The Mandalorian *SPOILERS* Discussion Thread

[Darth Logos]

Touché

That's right.

[Taegin Roan]

Are those the same kinda spiders from Rebels?

Also anyone else find Baby Yoda eating the eggs a bit disturbing? I get the idea of it but I didn’t like the idea of him eating that last remaining line of a family. I actually didn’t find the end where he snuck one last egg to be cute or funny.
I know the show is fiction and all that but it still bothered me for some reason.

Not the same spiders as from Rebels. Those were Krykna. These are based off of the White Spider or Knobby White Spider from Ralph McQuarrie's concept art for Degobah.

My theory about The Child wanting to eat as much as he does, is that he needs to eat a lot more food than he does in order to grow. If we look at this in relation to Yoda, we know that Yoda was 100 when he began to train other Jedi. If the child is already 50, than he has a long ways to go in a relatively short amount of time. I think up until recently, he hasn't been given enough food to eat in order to grow at the pace that he should be, and that is the reason why there is such a focus on him wanting to eat stuff. If you notice in this episode, he has eaten more than in all other episodes combined.

As to your point about it being disturbing, I can definitely see why you would think so. Personally it wasn't really one way or the other for me, but I can definitley see why someone would be bothered by it.

[Metal Mech]

Not the same spiders as from Rebels. Those were Krykna. These are based off of the White Spider or Knobby White Spider from Ralph McQuarrie's concept art for Degobah.

My theory about The Child wanting to eat as much as he does, is that he needs to eat a lot more food than he does in order to grow. If we look at this in relation to Yoda, we know that Yoda was 100 when he began to train other Jedi. If the child is already 50, than he has a long ways to go in a relatively short amount of time. I think up until recently, he hasn't been given enough food to eat in order to grow at the pace that he should be, and that is the reason why there is such a focus on him wanting to eat stuff. If you notice in this episode, he has eaten more than in all other episodes combined.

As to your point about it being disturbing, I can definitely see why you would think so. Personally it wasn't really one way or the other for me, but I can definitley see why someone would be bothered by it.

Yeah you point on him needing to eat is kinda the same thought I had. I also get that was what they were going for with him constantly thing to get at the eggs, eating a spider out of the shell and then sneaking another egg at the end. I understood the concept they were going for.
I just felt making him eat something that was a creatures last chance at continuing their line a bit disturbing for me. However I also realize that they needed a mcguffin for getting him in that tight spot and the creatures urgency to keep moving. For them to throw in some other “item” for baby Yoda to eat that he shouldn’t eat would have been a bit much jamming things in.
I won’t say it was a bad episode. Enjoyed the X-Wings even if pointless. I enjoyed watching him pilot the Razor Crest like that. Also they did a good job creeping me out and keeping me on edge with those spider but I don’t like spiders in the first place.

But overall this is the first episode I could pass on watching again when I inevitably rewatch the season.

[Darth Logos]

Are those the same kinda spiders from Rebels?

That's what I initially thought, but then I remembered, or at least thought I remembered, that the spiders from SWR were impervious to even a saber, never mind blasters. Perhaps a subspecies.

Also anyone else find Baby Yoda eating the eggs a bit disturbing? I get the idea of it but I didn’t like the idea of him eating that last remaining line of a family. I actually didn’t find the end where he snuck one last egg to be cute or funny.
I know the show is fiction and all that but it still bothered me for some reason.

I have mixed feelings on the subject. On the one hand, they were just unfertilized eggs; they contained no young. On the other, they were ova of a sentient race. Further more, the fact that the little $#!% kept eating them, after he was told not to, did little to endear him this episode.

My thoughts on his perpetual appetite goes all the way back to ESB: "How you get so big, eating food of this kind?" As with Taegin, makes me think that the "Yoda" species goes through an aggressive puberty like phase in which mass quantities must be consumed in order to grow into their full adult size. The Child is not getting the proper nourishment and therefore is eating everything in sight. But I still thought he needed an ass whoopin after the second egg.


