The Mandalorian has lost the spark it had in its first season. The fans feel it in the storytelling, Disney+ feels their drop in viewers, and Obi-Wan must feel a disturbance in the force. Who ever knew that the problem with the series was that it would become too popular? The thrilling action show that started as a way of telling a different Boba Fett story eventually grew legs it was never meant to have, and now, two seasons later, the show is forced to walk no matter if it can tell a good story or not.
Supported by other shows like The Book of Boba Fett and the soon-to-be-released Ahsoka, The Mandalorian is forced to exist simply to press the fun button that feeds Star Wars fans. The plot is already tied into these other shows, but the people who tell them seem to need to keep the title of The Mandalorian afloat when it doesn’t have to be that way. The simple existence of the show means that it has to fill that less-than-half-hour runtime in any way it can. But this Disney+ Star Wars series ecosystem is just that, and it should be nurtured in such a way.
The Mandalorian is Forcing its Story
The Mandalorian began with one fatal flaw, but “This is the way.” When John Favreau created the story with that linchpin that a Mandalorian was never to remove their helmet, we all knew that by the end of the show, the protagonist would have to choose between his creed and his life. It wasn’t a difficult thing to see coming. But that first season was also a wonderful spirit that brought the original Star Wars to life, that feeling of an old-school western told throughout the furthest reaches of space. As fans grew attached to the character, it became imperative to keep the story going, if only to make Disney more money.
Favreau brought life into the Star Wars universe again. Most fans had become seriously disappointed by the films. The prequels were terrible, and the sequels had proved themselves almost as bad. Fans of Star Wars had to search for smaller stories, most written by Dave Filoni, who had become a new hope for Star Wars at the time. But Filoni’s animated series was rated a little too young for some of the fanbase. The Mandalorian became a gritty, live-action story for adults with a broader appeal and didn’t play on Cartoon Network. But once we saw the face of “the Mandalorian,” the show lost a degree of its mystery.
In the second season, the story shifts to Dinn Djarin’s attachment to Grogu and his need to protect the tiny innocent creature. That, at least, was a logical progression since their relationship had started in the very first episode, and to develop those characters in the second season is normally what TV shows do. But now, in this third season, the story has changed direction completely. Suddenly, Dinn Djarin is on his way to becoming king of Mandalore when his character was designed as a lone bounty hunter. Writers have had to shoehorn in Star Wars lore from far reaches of the galaxy to educate viewers. That way, we’d know what they were talking about when they walked us through the point-by-point storyboard they had planned for the third season they knew was coming. Instead of telling a better story, they assumed everyone needed a scaled-up grandiose plot with ancient monsters and high stakes.
The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka
Instead of being forced to pull itself up by its bootstraps, The Mandalorian should have been allowed to develop within this triple story happening in this galaxy. In season two, The Mandalorian planted within itself the seeds of The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. Though there was a place for the series to go in season 3, it didn’t have to rush there. The Book of Boba Fett, though it didn’t do as well as the first season of The Mandalorian, can develop as a part of these things happening simultaneously. What John Favreau is good at is building a story ecosystem. We all saw it with Marvel; perhaps he should have been left to do it with this new world in Star Wars.
The plots of Boba Fett and Ahsoka are tied to The Mandalorian. It would be worth seeing Dinn Djarin appear in both of these series, if only as a supporting character. We could get minor updates on his story while we watched new characters progress. We wouldn’t get bored following the story of a single protagonist, and that character wouldn’t have to conquer an entire planet in order to stay interesting. These three characters might have done better if they developed together and weaved their stories one series at a time instead of following the traditional model of season-by-season television.