With my work schedule, Thursdays and Fridays are my weekend, so I watch the new episode first thing Friday morning before I do anything else. In fact, I have to fight a tendency to wake up super early on Fridays.

It's technically monday, and I'm up late so,

This episode was ok. And being ok for a storyline wrapup of two seasons isn't ok.

The setup and run on the light cruiser was good. Once they got on the cruiser, the teams quisinarted (this is a word now)
through the guards, until the Dark Troopers showed up. And then Luke showed up and quisinarted his way through the Dark Troopers.
A Luke Ex Machina to save their asses and show off how badass Luke is. I could hear the breath of the GM showing off his
favorite NPC to the party of characters.

Let's talk digital de-aging. Mark Hammil looked better than Peter Cushing but worse than Carrie Fisher in Rogue One.
His performance was wooden and lacking in character.
I think I would have prefered they cast a new actor, but I realize that would have dissapointed the fans.

I'm also dissapointed in how the plot thread of using the Child's blood was not resolved. Maybe they're saving it for
future episodes, but I think this is where it should have been resolved. Make a clean end and move on to a new storyline.

And now what will they do without The Child. I daresay, that character was a prime draw for the series, and now they'll have to
go on without. We'll see if they can accomplish that.

So I'm on the fence. Decent episode, dissapointing resolution of the two season build up. I will say the passing of the child to Luke and Mano letting go was handled well.

I thought it was good, but agree that Luke was a total Deus Ex Machina and there were a lot of issues. They overplayed the indestructibility of the Dark Troopers and built them up WAAAAY too much--with Mando almost getting his ass kicked by just ONE of them and not being able to harm it with ANYTHING, except for finding a weak point in its throat he could tear with his own bullshit indestructible spear--only for Luke to then show up at the last minute and go through scores of them like papier mache in SECONDS. The only things that saved that scene were the Rule of Cool and the excitement of Luke finally showing up and being Luke for the first time in DECADES.

CGI Luke was also a little weird and creepy, in that they now can simply replace actors with CGI clones. But there was something about him that didn't fully feel "there".

I'm guessing Baby Yoda with show up again, and they'll show him in training or something, ripping off the Dagobah scenes from Empire, or something, with Luke training Baby Yoda now, instead of the other way around. Then come up with an excuse to reel him back in, in search for those Disney bux.

Loved it. The slow ramp to Luke was perfect, giving more and more hints as he stomped mudholes in the Dark Troopers. I thought it might be a fakeout right up to the point where he puts the lightsaber away and you get a good look at the hilt.

Yes, the CGI was a little weird. Yes, the voice sounded unusual (almost like it was being done in mono instead of stereo, if that makes sense). But damn. We got to see Luke as a Jedi badass instead of as a grumpy mope. I squealed like a little girl seeing a pony.

And he rescued the princess. Again.

AND...we get a Boba Fett series, hopefully where he's a crime lord. I want "bad guy" here, not "scoundrel with a heart."

For me, I thought that getting Luke Skywalker on the show was an impossibility, so having him show up was amazing.

Getting to see Luke in his full power as a master jedi was especially awesome.

I was actually somewhat disappointed it wasn't Sebastian Stan when he pulled back the hood. That's not a knock against Mark Hamill, it's more that I was hoping to see the role handed over to a younger actor so that we could potentially see more of Luke in future episodes or possibly a post-Jedi Skywalker series.

However, getting Mark Hamill to play live action Luke again is unquestionably a triumph for the creators of The Mandalorian.

I noticed that Luke never actually introduces himself by name. You could argue that he didn't need to, I suppose. He is arguably the most famous hero in the galaxy.

The effect used to turn Hamill into Young Luke was not flawless. It looked good, but it looked like an effect. And it is no doubt an expensive effect, so we probably won't see a lot of him. Pity, because I kinda want to see what Luke is doing post-ROTJ now.

Question: if the Dark Troopers are droids, what did they need Grogu's blood for?  And why did Moff Gideon try to kill himself rather than be captured? There is more to this than has been revealed.

RIP Jeremy Bullock, the original Boba Fett.

If Bo-Katan has to beat the shit out of the person holding the Darksaber, can Mando just hand it back to Moff Gideon and let her go to town?

Mando is now both penniless and the rightful king of Mandalore. If only he could split the difference, he'd be in good shape.

