Television The Mandalorian OT - This is the Way

[johnny]

The facial recognition scan was basically like a captcha, I guess. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

One of themes of this episode was exploring the "similarities" between the New Republic and the Empire.

 

What really kind of encapsulated it was the celebration of the Imperials when upon the delivery of the rhydonium.  That scene was practically identical to just about every similar celebration we've seen from the Rebel Alliance/New Republic after their victories over the Empire -- the only difference is the uniforms.

 

Also, I guess someone else noticed how the chase sequence was pretty much a homage to Mad Max: Fury Road:

 

 

[CayceG]

I wasn't aware of Wages of Fear, but the whole thing screamed "the wagon train has nitro glycerin in it and you're driving it through indian country" to me.  

[TheLeon]

6 minutes ago, CayceG said:

I wasn't aware of Wages of Fear, but the whole thing screamed "the wagon train has nitro glycerin in it and you're driving it through indian country" to me.  

Yeah, Wages of Fear (and the remake Sorcerer) is basically that in a South American jungle. 

[Reputator]

That episode is definitely getting a rewatch from me.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Also, nice reference to Operation: Cinder

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Operation Cinder was stupid to begin with (that the Emperor just wanted to kill everyone if he died), but it was made doubly stupid when it turns out that the Emperor can just made another clone of himself. 

[Remarkableriots]

2 hours ago, CitizenVectron said:

Operation Cinder was stupid to begin with (that the Emperor just wanted to kill everyone if he died), but it was made doubly stupid when it turns out that the Emperor can just made another clone of himself. 

Makes perfect sense to me. Even if the Emperor returned he didn't use his old Empire to try to take over the galaxy again. He had a new army to replace his failed Empire and everything else being destroyed prevents them from turning against him.

[Chris-]

20 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

One of themes of this episode was exploring the "similarities" between the New Republic and the Empire.

 

What really kind of encapsulated it was the celebration of the Imperials when upon the delivery of the rhydonium.  That scene was practically identical to just about every similar celebration we've seen from the Rebel Alliance/New Republic after their victories over the Empire -- the only difference is the uniforms.

 

Also, I guess someone else noticed how the chase sequence was pretty much a homage to Mad Max: Fury Road:

 

 

 

Without having even seen that my girlfriend pointed out those notes!

[Greatoneshere]

On 12/11/2020 at 2:28 PM, Reputator said:

That tension was like watching Inglorious Bastards. What a meaty, intense episode. Absolutely loved it. And then lo and behold, it's the same director as one of my favorite S1 episodes. That dude has serious talent.

 

I immediately thought this. I've always been a fan of Burr's stand-up comedy and it was great to see him in Breaking Bad but the scene at the table with his superior officer was so good. He made me feel just like him: I literally turned to my wife and was like: "I'm usually aggressively controlled as a person, but I think I would shoot this guy at this point" and that's when you know a scene has made you feel what the characters feel.

 

The whole episode was great. Seeing the sonic charges again!

[ort]

On 12/12/2020 at 12:42 PM, johnny said:

The facial recognition scan was basically like a captcha, I guess. 

 

I was getting these vibes....

 

 

 

 

Yeah, it made no sense. A lot about this show really doesn't, but if you relax and go along for the ride it's a fun one.

 

This was the best episode of the show by far. In fact, I think.each of the last 3-4 have earned that distinction, only to be beaten by the next weeks episode. It's definitely on a big upswing.

[LazyPiranha]

The stupidity of the show is both endearing and also shows that a lot of TLJ haters are absolutely full of shit because they happily gobble up face terminals but somehow purple lady not trusting by Poe immediately is a bridge too far.

[ort]

Pretty much every movie has completely unrealistic things happen to move the plot along or help tell a more dramatic story. How much they bother someone tends to closely line up a lot with how much they are enjoying the rest of the movie.

 

Madalorian is full of them. Everywhere. Mostly in the form of figuring out what his motivations are for doing like 75% of what he does. He should be telling all of these people to pound sand. We need you to put your life, the Childs life and your entire mission in jeopardy in a suicide mission because we maybe might perhaps have some info maybe. Give me that armor or I will shoot you in the face. Wait, what if instead of that, you help me with big super dangerous mission that will gain you absolutely nothing at all! SURE! SIGN ME UP!

[Reputator]

42 minutes ago, LazyPiranha said:

The stupidity of the show is both endearing and also shows that a lot of TLJ haters are absolutely full of shit because they happily gobble up face terminals but somehow purple lady not trusting by Poe immediately is a bridge too far.

 

[LazyPiranha]

55 minutes ago, Reputator said:

 

 

[Jason]

10 hours ago, LazyPiranha said:

The stupidity of the show is both endearing and also shows that a lot of TLJ haters are absolutely full of shit because they happily gobble up face terminals but somehow purple lady not trusting by Poe immediately is a bridge too far.

 

TV is a better format because everything has time to breathe instead of it being make or break in two hours. 

[CitizenVectron]

13 hours ago, ort said:

Pretty much every movie has completely unrealistic things happen to move the plot along or help tell a more dramatic story. How much they bother someone tends to closely line up a lot with how much they are enjoying the rest of the movie.

