The Mandalorian works best when it steers clear of known characters. That is its greatest strength because it has the potential for growth. If it relies too heavily on what we already know then it could lose viewers that only gave it a chance because it promised to be different. [...] I want them to stay away from as much of the OT, PT, ST, Clone Wars, Rebels, etc as possible. I'm interested in the new characters the Mandalorian created. If they are allowed to develop further I might one day love them. If this show has any real legs to stand on then it will take the chance and rely on new material without having to constantly rely on the old.
I have to disagree with you on this one, my friend. The arc has been a smooth one for me. At the start of the show, Din was a local big deal. But when he took the bounty that led him to Grogu, he got himself into some serious higher-level-campaign stuff. His starting gear needed upgrading, he needed leveling. He took his first step into a larger world, if you will. It turned everything on its ear. Episodes three through eight of season one were an ongoing upending of the applecart. The covert was revealed, the Mandalorians in it had to
bas'lan shev'la -- strategically disperse. By the end of the season, he had lost his support structure, all his familiar foundation, the safety blanket of the Armorer... She told him to get out and quest, stop grinding levels hunting local bounties. Season two has shown him how narrow his starting skillset was, how much he has to learn. He has to contend with both the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant.
As with the OT, he's got characters to help him on his way. Old Ben has a backstory only hinted at. Han has a backstory more subtly hinted at. Et cetera. He's been quested to find more Mandalorians. Since Gideon has the Darksaber, that practically guarantees Bo-Katan or someone associated with her will cross Din's path. That they were as sparing with her presence pleases me. Leaves me wanting more, rather than disgusted at such a small morsel (seriously -- it was only a half-hour episode and she was in maybe half of it). Bo sending him on to the only Jedi-trained person she knows makes total sense. My only gripes with the Ahsoka episode were her headpiece and a little of the dialogue. Like... Most glaringly for me, I feel it should have gone something like:
MAGISTRATE: [says something about Ashoka slowing down or something, after knocking one saber away]
AHSOKA: "I'm holding back because I need you alive. You know where the Grand Admiral is, and you're
going to tell me."
Or like that. More natural. Less forced.
I also like how they've now, with this latest episode, tacitly "recanonized" Open Seasons vis-a-vis Jango. But I'm mad they've leaned into Boba inheriting Jango's armor. Never mind the sizing issues, they were completely different. It would have involved adding a
lot of material on, as well as adding one whole piece, while ignoring all six pieces of leg and boot armor Jango had. Never mind Boba blew up Jango's helmet in Clone Wars. If he's got a new helmet and groin armor and backplate and kidney plate and knee pieces and gauntlets... Can he legit say it's the same set? I wanna know where that displayed info was stored. That's not his ESB left-gauntlet, or Jango's left gauntlet. Ditto different helmets and such. Is each piece lojacked individually?
Aaaaanyway. It all is in service to broadening Din's capabilities and expanding his viewpoint from what little he'd experienced and been taught over the last quarter-century. He's becoming a
person now, instead of an NPC. I don't expect him to start hanging out with Luke and Wedge and Lando and so on. I don't expect him to pick up a droid companion at some point who is a lost R2-D2. That said, I
wouldn't mind him -- plausibly -- running into a young Poe or something. This show is doing a good job of showing us some of what's going on
around Our Heroes™ of the films, the impacts of their actions, and what people do as a result of them. I mean... Galactic politics for the last three thousand years has had three edges -- Jedi, Sith, Mandalorian. Mandos have been allies of, betrayed by, and used by both factions over that time, except when they've tried to stay out of it, which never lasts. In any story where Mandalorians are involved, galactic-scale matters
will eventually come into play. Possibly, depending on era, also Jedi and/or Sith. If you want an "ordinary joe" story about a random guy trying to make his way hauling cargo... Well then you've got Han Solo, I guess. Bad example. Heck, you can't even tell Ice-Cream-Maker Guy's story without Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and an Imperial occupation in the middle of it.
It's hard to find a time and place enough removed from the stuff stirred up in the films to tell a story that's still recognizably Star Wars. I wouldn't mind seeing with the writing chops take it on, but whatever that might be, it's not
this show.
I feel sorry for anyone compelled to pay that much for a Hasbro toy that could easily cost less than half that price if Hasbro released it at retail. Pulse is a rip off.
Not remotely -- not for what you get. The Khitanna was massive, amazingly detailed, and came with a buncha nice extras. As will the Razor Crest. The "Legacy Collection" (which I miss) Falcon and X-Wing were also properly scaled -- or, at least, moreso. That Falcon was almost the size of the five-foot filming miniature and cost three hundred bucks, plus having a bunch of electronic bells and whistles. For all the play value you get? Removable panels and dismountable engines, escape pod, four carbonite blocks, new Din and Grogu figures, on top of the size and detailing? When a current "Leader" level Optimus Prime action figure is close to a hundred, four hundred is a lot, but close-ish to reasonable. I've spent more for less.