The show has just gotten progressively better. And I think this really cements the status of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni as some of the premiere Star Wars producers and writers in this new era. They just seem to get the material in a way that connects with fans.
From a story standpoint? This was excellent! It still had some of that Western element going for it. In this case, it was evocative of the last stand of a gunfighter against an evil land baron who has brought in the cavalry to do his dirty work. Giancarlo Esposito was so spot-on in this role, and may have portrayed one of the most outwardly ruthless Imperials we've ever seen in Star Wars, short of Vader or the Emporer themselves.
Learning the name of the Mandalorian himself? His origins? And seeing his face? That was huge! And the Armorer was no slouch herself. Her scene fighting the troopers was astounding.
The banter between the Scout Troopers was classic Favreau dialogue. I half expected those parts to have been played by Favreau and Vince Vaughn, who have made these kinds of exchanges their stock in trade. But evidently they brought in some newer blood, and SNL alum Jason Sudeikis played one of the troopers and Adam Pally (who has some decent comedy credits) played the other trooper.
I'm left wondering how long we have to wait until we get to see Season 2. And before we get to that, we have the final season of Clone Wars to take in. That show is potentially going to touch on plot points that impact the story of the Mandalorians! And with Dave Filoni at the head of that project you've got to know that he will touch on some of the events that were described in this show.
