raven

This post is a good articulation as to how I felt about how it was handled within the context of the show(s). Din didn't care about its representation to others, but he is a Mandalorian; "weapons are part of my religion". He attempts to use it on a job as another tool of the trade and hurts himself. When he's training with the Armorer, she tells him that his body is strong but his mind is distracted (the audience knows because he wants to see Grogu). The premise is out there that he could get better with it; I expected some future competency with it, as his mind became more settled. In S2, Bo is all about the Darksaber - it is her quest and is presumably why she has two other Mandalorians with her - we find out in this season they left her because she didn't have it, IIRC. Gideon gloats about its importance to her and she refuses to take it from Din, even as he says he yields, because of what the lore says. When she finally accepts it in S3, she is not the one who brings up the why/how - it is Din. So did she not think of it, tho she's obviously the expert user of the weapon, we saw that - or did she not want conflict with Din? So, for me, the Darksaber was put forth by the show as important in several ways; then destroyed by the show in a kind of goofy way and it was decided it was never really that important after all. The characters only got there because the show wanted to dispense of the magic sword, not because of any internal/external debates or character growth. For me, this is an example of my overall problem with S3; too much time was spent on pointless meandering, rather than exploring some interesting story lines, which could have brought Din and Grogu full circle in a more satisfying way.

Nina! She had a badass death and an interesting life, in any universe (relationships with William Bell AND Broyles??) brilliant in her own right. Her "lizard" speech to Windmark in S5 was stand up and cheer worthy. I spent a few enjoyable weeks watching the whole series - it's been a long time since I've seen it. I have a few thoughts :) Olivia - don't mess with Olivia, lol. She will not hesitate to blow you away. I really enjoyed Anna Torv's performance and loved that Olivia was allowed to have sex, be in love, get her heart broken, be awesome at her job. She was open minded without seeming silly or delusional. I really loved this character. John Noble gets a lot of well deserved praise for his fantastic portrayal of a complicated, flawed person but Anna Torv deserves the same. It was kind of jarring to go from S1 to 2. Olivia is front and center in S1 and then it's more Peter in S2. He even seems to be taking the lead on cases. It was odd and only what I can assume was the show's reaction to people complaining that Olivia was too wooden? or something? which I don't agree with, I thought Olivia was a complex and interesting character right from the start. Need Olivia to jump in the tank? Sure thing! Charlie - sigh - I had forgotten how early he exited the show and was disappointed. I really enjoyed Charlie (plus Kirk A was easy on the eyes) as the voice of rationality on the scene (we had Astrid in the lab); and unflustered by the insanity. I know we got alt-u Charlie, who was cool and fun, but then he disappeared. Boo. Astrid - ahh I am sorry that Jasika Nicole feels ill used by the show. Astrid was definitely underdeveloped, though there were glimmer in the later seasons, with alt-u Astrid. The relationship between the two was well done; I recall when prime Astrid tells alt Astrid that her (prime's) father was cold and distant and then we see that's not the case; she only said that so alt Astrid wouldn't feel alone. I will say that Jasika Nicole did a great job (while looking casually fabulous) and I loved the Astrid and Walter relationship. The show stumbled with him mangling her name - they could have show growth from that. I don't think I found it funny when I first saw the show ages ago either. Peter - somewhat of a harder sell for me. JJ and AT had some chemistry and JJ seemed to play it as Peter falling for Olivia (or being heavily interested) from the beginning, which, how could he not? Olivia is awesome. They gave Peter nice little character touches - there's one ep where he notices Astrid had her hair differently and he compliments her. Just little things like that, made the show for me. I liked him best working with Walter, showing his intellect. Maybe John Noble makes everything better. Broyles - it was interesting to watch him from being so antagonistic towards Olivia in S1 to being an ally from then on. His skeptical acceptance of the goings on in the Bishop lab were a highlight. I liked the different versions of Broyles we got in the different universes. RIP Lance Reddick. Walter - I can't say anything much differently about John Nobles and Walter then has already been said; really, this was one of my favorite characters and performances of any show. Monsters of the Week - I flove MotW so I'm not unbiased here. I'm always here for weird parasites and creatures and Walter going into the sewers because he felt responsible is one I remember. Still, the show also did the alt-universe run throughs really well, bringing me to S5 - oh my. LOL. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the series got a conclusion but the Observers took one - one!!! look in Walter's lab, saw some amber and never looked again? The season is filled with contrivances and plot holes but I didn't care, I still enjoyed it. The Observers and Loyalists can monitor everything for the fugitives, except when they can't. Hee. Also, Walter put his plan on various tapes and then ambered them all in the same place? Ah, I know it was a short season, for the fans, so I won't nitpick too much. Peter turning into an Observer was fun. The ending of S4 would have worked but I'm glad for 5; we got more of the relationships; Walter worrying that he would turn back into his old nasty persona; Astrid gets to be awesome. Anyway, it was a fun rewatch.

