Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers from The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4.At the end of 2020, the most talked about thing in pop culture was without a doubt The Mandalorian. You couldn’t go anywhere, be it on social media or in the world, without seeing Grog’s adorable face everywhere. The Disney+ series has become the next big show we’ve all been talking about, following in the footsteps of shows like Breaking Bad, the walking DeadAnd Game of Thrones. However, almost two and a half years later, The Mandalorian now back to the third season, which ended almost half way, the show seems different. For a variety of reasons, this is no longer the same as it was at the beginning of the decade. Something has changed.
The first two seasons of The Mandalorian changed television
For the first two seasons The Mandalorianeverything went right. star Wars the franchise has been somewhat of a downward trend, with many fans disappointed with the new feature film trilogy. It didn’t look like The Mandalorian there would be something that would change that. If you weren’t a hardcore fan, you might not even know what the hell a Mandalorian is. But producers like John Favreau And Dave Filoni Took a risk by learning star Wars a world beyond the stories of Luke and Leia, Han Solo and Darth Vader. The audience burned out because of the familiarity and overexposure of Skywalker. The Mandalorian explored this world, set after the events of Star Wars. Episode VI - Return of the Jediwhere the Empire is defeated and Vader is dead. Now follow Dean Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in a world that looks familiar, but at the same time completely different.
Then bring in Grog, or baby Yoda, as the fans affectionately called him. He was the perfect character, so cute that you could sell anything with him, but he was also fun to watch as we learned more about his abilities. His father-son bond with the Mandalorian was a sight to behold. Their adventures were exciting, especially with Western-style episodic stories. It also helped that they only released one episode at a time each week rather than dumping them all at once so we could grab a bite to eat. It maintained an intense buzz every week with no decline rather than becoming something we consumed and discussed over the weekend and then forgot.
The connecting story of the Mandalorian trying to find a Jedi to deliver Grog safely was both gripping and heartbreaking. It seemed like Dean and Grog were going to be separated, which perhaps should have happened for the story, but which was also feared due to what it would do to our emotions. As the weeks went by, rumors grew of some great opportunity. Would The Mandalorian do it? Was the show and the duo’s search for the Jedi ending in you-know-who. Can we really see him again? And then we did. In one of the highlights of TV, season two ended with a tense scene in which Luke Skywalker arrives, saves the day, and takes Grog with him, but not before Dean removes his helmet and bids an emotional goodbye to the little creature who meant it. a lot to him. It was perfection. Grown men and women cried, and YouTubers uploading reaction videos of the scene received hundreds of thousands of views.
The Mandalorian season 3 doesn’t seem to know how to get past the Luke Skywalker moment
Two years have passed, the 3rd season came out, but The Mandalorian it is no longer talked about at that previous fever peak. This perfect season 2 finale is part of that. It worked so well that it felt like the series finale. Where do you go after something so impressive? Where do you go after Luke the hell Skywalker? One option was to continue following the Mandalorian on new adventures, but it wasn’t that easy. The show couldn’t exist without Grog. It would be impossible. There has to be a way to get The Mandalorian and Grog together, but that also means you have to erase everything that just happened. Suddenly, the appearance of Luke Skywalker, while still stunning and goosebump-inducing, wasn’t as important in terms of storyline.
Season 3 could have been an exciting story, where we watch the Mandalorian try to get back with Grog for some reason, and also show Grog in his new life with Skywalker. This is exactly what we got, but not in The Mandalorian. Instead, it was hastily implemented in a spin-off, Boba Fett book, in which we leave Boba Fett to watch Dean find Grog with Skywalker, and ends with Grog deciding to leave him to join Dean. It was a beautiful story, but it was also disappointing. We didn’t see it dragged out on their show, but moved pretty quickly into a completely different series. This made their reunion less special, as if the producers decided they needed the couple back together when Season 3 began. The Mandalorian started instead of exploring the exciting story of what their lives would be like without each other.
With season 3 seems good, now what? Not only does it seem to those who watch, but the series itself is perceived that way. There is no huge, overarching story. Of course, adventure is still fun. Dean, needing to bathe in living waters to redeem himself for removing his helmet to another, is intriguing. There are small rudiments of what could happen with the recent episode featuring Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) and his research into cloning, but for the most part the series goes on as usual, with Dean and Grog saving the day from some monster, and Grog threatening to be overwhelmed with cuteness. While Grog is still the best part of the series, it’s also increasingly reaching meme levels, which could lead to a possible shark-jump moment with Grog wearing a Mandalorian helmet if the series isn’t careful. None of this is to say that the show is no longer enjoyable. It’s still fun, but it’s also become a greatest hits show while it tries to figure out how to get past what could be its peak.
‘The Last of Us’ steals the spotlight from ‘The Mandalorian’
Then there is Last of us element. IN The Mandalorianabsence, it’s become the new giant show we’re all talking about. It was inevitable. There is always something new coming. For The Mandalorian however, it did not happen at the best time. Last of us, and his ascent to the top of world pop culture did not happen a year or many months ago. The first season literally ended right before The Mandalorian returned. This removed all hopes of the series returning. All the oxygen in the room was taken up by something else.
Ironically, Last of us also starring Pedro Pascal. Here we can see his face and through this we can connect with him on a deeper level. Despite being based on the hugely popular video game, the series is still new and fresh. It also follows the same storyline as The Mandalorian, with Pascal as a father figure to an orphaned child as he tries to help them and bring them to safety. Despite The Mandalorian came first and did it first, Last of usbecause of this novelty, now at the forefront.
Go straight out Last of us To The Mandalorian can be tedious. It’s almost like releasing two franchise films one after the other. It’s not the fault The Mandalorian. The series are not related to each other in any way, but their similarities due to their popularity, close familiarity of their stories and Pedro Pascal in the lead role made us less worried about Mandarlorian even before it started.
This could be overcome if The Mandalorian was ready with a compelling story that matched what came before. Instead, it’s a series that is held back by its inability to ever separate Dean and Grog. This is a show that has to deal with the simple fact that they created some of the best moments on TV last season. The second season felt like the end of the story. In season 3, it seems like the winning score happened, the crowd went crazy, but then the game continued.
None of this means that The Mandalorian should end. It’s still exciting, just smaller than it was. It’s still fun, intriguing and unsettling, just less than it was. As far as we know, Season 3 has some big tricks to help get rid of the frustration you’ve had so far. If they are, it’s time to show them. Not even Grog’s appeal can save a series that seems to be living in the shadows of its former glory.
Source: Collider
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