Episode 89: Star Wars - The Mandalorian Season 2

 Topic: Mandalorian Season 2 Review

 

We’re back at it for the second season of the Mandalorian, as things get crazy.  Mom enjoyed this, and we had quite a bit to talk about regardless, what with Breaking News from the Week!  But Yeah, the Space Western Rides again!

 

Updated News:

On February 10^th, LucasFilm announced that Gina Carano, former MMA fighter who played Cara Dune, was no longer employed by the company and would no longer appear in any future Star Wars projects.  LucasFlim decided not to work with Carano on any further projects after posts on social media that related American Conservatives with Jews in Nazi Germany.  This comes on the tails of earlier posts, where the actress ridiculed COVID-19 Mask mandates, falsely suggested that the 2020 US Presidential Elections had widespread Voter Fraud, disparaged the Black Lives Matter movement, and was accused of transphobia for her mocking of the preferred gender pronouns by transgender individuals and their allies.  At the time of writing, conflicting information suggest that Cara Dune was not intended to appear in the 3^rd Season of The Mandalorian, but was instead to star in Rangers of the New Republic. 

 

In the wake of Lucasfilm deciding to remove Carano from future productions, many of the conservative voices in America have demanded that Pedro Pascal also be removed the show, due to him having written disparaging things about conservatives and right wing media figures/events.  The #canceldisneyplus has also begun trending on twitter, with those upset about the removal of Carano from future Star Wars projects asking people to cancel their subscriptions to Disney+. 

 

As of writing, Season 3 of The Mandalorian is in pre-production, with no release date confirmed.

 

 

New Characters

Giancarlo Esposito - Moff Gideon

One the remaining high ranking Imperial officers left after the fall of the Empire, he leads his own squad of Imperial Remnants.  He participated in the Great Purge that wiped out the Mandalorians from the planet of Mandalore and scattered the remaining survivors to the stars.  He is also the wielder of the Dark Saber, a weapon he presumably claimed during the Purge through unknown means. 

 

Temuera Morrison - Boba Fett

The original Actor for Jango Fett returns to play Boba Fett, his cloned son.  It’s fitting as the actor was an unaltered clone, and by the time of the Mandalorian, Boba Fett would be in his early 40s, though the actor is in his 60s.  Presumed the Cloning process isn’t perfect.  Boba Fett in the series does not consider himself a Mandalorian, and never has, with the name of his armor being ‘Mandalorian Armor’, thus where the title and name presumably comes from. 

 

Mercedes Varnado - Koska Reeves

Also known as Sasha Banks in the WWE.  The character is a member of Bo-Katan’s Nite Owls, a primarily Female group of Mandalorians, former members of Death Watch, who are seeking to reclaim Mandalore.  The wrestler purposefully chose a hair style that could be mimicked in Cosplay, and preformed most of her own stunts, including some Wrestling moves.

 

Katee Sackhoff - Bo-Katan Kryze

Last known wielder of the Dark Saber prior to the events of the Great Purge of Mandalore, she leads her Nite Owls in dismantling Imperial targets and collecting weapons/resources for her team, in the efforts to reclaim Mandalore.  Her former sister, Sabine Kryze, was the ruler of Mandalore prior to Death Watch’s interference and political coup of the government.   Katee Sackhoff is no stranger to Sci-fi series, having previously played Kara "Starbuck" Thrace in the series Battlestar Galactica.  She has also previously voiced the character of Bo-Katan in the Clone Wars tv series.

 

Rosario Dawson - Ahsoka Tano

Original debuting in the CG animated Clone Wars, she is the former padawan to Anakin Skywalker, who left the Jedi Order after she was framed for a crime she didn’t commit.  Though it was later discovered that she was framed, she left the Jedi Order, feeling that it had lost its purpose and sought to find her own way through the force. 

