The Mandalorian, “Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore” Review

03/14/202303/14/2023Rob Siebert Leave a comment

SERIES: Star Wars: The Mandalorian
EPISODE: S3:E2 – “Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore”
STARRING: Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff, Amy Sedaris
WRITER: Jon Favreau
DIRECTOR: Rachel Morrison
PREMIERE DATE: March 8, 2023
SYNOPSIS: The Mandalorian and Grogu journey to Mandalore for the first time.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!**

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I haven’t yet seen the majority of Star Wars: Rebels. But my understanding is that during the events of that show, Mandalore is mercilessly bombed by the Empire, to the point that the planet’s desert sands crystalize. Thus, the green crystal we saw Mando with last time. The Mandalorian has explained this to us before. But it bears repeating heading into this episode.

The episode kicks off on Tatooine, as we go back to Peli Motto’s hangar. We learn that it’s Boonta Eve. The only place I can recall hearing this term before is in The Phantom Menace, when Anakin entered the Boonta Eve podrace. It never occurred to me to look into what the holiday was about. Apparently it honors the rise of the hutt Boonta Hestilic Shad’ruu to godhood… Okay, sure.

Peli sells the droid R5-D4 to Mando, so that he can test the air on Mandalore before he breathes it. I was a little unclear on this, but I checked: R5 is in fact the droid from A New Hope that Owen Lars nearly purchases before it breaks down. It’s a small galaxy, after all.

I miss the Razor Crest. The repurposed starfighter is sleek and cool. But it’s also small, and feels kind of cramped. Especially now that they’re traveling with a droid.

I love the look of post-purge Mandalore. Especially the city portion beneath the surface. Very creepy. Very memorable. The bit of action between Mando and the cave aliens was great too. Mando came off legitimately threatened, overwhelmed, and outmatched.

I always thought Mando was controlling Grogu’s little pod thing via magnetization. But as Grogu is able to float away from the big alien robot crab thing, apparently there’s also a mode where he can control it himself. Good to know.

After he’s captured, Mando sends Grogu back to Bo-Katan Kryze on Kalevala. This thought occurred to me last time, and then again this time: What does Bo-Katan do all day in that castle? Is it just her and the droid? It looks like she just sits in that big chair and broods…

Grogu guides Bo back to the caves where Mando is being held. She starts to tell him that she knew Jedi back in the days before the purge. She doesn’t actually drop any names, though. There they go, teasing Clone Wars fans with references.

Incidentally, how old is Bo-Katan supposed to be? Katee Sackhoff is in her early forties. But. I think Bo might be older than that. Late forties? Early fifties, maybe?

As she’s talking to Grogu, Bo refers to Mando as “your dad.” I think that’s the first time we’ve heard Mando formally referred to as Grogu’s father. As he’s not with Luke anymore, I suppose it’s official now, isn’t it?

This episode is also the first time we hear someone refer to Mando simply as “Din.” That might take some getting used to.

And now for another timeline question: How long did Grogu train with Luke Skywalker? It seemed like it was only a short time. But Jon Favreau has indicated they were together for, get this…two years. I don’t know that I buy that, quite frankly. It was two years before Mando tried to visit Grogu? It was two years bef0re Luke brought Yoda up to him? It just doesn’t add up to me.

It would, however, explain how Grogu’s Force abilities are more advanced now, i.e. the big leaping somersault we see him do in this episode.

Am I detecting a hint of something romantic between Mando and Bo-Katan? Not sure how I feel about that…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Catching Up With The Mandalorian – “Chapter 8: Redemption”

03/11/202303/11/2023Rob Siebert 2 Comments

SERIES: Star Wars: The Mandalorian
EPISODE: S1:E8 – “Chapter 8: Redemption”
STARRING: Pedro Pascal, Giancarlo Esposito, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Taika Waititi (Voice)
WRITER: Jon Favreau
DIRECTOR: Taika Waititi
PREMIERE DATE: December 27, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Trapped, the Mandalorian and his allies struggle to keep the child out of Moff Gideon’s hands.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Taika Waititi, who directs this episode, and is also widely known for directing Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder, serves as the voice of IG-11. Fitting, as this episode is a big one for the repurposed droid.

That scout troopers punching the child in the bag is one of those things that makes you hate the bad guy, but where you also can’t help but laugh a little. What can I say? It was funny. As was the target practice bit moment later.

This episode is the first time we hear the Mandalorian’s given name: Din Djarin. Not the worst name, by Star Wars standards. “The Mandalorian” has more mystique, of course.

The appearance of the super battle droids in the flashback sequence was a nice touch. It set the period.

It was pretty bad-ass to see IG-11 riding through that town on a speeder bike, twin guns blazing. Question: If his new base function is to nurse and protect, why does he bring the child into a town occupied by Imperial troops? Granted, none of them can shoot…

It’s funny to me how none of the stormtroopers can hit a target, as this episode makes light of. But when the episode needs him to be, Moff Gideon is a crack shot.

