The Mandalorian - streaming on Disney+

[Donocropolis]

Thought it was a great episode with a couple of minor nitpicks:

1- As Fero said, my wife and I kept asking why the Mandolorians seemed to think that there was no huge rush getting to the kid. It seems odd to assume that the dragon thing wouldn't eat it's prey for a day and a half. But then again, they do talk as though this isn't the first kid to get snatched up by it, so they might be familiar with it's routine?

2- They kept referring to the child as a foundling, but isn't he the heavy gunner Mandolorian's son? I thought "foundling" specifically referred to an orphaned child adopted into the Mandalorian culture, not just a generic name for children. But then again, I guess it could be both, just as Mando would consider Grogu his son.

 

[Axaday]

I guess they call all the initiates foundlings.

I haven't seen the show. I guess the kid was wearing armor? It may be that they know the monster isn't going to be able to get through that.

 

[The Predaking]

He was wearing some armor, as he just got his helmet this season. He didn't have the full set though.

Spoiler

So, I really liked this episode.

For the flashback:

Seeing an even smaller Grogu was cool!

I loved seeing the Clone troopers again, even if its during Order 66 yet again.

It seems that the first four jedi weren't the best, as they seemed to have got taken out by a handful of clones. Granted it was the 501st, but still.

Loved that new Jedi! I hope that we get to see more him this season.

It was awesome seeing the Nubian ship again! I wonder if that will play out later on in the series. Like will Grogu go hide out on Naboo? I mean there and Tatooine are pretty much the two words Vader isn't going to go look for Jedi on.

We saw the mountain peak again!


The foundling story:

The rescue took way too much time. I know that they wanted to have the campfire scene, but they could have written that better. Should have had Bo Katan immediately rescue the Foundling, and then have the group decide that they would need to take out the creature before it could do this again. Then they could lead their scouting party to attack its nest. Everything would have worked a little bit better.

You know that we are going to see those Mandos riding those three dragon/Ptero things by the end of the season. I can't wait to see one rip an interceptor/bomber apart.

Bo Katan telling the armorer about the mythasuar was great! Some people are thinking that the armorer didn't react to the news of her seeing one. Like she doesn't want to believe it for some reason, but I think that the opposite is true. She has always believed that they exist, so to her it's like someone telling me that they saw a blue whale in the ocean. "Cool man. They are neat to see."

Why did Grogu need the plate armor? Doesn't he already wear Beskar chainmail?

Loved seeing Vizala being a dad! Maybe now he won't have such a stick up his jetpack when it comes to Din and Bo Katan since they rescued his son. As whether or not he is a biological child or not, it seems that the Mandos get really attached to their foundlings, so either way it still works.

 

[Dake]

Fantastic episode!

Spoiler

-The timeline was a little long for the rescue, though I believe still less than 24 hours (and of course, we don't know how long the planet's rotation actually is ). They set out shortly after she got back and then hiked in that late afternoon/early evening.

-Definitely cool to see Ahmed Best's character canonized (and that he's been able to move past the hate he's received in the past).

-I don't think the Armorer necessarily believes Bo-Katan saw an actual Mythosaur, more that maybe The Armorer believes Bo believes she saw one (even though Bo said it wasn't just a "vision").

-As for Grogu's newest piece of armor, the Mandalorians of this time seem to build their armor piecemeal, unlike back in the Clone Wars and earlier when they were more likely issued/gifted a matching set. I suspect the Mithril Beskar mail is probably the first layer (and likely what the Foundling who was snagged by the flying beast was wearing underneath which helped protect him). Then they gradually earn/receive new parts.

Also, back in the first season, we saw Mando working on his earlier armor and it had all manner of circuitry on the back side, so presumably that's why Grogu's component does too. Maybe there's some form of additional electronic shielding or something that works in conjunction with the Beskar.

-And yeah, I assume that Vizla's "son" is by adoption. That being said, there are obviously numerous female Mandos in the covert so he could be biological.

