The Mandalorian Review

Considered one episode at a time this is a real pleasure. The format is a western serial. A stranger arrives, a town has a problem, the problem is solved and he rides on, and it is executed with more visual care than Star Wars had previously given television. Greig Fraser established a look built on real light, long lenses and practical costume, and the virtual production stage means backgrounds react correctly instead of glowing behind the actors.

The first season's restraint is its strength, with Pedro Pascal acting entirely through posture and a helmet. Then the show discovers that it is a franchise node. The second season starts importing characters who need their own series, the third hands its running time to a subplot about somebody else, and the through line about the child dissolves into setup for elsewhere. Dialogue is functional at best, largely because the lead cannot use his face. Beautiful, comfortable, and unwilling to commit to being about anything for longer than a season.