1 hour ago, Eoen said:

Morai is her name not her species, which is a Convor, and she’s a force entity not really an owl.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Morai

*Yaaaaawn*

Good lord, I don't give a ****

Personally, I really hope they stop trying to tie this series in too closely with Clone Wars and Rebels. (And please understand I absolutely adore one of those series and abhor the other.)

My take is that The Mandalorian is kinda “the second chance” to pull in both old fans AND new to Star Wars after the disappointing reaction to the Disney sequel trilogy. And if too much of the new show requires knowledge of two somewhat lengthy animated series, that program is likely to end up alienating much of its audience. I’d suggest sticking to the OT and PT, with subtle “Easter eggs” for the hardcore crowd.

My brother and I were discussing The Mandalorian this afternoon, and he commented that he was starting to feel lost due to the inclusion of Bo Katan and Ahsoka as he never viewed the animated efforts. At first, it seemed to him “Hey, cool new characters.” Until he went online to find he wasn’t a True Fan and was clearly not knowledgeable enough to really enjoy the show... Sigh.

Any Jedi that appear in the future I would hope are original characters (or we get a special appearance from Mark Hamill).

Anyway, my two bits.

Also? Personally, I’ve loved the series thus far, and this season has been a ton of fun. Just, again, really hope The Mandalorian ends up being its own story and not just a spin-off of CW and Rebels.

1 hour ago, kaosoe said:

*Yaaaaawn*

Good lord, I don't give a ****

You must since you replied.

35 minutes ago, Harlock999 said:

Also? Personally, I’ve loved the series thus far, and this season has been a ton of fun. Just, again, really hope The Mandalorian ends up being its own story and not just a spin-off of CW and Rebels.

So you expect a series produced by Dave Filoni not to have anything to do with the previous series produced by Filoni? His job is world building.

I just love how so many Star Wars fans hate most Star Wars media. Why don't you just play Traveller if you want generic sci-fi? Introducing characters from other shows into the Manalorian might encourage fans of the Mandalorian to watch or read other Star Wars media. Viewership is kinda of a goal most media companies have.

While I enjoyed this episode, I think it was the weakest so far. Unfortunate, since I wanted to love it. I did love the opening action scenes...Ahsoka is appropriately bad-***, fearless, always a step ahead. I kind of like that they just jumped into it, no searching and seeking and an overly dramatic reveal. The choreography of the action scenes was great throughout. I'm fine with her appearance, her voice, and all that, in fact I'd say her look is more in line with TCW than Rebels, which is a good thing imho.

And yet...I wish Dawson had worked a little harder on movement. Ahsoka walks like a poised athlete; Dawson walks like a Hollywood starlet, with a slumpy little hip-swagger that suggests a completely different attitude than what we know of Ahsoka. Plus, I wouldn't say Dawson conveyed that much conviction in her lines, the fish guy from the last episode is awesome by comparison.

Giant dinosaurs feasting on burnt forests? Love it.

Storywise...they squandered a lot of opportunities. The standoff between Mando and the merc could have had a lot more interesting dialogue, and not ended with such an obvious fake-out. Mando could have let him leave, he might have made an interesting enemy.

The warlord had a lot of potential too. We didn't see her die, so who knows what happened, but it all seemed very throw-away.

I guess that's interesting about Thrawn, a tidbit for Rebels fans, but I really hope that's all it is, just two stories briefly crossing paths. (That was one of the genius aspects of Rebels.) It implies a lot of things, especially that Thrawn has somehow survived his space-whale hug-fest and re-made contact or might even be really busy serving the Empire in other ways. But I really don't care about that character.

So we're left with a dead-end, and a continued fetch quest. And, Tython? Ruins? "Seat at the top of a mountain"? Seriously? I know this is a space fantasy, but that feels more like Lord of the Rings (which I also love, but sheesh, let's not try too hard to merge genres...). And what are they going to do there? Wait just in case some Jedi got the message, and if not, die waiting? I hope the Jedi is close by, and has a handy starship... Of course baby Yoda (who cares what his real name is...!) might not reach out to the Force, so ... not sure how I'd feel about that.

Finally I think the story would have worked much better if Ahsoka had simply rejected the idea of taking him on because she was busy chasing Thrawn. Instead it's like "hey I'm on the trail of this super-big-baddie, but a stranger just showed up and wants me to train this baby. And you know, I'd totally do it! I mean Thrawn can't be more important than this cute little bundle! Aren't you the darnedest thing! But oh, look, he's angry. Well, see ya!" It just doesn't work.

My first line above says I "enjoyed this episode"...the more I rant the more I recant. I'm sure a lot of how I feel will depend on where they go from here.

2 hours ago, Sturn said:

Good points on these, hadn't considered them. The Kyle angle could be a thing due to the Dark Troopers. But I'm still betting on Ezra since Thrawn is being sought by Tano and when Thrawn was last seen, Ezra was with him.