And lastly, The Book of Boba Fett, coming December 2021. What's his goal now? Is he going to be the ruler of Tattooine, and if so, why? He's not from there, and there are nicer planets to inhabit.

In the end, I was very satisfied with this episode, and the season as a whole. They kept the quality high, told good stories, and had amazing guest stars. Can't wait to see what happens in Season 3!

Quote from: Ratman_tf on December 21, 2020, 04:24:17 AMI think I would have prefered they cast a new actor, but I realize that would have dissapointed the fans.

The fact that the didn't recast Luke Skywalker means they have no intention of using him in any shows or movies going forward. That, to me, was the most disappointing aspect of the episode.

I'm glad they got rid of baby Yoda. Because the character can't age, there isn't really much they can do with him other than make him cute or put him in peril. Other young characters: Luke, Ahsoka, Ezra, Annie, all got to grow up on screen in a series of movies or seasons.

I still hate the Mandalorian "princess". I hate the actress, the character, the plot, her sidekick, that stupid tiny backpack she wears. A serious downgrade from the Mandalorians from season 1. She's arrogant, elitist, and her entire motivation is selfish. I hope Mando is forced to kill her.

I like that they didn't kill off Moff Gideon, or allow him to kill himself. He was a good character, and a formidable foe. There is a lot they can do with him in the future.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on December 21, 2020, 10:58:40 AM

Quote from: Ratman_tf on December 21, 2020, 04:24:17 AMI think I would have prefered they cast a new actor, but I realize that would have dissapointed the fans.

The fact that the didn't recast Luke Skywalker means they have no intention of using him in any shows or movies going forward. That, to me, was the most disappointing aspect of the episode.

Nonsense, this is Star Wars. There is no reason they can't later decide to use a different actor and then go back and put that different actor into this episode in place of de-aged Hamill. It's not like Mandalorian Special Edition would be beyond the pale for this franchise.

Was it just me, or was the Beskar spear much shorter while on Mando's back only to somehow grow back to full size when he pulled it out? Perhaps it's a very direct phallic symbol...

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 21, 2020, 11:07:27 AMNonsense, this is Star Wars. There is no reason they can't later decide to use a different actor and then go back and put that different actor into this episode in place of de-aged Hamill. It's not like Mandalorian Special Edition would be beyond the pale for this franchise.

Sure anything could happen, but I'd rather not wait 10 to 20 years. If they had recast Luke, that would been a sign of an imminent movie or series with Luke (and possibly Han and Leia) in the works. Since they didn't do that, there's nothing coming in the near future.

Quote from: Lurkndog on December 21, 2020, 10:53:44 AM
If Bo-Katan has to beat the shit out of the person holding the Darksaber, can Mando just hand it back to Moff Gideon and let her go to town?

Oh yea. I liked that he couldn't game the system and just 'yield' and give it away as a present.
I imagine it's still possible to have a mock battle, and go through the motions. I guess we'll have to see how it plays out.

My guess is that the show is heading to Mandalore next season. That would explain why Mando a) has the Darksaber, and b) is slowly losing his inhibitions against showing his face.

Mandalore in the Clone Wars cartoon was largely depicted as an advanced world, with the capital being a super-city reminiscent of Coruscant. If that's been "glassed" I wonder what we'll see in The Mandalorian?

....

Just found out that the Boba Fett show will take Mandalorean Season 3's place in the production line and Season 3 (which should probably be called Mandalorean Season 4) won't start production until afterwards. So, we can't expect Season 3 until 2022.

I know that Grace Randolph has taken flack for her rumors about Pedro Pascal, but it's looking like at least some of what she's been saying is true.

Source:
https://www.thewrap.com/the-mandalorian-season-3-book-of-boba-fett-filming-premiere-date/

Quote from: hedgehobbit on December 22, 2020, 11:22:18 AM
Just found out that the Boba Fett show will take Mandalorean Season 3's place in the production line and Season 3 (which should probably be called Mandalorean Season 4) won't start production until afterwards. So, we can't expect Season 3 until 2022.

I know that Grace Randolph has taken flack for her rumors about Pedro Pascal, but it's looking like at least some of what she's been saying is true.

Source:
https://www.thewrap.com/the-mandalorian-season-3-book-of-boba-fett-filming-premiere-date/

Eh. Boba was fun as a cameo, but I'm not interested in a series around the character. Wake me up for Mando season 3.