impendingfascination

[impendingfascination]

The Mandalorian - Redemption

The first season of 'The Mandalorian' comes to a close in 'Redemption.'   This season pulled off a feat that not much has in the 'Star Wars' universe since the days of 'A New Hope.'  It got people, even people outside of 'Star Wars' fandom, talking about 'Star Wars' again.  Of course, a lot of that discussion is due to a particular asset's cuteness, but not all of it.  The writing and the direction throughout the season, especially on 'Redemption,' are what kept people coming back.

Nurse Droid

Taika Waititi sits in the director's chair for 'Redemption.'  I have to say I've been looking forward to his episode all season long and I wasn't disappointed.  He can inject humor even into the darkest moments.  Witness the scene between an injured Din Djarin and the reprogrammed IG-11 to see Waititi's mastery.  Waititi is also good at bringing the humanity of his characters to the fore.  The path of IG-11 this season is a beautiful example of this.  We start the season glad Djarin kills IG-11, and we end the season not wanting to see their new partnership end.

Darksaber

Moff Gideon comes on to the scene and makes quite the impression.  Comparable to Darth Vader's appearance in 'A New Hope,' there is no mistaking Gideon means serious business.  The revelation at the end of the episode that Gideon has the Darksaber was a little lost on me.  I haven't invested in 'The Clone Wars' or 'Rebels' enough to understand the weapon's importance.  I'll be giving those shows some time while waiting for 'The Mandalorian' to return.  It seems evident that Gideon has an interest in the Mandalorians and Din Djarin in particular.  How this plays out in season 2, we'll have to wait and see.  

Finale

There were a few loose points I would have liked to see addressed in 'The Mandalorian - Redemption.'  If we've learned anything this season, though,  it's that patience is rewarded.  Assuming there aren't significant behind-the-scenes changes before season 2, I'll get the answers I want.  New questions too, but that is really what any 'Star Wars' fan wants.  And 'The Mandalorian' is the most welcome addition this year to the 'Star Wars' universe.  

[impendingfascination]

Well, I've seen Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and have some thoughts on it.  It's sad to see it end this way but at least now we can move on.  Hopefully, Disney has better Star Wars for us in the future.  My review is here:

[impendingfascination]

As we get ready for #riseofskywalker I'm taking a look back at the series as a whole.  #RogueOne and #solo are the focus this time: http://bit.ly/2MgbJcW

[impendingfascination]

As we get ready for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker I'm taking a look back at the series as a whole. The focus turns to Star Wars The Force Awakens and Star Wars The Last Jedi.  Take a look at the link in my bio or directly here: http://bit.ly/2sRoiEI . . . . . . . . . #STARWARS #DISNEY #GEORGELUCAS #JJABRAMS #KATHLEENKENNEDY #STARWARS #STARWARSRECALL #THEFORCEAWAKENS #THELASTJEDI #THERISEOFSKYWALKER

[impendingfascination]

​As we get ready for #RiseofSkywalker, I'm taking a look back at the series as a whole.  Some early script drafts could have made for a very different #original #starwars #trilogy:

[impendingfascination]

Ahead of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, I’m taking a look back at the ‘Star Wars’ franchise.  Here, I take a look at some changes that could have been made to the Prequel trilogy for a better set of films.

[impendingfascination]

‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian - The Prisoner’ Review

'The Prisoner' continues a trend 'The Mandalorian' has developed.  All in all, it's a good episode with plenty of 'Star Wars' easter eggs in it.  It is also pretty self-contained, and that may not sit right with viewers.  In the 'Game of Thrones' and 'Lost' era, where every episode had a bombshell, the self-contained nature of 'The Mandalorian' is frustrating.  With only two episodes left in the season, it feels like we should know more about the main plot.

The action centers around breaking an inmate off a New Republic prison vessel.  Mando checks in with a character from his past named Ran (Mark Boone Jr.), who called him in because the mission needs Mando's ship.  Mando doesn't like the arrangements but goes along anyway.  So, of course, chaos ensues.  The main interest of this story is the change we see in Mando.  It sounds like he was pretty ruthless in his early days.  Now with a child to watch after, he's mellowing out quite a bit.  Partner this with the other Mandalorians not liking his drawing attention to himself, and maybe we see his future.

The team assembled though doesn't hold together all that well.  Mayfeld (Bill Burr) doesn't have much of a plan and is surprised when the crew has success.  It seems strange that Ran would have put him in charge.  From the suggested history, it sounds as though Mando and Ran were reasonably successful at this kind of thing.  Maybe Ran was trying to rid himself of Mayfeld?   Putting him in charge of a mission doesn't make sense otherwise.

The rest of the team is made up of various stereotypes that barely need mention.   While it is nice to see Twi'lek and Devaronian characters in live-action again,  the characters we see are mostly forgetable.  Because Mando leaves them alive, I expect we'll see them again at some point, but hopefully not for a while.   Instead, I'd like to see some of the main plot brought back to the forefront.  We still need a resolution as to why the Client is running midi-chlorian experiments.   That can't be an unimportant plot point, right?  

[impendingfascination]

It’s that time again - ‘Star Trek: Short Treks’ has released two new episodes - ‘Ephraim and Dot’ and ‘The Girl Who Made the Stars’.  I’ve posted some thoughts here

[impendingfascination]

My review of ‘The Mandalorian - Sanctuary’ is here!

