What I'm Reading, Watching, and Playing

The Mandalorian 

“Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore”

This week’s episode exemplified the show’s best qualities, that of economic storytelling, action set-pieces, and tapping into George Lucas’ very specific approach to world-building. 

So much franchise fare is burdened with responsibility to other tendrils of their respective series’, manifesting in unwieldy scripts synthesizing and paying off numerous storylines from past projects while setting up various new ventures, all while trying to tell their own story. The Mandalorian’s creative team keeps things refreshingly straightforward, to the point where the show rarely even has b-plots. Most episodes are centered around the pursuit of one objective whether it be hunting a bounty, rescuing an ally, or destroying a giant desert worm. “Mines of Mandalore” follows suit, with the episode following Din Djarin and Grogu’s adventure to the war-torn planet of Mandalore so Din can bathe in ceremonial waters and find redemption for his transgressions. Rather than drawing this story out over a season, as would fit with the rhythms of prestige television, the show resolves plot in 2 episodes. This is closer to the plotting of serialized children’s television like Avatar: The Last Airbender than Westworld or Ozark.

The streamlined scripting benefits a spectacle-heavy approach as the set-pieces get the time to breathe and evolve without having to rush to the next plot point. The imagery is allowed to linger  and the action is allowed to have an arc, we can see our heroes try a few paths to combat their obstacles. This episode’s action set-pieces showcase some really neat creature designs as Din and Grogu find themselves attacked by a few furry cave dwellers and then by a biomechanical being, the design for the latter evoking Star Wars alum and industry legend Phil Tippet’s film Mad God. Through the craft of both practical and digital effects artists and cinematography that works with the digital production viewers experience the level of spectacle befitting the franchise, all while keeping the character stakes in focus amidst the technical artistry. 

This adventure to Mandalore also demonstrated the show’s unique ability to tap into one of franchise creator George Lucas’ strengths, effective world-building that exists mostly as suggestion. Unlike a creator such as J.R.R. Tolkien Lucas’ world-building is very fluid, existing mostly as suggestion in production design and dialogue rather than hard text. When Luke, Ben and the audience beheld Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars the volume and framing of the bar patrons gave the impression that each had a compelling story. Lucas does this throughout the series from the off-handed mention of “The Clone Wars” or Han recounting inter-movie adventures at the start of The Empire Strikes Back. Lucas and now Favereau and Filoni are able to pull this off by keeping the lore anchored in character stories. This approach engages the viewers’ imagination to fill in the gaps, making the galaxy feel lively and full without the burden of adherence to strict history and rules. While much of the history and lore referenced in “The Mines of Mandalore” is filled in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels the consumption of those texts is not necessary for appreciation. The design of the planet’s ruins and Katee Sakhoff’s somber performance as Mandalorian royalty Bo-Katan give the viewers enough to understand the weight of what they are witnessing as the heroes explore the ruins of the fallen civilization. 

I am enjoying how this season of The Mandalorian is focusing on Din’s relationship to his culture. As the series has roots in the coming-of-age narrative it fits for our masked hero to experience a late preoccupation with his place in the galaxy and his relationship to the religion and culture that adopted him.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)

I have been making more time for video games this year, a hobby I have struggled to keep up with as I’ve gotten older. So in the lead-up to the now delayed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League I am replaying Rocksteady’s Arkham trilogy. In revisiting I found the first game to be somewhat quaint in the context of what AAA games have become, particularly those of licensed IP. In comparison to its much more expansive sequels, Arkham Asylum keeps things relatively linear. Similar to The Mandalorian Rocksteady uses a straightforward story (Joker wants to create an army of super soldiers, takes over Asylum to do it) to let players explore the Batman world. A clear reverence is evident in game design and story approach. Most of the major comic characters make an appearance and there are countless easter eggs pulling from the depths of Gotham’s history. There is something charming about the game’s lack of cinematic aspirations (something that has plagued AAA titles as the years have gone on), it simply wants to give players their traumatized orphan wish-fulfillment fantasy.

I finished the game this week and am moving onto City next, a game I am curious to revisit now that the market has become so oversaturated with massive open-world games. 

Other:

- I started reading All-Star Superman, which I’m pretty sure is the first Superman title I’ve ever read. Enjoyable so far (I have read one issue) and has a good emotional hook to bring the Man of Steel down to earth.

- HBO’s The Last of Us - still very good!