The Mandalorian Review: Chapter One (Season 1 Episode 1)
The Mandalorian Season 1 Episode 1, “Chapter One,” kicks off its foray into a different type of Star Wars than we’re used to and delivers a lot of potential.
The concept for The Mandalorian is a simple yet bold one: Star Wars but make it a western. It’s an obvious and unsurprisingly successful idea that lends itself to the universe rather well. It’s a smart choice, having it be in the Star Wars universe but not get so lost in the weeds with what that might mean.
While this is a series that hints and has easter eggs and deeper meanings that abound throughout “Chapter One,” it’s almost secondary to the story that’s currently being told on this series. This isn’t a property that requires you to have some kind of exhaustive knowledge into the lore and pre-existing world-building, instead it’s telling a much larger story.
It also doesn’t exhaustingly hold your hand to explain every last thing that’s happening here. There are basic allusions to letting the audience know that this is set after the fall of the Empire but that is essentially it.
The Mandalorian gets to operate out of this assumption that anyone watching probably already likes Star Wars and has some basis of knowledge here that the show can work with. This is a show that knows most people have a familiarity with the iconography that the Mandalorian armor evokes and can just run with that as a kind of shorthand.
The Mandalorian is one of those shows that rewards intensive watching but doesn’t necessarily require it. If all you know of Star Wars is Boba Fett is a bounty hunter and the Empire is on the way out, then you know everything you really need to know for this series.
Of course, what it adds to the Star Wars universe is also interesting, such as the carbonite freezing that the lead character uses, implying that what once was a cheap, neat little trick is now the way of things with bounty hunters. It’s a way of pushing the plot along in fascinating little ways.
One of the most interesting choices that The Mandalorian makes is who it chose to be the titular character. Most people will recognize the voice behind the armor to be Pedro Pascal, who played Oberyn Martell from Game of Thrones and is an insanely and endlessly charismatic figure.
It’s a bold choice to have someone like him, who exudes charm at every turn, to be hidden behind a helmet for the entire episode and likely the whole series.
Despite that, his is a voice that really works for the role. As the episode rolls along and events force him to become looser and not simply stand stoically, he makes the character feel lived in and not an archetype.
Where “Chapter One” leaves us on is perhaps one of the most interesting things within the show, as the lead character’s target appears to be the same species as Yoda in its infantile form. There are many implications and questions about this.
Why does the Empire want it alive so badly? Is it important and, if so, what significance does that species hold beyond Yoda himself? Is it, like some have theorized, a clone to the Jedi himself or rather a descendant of some kind? I certainly look forward to seeing what the answers end up being.
What did you think of this episode of The Mandalorian? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Mandalorian airs Tuesdays on Disney+.
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Drew Koenig
Drew has an ongoing, borderline unhealthy obsession with pop culture, but with television in particular. When he's not aggressively trying to get out of a perpetual state of catching up, he can be found passionately defending the ending of Lost. More of his online work can be found at The Lost Cause and he also co-hosts The Lost Cause Pod.