 

She would next be seen in Rebels, roughly 5 years before the events of Episode 4, as an aid to the crew of the Ghost who act as a terrorist cell for the Rebellion.  Ahsoka Tano aids the former padawan, turned full Jedi, Kanan Jarrus and his new student, Ezra Bridger, in the ways of the Force, along with aiding their missions.  Ahsoka is presumed dead upon a fight with Darth Vader during the attempt to find a Sith Holocron, but is eventually saved from death by Ezra in the ‘World between Worlds’.  Ahsoka, though saved, did not continue with the Rebellion, instead choosing to follow a spiritual path, as she had been saved from death. 

 

By end of the events of Rebels, she and Sabine Wren(Former wielder of the Dark Saber), set out to find Ezra Bridger, who save the Ghost crew at the end of Rebels, but has been mysteriously lost in Space via Hyperspace whales.  In the episode, she is hunting Grand Admiral Thrawn, who presumably knows the last known whereabouts of Ezra Bridger.

 

Ming-Na Wen - Fennec Shand

Originally thought to be killed in the version season, episode five.  She was approached by an unknown individual, later revealed to be Boba Fett, who patches her up with some cybernetics.  She is then a body guard and associates of Boba Fett going forward.

 

 

“This is the Way…”

There is no hard and fast rule about Mandalorians not taking off their helmets and not being seen by others.  A key fact is that prior to The Mandalorian, previous Mandalorians took their helmets off and showed their faces all the time.  The particular Sect of Mandalorians that Din Djarin follows is known as ‘Children of the Watch’, a faith/religion that was previously followed on Mandalore known as the ‘Way’, but fell out of favor over the centuries in Mandalorian culture.  Din Djarin is initially unaware of any other way for Mandalorians to operate, due to having grown up in the ‘Children of the Watch’ and believing that this was the way Mandalorians operated.  Also, due to Mandalorians not being a common fixture of the galaxy for some time, very little is properly known about the individuals known as Mandalorians, so there were few who could correct or enlighten Din Djarin. 

 

 

Announced Spinoffs

Three Spinoffs were announced in December 2020 at the end of the 2^nd season.  All three series are intended to follow up on The Mandalorian timeline, continuing in the same settings and potentially interweaving and participating in each other’s properties.  The move would be similar to Marvel and Netflix’s arrangement for The Defenders, a series of 4 individual Netflix TV shows set in the MCU and following the events of The Avengers(2012), where all 4 series eventually’s main star would team up in a TV series.  Disney, having owned Marvel at the time prior to Disney+, is looking to do the same for its Star Wars TV series.

 

The Book of Boba Fett

Set for December 2021, the series follow Boba Fett, presumably after event Season 2 of the Mandalorian.

 

Rangers of the New Republic

Announced in December 2020, the series is set to follow some of the individuals of the New Republic as they keep the Outer Rim safe.  Originally set for Gina Carano to reprise her role as Cara Dune and her own vehicle, it was later announced that she would no longer have any more roles in Star Wars properties.  The series presumably is still production, though little is known of its plot or cast.

 

Ahsoka

Announced in December 2020, this would continue to see Rosario Dawson reprise her Role as Ahsoka Tano, presumably as an adult version, and continue to have her traveling the Galaxy doing Jedi things, without being a Jedi.

 

Episode 88: Star Wars – The Mandalorian Season 1 Review

 

Topic: Star Wars – The Mandalorian Season 1

 

Is it really a Western form the 1950s and 60s?  Yes, Yes it is. Mom explains in details why that’s the case.

 

Setting

9 ABY(After Battle of Yavin)(Episode 4).  For context, Luke Skywalker was born on 19 BBY(Before Battle of Yavin), and the Battle of Endor on 4 ABY(Episode 6).  5 years after the death of The Emperor, the Galaxy is slowly returning to order with the New Republic, however, the outer rim is like the wild west.  Republic Officals/Law exists, but isn’t common and vastly under manned, and those seeking to hide from the New Republic.  Many Imperial officers and outposts exists in the Outer Rim as the Empire was seeking to control the entire Galaxy.  As a result, most Imperial Officals are attempting to gain power and influence, in order to say they are the next leader of the Empire after Darth Sidious.  The Outer Rim is also home to a number of other races and factions biding for control over their own territories, including bounty hunters.  Famously, the original Trilogy of Star Wars (Episode 4-6) take places within the Outer Rim, including Tatooine(4 & 6), Endor(6), Hoth(5), and Dagobah(5).