Now onto my own thoughts:

What a waste of time. First off.....what the $%^& is with a pair of X-Wings "patrolling" the Outer Rim. IT'S FRIKKIN HUGE. It's like having 2 city cops going on patrol in the MID WEST. It's a painfully useless and lame effort to establish that Republic has our hero on the proverbial radar. Then there's the other aspects of WTF (and this is just surrounding the Xs):

1) #$%&-up Filoni back in the cockpit. <puke>
2) When did blaster rifles become standard issue gear for pilots?
3) How the flying fark did those idiots find the Crest, if he lost them that easily?
4) What the hell is a "ping", and why was it needed?
5) What the hell are "tabs"? No it didn't sound like it was in the context of "keeping tabs on someone".
6) Am I the only one seeing how utterly Nazi-esque the New Republic is being?
7) How the hell did they know anything that had transpired aboard the prison ship, especially on a personal level?

I'm probably missing others, but I think I've made my point. X-wings are becoming a bad omen.

Next let's talk about the spideys. The whole setup of the nest was good. It better have been considering that they ripped right out of the Alien franchise. The dormant eggs suddenly hatch when a heat source is detected, indicating food. I was alright with the immediate threat of the nest......but the others? Seriously? It wasn't bad enough that they rip off Aliens, now they have to rip-off frikkin Harry Potter...again? And if we're ripping off HP, why didn't we get any magic-hand-thing, baby?



Moving on. The Frog. This franchise is seriously beiginning to bat 1000 in horrible clichés. What is a member of a seemingly amphibious species doing on a desert planet? Then she has to get to "the only planet suitable for her babies to grow". Really.....that would be the species' planet of origin? ô¿o Did we get a writer that dumbed out of biology? If it was so important for you continue your family line, YOU DON'T GO JUMPING AROUND SPACE. Especially getting your dumbass stuck not being able to jump through hyperspace. And why can't your unfertilized eggs "survive" hyperspace? I thought was ridiculously lame twist. Mostly because IMO even with their superior engine tech, it would take a lllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg time to cover almost any traversable distance via sub-light. And that's assuming it's a straight shot.

What was the deal with the bandits, and why would they waste their time trying to pick off 1 speeder bike? It was an awful contrivance, and ultimately served no point beyond a lame joke about launching a Jawa wannabe with remote-control-action. And that turd was nothing more than another lame throw back to the ST. <barf>

My only solace is that it took the first season 3 episodes to really find its footing, maybe the 2^nd will follow that pattern.

[Metal Mech]

Yeah beyond the whole yoda/egg thing you list reasons I really didn’t care for this episode. It just felt like an excuse to set up things. The moment they said no hyperspace I was like yep this is lame. Saw the whole X-wing thin leg coming a mile a way. I did enjoy the dog fight.  I was hoping it would be one of those “the force at work” things and they would find a unexpected direction for their journey but nope. Also thought the rebels showing up in the nic of time to save the day was stupid. If they were gonna introduce them in the show I would have rather it been a thing where they are constantly trying to catch him but he always gets away from either luck or skill. Kinda of a “fugitive” type situation but even that would have been super cliche.

I didn’t mind the bandit thing. I viewed it differently. One fo the bandits told another one to grab the child. So I was under the impression that it was either a bunch of thugs out to claim the bounty or possibly some guys working for Boba Fett to catch Mando because he isn’t ready to reveal himself yet.

Like I said before, disturbing stuff aside, this so far is the weakest episode for me. Hopefully they tie it in somehow that makes it a important episode later.

[Darth Tepes]

Ok Darth Nitpick     Allow me to maybe answer a few of these and we'll see if they satisfy you.

Now onto my own thoughts:

What a waste of time. First off.....what the $%^& is with a pair of X-Wings "patrolling" the Outer Rim. IT'S FRIKKIN HUGE. It's like having 2 city cops going on patrol in the MID WEST. It's a painfully useless and lame effort to establish that Republic has our hero on the proverbial radar. Then there's the other aspects of WTF (and this is just surrounding the Xs):

I don't think its fair to judge an episode as a waste of time when the season has barely started.  Who knows what will come into play later.  They plainly said that area was now under New Republic Authority....so patrols are to be expected.  No one said they were the only 2 out there.  Do you see Every cop in the city at the same time?  Stands to reason this was the patrol pair for this section.

