Well, it's June. Happy Pride Month by the by. Let's make a start on this marathon.
Taking place some time after Return of the Jedi, we follow Pedro Pascal as "The Mandalorian" (sometimes referred as "Mando", similar to how Clint Eastwood's character in For a Few Dollars More is referred to as "Manco"), a member of a proud warrior culture which the Empire had driven underground. He's getting by as a bounty hunter, working for a guild based on the volcanic world of Nevarro led by Greef Karga, played by the late Carl Weathers. With a shortage of lucrative bounties (most of whom are bail jumpers), Mando takes a special job for a mysterious client played by Werner Herzog, who has stormtroopers as bodyguards. The job takes him to another planet where he meets an Ugnaught played by Nick Nolte who seeks to help him.
The episode has some great action from the outset. We open with Mando tracking a bounty to a cantina on a remote ice world. Said bounty is being hassled by some local toughs, who immediately decide to pick a fight with Mando. He don't say anything, and you can't see his face behind the helmet, but he's probably thinking "Seriously?" Anyway, he proceeds to kick their asses, including cutting one of them in half with a door. He then presents the target with his bounty puck, telling him "I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold."
The following segment establishes that Mando harbours a strong prejudice against droids. While taking his target back to his ship, the Razor Crest, he refuses to travel in a droid-operated speeder, paying extra to ride in a more run-down speeder with a human driver.
The cantina brawl at the beginning is topped with Mando raiding a safehouse where The Client's target is located, reluctantly teaming up with a bounty droid called IG-11 (voiced by Taika Waitit). It's an epic shoot-'em-up sequence with some truly harrowing moments, such as when the mercenaries occupying the compound uneveil a heavy gun.
There are some funny moments too. Mando's target at the beginning is very chatty, while Mando doesn't say anything during the journey. Reminds of Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare in Fargo. Later on, we have Mando getting snarky as he meets with the Ugnaught (especially when he mentions that he aided several hunters, who were killed). We also have a small moment where one of those cackling lizard things that Jabba the Hutt kept is being roasted on a spit. Something tells me that Jon Favreau wasn't fond of those.
Anyway, great start, and I'm already hyped for the next one.
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