 

Creator:

Jon Favreau

A mainstay of the film industry, he stared and featured in various movies including Rudy (1993) & Chef (2014).  He’s arguably one of the major players in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), having directed Ironman(2008) and Ironman 2 (2010), and Executive Producer for nearly all movies dealing with Ironman and Spiderman, and acted alongside as Happy Hogan.  He’s directed a number of movies, including Elf(2003), Chef(2014), The Jungle Book(2016), and The Lion King(2019).  He serves at the creator, one of the executive producers, and director of The Mandalorian. 

 

Cast:

Pedro Pascal      The Mandalorian / Mando / Din Djarin

Famously in a number of roles, including Kingsman The Golden Circle (Agent Whiskey), Wonder Woman 1984 (Maxwell Lord), Game of Thrones (Oberyn Martell), & Narcos (Javier Pena).  While Pedro Pascal primarily voices the character and does a fair amount of scenes as him, a bulk of the stunt work is done by stunt actors. He prepared for the role by watching Akira Kurosawa's samurai films and Eastwood's Spaghetti Westerns.

 

The Child / The Kid / Baby Yoda

The character is fan named ‘Baby Yoda’ to better describe the character, as he has no known name.  Yoda Species is never specifically called any such name, and only the fan derived name for the species of Yoda and other characters that appear like Yoda.  The character is largely created using puppetry, with some CGI used to accent.  Famously, in order to preserve the character’s appearance and not give away their existence, Disney did not prepare toys or other merchandise for the character.  The lack of Toys and other merchandise for the 2019 Christmas season was a potential loss of 2.7 million dollars for Disney, but the decision was supported by Bob Iger, Disney CEO, who believed the company was a story making company first and foremost, and supported John Favreau’s decision.

 

Carl Weathers - Greef Karga

Apollo Creed

 

Werner Herzog - The Client

Famous Director, known for his movies featuring ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unique talents in obscure fields, or individuals who are in conflict with nature.

 

Omid Abtahi - Dr. Pershing

The Doctor is an interesting character for a number of reasons.  Firstly is that his outfit and actions in the series depict that may be from the planet of Kamino, where clones are created, seemingly setting up the notion that he is out to clone The Child.  Secondly that he is wearing glasses.

 

Nick Nolte  - Kuiil

An Ugnaught male, seen previously in Cloud City, as the little guys that were trying scavenging C3PO and seen during the freezing of Han Solo.

 

Taika Waititi - IG-11

These are a series of Droids that were initially developed during the Clone Wars, but later rebelled against their creators and disappeared in to the Galaxy.  They operate similar to a hive mind and work as bounty hunters across the galaxy. Taika Waititi is famous for being the director of the 3^rd Thor Movie, and bring more comedy to the character.  He would also direct some of the episodes of The Mandalorian, and voice IG-11.  He’s been announced to be the director and co-writer for an upcoming Live-Action Star Wars film.

 

Gina Carano - Cara Dune

Gina Carano is a former MMA fighter, and gained muscle for the show.

 

Emily Swallow - The Armorer

Emily is known for her television roles, including Kim Fischer on The Mentalist.

 

Amy Sedaris - Peli Motto

Amy is a Pixie of a woman, but basically unrecognizable in this role.  Famously in West Wing.

 

Bill Burr -  - Migs Mayfeld

Famously, the actor was not a fan of Star Wars and would mock the series.  He suggested the role by Favreau as his casting would be amusing.  Burr would later state he was impressed with filming, along with praising the writing for the show. 

 

501^st Legion

Played the Storm Troopers in the series, famously bringing their own costumes and gear with them for the final episode that demanded lots of Storm Troopers.  Previously, the movie Gettysburg brought on civil war re-in-actors for the hundreds of extras necessary for the filming of that movie, as they brought period piece costumes, props, and experience to the roles.  This is similar how the 501^st Legion brought their experience in to their roles as Storm Troopers.

