To paraphrase my review of the first season, I liked getting a throwback to Spaghetti Westerns, combined an unburdened series that felt Star Wars enough without hammering in the fan service. I don't think I can feel quite the same about Season 2.
I like the first episode, in which our Mandalorian hero teams up with Timothy Oliphant to kill a giant worm. It's very much in the same vein of the initial series, but it's on the conclusion of this that we see Season 2 fall into a pattern: Mr Mandalorian goes to a planet, he wants something to help baby Yoda, the local who can help him refuses unless he completes a side quest first. Mando does the side quest, and the local gives a miniscule amount of information, forcing Mr Mando onto another planet to do the same thing again, next episode.
Formulas aren't inherently bad, but they can result in a show feeling too repetitive. In the case of Mandalorian, I can't really remember much about what happens in each episode, beyond there always being at least two action scenes in which a badass hero smashes through an army of mooks with negligible difficulty. Sometimes it's someone other than the Mandalorian doing the ass kicking, but they still kick ass, chopping, shooting and punching their way through armies of men who might as well have not even shown up. Coupled with the sidequest element, it all feels a bit videogamey.
The season also turns up the references. Every episode there is a plot element taken from extended universe novels, games, and tv series. Coupled with the endless ass kicking, I feel like Disney took fan responses to "Darth-Vader-Hallway-Scene" too much to heart, and now have to feature similarly gratuitous fan service every episode.
It appears Season 2 is definitive ending of this show, even if Disney can't help but promise a second and aesthetically similar spin off series. I didn't have a terrible time with season 2, but it is a definite step down. It's still recommended viewing for Star Wars fans, especially those who want to be rewarded for having played some mid 90s Lucas Arts games.
Season 2: Now the Cloying Starts
To paraphrase my review of the first season, I liked getting a throwback to Spaghetti Westerns, combined an unburdened series that felt Star Wars enough without hammering in the fan service. I don't think I can feel quite the same about Season 2.
I like the first episode, in which our Mandalorian hero teams up with Timothy Oliphant to kill a giant worm. It's very much in the same vein of the initial series, but it's on the conclusion of this that we see Season 2 fall into a pattern: Mr Mandalorian goes to a planet, he wants something to help baby Yoda, the local who can help him refuses unless he completes a side quest first. Mando does the side quest, and the local gives a miniscule amount of information, forcing Mr Mando onto another planet to do the same thing again, next episode.
Formulas aren't inherently bad, but they can result in a show feeling too repetitive. In the case of Mandalorian, I can't really remember much about what happens in each episode, beyond there always being at least two action scenes in which a badass hero smashes through an army of mooks with negligible difficulty. Sometimes it's someone other than the Mandalorian doing the ass kicking, but they still kick ass, chopping, shooting and punching their way through armies of men who might as well have not even shown up. Coupled with the sidequest element, it all feels a bit videogamey.
The season also turns up the references. Every episode there is a plot element taken from extended universe novels, games, and tv series. Coupled with the endless ass kicking, I feel like Disney took fan responses to "Darth-Vader-Hallway-Scene" too much to heart, and now have to feature similarly gratuitous fan service every episode.
It appears Season 2 is definitive ending of this show, even if Disney can't help but promise a second and aesthetically similar spin off series. I didn't have a terrible time with season 2, but it is a definite step down. It's still recommended viewing for Star Wars fans, especially those who want to be rewarded for having played some mid 90s Lucas Arts games.