The Mandalorian Series 1 Review: 7 Ups And 2 Downs

1. Several Episodes Feel Like Pointless Filler

A huge aspect of what makes The Mandalorian work is its ability to draw you into the dirty, backstabbing-heavy world of bounty hunters. Alongside the engaging overarching plotline involving Baby Yoda and his pursuers, the series' first three episodes are absolutely stellar and give you plenty of incentive to keep watching.

Unfortunately, following that series-best Chapter 3 episode, the show starts to meander. What started as a feasible next step for the story became a standalone arc that only retained one new character out of the dozens introduced and had a tone that felt less urgent than what had at first been promised.

The next episode, Chapter 5, didn't fare much better, as a prominent new character lacked anything endearing or memorable and it featured another story that was only good for an ending tease for the Big Bad. (Unless that character turns out to be someone else.)

Although the follow-up episode was, once again, a standalone separate story, it did serve as a look into Mando's past life, as well as a return to the tone and style that the first episodes had. In any other show, these episodes would be perfectly solid and fine. Here though? They stuck out badly.