 

501^st Legion is a group of Cosplayers that primarily portray the bad guys from Star Wars.  Started in South Carolina, it’s a purely volunteer group that focuses the construction and screen accurate bad guy gear in Star Wars.  They are unaffiliated with Lucasfilms LLC or Walt Disney Company, but are the preferred Imperial Costuming Organization, and are mostly seen at Casual, Promoation and Charitable events, often at the request of Lucasfilm.  Joining requires being atleast 18 years old and a high quality costume from a Star Wars Villain.  Their sister group, the Rebel Legion, primarily consists of Good Guys from Star Wars, and The Galactic Academy, is for children under 18 years old, with no strict costuming rules, and meant for children and teenagers to share their love of Star Wars and costuming.

 

Mandalorian Filming Set

 

 

George Lucas Rule on Glasses

George Lucas wanted his world to seem like something fantastical and unique, so his live action films never had anyone wearing glasses.  Characters could wear goggles, Shades or other items, but could not wear typical Eye Wear.  George Lucas rationalized that with how futuristic the world was, they would have eliminated the need for glasses by correcting your vision, and as a result, the art of making glasses would have disappeared.  George Lucas also made a point of saying there were no Buttons or Zippers on costumes, and that there is no underwear in the Star Wars either, famously trying to convince Carrie Fisher to go braless while in costumes.

 

 

Episode 87: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Tutorial

 Topic: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Tutorial

 

This week, Per Mom’s request, we begin the topic of The Mandalorian .  It’s a series that has been touted some years ago, but has morphed over time in to something completely different, and we’re going to do something different as well.  Instead of start from the past and going forward, we need to instead, start from the end and get to the beginning of Mandalorian  lore and culture.  To better understand our topic.

 

 

Boba Fett

To truly understand why the Mandalorian even exists, is really to begin back at the beginning with the original Bounty Hunter and what spawned the Series, Boba Fett.

 

Boba Fett first seen in ‘The Star Wars Holiday Special’, a two hour special that came out during Christmas, and seen as an animated character during one of the segments.  His next appearance was in Star Wars V, Empire Strikes Back, as among various other Bounty Hunters sent to hunt down the Millennium Falcon.  He appears in only a hand full of scenes, less than 10, and spoke only 4 times in total:

 

“As you Wish.”

“He’s no good to me Dead.”

“What if he doesn’t survive?  He’s worth to me.”

“Put Captain Solo in the Cargo Hold.”

 

By the time of Star Wars VI, Return of the Jedi, where is first actually named by another character, he was even fewer scene and never said anything, outside of a scream upon his famous death of falling into the Sarlacc Pit.

 

Despite the character’s apparent death, he seemingly survived and made his way to various ‘Legend’ media, including books, comics, and video game series, where he continued to be an anti-hero and occasional villain depending on the story.  The character’s cult like following, despite the limited time on film, that lasts less than 5 minutes in total, has him a fan favorite, and is what spawned the Mandalorian  name and concept. 

 

Originally, Mandalorian  was just the name of his armor, which was set to be a Commando style all white trooper, known as a Super Trooper, alongside Storm Troopers.  The idea eventually became a bounty hunter and a single individual, named Boba Fett.  Additional Lore Element began being developed in media, which included the world of Manadolore, the world of the Mandalorian s, which were now a race of people. 

 

 

Jango Fett

The next seen Mandalorian is Jango Fett, Boba’s father.  Boba himself is an unmodified clone of Jango Fett, with Jango Fett being the genetic template for what would be the Clone Trooper, and be the name for the eponymous Clone Wars.  Despite being in only one film, he has far more scene than his son Boba, and is considered a major antagonist during Star Wars Clone War.

 

Behind the scenes, the fan favorite nature of the character led to his inclusion in the second Prequel movie.  Boba Fett’s armor comes from his father, who after dying, is taken up by Boba in memory of his father, albeit, recolored in to the green and red armor instead of the steel and blue accent look. 

