The Mandalorian Episode 1 Review - A Solid Foundation For What Is To Come

The "Star Wars" franchise has just gotten more expansive with its first live-action television series in the form of "The Mandalorian" which debuted on the now launched Disney+ streaming service as well as many other variety of content.

To give you an idea of the show without spoiling anything, "The Mandalorian" takes place a couple of years after "Return of the Jedi" and follows a bounty hunter(played by Pedro Pascal) as he is given tasks to find wanted criminals in return in the form of money. His latest task is, without saying anything, more than what he bargained.

I was highly anticipating this show ever since the first still images surfaced online. I've been a fan of the latest Star Wars films and was eager to dive into this show due to the creative teams behind it and the incredible budget pushed for this as well. And from watching the pilot, I can say that I was not disappointed but not thrilled either.

The first positives from the show is its production design and visuals, which are stunning to look at. The creative team behind this clearly had a full idea of how this world should look to the viewer and how the cultures differentiate from one another.

Another aspect that I thoroughly enjoyed was its score. Ludwig Goransson, who composed the Oscar-winning score for "Black Panther", comes to helm this series and her work here is as excellent as her previous work. The combination of both western and galactic beats was great to hear.

The Mandalorian himself is a fascinating character so far. The pilot gives a decent amount of characterization that shines him in a mysterious light, which I found very appropriate for the character. What I also liked is the sense of reservation from him as well.

Now in terms of what I didn't like about this pilot, it all comes from length and pacing. From watching the pilot, I felt the need for the episode to be longer for key elements presented to be more fleshed out. It's not the case that they are there as ongoing threads of a story but more of elements happening in the moment. The need for more time in each episode is apparent. The pacing could have also been much more slower and didn't need to be as quick and straightforward as it was.

"The Mandalorian" has my attention and I'm curious to see more. Its technical achievements and a well established lead make for a series worth watching. It is my only hope that the journey is smoother than how it started.

"The Mandalorian" Episode 1 Letter Grade: B