we are getting a backstory on the ex empire characters and I'm sure it will all tie together either at the end of the episode or later in the season. 

 

 

I don't think there will be too many complaints given how outstanding it was.  At least there shouldn't be, IMO.

 

Spoiler

It was practically like an episode of Andor was dropped in the middle of Mando!

 

And a VERY good episode of Andor, no less.

 

I wasn't so much "guessing" the entire time about Elia Kane as she was far too polished and assured.  I knew with 100 percent certainty that she was a spy of some sort.  I personally had running odds of:

 

Empire: 80%

New Republic (symp) 15%

Someone Else 5% 

 

with the exact percentages waxing and waning as the episode went on.  Did allow for a moment to think she was working for NR Intelligence, but she was just TOO  devilish and a tempter in the classical, literary, sense for me to ever truly think she was working for the NR and so I kept slipping back to... "Nah, she's an Imp through and through".  

 

Will admit to buying that she was a narc at the end as she did sell that wonderfully... Only for the mask to slip and for me to go: YEP.  Listen to your first instincts, Porthos! 

 

As well as your second and third.

 

Just a fantastic performance by Katy O'Brian.  With a few moments of real honest to goodness nuance as well.

 

Can't wait to see more from her.

 

Really, I could gush and gush and gush about that middle section, but I think I'll leave it 'till later.  

 

Have some ever so minor nits about the middle but I think in totality they're exceedingly minor nits.  Especially since I can already work them out in my head so they aren't nits.

 

More please. 👍

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by Porthos

[Menor the Destroyer]

Hmm, this felt like a step down from episode 2 and back to the "intrigued, not excited" feeling I had after episode 1. Beginning and end were nice, but the middle portion seriously dragged for me. I can see the good in this episode and I always love seeing Coruscant, but...

Spoiler

while I agree with the Andor comparisons, I don't think the storyline with Pershing and Kane was nearly as narratively compelling as comparable stuff in Andor. I guess the main issue is the episode didn't invest me enough in Pershing to care to spend this much screentime on him, especially since he gets his mind wiped at the end anyway. 

 

[George Parr]

Some interesting stuff in there. The flow once again could have been better, but the content itself had some very cool elements to give a better picture of the New Republic, and tie everything more together.

 

Spoiler

Loved to see TIE-Interceptors again. They have put way too much focus on regular TIEs (and X-Wings for that matter) while ignoring the other ship-types over the recent past, so it's good to see a bit more variety, like the TIE-Bomber in Andor or the Interceptors here. Though I felt the CGI was rather awkward. They had much better looking ships than that in the past.

 

The storyline of the doctor was pretty interesting, though I think the episode suffered a bit from the completely seperate bits. First you get a bunch of stuff with Din and Bo-Katan, then an abrupt cut to Doctor Pershing, on which they spend a ton of time, before it suddenly went back to Din and the other Mandalorians again. I think that could have been intervowen a bit better, something they didn't quite manage in the episodes before either.

 

Coruscant looked cool, the opening shot amazing even, though later on there were a few rather shoddy bits as well. Still nice to get a feel of the whole place, as well as a bit of story about incorporating old Imperials into the New Republic.

 

That being said, what on earth was that sheer level of incompetence by the New Republic doctors, or whatever they were? Lets start a procedure and then have everyone leave, while leaving a "guest" behind. What could possibly go wrong?

How do you have five people around doing basically nothing before the whole thing starts, only for everyone to leave while it is actually going on?

 

Also not quite sure what Kane's plan was. The lab is entirely irrelevant to her, she needs the doctor to put it to any use, so why risk damage to him by frying his brain?

Unless the idea is to wipe him clean and hope to wash away his guilt about working for the Empire, so you can manipulate him to work for the remnant. I guess we will see about that.

 

[lorddemaxus]

Lol Lee Isaac Chung directed the newest episode. Surprised that he's moved to this

[TMP]

59 minutes ago, lorddemaxus said:

Lol Lee Isaac Chung directed the newest episode. Surprised that he's moved to this

he's doing twisters next. first time one of these indie guys transitioning to blockbusters has disappointed me this much lol

[CoolioD1]

1 hour ago, lorddemaxus said:

Lol Lee Isaac Chung directed the newest episode. Surprised that he's moved to this

Kinda my reaction when i saw the news that kogonada is directing on The Acolyte. I mean get the bag but i also i wish there still existed new indie filmmakers who felt above this kinda stuff.