 

 

Extended Media, Legends

With Disney purchasing Lucas Films, they rebranded all created material in the Star Wars extended media as being non-canonical, eliminating hundreds of authors work that has shaped the Star Wars universe and the stories in this world.  All new material was dubbed ‘Legends’.  While most of this became non-canonical, some of the history and world building has bled in to the new canon of the Star Wars franchise.

 

From this Legends content, it included that

 

 

 

Clone Wars

A good portion of lore and world building outside of the Legends series was developed during the Clone War Tv Show.  Clone Wars, not be confused with the movie, was a CG Tv Show that took place between the when Episode 2 and 3, which followed Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano, the padawan(Apprentice) to Anakin Skywalker, during the intervening years of the war.  The TV show spent a good bit of time, following the Republic and developing the world. 

 

Because the TV Show came out between 2008 and 2014, much of the lore regarding Mandalore and the Mandalorian s were pieced together from the now Legends material, and fleshed out by the show’s creators.  Upon purchase, Disney moved anything that wasn’t directly produced by Lucas Arts as Legends material, with Clone Wars being considered Canon, including all the content regarding the Mandalorian.   A follow up TV Show called Rebels, continued the stories from Clone Wars, with a young Mandalorian warrior name Sabine Wren being a part of the main cast.

 

 

 

Mandalorian Lore:

Mandalorians are a group of warriors, namely hailing from the Planet of Mandalore.  Their people were feared as some of the most skilled and powerful warriors in the galaxy, outside of Jedi.  Starting from their homework, they eventually took over other neighboring planets and their prowess and renown spread from the Outer Rim of planet and eventually to the Inner Rim of Planet, with many Mandalorians becoming mercenaries and bounty hunters.

 

Upon reaching the Inner Rim of planets, the Mandalorians found the Jedi, who gave them their first major challenge in centuries.  In order best the Jedi, they developed new weapons and created their now famous armor that they are known for.  Now with the ability to fight the Jedi, Madalorians became even more feared through the galaxy, including by Jedi, and the two participated in various wars in the galaxy over the next few millennia.  

 

However, the Jedi and Mandalorians were not always enemies.  One example is Tarre Vizsla, a child of Mandalore that was taken as a child to become a Jedi.  As a Jedi Tarre Vizsla was taught the ways of the Force, but continued to distinguish himself by creating his own variant of the Lightsaber, the ‘Darksaber’. At some point, Tarre Vizsla was given the title of “Mand’alor”, the sole ruler of Mandalore and a renowned figured in their society.  After his death, family members would eventually take up the Darksaber and unite the various clans of Mandalore into one proper state, led by House Vizsla. 

 

Despite unifying the various clans of Mandalore, various Mandalorian Warlords appears and continued fighting their own enemies, along with themselves in a bid for supremacy.  Eventually, the long wars with the Jedi ended when fighting on Mandalore triggered a cataclysmic event that transformed much of the planet’s lush forests and oceans in to a sea of white deserts, forcing Mandalorians to constructed domed cities to live in.  Devastated by their loss, the Mandalorians retreated to their home sector, and ended much of their conquests, as they sought to rebuild their homeworld. 

 

Just prior to the events of Episode 1, a Civil War would break out on Mandalore, with one group of Mandalorians seeking unity and pacifism, led by Duchess Satine Kryze, while another wanted to return to their old ways of conquest, dubbing themselves Old Mandalorians.  Eventually those seeking pacifism won out, exiling the Old Mandalorians to a local moon.  Mandalore would develop in to a peaceful society, and eventually even joined the Galactic Republic in between then and the events of Clone Wars.  By the time of the Clone Wars, Mandalore, along with 1500 other systems banded together, with Satine, to create the Council of Neutral Systems, a coalition that sought to stay out of the conflict and take a neutral stance on the fighting between the Republic and the Separatists.