 

[Dvandom]

Rock climbing, Joel.

---Dave

 

[Steevy Maximus]

I do applaud Disney for not mandating a “set runtime”. This was one of the shortest episodes ever for the series, but it still felt like it did what it needed to do without excessive meandering.

Something else I didn’t mention a few weeks back, is that I LOVE how the production team is addressing many of the CGI assets. With the Darktroopers and the cannibal cyborg, it feels like they intentionally “off key” the animation on these creations. Gives their sequences a similar vibe that you might have gotten with actual stop motion puppetry.

 

[Donocropolis]

...With the Darktroopers...

Speaking of, I don't think I said anything about it here at the time, but as someone who played the hell out of Dark Forces on my PC as a young teenager, seeing the Dark Troopers explode into canon like that was amazing. That is one thing that the Mandalorian has always been pretty good about. They toss in all sorts of references to old media, from the Christmas Special to off-screen toys to 90's PC games, but they do it in a way that never feels like they're beating you over the head with it and shouting "Here's that old thing you remember!" They're always just there for you to enjoy if you do remember them, but don't feel out of place or forced if you're seeing it for the first time.

 

[Cybersnark]

Heh. "You will grow into this."
Lady, I have some bad news about Grogu's species.

Also, back in the first season, we saw Mando working on his earlier armor and it had all manner of circuitry on the back side, so presumably that's why Grogu's component does too. Maybe there's some form of additional electronic shielding or something that works in conjunction with the Beskar.

Note that the Armourer never seems to actually attach the pieces she creates, she just kinda "sticks" them in place and they stay through the magic of cinema. Maybe that integrated tech is some kind of magnetic attachment circuitry.

 

[Dake]

Yeah, I've noticed that too.

 

[Powered Convoy]

I do applaud Disney for not mandating a “set runtime”. This was one of the shortest episodes ever for the series, but it still felt like it did what it needed to do without excessive meandering.

Something else I didn’t mention a few weeks back, is that I LOVE how the production team is addressing many of the CGI assets. With the Darktroopers and the cannibal cyborg, it feels like they intentionally “off key” the animation on these creations. Gives their sequences a similar vibe that you might have gotten with actual stop motion puppetry.

The Dark Troopers were played by actors, at least to some extent, with their human bits removed during post production.

Which is the best solution IMO.

 

[Dvandom]

Depends on how their human bits were removed, I suppose. Digitally, good. Surgically, not so good.

---Dave

 

[Cybersnark]

"Human bits removed during post-production" is how most movies are made, really.

 

[Ultra Magnus13]

Heh. "You will grow into this."
Lady, I have some bad news about Grogu's species.


Note that the Armourer never seems to actually attach the pieces she creates, she just kinda "sticks" them in place and they stay through the magic of cinema. Maybe that integrated tech is some kind of magnetic attachment circuitry.

The jet packs for sure seem to have magnetic mounting posts.

 

[Axaday]

Is it a point of honor to always have ALL your armor? I felt horrible for Paz Vizla climbing that ciff with his giant cannon on.

 

[Dake]

If you can't haul your own gear you've got bigger problems than honor.

 

[MrBlud]

A mini gun seems like something you’d definitely leave behind on an explicitly STEALTH mission that involves free climbing a cliff face.

That is the way.

 

[Cybersnark]

To be fair, plans don't tend to survive contact with the enemy (especially if the enemy is predatory megafauna).

It'd suck to end up needing an autocannon and not have it.

 

[DefaultOption]

Is it a point of honor to always have ALL your armor? I felt horrible for Paz Vizla climbing that ciff with his giant cannon on.

Paz' archetype is 'big guy with big gun'. It's hard to show nuances of personality when The Way prevents you from showing facial expressions.

 

[Kalidor]

I keep reading elsewhere how people seem very disappointed with this season but I think it's great. Every episode is paced out like a ttrpg adventure.

 

[Dake]

Yeah, I'm enjoying it. I don't trust the interwebs.