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I Love The Mandalorian, I Hate The Mandalorian
The clothes make — and unmake — the man.
The first episode of season 2 of The Mandalorian is a little bit of High Noon mixed with a dash of The Magnificent Seven and a dollop of A Fistful of Dollars played out against a Tatooine landscape that feels more real than ever. What doesn’t feel real, still, after all these episodes, is the hero of the piece.
Pedro Pascal is a fine actor. He may have some of the same stuff as Gary Cooper, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood. I’m guessing he does — but he’s entombed in a costume that doesn’t let his eyes — or any other body part — hint that he has a soul.
He’s trapped by a character whose ethos forces him to keep his vocal expressions within a sliver of a range on the passion pendulum, from total restraint to mild irritation. Even his physicality is hampered — his moves are purely mechanical. When he soars, it’s only because he has a jetpack.
Real People
I want to like the Mandalorian because he’s attached to the Child, the “baby Yoda” puppet who seems to have more acting chops than the series star. I believe there’s a heart buried under Mando’s metal, but I have to take that on faith. I’m reminded that he is an actual human only through brief flashbacks showing him as a real boy. The man he became is invisible.
Other characters — wonderful characters like the unassuming, courageous Cobb Vanth, played by Timothy Olyphant, and the tomboy-next-door mechanic, played by Amy Sedaris — treat the Mandalorian like a regular guy, more or less. That helps me shake off some of my discomfiture over his heavy metal and flat voice. Yet they can’t get under his armor and make skin contact, so neither can I. He remains all shell, no flesh and bones.
Pedro Pascal is a fine actor … but he’s entombed in a costume that doesn’t let his eyes — or any other body part — hint that he has a soul.
Home Again
Given what seems to be a fatal flaw in the protagonist, I’m surprised I enjoyed the episode as much as I did, which is to say a lot. “Chapter 9 — The…