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by CoolioD1

[ChipDerby]

13 hours ago, CoolioD1 said:

Kinda my reaction when i saw the news that kogonada is directing on The Acolyte. I mean get the bag but i also i wish there still existed new indie filmmakers who felt above this kinda stuff.

 

 

How do you think they live? Also, a lot of these streaming shows seem very willing to let these directors have a lot of leeway to do what they want. If I had a very well reviewing indie movie, and wanted to get my name out there for more projects, this would be an easy call. It's how Rian Johnson blew up. He had his small projects, absolutely crushed Breaking Bad, and now pretty much gets to do whatever he wants.

 

ANYWAY. Loved this episode. Yes, the middle tone was pulled directly from Andor, but that's fine (as long as it doesn't overshadow the Mando-ness). I'm still far more intrigued with the Mando/Bo Katan/Mythosaur story, but it was really cool seeing how these "villains" are setting things up.

[Potiki]

Speaking of Lee Isaac Chung, here is a small interview he did with Yonhap (a Korean news outlet that coverage is in English)

 

Quote

SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- American film director Lee Issac Chung said Friday he was honored to join the production team for Disney+ sci-fi space adventure series "Mandalorian" as he has long been a fan of the "Star Wars" saga.

...

Chung said he enjoyed watching the first season of the TV show while he was editing "Minari" in 2019 and wished to be part of the live-action series of "Star Wars."

 

"Even though what I was editing and making was very different, I kept feeling that if I could direct an episode of the 'Mandalorian,' I'd feel very happy," Chung said in an online press conference. 

 

"I just find that working on a show that has reached people of all different ages and all different backgrounds is a really special thing and I just feel honored to have been able to be part of that," he added.

American film director Lee Isaac Chung speaks during an online press conference about directing Disney+ series "Mandalorian" Season 3 Episode 3, on March 17, 2023, in this photo provided by Disney+. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

The 44-year-old Korean American, who grew up on a small farm in Arkansas, said he had empathized with Luke Skywalker, the protagonist of the original film "Star Wars" franchise created by George Lucas.

 

"When I was a child, I felt like I was Luke Skywalker, living in the countryside and dreaming of going to a bigger galaxy somewhere," he said. "And oftentimes, while I was working on the show, I kept wondering how in the world did I get here?" 

 

Chung said he thought Episode 3 was interesting and fit his genre because it highlights the performances of the actors and tried to pay homage to legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock by using some of his cinematic techniques. 

 

The most challenging yet rewarding part of the project, he said, was working with top-notch Hollywood cinematographers, visual effects (VFX) teams and production designers.

 

"One of the difficulties in filming 'Mandalorian' was that it was my first time getting used to so much VFX work that was new to me. So I had to learn quite a lot for that," he said. "But I'd say that was also the thing that I enjoyed the most."

American film director Lee Isaac Chung (L), who directed Disney+ sci-fi space adventure series "Mandalorian" Season 3 Episode 3, is seen in this photo provided by the streaming service. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Potiki

[Marek the Jedi]

are these numbers correct?

https://screenrant.com/the-mandalorian-season-3-premiere-views-ratings/

 

Samba TV estimates that The Mandalorian's season 3 premiere was watched by just under 1.5 million households which is 2% lower than The Book of Boba Fett's premiere, 28% lower than Obi-Wan Kenobi's, and 25% lower than The Mandalorian's season 2 premiere.

[keysersoze123]

On 3/18/2023 at 12:57 PM, Marek the Jedi said:

are these numbers correct?

https://screenrant.com/the-mandalorian-season-3-premiere-views-ratings/

 

Samba TV estimates that The Mandalorian's season 3 premiere was watched by just under 1.5 million households which is 2% lower than The Book of Boba Fett's premiere, 28% lower than Obi-Wan Kenobi's, and 25% lower than The Mandalorian's season 2 premiere.

I was about to post this. It could be due to overload of SW content at D+, not so great reception for some of them plus Mando S2 closed the story line and so this season seem to be "money grab". 

 

That said even if every series/season are slam dunk the ratings will go down as its hard to sustain anticipation at the same level if you keep pumping content every few months. Plus as someone mention in social media, having a series with Pedro Pascal when he has highly acclaimed The Last of Us still on in another streaming network is also questionable. Not sure if that is valid but comps will be made for sure. 

[Menor the Destroyer]

I think it's quite possible a lot of people just kinda tapped out at the end of S2, especially with the long break between seasons and S2 seeming to provide a conclusion/separation. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Menor Reborn