1) #$%&-up Filoni back in the cockpit. <puke>

Just let it go Elsa.....its his baby and he's gonna show up as much as he wants.  Better than KK being in the Cockpit,

2) When did blaster rifles become standard issue gear for pilots?

Do we know it wasn't?  Especially for this new era of patrols.  Highway patrol (at least where I'm from) Have Ar-15's in their trunks.  Not far fetched to think they had more than a blaster in case they had to crash land.

3) How the flying fark did those idiots find the Crest, if he lost them that easily?

That's like asking "How did Qui-Gon just happen to wind up on the same planet as The Chosen One"  Will of the Force/Writers.  Every show/movie/book has things like this in it.

4) What the hell is a "ping", and why was it needed?

A Ping or Sensor Ping is a way of targeting and identifying ships.  Its used in a few of the Flight Star Wars games including the recent Squadrons.  Basically in this case since he didn't have a transponder they wanted a ping...kind of like running is Plate/ship description.

5) What the hell are "tabs"? No it didn't sound like it was in the context of "keeping tabs on someone".

Must have missed that part.  Where was that said?

6) Am I the only one seeing how utterly Nazi-esque the New Republic is being?

This is a direction they began with the first Disney Canon novel Aftermath.  Basically meet the new boss same as the old boss situation. Not a fan.

7) How the hell did they know anything that had transpired aboard the prison ship, especially on a personal level?

Pretty damn sure every inch of that ship was being recorded.  They saw everything we did and word got around.

Moving on. The Frog. This franchise is seriously beiginning to bat 1000 in horrible clichés. What is a member of a seemingly amphibious species doing on a desert planet? Then she has to get to "the only planet suitable for her babies to grow". Really.....that would be the species' planet of origin? ô¿o Did we get a writer that dumbed out of biology? If it was so important for you continue your family line, YOU DON'T GO JUMPING AROUND SPACE. Especially getting your dumbass stuck not being able to jump through hyperspace. And why can't your unfertilized eggs "survive" hyperspace? I thought was ridiculously lame twist. Mostly because IMO even with their superior engine tech, it would take a lllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg time to cover almost any traversable distance via sub-light. And that's assuming it's a straight shot.

We know many species and families got displaced during the Galactic Civil War.  Either their planet was destroyed or this particular family was banished/in hiding.  So the husband hides his wife on a desert planet (who would look for them there) and finds a planet they can raise a family on.  Works and eeks out a life and then calls for her. 

My guess is the Cronau Radiation emitted by hyperdrives.  Many things as fragile as an egg would be affected by that even if everyone else isn't.

From what I can tell Sub Light is any speed bellow lightspeed so even 1 or 2 kph below lightspeed is considered sublight.  Now, I'm not an engineer, scientist, mathematician etc.  Just a brute that likes to hit things with sticks but that seems to me that would cut travel from hours to days.  Especially since it was close by.

What was the deal with the bandits, and why would they waste their time trying to pick off 1 speeder bike? It was an awful contrivance, and ultimately served no point beyond a lame joke about launching a Jawa wannabe with remote-control-action. And that turd was nothing more than another lame throw back to the ST. <barf>

Since one of them clearly said "grab the kid" i'm betting Moff Giedion still has a hit on them.  But a Mando's jet pack was too much for that guy to resist.  How was a it a throwback?  Was it something that happened in TROS?  Because I still have not watched it.


Now as for the egg thing...maybe I'm heartless but it didn't bother me.  I was more focused on why BY was so voracious.  He was looking like that Dragon Steak was all his.  I'm with everyone on that this maybe some biologically induced urge.  We know Yoda was training Jedi by the time he was 100 so the Child should at least be much further along in his development.  But no interaction and bare minimum nutrition may have stunted him.   As for the Frog Lady I don't think we've seen the last of her....she has her own character poster so I doubt she's a one and done.
 