 

Unknown to Satine and Mandalore, the Old Mandalorians was revised in to Death Watch by their leader Pre Vizsla.  He wanted to bring Mandalorians back to their original glory and worked together with the Separatists and Count Dooku to do so.  Death Watch launched various attacks on Galactic Republic strong holds, and event attack Mandalore itself, believing that their actions would spark a resurgence in Mandalorian ways.  Following attacks by Count Dooku’s forces, Death Watch appeared and offered the Mandalorian people new leadership and protection from the invading Separatists, which led to Satine Kryze being imprisoned and Pre Vizsla taking over Mandalore.  What followed was a series of stories in Clone Wars that saw Darth Maul return and take control over Death Watch, which led to Maul killing Satine, and eventually leading to Darth Sidious to visiting Mandalore to collect his former apprentice. 

 

With Darth Maul taking control over Death Watch, a separatist movement, led by the sister of Satine Kryze, Bo-Katan Kryze, sought to remove Death Watch from leadership of Mandalore, calling the Galactic Republic for aid.  This eventually led to the Siege of Mandalore, capturing Darth Maul and ending the rule by Death Watch.  While Bo-Katan was named Regent for the planet, under the new rule of the Galactic Empire, she refused to do the Empire’s bidding and was exiled from Mandalore.  Following this, the planet became a training ground for new military cadets.

 

By the time of Rebels, Mandalore is fully controlled by the Empire, with Mandalore developing troops and weapons to be used against those opposing the Republic.  Rebels would follow the exploits of a Resistance cell, aided by one Ahsoka Tano, as the liberated Mandalore and returned leadership to Bo-Katan.  However, by the end of the series, the Empire began a Purge of Mandalore, killing most of the Mandalorian populous and melting their famed Beskar armor into ingots.  Few clans escaped the plans and spread themselves amongst the galaxy, hiding and trying to just survive.

 

 

 

 

Mandalorian Armor

All Mandalorians are best known by the armor they wear, which strikes fear amongst the galaxy.  Known for their T-shaped visors on their helmets that obscure their face, the armor itself was outfitted with various built in features, including darts, flame throwers, and even Jet Packs.  Most Mandalorians further armed themselves with additional blasters, such as rifles, heavy repeater blasters, and simple pistols.

 

The armor itself was made from a material known as Beskar, a nearly indestructible metal that could deflect blaster bolts and even stop a light saber from cutting through it.  While Beskar was available for Mandalorians prior to the Purge of Mandalore, it’s since become a rare and valuable commodity in the galaxy.

 

 

Darksaber

The lightsaber created by Tarre Vizsla, it’s unusual in the sense that the blade itself is black and glassy in color, and is projected as a straight blade, similar to a Katana, unlike the rounded blade of a lightsaber.  The saber is considered a prized possession of the Mandalorians, and its owner is considered the rightful ruler of Mandalore, bestowing the title of Mand’alor on to the anyone who holds it.  Mandalorian custom says that you must defeat the current owner in combat in order for ownership to pass to you.  Any other form of acquiring the saber would be considered illegitimate, and unrecognized by the Mandalorian people.

 

After Tarre Vizsla’s death, the saber was returned to the Jedi Archives, before being stolen by house Vizsla and returned to Mandalore.  The saber would continue to be held by the leader of House Vizsla until Pre Vizsla was defeated by Darth Maul, who then became its owner.  After Darth Maul fled Mandalore in order to help his mother, the Dark Saber was hidden on Dathomir, before being found by Sabine Wren and used during by herself during the events of Rebels.  The saber would eventually given by Bo-Katan, in memory of her sister.  Bo-Katan would lose the saber during the events of the Mandalore Purge, where its fate remains unknown.

  

 

Time Setting for The Mandalorian

When watching The Mandalorian, the point in Star Wars time is roughly 5 years after the events of Episode 6.  Remnants of Empire still exist, as former leaders, programmed Storm Troopers, and various hardware still exist in the universe, with each Leader trying to carve out their leadership over the remains of the Empire.  They are in hiding for the most, but are being snuffed out by the New Republic, as they attempt to secure the galaxy following the Empire’s and Emperor’s defeat.