I’d never seen or heard of Pedro Pascal prior to The Mandalorian. So what he looked like was news to me. He didn’t necessarily look how his voice suggested he looked. But that’s not a good or a bad thing, per se.

The armorer tasking Mando with reuniting the child with its own kind was a great hook for season two. As the last of the Jedi, the obvious implication was Luke Skywalker. Or perhaps Ahsoka Tano. But we couldn’t have realistically expected to see either of them…could we?

The big moment in this episode is when IG-11 sacrifices itself to save the rest of the group. I’ll say this much: The episode does a great job making us care about the repurposed robot, which we didn’t see again until the previous episode. It feels genuinely sad as he walks through the lava.

Something I appreciated about this group mission as opposed to some others we see in Star Wars is that there were consequences and casualties. Kuiil and IG-11 didn’t make it, and Mando was wounded to the point that he wouldn’t have survived if left to his own devices. The bad guys come off threatening and dangerous even in defeat.

Mando taking on Moff Gideon in the TIE fighter was a cool climax for the season. Suitably suspenseful, as you’d expect a man in a jetpack trying to take down a plane to be.

The one thing I didn’t like about this episode was how rushed everything was after said climax. Mando literally lands from taking down the TIE fighter, and everyone announces what they’re going to do going forward. Felt uncharacteristically clumsy.

The revelation of Moff Gideon with the Darksaber at the end was a fun little moment. Star Wars geeks knew what it was, obviously. And those who didn’t know would come to know as the series progressed.

Disney bet a lot on this first season of The Mandalorian. The first episode premiered with the launch of Disney+, so it was a great added incentive to give the service a try. But beyond that, it set the standard for all live action Star Wars TV projects to come. And thankfully for the fans, that standard wound up being pretty high. The Mandalorian season one isn’t just great Star Wars television. It’s great television, period. It’s compelling, intriguing, gorgeous to look at, and perhaps most importantly, very accessible to those not well-versed in Star Wars. (I’m trying to get my parents to watch it to this day.)

All in all? It was a home run for everybody involved.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Star Wars #32 Micro-Review – That Look on Chewie’s Face…

03/02/202303/02/2023Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Star Wars #32
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Madibek Musabekov, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo.
RELEASED: March 1, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I haven’t seen a great deal of Madibek Musabekov’s work before. But he’s clearly got a great handle on the Star Wars universe. Chewbacca in particular. He draws the wookiee about as expressive as I’ve ever seen him. There’s a great panel in here where he realizes what Lando and Holdo did last issue…

I still think a Lando/Holdo pairing, which started last issue, is a bit of a stretch. But on the humorous side, I can’t help but wonder what Laura Dern would say if she knew her character in The Last Jedi hooked up with Lando Calrissian.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Star Wars #31 Micro-Review – …Slutty?!?

02/16/202302/16/2023Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Star Wars #31
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Andres Genolet, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo.
RELEASED: February 15, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

There’s a big moment in this issue where Lando makes out with another one of the characters for no apparent reason. In a vacuum, it makes sense for Lando, but it’s not motivated very well as far as the other character is concerned. It actually makes her look…well…I’ll just say it: Slutty.

Luke makes a comment in this issue about how he doesn’t need a lightsaber to be a Jedi. Well damn, I wish he’d felt that way when this series began. Then we wouldn’t have the stupid gold one.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Star Wars #30 Micro-Review – Life in a Vacuum

01/05/202301/05/2023Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Star Wars #30
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Andrés Genolet, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo.
RELEASED: January 4, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

How long can a human being survive in the vacuum of space without protection, i.e. a space suit? Lando has to do it for a few seconds in this issue. There was also a great issue of Darth Vader a few years back where Doctor Aphra had to do the same. But how long could one really last in space?

LiveScience.com says about two minutes. That seems about right. Either way, it obviously creates a hell of a lot of tension and urgency.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Essential Clone Wars: “Destiny”

11/11/202211/10/2022Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

SERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S6:E12 – “Destiny”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: Tom Kane, Jaime King, Ashley Eckstein, Corey Burton, James Arnold Taylor
WRITER: Christian Taylor
DIRECTOR: Kyle Dunlevy
PREMIERE DATE: March 7, 2014
SYNOPSIS: Yoda continues his quest for life beyond death.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Yoda opting to leave his lightsaber behind as he ventures into the unknown is a really nice callback (Or call forward?) to The Empire Strikes Back. Our little green friend wasn’t asking Luke to do anything he wouldn’t do himself.

On the subject of Luke, the line “[Yoda] is to teach one that will save the universe from great imbalance.” is obviously a reference to him. Cute. Again, a nice little nod to Empire.

“Destiny” brings us the creation of a delightful little one-off character I’ll call “Dark Yoda,” i.e. the essence of the darkness that lies within Yoda. He’s a little reminiscent of Gollum of The Lord of the Rings fame. But he’s no less delightful for it.