[Master Seblaise]

  Better than KK being in the Cockpit,

Hey .... I can not stop thinking to her in the cockpit now

[Darth Tepes]

Well This should piss some people off LOL!

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/141946

[Metal Mech]

Well This should piss some people off LOL!

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/141946

First let me say that I don’t judge anyone on how they feel about the child/egg thing. I don’t think your heartless for it not bothering you. Honestly I was surprised it bothered me so much cause it’s fiction it’s not real.

Second if they are ac happy making toys/figures around this scene it seems to solidify to me that it’s an important scene in the growth of the baby. Cause you know for them to have that avalible already they had to have some images and lead time to work on it.

[Darth Tepes]

Second if they are ac happy making toys/figures around this scene it seems to solidify to me that it’s an important scene in the growth of the baby. Cause you know for them to have that avalible already they had to have some images and lead time to work on it.

Just had the same convo with an Employee....

[Darth Logos]

It just felt like an excuse to set up things.

And that may just be what this is. Stand-alone, it blows chunks, but added to a larger whole it may yield results.

I was hoping it would be one of those “the force at work” things and they would find a unexpected direction for their journey but nope.

That brings up ANOTHER WTF X-Wing moment: WHY, for the the love all that is good and awesome in SW, would random dipstick pilots say "May the Force be with you"? It makes no sense. It's a Jedi salutation. Now considering it's heritage in Rogue Squadron, I'll let it pass if it was them saying to one another. But this just came across like creepy cultists ambushing you at the airport. (Sorry, just watched Airplane! over the weekend.)

Also thought the rebels showing up in the nic of time to save the day was stupid. If they were gonna introduce them in the show I would have rather it been a thing where they are constantly trying to catch him but he always gets away from either luck or skill. Kind of a “fugitive” type situation but even that would have been super cliche.

True. But it'd be fun. It's not like they magically a treasure trove of original story concepts when they started this project.

I didn’t mind the bandit thing. I viewed it differently. One of the bandits told another one to grab the child. So I was under the impression that it was either a bunch of thugs out to claim the bounty or possibly some guys working for Boba Fett to catch Mando because he isn’t ready to reveal himself yet.

Maybe, but unlikely. The Client is dead, and the bounty on Mando has been rescinded.

Ok Darth Nitpick    Allow me to maybe answer a few of these and we'll see if they satisfy you.

I'm a Sith engineer. It's what I do. Shut up.

I don't think its fair to judge an episode as a waste of time when the season has barely started.  Who knows what will come into play later.  They plainly said that area was now under New Republic Authority....so patrols are to be expected.  No one said they were the only 2 out there.  Do you see Every cop in the city at the same time?  Stands to reason this was the patrol pair for this section.

Granted. But seriously. Think about how many craft it would take to effectively patrol the Outer Rim. Plus, in this little illustration, there's a lovely section distinctly marked Hutt Space. Fairly certain they haven't liberated that. And considering that he couldn't jump from Tatooine space, it's a good bet that the entire episode took place in Hutt Space.

Just let it go Elsa.....its his baby and he's gonna show up as much as he wants.  Better than KK being in the Cockpit,

WRONG! It is Favreau's baby. Filoni didn't even direct. It's just Disney reminding us that we're watching SW in their usual fashion.

Also, touché.

Do we know it wasn't?  Especially for this new era of patrols.  Highway patrol (at least where I'm from) Have Ar-15's in their trunks.  Not far fetched to think they had more than a blaster in case they had to crash land.

Ok, but in the cockpit? After watching ESB, we all know that X-Wings have a usable payload beyond torpedoes. Luke pulled a rather healthy amount of supplies out. Further research reveals that the cargo bay is located below and just aft of the cockpit. I assumed it is accessible from both the main exterior hatch, but also from behind the pilot's seat. Having a rifle in the supplies stored in the hold I can understand. Having a good pistol in the cockpit I can understand, but not a rifle.