The question I have is has Ahsoka and Sabine already found Ezra and Thrawn with Thrawn escaping as a villain of his stature should or are they still together and still being searched for.

1 hour ago, T70 Driver said:

The question I have is has Ahsoka and Sabine already found Ezra and Thrawn with Thrawn escaping as a villain of his stature should or are they still together and still being searched for.

I think maybe they might be setting up a live action rebels sequel. So hopefully we will find out.

One option might be that Ezra and Thrawn have sort of influenced each other during their time away. So Thrawn is no longer beholden to the Empire and the Emperor but wishes to make his own more "humane" and efficient empire. With Ezra sort of acting like a moral compass who is set up to keep him in line.

After all Ezra is a kid, and we have seen him be influenced by charismatic people before. While Thrawn doesn't quite have the people skills he does have the power of his conviction and an ability to argue for those.

8 hours ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

Note: I betcha they got Mando that spear so he can duel Moff Gideon.

That was my immediate thought. Then, a viewer of Star Wars Explained suggested the idea that maybe the Darksaber is the only lightsaber that can cut through beskar. And I kinda like that idea. Set us up so we think we know what’s coming, then Gideon slices right through the spear.

I agree that the Stand Off scene could have ended differently... I knew Mando would just blow him away.. Shame really, a decent actor let go and a Rival that they could have used as a Frenemy.. talking of frenemies, Where's Hondo???

8 hours ago, Eoen said:

So you expect a series produced by Dave Filoni not to have anything to do with the previous series produced by Filoni? His job is world building.

I just love how so many Star Wars fans hate most Star Wars media. Why don't you just play Traveller if you want generic sci-fi? Introducing characters from other shows into the Manalorian might encourage fans of the Mandalorian to watch or read other Star Wars media. Viewership is kinda of a goal most media companies have.

When I played Traveller, many moons ago, in my mind we were playing Star Wars even if the other players and GM wasn't onboard.... 😂

...then d6 came out. OOSH, GET IN!!!!

11 hours ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

Note: I betcha they got Mando that spear so he can duel Moff Gideon

Yeah, I reckon that's right.

I kept thinking at the end that right as he was about to take off or something, Ol' Gids and his merry troopers would show up... or even worse... he'd get back to the Razor Crest only to find baby yoda gone. I guess the last three episodes will deal with a lot more Gids and co, with some Cara Dune and Greef, and possibly Katan? Vanth? Other buddies to help.

I didn't see the convor. Will have to rewatch.

They were HK 87s? Not 97s, right? Didn't look like the ones I painted in my Return to Hoth box.

Fun seeing the Loth Cats again.

Very western, very samurai. The architecture was great. East Asian. The forest was different. The pollution was China level. The great beasts in the background looked cool.

Yeah, I loved the episode but the whole time I was thinking the Ahsoka wasn't quite right. The short lekku really bothered me but that's fine. The voice, meh, it was fine. The face and movement, so so. I don't know what it was. Maybe after another viewing. Kinda like how nobody expected Luke to turn out that way in The Last Jedi. This just didn't feel like how Ahsoka was in other representations. Maybe I'll change my mind on further viewings.

The pacing was quite different from other episodes. Lots of exposition and slow scenes. Refreshing I guess. My wife, who isn't really a SW fan was kind of bored but I liked it.

I want more of the actual Mandalorian. In season one that was a lot of the mystery. Flashbacks, who is this guy. Is he even good? What's he going to do with that cute child thingy? In season two I feel like the Mandalorian was taken a back seat to others stuff. That's partly why I think they'll take his mask off. They need to develop him further.

Can't lightsabers work underwater? I thought they did all the time in the Clone Wars. Could be wrong. I'm tired.

Great music again.

I didn't realize beskar was lightsaber proof. That's not new is it?

Grogu? I guess anything would sound sort of disappointing after this long of a wait. But was that the coolest name they could come up with? Maybe that's what was wrong with Ahsoka. Too long a wait and too much expectations so nothing would be good enough. I guess Grogu is fine.

One of the concept artists for Lucasfilm briefly discussed the reasoning behind the design of Ahsoka's montrals/lekku for live action on Twitter:

43 minutes ago, Mandalore of the Rings said:

Can't lightsabers work underwater? I thought they did all the time in the Clone Wars. Could be wrong. I'm tired.

Normally a lightsaber can't work underwater due to the electronics shorting out when immersed. The weapon can be modified to do so however, provided you know you're going into an environment where that could happen.

Quote

I didn't realize Beskar was Lightsaber proof. That's not new is it?

Pure Beskar is but extremely heavy and hard to work into armor and weapons unless you have the knowledge to do so. It's also very rare and expensive which is why everyone wants to steal it. Most of the armor we see is probably made with a Beskar alloy which is Lightsaber resistant that a Lightsaber could cut through....eventually. We don't know if Mando's armor is made from pure Beskar or an alloy. It would depend on the skill of The Armorer (which I hope we see her again) but she might be one of those who has the knowledge to work pure Beskar.

