Why Do We Love 'The Mandalorian?'

It's hard to argue that the last 15-20 years have been the golden age of television. With shows like Breaking Bad, The Wire, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, The Good Place, Fargo, and Mad Men among others, we're seeing some of the best TV that humanity has ever produced. Shows are now getting movie-level budgets and have some of the best creative minds behind them. With the COVID-19 pandemic currently causing a bit of a bugaboo, which in turn means that the theaters are pretty much toast, what TV we can see on the plethora of streaming services that have been presented to us is more important then ever.

Now, it's impossible to argue against the assertion that Star Wars is one of the most influential stories in human history. It changed culture as we know it. From the first film in 1977 to the latest episodes of the TV shows in 2020, we've gotten a lot of Star Wars, especially once Disney bought the rights to it in 2012. It took George Lucas a quarter of a century to make six theatrical films, while it took Disney five years to make five films with varying levels of acclaim. The sequel trilogy is largely hated by die hard fans, with fans being split on Solo and Rogue One.

The Last Jedi really isn't all that bad.

With so much Star Wars in the last five years, people started suffering from what some people called "Star Wars fatigue." We just got too much of it, and it wasn't exactly all Oscar-caliber quality. With a new film coming out every year, it got to be too much, to the point where Disney pushed back some of the planned films.

But then... The Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian has taken the world by storm. It's easily the most popular and well-received piece of Star Wars media arguably since The Empire Strikes Back. The adventures of Din Djarin and his ward Grogu have drawn fans in and made us care about the Star Wars universe again. But why is that? The answer is quite simple.

It's not a Star Wars TV show. It's a western set in the Star Wars universe.

When you know the tropes of the typical western film, it's easy to spot. Din Djarin has more in common with characters like Shane from Shane, Will Kane from High Noon, and John Wayne from... take your pick, than Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. Sure, there are obviously the space aspects of it, but you have the lone gunslinger playing the reluctant hero, saloons, an overworked sheriff doing his best, a run-down small town full of ordinary people that need rescuing or protecting from a great evil, a native population that can either be an ally or an enemy (Tuskens for the show, Native Americans for the westerns), and so much more. Din's ship, the Razor Crest, is his old, beaten down horse.

Making it a western first and foremost adds a fresh coat to the Star Wars universe, and we get away from the friggin' Skywalkers for once. The tropes themselves are known to the audience, but when combined with Star Wars, it improves both sides.

This is nothing new, and you can spot it in other stories as well. Two of the best superhero movies of all time, Logan and The Dark Knight, aren't first and foremost superhero movies. Logan is a western, and The Dark Knight is a heist film that has its roots in films such as Heat more than Tim Burton's Batman.

The Mandalorian also benefits from the television format more than it would have if it was a movie. Each week, we can see a new, exciting location and see what adventures the characters will get into next. It allows us to truly delve deep into the Star Wars universe and explore it more than a movie ever could.

On top of how fresh it all feels, it also does have solid writing, an engaging story, and great characters that are easy to root for. It still has the good vs bad aspect that both Star Wars and most western films are known for, making them familiar, thereby allowing us to connect more easily. It's just a great show.

Or I could be wrong and it's all because of Grogu.

Written By Paul Durbin

Syndicated From Culture Slate