That's like asking "How did Qui-Gon just happen to wind up on the same planet as The Chosen One"  Will of the Force/Writers.  Every show/movie/book has things like this in it.

Meh. Will of the Force is a lame cop out. And then no one ever talks about how the Force "willed" the destruction of the Jedi and the fall of the Republic.

A Ping or Sensor Ping is a way of targeting and identifying ships.  Its used in a few of the Flight Star Wars games including the recent Squadrons.  Basically in this case since he didn't have a transponder they wanted a ping...kind of like running is Plate/ship description.

So it was a nod to the gaming community? I can live with that.

Must have missed that part.  Where was that said?

Same scene. First they asked for a ping, then they started talking about tabs. Then they locked s-foils in attack position.

This is a direction they began with the first Disney Canon novel Aftermath.  Basically meet the new boss same as the old boss situation. Not a fan.
Pretty damn sure every inch of that ship was being recorded.  They saw everything we did and word got around.

But I thought Zero scrambled all sensors on board. Otherwise, IMO, they would have been made as soon as the hatch opened.

We know many species and families got displaced during the Galactic Civil War.  Either their planet was destroyed or this particular family was banished/in hiding.  So the husband hides his wife on a desert planet (who would look for them there) and finds a planet they can raise a family on.  Works and eeks out a life and then calls for her.  

Maybe. But this just seemed awfully set up for the sake of a story. "I lost my home world, I need to get to my husband, this is the last hope for my family line, AND I can't travel via hyperspace."

My guess is the Cronau Radiation emitted by hyperdrives.  Many things as fragile as an egg would be affected by that even if everyone else isn't.

Maybe, but why not then make an egg pod that protects AGAINST said known harmful thing.......and locks so sticky fingered imps can't get their hands on said precious contents. Y'know....something smart? Instead we get the same old predictably stupid way of developing conflict.

From what I can tell Sub Light is any speed below lightspeed so even 1 or 2 kph below lightspeed is considered sublight.  Now, I'm not an engineer, scientist, mathematician etc.  Just a brute that likes to hit things with sticks but that seems to me that would cut travel from hours to days.  Especially since it was close by.

Look at it this way: When the Death Star arrived in the Yavin System (which I have yet to hear if a "system" is named for solar or planetary), it took a fair amount of time for it to be able to move into range at sub-light speed. And it took a fair amount of minutes to do so. This also meant that our valiant heroes had to fly even farther to reach the surface of the station, taking well more than the few minutes that were shown. I estimate that even under the rules of the fictional science, Red and Gold Squadrons would have taken anywhere from 30m to an hour to fly from Rebel Base to intercept the Death Star. This distance was within the sphere of Yavin Prime; tantamount to the earth to the moon. So I can easily imagine travelling sub-light to a neighboring star system taking weeks at the fastest. And this may have been implied and not mentioned, just sayin'. Not impossible but extremely inconvenient.

Since one of them clearly said "grab the kid" i'm betting Moff Giedion still has a hit on them.  But a Mando's jet pack was too much for that guy to resist.  How was a it a throwback?  Was it something that happened in TROS?  Because I still have not watched it.

I've seen the mask before. I don't think Gideon is too proud to rely on subcontractors to get what he deems as his. He would have sent Imps to get the job done. People he could trust to follow his orders to the letter. Especially after what happened the last time.

Well This should piss some people off LOL!

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/141946

Saw it last week, even before I saw the episode.

[Taegin Roan]

I'd just like to quickly point this out to Logos. You know, if you don't like the show, or don't like what Disney is doing with Star Wars, you are not and never have been forced to watch it. Just saying.

And one more thing really quickly, Filoni in an acting role can only be a good thing for him as a director. By having that first-hand experience as an actor, he now has a better understanding of what it involves, and how to more accurately communicate to those under his direction what he wants.

[Darth Logos]

I'd just like to quickly point this out to Logos. You know, if you don't like the show, or don't like what Disney is doing with Star Wars, you are not and never have been forced to watch it. Just saying.

