'The Mandalorian' soars in its 1st season

This review contains spoilers.

The first season of “The Mandalorian” (2019–), which ran from November 12 through December 27, had an astonishing cultural impact. I was completely and pleasantly surprised by the popularity and widespread appreciation for this show and its characters, especially given the skepticism surrounding the need to purchase Disney+ just to watch the show.

I fully expected myself, a massive Star Wars fan, to be one of the only people I knew interested in watching, rewatching and discussing the show. Yet my friend, a casual Star Wars viewer, watched the first few episodes at my house, as I happily rewatched them, and then purchased Disney+ to finish the show by himself without even letting me know. The audacity! “Baby Yoda” memes are all over — The Mandalorian’s small green companion, credited as The Child, calmly sips tea, flips switches and waddles around all over social media. The positivity this show has generated gives promise for the future of the franchise after the nine-movie Skywalker saga ended in December with “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019).

The cultural impact of “The Mandalorian” cannot be understated, but I want to break down the content and themes of the first season. This show is set in the same world as the main movies, but it feels different. The music is unique: composer Ludwig Göransson wrote a score that would be at home in a Western, which is closer to the show than the movies generally have been.

The stars of the show are a reserved warrior who doesn't reveal his face and a non-human child who does not speak. This distinctive partnership is captivating, and the most powerful theme of “The Mandalorian” is the care that both the show and its titular character demonstrate for children. The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is an orphan, whose parents hid him before being killed by battle droids. The young and scared child, who we see in flashbacks, is rescued and taken in by a group of Mandalorians.

The show continues the Star Wars canon’s depiction of Mandalorians as a clan of helmet-wearing warrior people, but also defines a new characteristic — Mandalorians care deeply about children. The Mandalorian uses part of his rewards from bounty hunting to sponsor foundlings — children adopted into the clan rather than born into it, just like The Mandalorian. Mirroring his moment of adoption by the Mandalorians, and despite being a different species, Pascal’s character protects The Child like he would his own, defending him from bounty hunters and fleeing multiple planets in an attempt to find a safe place to stay.

The season breaks down into three arcs, which are "the first job," three individual adventures and the two-part finale. The first arc, comprised of Chapters 1 through 3, establishes The Mandalorian’s bounty-hunting life on the rocky planet of Nevarro. The Mandalorian takes a mission from Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), the leader of the Bounty Hunter’s Guild. This bounty mission leads him to The Child, which the Client (Werner Herzog) wants dead or alive.

The strongest episode of this arc is “Chapter 3: The Sin,” directed by Deborah Chow, which catalyzes The Mandalorian’s decision to flee Nevarro with The Child and protect him from harm at the hands of the Client and the Bounty Hunter’s Guild. The action sequences in this episode are brilliantly shot, as The Mandalorian grapples with stormtroopers in dark, close quarters and later holds his own against countless bounty hunters out in the open. He is aided by other Mandalorians living in an enclave on Nevarro, who make a surprise appearance and allow Pascal’s character to escape the planet.

The second arc of the season, from Chapter 4 through Chapter 6, was less compelling for me. These episodes featured three separate adventures as The Mandalorian continues to collect bounties and find a safe place for himself and The Child. “Chapter 4: Sanctuary,” directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, is the highlight of this arc.In an episode paying homage to Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” (1954), The Mandalorian and a new character, Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune (Gina Carano), help a rural village defend themselves against raiders and an Imperial AT-ST walker. The Mandalorian and Dune make a great team, and the action and setting in this episode are exciting as well. Chapters 5 and 6 feel weaker in writing and do less to advance the story compared with the rest of the show, but they still have some good moments.

The third arc of the season, comprising the final two chapters, pays off on setups made as early as Chapter 1. The most prominent supporting characters return in “Chapter 7: The Reckoning” to help The Mandalorian defeat the Imperial faction on Nevarro.

IG-11 (Taika Waititi) steals the show in “Chapter 8: Redemption” by offering to save The Mandalorian's life — and The Mandalorian accepts, despite the evident fear he had of droids after his parents’ death. The Mandalorian’s distrust and fear of droids are  demonstrated frequently throughout the season, and after he shoots IG-11 in the first episode, there is  no expectation that The Mandalorian will  allow himself to be vulnerable in front of the assassin-turned-nurse droid.

Yet when critically wounded, he allows the droid to remove his helmet and heal his injured face. In Chapter 8, we’re finally given a face (a scarred but same-as-ever Pedro Pascal) and a name, Din Djarin, for The Mandalorian. Yet we don’t need his face or name to humanize The Mandalorian; his close bond with The Child throughout their adventures make him a strong character we can connect with, even before seeing behind the mask.

The end of the finale is an exciting teaser for the next season, with main villain Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) breaking out of the ruins of his TIE Fighter using the Darksaber, a unique black-bladed lightsaber introduced in the animated show “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008–2014, 2020). A Mandalorian weapon, the Darksaber bridges the gap between the fan-favorite animated show and live-action content, and suggests that "The Mandalorian" will connect with other characters and plot lines from the rest of the canon in the future.

The first season of “The Mandalorian” breathes new life into the Star Wars franchise, and with the second season arriving this fall, we thankfully won’t have to wait too much longer to continue watching Din and The Child’s adventures.