10 hours ago, whafrog said:

And yet...I wish Dawson had worked a little harder on movement. Ahsoka walks like a poised athlete; Dawson walks like a Hollywood starlet, with a slumpy little hip-swagger that suggests a completely different attitude than what we know of Ahsoka. Plus, I wouldn't say Dawson conveyed that much conviction in her lines, the fish guy from the last episode is awesome by comparison.

Ah, thank you. That's what I couldn't quite put my finger on, but you nailed it.

10 hours ago, whafrog said:

Storywise...they squandered a lot of opportunities. The standoff between Mando and the merc could have had a lot more interesting dialogue, and not ended with such an obvious fake-out. Mando could have let him leave, he might have made an interesting enemy.

Mm, I liked it. I thought it was a nice little scene, and demonstrated the merc mindset interestingly. "I'm not willing to lay down my life for a cause I don't believe in, buuttt... if I press my luck juussst a litttlle ..."

49 minutes ago, Mandalore of the Rings said:

I want more of the actual Mandalorian. In season one that was a lot of the mystery. Flashbacks, who is this guy. Is he even good? What's he going to do with that cute child thingy? In season two I feel like the Mandalorian was taken a back seat to others stuff. That's partly why I think they'll take his mask off. They need to develop him further.

Grogu? I guess anything would sound sort of disappointing after this long of a wait. But was that the coolest name they could come up with? Maybe that's what was wrong with Ahsoka. Too long a wait and too much expectations so nothing would be good enough. I guess Grogu is fine.

Yeah, I agree on the Mando. MORE INFORMASHUNZZ!!

I like the name Grogu. It seems pretty appropriate for the species, and it's got a nice sound to it. What were you expecting for "coolest"? Yimmy, the Fourteenth Lord of Light?
I'm still gonna call him Baby Yoda, and I know someone who was very disappointed he now has a name. But I think Grogu works well for his name, and it's more convenient than "hey kid." So I'm not disappointed. I don't think it's a "cool" or "epic" name, but that's not usually what I'm looking for.

@Nytwyng : "discuss [montrals] at greater length"?

2 hours ago, DidntFallAsleep66 said:

I agree that the Stand Off scene could have ended differently... I knew Mando would just blow him away.. Shame really, a decent actor let go and a Rival that they could have used as a Frenemy.. talking of frenemies, Where's Hondo???

When the merc said something like, "We both are willing to die for something we believe in, and this isn't it", I had hopes he was just going to lay down his blaster and walk away after hearing his employer die. That would have been much better then the cliche deceptive shot we got. We already know Mando is a bad ***. This merc figuring that out quickly and walking away would have actually made Mando seem so much more badass. A veteran soldier, possibly once a Stormtrooper turned merc, is able to quickly see he is no match and walk away.

2 hours ago, Mandalore of the Rings said:

I want more of the actual Mandalorian. In season one that was a lot of the mystery. Flashbacks, who is this guy. Is he even good? What's he going to do with that cute child thingy? In season two I feel like the Mandalorian was taken a back seat to others stuff. That's partly why I think they'll take his mask off. They need to develop him further.

I feel that when they reveiled that his covert is essentially a crazy survivalist cult that believes their homeworld is cursed, they kicked off a new character arc that will probably lead into him confronting them about that and adjusting his beliefs.

I really seeing Mando as the PC of that player that doesn't put much into the game and just gets dragged around by the story. Add to it that the GM is dropping in flashy NPCs, and Mando is at risk of becoming a background character in his own story. 😟

1 minute ago, HappyDaze said:

I really seeing Mando as the PC of that player that doesn't put much into the game and just gets dragged around by the story. Add to it that the GM is dropping in flashy NPCs, and Mando is at risk of becoming a background character in his own story. 😟

That guy doesn’t last thirteen sessions.

5 minutes ago, Eoen said:

That guy doesn’t last thirteen sessions.

You'd be surprised. Some players are very actively engaged in being passive participants. Annoys the crap out me.

19 hours ago, Eoen said:

I’d add in Corran Horn, and Quinlan Vos as potential survivors. Dass Jennir would be cool too.

Corran Horn doesn't have Jedi training at this point in the EU. And the Jedi Academy seems unlikely to reappear.

3 minutes ago, Dazgrim said:

Corran Horn doesn't have Jedi training at this point in the EU. And the Jedi Academy seems unlikely to reappear.

True but they don’t need to go with EU backstory.

A young Luke might be possible, think about young Leia in Rogue One, today you can do anything in movies

7 hours ago, Rosco74 said:

A young Luke might be possible, think about young Leia in Rogue One, today you can do anything in movies

Luke seems unlikely, he's high up in the New Republic and the show seems to be steering clear of anything that could restriction an Aftermath adaptation.

If Lucasfilm would ever consider adapting the tie-in books to their films into movies, the EU wouldn't have been "decanonised".