Imagine Peter Jackson managed to get his nasty Hollywood hands on the rights to all of Tolkien's writings, and now had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted with them. Does this thought make you happy?

And one more thing really quickly, Filoni in an acting role can only be a good thing for him as a director. By having that first-hand experience as an actor, he now has a better understanding of what it involves, and how to more accurately communicate to those under his direction what he wants.

That still won't stop him from wrecking almost everything he touches.

[Taegin Roan]

Imagine Peter Jackson managed to get his nasty Hollywood hands on the rights to all of Tolkien's writings, and now had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted with them. Does this thought make you happy?

Not particularly, because I believe that the rights belong to the Tolkien Estates. That being said, I don't hate the LOTR or Hobbit Trilogies, I just don't think they are good representations of Tolkien's books. But, I would absolutely watch every movie/tv show created around that IP at least once to see if it was any good, because I would love to see a good adaption. Here's the difference between LOTR and SW, LOTR started as books. The books are the originals, there is nothing "canon" to Tolkien's works that he did not directly have his hand in writing. Any adaption could not possibly be canon, because Tolkien wrote books, not movies.
SW on the other hand was created by George Lucas as a series of movies telling the story of the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. When his story was told, he made a tv show called The Clone Wars that was related to, but did not directly effect his story. He then gave Dave Filoni (his apprentice) the power to do pretty much whatever he wanted within the galaxy he had thought up. Then he sold SW to Disney so they could continue on the legacy of his story (which, for better or worse, they did). Now Disney is working with people like Filoni and Favreau who know and love SW like you and I do in order to make something that is almost universally loved by SW fans (of course there are those who don't like it, and that is fine, media is subjective), whereas the ST was extremely divisive.

No one is forcing you or me to watch Mando, just like no one would force me or Tepes to watch anything related to Tolkien's works. We watch it because we want to. Once we find out we don't like it, we quit watching. I'm not saying that you should quit watching Mando, that is a choice you need to make for yourself, but it is an option.

That still won't stop him from wrecking almost everything he touches.

I'm sorry you feel that way.

[Darth Tepes]

WHY, for the the love all that is good and awesome in SW, would random dipstick pilots say "May the Force be with you"? It makes no sense. It's a Jedi salutation. Now considering it's heritage in Rogue Squadron, I'll let it pass if it was them saying to one another. But this just came across like creepy cultists ambushing you at the airport. (Sorry, just watched Airplane! over the weekend.)

It was said my more than a few people who weren't Rogue Squadron or Jedi in the OT.   Two Main examples are the guy who gave the driefing in ANH (sorry character name eludes me) and Admiral Ackbar just before the assault on DS II.  It seems as if it was taken up by the Rebellion as another aspect of defiance against Papa Palpatine.

WRONG! It is Favreau's baby. Filoni didn't even direct. It's just Disney reminding us that we're watching SW in their usual fashion.

He will be directing the 5th Episode and its both of theirs really.  But after looking up somethings it seems as if Filoni and the other two directors/creators who made cameos as X-Wing pilots was an inside joke between Filoni and Favreau that Favreau went ahead and implemented.

Same scene. First they asked for a ping, then they started talking about tabs. Then they locked s-foils in attack position.

Just going on context Tabs maybe like a plate or Vin number.  "Oh no Transponder or ping?  OK.  Your going to have to come with us so we can physically check your ship."

Maybe. But this just seemed awfully set up for the sake of a story. "I lost my home world, I need to get to my husband, this is the last hope for my family line, AND I can't travel via hyperspace."
Maybe, but why not then make an egg pod that protects AGAINST said known harmful thing.......and locks so sticky fingered imps can't get their hands on said precious contents. Y'know....something smart? Instead we get the same old predictably stupid way of developing conflict.

If every character did "smart" things...there would be no stories.  Don't get me wrong Lazy Writing exists but I don't automatically equate plot convince with lazy.  Outer Rim, Post Empire, poor creatures....stands to reason their not rolling in resources.  If they were she could have chartered a more comfortable and reliable flight.