The Mandalorian

After the fall of the Galactic Empire, a Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal)– a member of a perpetually-armored warrior tribe – is contracted by bounty hunting guild member Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) to retrieve a valuable asset for a mysterious Empire-affiliated client (Werner Herzog). The Mandalorian locates the asset, which proves to be a child from the same race as Yoda, but upon witnessing its Force powers, refuses to turn it over thereby becoming a wanted man.

Set in the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian is less a Star Wars TV series and more of a Star Wars-adjacent tale, and for that we should be thankful. Writer/director Jon Favreau previously struck gold with another lesser-known (at the time) armored antihero with 2008’s Iron Man, and The Mandalorian’s first season offers similarly well-crafted action.

By sidestepping established characters, Favreau frees himself from burdensome expectations while still providing enough recognizable elements – the Force, stormtroopers, and, tangentially, The Mandalorian himself (the films’ revered bounty hunter Boba Fett, though a different character, was implied to be part of the tribe) to appeal to Star Wars fans. Similarly, because the title character is anonymous for most of the first season, Pascal is free to leave his own mark. That mark ends up being a fairly convincing Clint Eastwood Man With No Name homage as Mando (which, coincidentally, sounds a lot like Manco) is a supremely capable gunfighter with a dubious moral compass, a checkered past, and an unexpected conscience. This parallel helps cement The Mandalorian as, portions of Westworld aside, televisions best space western since Firefly.

It helps that nothing about the show feels cheap or half-hearted. The settings look universe-appropriate, Ludwig Gornasson’s score (including a killer opening theme) fits the show’s mood, and the action sequences are exhilarating and competently choreographed. There is also a considerable amount of talent both behind (Rick Famuyima, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Taika Waititi have all directed episodes) and in front of (Ming-Na Wen as an infamous assassin, Nick Nolte as a helpful moisture farmer, Giancarlo Esposito as a menacing villain, Favreau as a fellow Mandalorian, and, memorably Waititi voicing a Terminator-like droid) the camera. However, the puppeteers responsible for the asset and lesser-known Emily Swallow as the Mandalorian’s Armorer/keeper of tribal lore nearly upstage them all.

If there is one grievance to be found here, it is that the pacing and stakes are inconsistent. The beginning and end of the season are brimming with urgency as The Mandalorian first locates the asset and later attempts to confront his pursuers. In between, however, the show takes on a more self-contained, episodic quality. Even still, these outings are not filler as they allow for character development and hints of backstory to emerge.

In light of the divisiveness of Disney-era Star Wars films, it is easy to become cynical about any attempt to further milk the franchise, but The Mandalorian is polished and compelling enough to stand on its own two armored feet.