Are You My Mando? Why The Mandalorian Hit Home.

Yes, I would like to watch a show about a Boba Fett like character even though I don’t myself understand the Boba Fett love others have. That ran through my mind when I heard there was going to be a show in the Star Wars Universe called The Mandalorian. There was some skepticism and a touch of reservation. Neither mattered very much. Disney+ was still purchased, and The Mandalorian was a large part of that decision.

Disney was taking a gamble in choosing Star Wars as its new streaming service’s flagship vehicle. A risk with Star Wars? Yes. Star Wars fans are a divided and complex demographic as the finale of the Skywalker saga shows. The negativity, nitpicking, and downright hatred accumulated from the release of the final trilogy could fill all of the empty warehouses and mill buildings in the US and then some. And that’s all from fans.

This makes a perfect picture of the word, really. The term fan is derived from the word fanatic. A person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause. The dictionary should be updated to also include Star Wars. Like religion and politics, Star Wars fandom has sects and schisms. Couple the divided interests with fervor, and you get Disney’s creative and marketing departments buying stocks in Pepto Bismol and stress ball manufacturers.

Who is this Star Wars thing for? Do we target the Traditionalists? The Prequelers? The Sith Agitators? I think that’s the nicest way to speak about that particular group of Star Wars fans. This isn’t a job I would want for millions of dollars. It’s basically signing up to walk through a minefield every single day. But, Disney hires more robust people than myself. Despite the problematic demographic, they launched The Mandalorian into the world.

While not universally loved, it’s as close as anything Star Wars is going to get these days. The criticisms I’ve heard and read are nowhere near the caliber from The Last Jedi. Jon Favreau, with his Midas touch, gave fans a show to drink in and enjoy. Right down to the soundtrack.

There isn’t a Skywalker in sight. There is no great evil or big bad to be overcome. We are given a man with a spinning moral compass and a helmet that can’t come off. Why did this over any of the latest Star Wars releases stop the fandom hostilities?

This isn’t a one answer question.

Fans who saw the untampered with scene in Most Eisley, where Han is out to save his bacon, were introduced to an antihero worth watching. We all know what has happened to that moment since. And in changing it, so changed Han Solo’s character arc. The Mandalorian didn’t make the Han-Greedo mistake with Mando.

He is not a hero. Anyone reading who’s watched the show is puzzling about his efforts to protect The Child. That was a heroic moment without question. But one act does not a true hero make. We, as an audience, are getting to watch an antihero transform into a hero. Getting a ready-made hero is good, but the ascension of a character is almost always better.

While we are on the subject of Mos Eisley, the show gives us a more in-depth look into that hive of scum and villainy we got a taste of way back in A New Hope. Mando takes us into the fringes of the galaxy far, far away. We will meet no Princesses here. There is no real safe haven. The setting is ripe with tension and unease, which was also omnipresent in the base material for the universe The Mandalorian is set.

This focus on the seedier elements of Star Wars would be perfect for targeting the older members of the demographic. The show doesn’t do that. The primary focus is on an adventure above age level and everything else. Through each episode, there are layers set within the story for the different audience members. This approach makes the series accessible to a broad audience, and it absolutely had to have that with the fanbase.

The decision to go with the TV-style episode release doesn’t hurt the show either. In fact, I think it helped the audience’s relationship with the story. Binging is great and all, but I find that it expedites that hollow feeling after the last episode is done. Keeping The Mandalorian in the serial style grows the anticipation for the next episode while also making it feel like a comic book/strip. In a world where binging is King, I just blasphemed, but I’m okay with that.

And, by talking about the show, I’ve kicked up that vacant feeling shows can leave behind when they either get canceled or go on hiatus. Sure, I can rewatch the first season, and that’s on the docket, but on a rewatch, you are looking with a different set of eyes and expectations. I want to know more. Which is an odd thing to say when I needed no introduction to the world The Mandalorian is set. With the show departing from cataloging the battle between good and evil, I find there is more to be discovered in the galaxy. So come on season two already!