One thing I definitely appreciated about the Yoda/Dark Yoda confrontation: No lightsabers. It would have been easy to turn the scrap between the two of them into a lightsaber duel. But they resisted the temptation. Thus we get to see Yoda in a physical fight with no weapons, which I don’t know that Star Wars had done up to this point.

There are a lot of floating platforms on this world that Yoda has to hop to and from. Gives it a little bit of a Super Mario Bros. feeling, doesn’t it?

Yoda’s destination going into the next episode is a world called Moraband, which is referred to as “the ancient homeworld of the Sith.” What’s interesting to me about that from a creative standpoint is that if this episode had been made today, Yoda likely would have journeyed to Exegol. That’s a fun little thought…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: The Old Man and the Machine

11/07/202211/06/2022Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The Scene: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader prepare to duel with lightsabers aboard the Death Star.

George Lucas Says (Via The Birth of the Lightsaber featurette): “In the beginning, the first film, Episode IV, it was a fight between a very old man and a man who was only partially a man, mostly a mechanical being. So it really wasn’t much of a sword fight at all. … As we went on, we wanted to have the lightsaber fights become faster and more intense as Luke became more proficient in the art of sword fighting.”

I Say: I’ve heard George talk about this a number of times over the years. It works fine as an in-story explanation of why there are no acrobatics or fancy sword fighting moves in A New Hope. But if Star Wars had been made in the prequel era, i.e. the late ’90s and early 2000s, you’ve got to know that Obi-Wan would have been doing all sorts of wild stunts. Remember that Count Dooku, who can’t be that far removed from Obi-Wan in terms of age, does a somersault off a balcony in Revenge of the Sith for no apparent reason.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Star Wars #29 Micro-Review – A Masquerade Ball! (Or Not…)

11/06/202211/06/2022Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Star Wars #29
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Ramon Rosanas, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by E.M. Gist.
 RELEASED: November 2, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Another awesome cover from E.M. Gist this month. I love the concept of our Rebel heroes going to some kind of masquerade ball in disguise. Granted, that’s not what actually happens in the issue, which is a downer. But the outfits are still a lot of fun. Especially Luke in the domino mask.

I know I talk about this every few months or so. But I feel passionate enough about it that it’s worth repeating: I hate Luke’s gold lightsaber. Things would be so much more interesting without it.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: The Rule of Two

10/17/202209/11/2022Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The Scene: Count Dooku asks the captured Obi-Wan Kenobi to join him against Darth Sidious. Obi-Wan refuses.

George Lucas Says (via the Attack of the Clones commentary track): “I was able to get in this little thing of, you put two Sith together, and they try to get others to join them to get rid of the other Sith. So Dooku’s ambition here is really to get rid of Darth Sidious, and he’s trying to get Obi-Wan’s assistance in that. … So that he and Obi-Wan can overthrow Sidious and take over. And it’s exactly the same scene as when Darth Vader does it with Luke to try and get rid of Sidious [in The Empire Strikes Back]. So whenever you get too many people together with these Sith Lords, they all gang up and they all try to get rid of the strongest one. … So the one facet of the Sith reality is that they’re constantly plotting against each other, and therefore there can’t be more than two of them at any time.”

I Say: One of the recurring elements in Star Wars is greed and a lust for power. It’s most plainly on display with the Sith’s “Rule of Two.” Whether you’re talking about Sidious and Dooku, the Emperor and Vader, or Snoke and Kylo Ren in the later films, you always have two individuals who are so hungry for power that their partnership is inevitably doomed from the start. I’ve always felt there’s a truth to this notion as far as the nature of evil is concerned. No matter how long you can make it lasts, it’s destined for self destruction.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Star Wars #28 Micro-Review – A Forgettable Journey

10/13/202210/13/2022Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Star Wars #28
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Andres Genolet, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by E.M. Gist.
 RELEASED: October 12, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue sees Luke Skywalker travel to Coruscant, the epicenter of the Galactic Empire. You’d think that’d be a pretty big, dramatic deal, right? But Luke makes pretty quick work of his mission, and gets right back to the Rebel Fleet. I get that he’s, y’know…Luke Skywalker. But that’s still pretty anticlimactic.

I’m hoping this isn’t the last we see of this family of Imperial double-agents. I was slow to get into their story, but they grew on me.

E.M. Gist keeps knocking it out of the park. He captures Luke’s likeness damn near perfectly.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

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Tag Luke Skywalker

The Mandalorian, “Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore” Review

Catching Up With The Mandalorian – “Chapter 8: Redemption”

A Star Wars #32 Micro-Review – That Look on Chewie’s Face…

A Star Wars #31 Micro-Review – …Slutty?!?

A Star Wars #30 Micro-Review – Life in a Vacuum

The Essential Clone Wars: “Destiny”

George Lucas on Star Wars: The Old Man and the Machine

A Star Wars #29 Micro-Review – A Masquerade Ball! (Or Not…)

George Lucas on Star Wars: The Rule of Two

A Star Wars #28 Micro-Review – A Forgettable Journey