[impendingfascination]

Changing things up a bit...And trying to see what I can really do with this blog.  So, off to my own site it is but I won’t forget my Tumblr fans.  And if you feel so inclined, please continue to comment there!

[impendingfascination]

The Mandalorian - The Child Review

‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian’ has been praised in many places for feeling like, if not even more like, ‘Star Wars’ than we’ve been given lately.  While I’m not inclined to agree with that assessment (After all, ‘Star Wars’ is a many-headed beast and who is the judge of what feels like it and what doesn’t?), ‘The Mandalorian’ does allow for much broader storytelling than the standard two-hour movie.  That does work in favor of the show, though the individual episodes can end up lacking in action.  

‘The Child’ finds The Mandalorian (whose name has been given in interviews about the show, but since it’s not officially in the show yet I’ll still consider it a spoiler) continuing to try to make it off-planet with The Asset, a young member of the same species as Yoda.  There are a couple of things that transpire in this episode but no significant movement of the plot.  Most notably, we learn more about The Mandalorian's character.  He shows no hesitation disintegrating Jawas dismantling his ship, but shows and almost paternal quality to the child.  Maybe this is because the reward for bringing the child in is significantly higher than if he has proof the child has been disposed of, but it seems like there is something more going on there.  One orphan to another, perhaps?  The details of the past of both characters is a little sketchy right now.

The other thing that we learn is that the child does possess at least some skill in the force.  The Mandalorian is sent to retrieve an egg for the Jawas to get his ship parts back.  Time is spent trying to get past the creature until the child literally stops it in its tracks, allowing The Mandalorian to dispense with it.  There are a couple of questions raised here - who trained the child, or is it just a natural skill, and why is the child so out of energy after doing so.  We’ve seen Yoda do a great deal more with the force without batting an eye, so what happened here? 

What 'The Mandalorian' doesn't seem to want to do is rush to the finish. 2 episodes in and it feels as though we're still waiting to be welcomed into the plot. It's fascinating to watch if, for no other reason, we've never had weekly 'Star Wars' episodes before. Still, even the most ardent fan is going to need something more to run with soon.

[impendingfascination]

Star Trek Short Treks ‘Ask Not’ Review

Ask not what a 9-minute episode can do for you, ask what a 9-minute episode can do to introduce a new character. Maybe. We still haven't had any confirmation that CBS All Access will give Pike, Spock, and Number One a series of their own, but 'Ask Not' could be seen as an introduction for a new member of the Enterprise crew. Otherwise, this little exercise is perhaps a little inappropriate.

Starfleet already has the Kobayashi Maru test for its command cadets. I'd hope the test that Pike administers here is one of his own devising. The alternative is that Starfleet loves to torture its cadets in pretty uncomfortable ways. It's one thing to be forced to make a life or death decision when you aren't familiar with those who will be affected by the outcome. It's another thing entirely when your family members are part of the equation. Not to mention disobeying orders from a Captain in the same room as you, whether or not he's been stripped of command, shouldn't necessarily come that easily to any officer, not to mention one who is just meeting said Captain.

And then, that's it. You can't really fit much more in the time given anyway. This episode isn't really bound for the Star Trek hall of fame, but it is interesting if these 3 Short Treks are being used to set up the Universe for Enterprise and her crew. Unfortunately, we probably won't hear much about this until at least next year's San Diego Comic-Con. All we can do for now is ponder why Pike would choose to terrify a cadet to test their allegiance to Star Fleet.

[impendingfascination]

The Mandalorian Episode One Review

'The Mandalorian' has to have been one of the most hotly anticipated entries into the 'Star Wars' universe in recent memory. Perhaps slightly more so than 'The Rise of Skywalker' because 'Mandalorian' promised something different than what we were used to. On that note, the show does deliver. We might be left waiting a while for some of the details, however.

The episode sets the tone of the universe it is trying to establish. Bleak, unforgiving, and possibly even lacking hope. The post-empire world for bounty hunters isn't for the weak. It would seem there is a lack of quality jobs out there. There is a general sense that the guild watches out for its own. Especially given the rather easy (well, until it wasn't though discussing that further will lead to spoilers for the episode, and that can wait until at least next week) camaraderie between Taika Waititi's IG-11 and Pedro Pascal's lead character.

Given that this is the first of eight episodes, it's probably a good thing that some detail is left out. It is a pleasant surprise to see an episode of modern television not rely on each episode having its own big pay off (again, exploring that option further invites spoilers that, well, you'll need to see for yourself). Some more detail would have been welcome, though. Setting a series in the 'Star Wars' universe is inviting the obsessive in, and they will want all the details. So knowing what planet our hero was on or what species he was encountering would have been helpful. Still, the lack of detail in a way helps set this iteration of 'Star Wars' apart. You might see some things that look familiar, but this isn't a story you know.

What the episode gives us, though, is a lead character we can relate to and root for. We may not know much about The Mandalorian's origins or motivations, but we do find out just enough to want to see more.

[impendingfascination]

Get ready....

[impendingfascination]

Coming up on @impendingfascination :

November 13 - first review of ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian’

December 9th - daily reviews of the ‘Star Wars’ saga in order leading up to

December 21st - review of ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’

I know it’s been a minute but I’m coming back