Yeah, I'm still pissed about the Marauders, lol. I'm definitely curious. I haven't read all the info so I don't know if the plan is out there - are they starting with the school or before? It would be great to start with the fall of Tom Riddle; James/Lily and their time at Hogwarts; the rise of Voldemort and then delve more into the school with Harry/Ron/Hermione, without the character assassination of Ron. Or even start farther back, with the building of Hogwarts and the four founders. There are different stories to tell to lead up to Voldemort's fall. Hmm.

Only speaking for myself, as I don't pay attention to "fandoms" , but characters we care about can die and it can mean something if the story telling is good. Or characters can continue to get out of improbable situations, which means the viewer knows they always will do so, which means there are no stakes. You can still have good story telling with that of course, though for me it hasn't happened in this case. I can see a clear split in the story telling of this show from each season on, and it hasn't been for the better, IMO. Now, I don't think the show is terrible, though it's had some bad episodes; it just hasn't been what I expected. With Famuyiwa saying the Mandalorian could be anyone and Filoni saying he doesn't know when Grogu will start talking, it makes it sound more like they are testing the PR winds on the show rather than telling a story. We don't really know much about Grogu's species, which could be an interesting story telling point but there's only so much you can do with puppets, I guess. I've heard of the plan to bring this show together with Ahsoka's et al - so we'll see. Indestructible villains are fairly uninteresting to me, though Thrawn has a personality, intellect and a very welcome reluctance to monologue, so I would much rather see him than Palpatine AGAIN, ugh.

I agree that the Jack Black episode was terrible and (IMO of course) the worst episode of the show. I don't share your dislike of Grogu, but the show is not the same as the one that fearlessly killed off Kuiil and IG-11 in S1. These were two flawed characters we knew briefly, yet understood and grew affection for, who sacrificed themselves for others. The show as it now stands doesn't share those stakes any longer, though this trend started in S2. Paz Vizsla's sacrifice doesn't come close and could be argued as foolish and unnecessary. The battle for Mandalore in this ep looked good but I was certain that the Mandalorians would win and no one we were invested in would die, so it was not really exciting for me. The best part of this episode was "R5! Next shield!" Grogu holding back the flames was pretty cool but we've seen that before. Gideon was so OTT it was silly and he's probably not dead either. Speaking of Gideon, he's faced with the enemy he loathes, finally helpless and at his disposal - and he doesn't force Din's helmet off. Other than capturing Grogu, there is no worse outcome for Din, who would probably rather die than be humiliated that way. Just ridiculous that the show couldn't bring itself to go there. Pedro Pascal could have acted the hell out of that. I pretty much yawned my way through Gideon and his council. I've watched all of Clone Wars and Rebels and I know what this show is setting the plate for but I really am not interested on this show (Ahsoka's show will be different, though I'm feeling kinda burnt out, lol). When The Mandalorian premiered, I was excited by a show with the action on the fringes of the galaxy. Humans and non-humans still struggle with their everyday lives (as we saw in Andor) irrespective of whatever galactic turmoil is happening. That's what interested me. Having recently re-watched S1 and 2, S3 feels like they switched direction abruptly. We've seen Din negotiate with different/competing factions; make deals to get what he wants/get stuff done. I like Katee Sackhoff and Bo-Katan just fine, but nothing has shown that she is more capable to rule Mandalore, other than her name. Without Din's quest to bathe in the waters (which was treated as a silly lark - look at him get captured! and fall in the water!) Bo-Katan would be still be sitting by herself, a quick hop from her home planet, not realizing that there was breathable air or that people were living there and growing things! TBH, I don't care who rules Mandalore, unless it involves Din and what it looked like his arc would be. I prefer that he not become a big player - if the show goes back to Din and Grogu navigating their way around the galaxy, making their own Mandalorian way and occasionally interacting with other SW characters, I would be happy. It just felt like the show was gearing towards Din as reluctant ruler and/or confilct with Bo-Katan. The mythical Darksaber was disposed of easily. I don't hate the show - I am here for all things Din and Grogu - but the show has painted themselves in a corner. I'm glad that Grogu walking around in IG-11's corpse didn't last long BUT what does the show do? Have Grogu speak in a cutesy baby voice (invalidates bringing him to battle or on bounty hunts if he really sounds like a child) or speak in a Yoda type voice (definitely less cute). There's a reason they're holding off on him speaking and it is $$, not good storytelling. I'm sure there's a middle ground there somewhere but I don't know what it is. I've found both S1 and 2 re-watchable but not S3. Star Wars is starting to feel like the MCU; we have interesting products that then become repetitive, especially when blended together. Andor stands alone but we know that protagonist's end game. When/if S4 gets here..eh, we'll see.

Airdate 2023.03.29

Airdate 2023.03.29

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Too sad; only 17 years old. Thai cave rescue: Duangpetch Promthep, Wild Boars captain, dies in UK

Airdate 2023.02.15

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