 

Madalorian is full of them. Everywhere. Mostly in the form of figuring out what his motivations are for doing like 75% of what he does. He should be telling all of these people to pound sand. We need you to put your life, the Childs life and your entire mission in jeopardy in a suicide mission because we maybe might perhaps have some info maybe. Give me that armor or I will shoot you in the face. Wait, what if instead of that, you help me with big super dangerous mission that will gain you absolutely nothing at all! SURE! SIGN ME UP!

 

Absolutely. It's the "look at that bitch eating crackers" syndrome. If you love TROS (shudders) then you'll gloss over the issues (or at least admit they are there, but are minor). Same with TFA, TLJ, Mandalorian, etc. But if you hate a movie, then you will take issue with every single thing in it. That shows the mark of a true edgelord. 

[LazyPiranha]

3 hours ago, Jason said:

 

TV is a better format because everything has time to breathe instead of it being make or break in two hours. 

I enjoy the show a lot, but one thing it absolutely does not do is let things have time to breath.  This show moves at a breakneck pace never once stopping to expound on anything at all.  It lets mood and tone have all the space it needs, but not plot.  Context for more or less anything is utterly lacking.  It rushes past exposition so quickly it makes a whooshing sound as it goes by.  
 

Mando found another Jedi who could talk to Grogu, and in less time than you need to take a decent shit agrees to bring him to another planet and place him on a magical rock to see if anything happens, and he doesn’t even ask where the fucking rock is.  He cruises over the sky of an entire planet and finds the rock he’s looking for immediately.  The empire for some reason has baby handcuffs on the ready for a mind wizard that can move shit without touching it.  His hands are the least dangerous thing about him, what is he going to do, scratch your shin slightly?
 

The show can’t let anything breath because the second you pause and reflect upon what you’re watching it comes crumbling down.  The entire thing is just cotton candy, a big fluffy bit of fun that dissolves into nothing when you’re done.  That’s absolutely fine, I have no problem with enjoying a well done, supremely stupid bit of fun.  My only point is tons of whiny assholes went on endlessly about how Rian Johnson didn’t understand Star Wars and how terrible it was that spaceships could run out of fuel or bombs could fall down, or whatever.  It’s fine to not like TLJ, I love parts of it and hate others, but to pretend the problems with TLJ are based on logic while eating this show up is just nonsense.

[CayceG]

 

4 minutes ago, LazyPiranha said:

Mando found another Jedi who could talk to Grogu, and in less time than you need to take a decent shit agrees to bring him to another planet and place him on a magical rock to see if anything happens, and he doesn’t even ask where the fucking rock is.  He cruises over the sky of an entire planet and finds the rock he’s looking for immediately.  The empire for some reason has baby handcuffs on the ready for a mind wizard that can move shit without touching it.  His hands are the least dangerous thing about him, what is he going to do, scratch your shin slightly?
 

 

Since when has ANY Star Wars property involved showing us the character arriving at a planet anywhere except exactly where they need to be for the purposes of the story?

 

Additionally, I think you're focusing on the fact that a baby was put in handcuffs and arriving at "Why are there baby handcuffs" rather than remembering that the galaxy is full of creatures of all shapes and sizes AND the Empire was a fascist nightmare, and maybe THAT explains why there are Grogu-sized cuffs. 

 

 

4 minutes ago, LazyPiranha said:

The show can’t let anything breath because the second you pause and reflect upon what you’re watching it comes crumbling down.  The entire thing is just cotton candy, a big fluffy bit of fun that dissolves into nothing when you’re done.  That’s absolutely fine, I have no problem with enjoying a well done, supremely stupid bit of fun.  My only point is tons of whiny assholes went on endlessly about how Rian Johnson didn’t understand Star Wars and how terrible it was that spaceships could run out of fuel or bombs could fall down, or whatever.  It’s fine to not like TLJ, I love parts of it and hate others, but to pretend the problems with TLJ are based on logic while eating this show up is just nonsense.

 

So I'll tell you what Mandalorian means to me. 

 

This latest episode really kinda brings a message and a deeper meaning and a really good character arc together in a way that resonates with me. 

Mando is the member of essentially a religious cult. When we first see him, he's just a cool bounty hunter. Then we are shown that he has this code that involves strict religious practices. The practices and beliefs are established through the first season while a bond is forming between Grogu and Mando. He has this duty to Grogu because Mando's creed says so. External characters exemplify this as well, providing a mirror for Mando's creed and showing him (and us) what it means to follow it. 

 

Now in the 2nd season, there's an exploration of Mando's beliefs. We're shown other Mandalorians outside his sect, and see their practices which clash with his. Outsiders (Mayfeld) point out apparent contradictions (or things that could be explained away by a zealot as, actually they aren't contradictory). And we see Mando do something to break a part of his creed in support another part of it. 

 

This echoes my spiritual journey. I was raised and grew up a conservative evangelical Christian. We had practices and beliefs that were different from other Christian groups. As I grew up and got out in the world I was exposed to people of other expressions of Christianity and others that weren't believers at all. The same differences in practice and questioning/criticism from outsiders that we watched in this season of The Mandalorian are things I experienced in the past. I have been in situations where my a religious practice was challenged to support another part of my religious creed. The questions that are there in the episodes are ones I have felt. What's more important? The little list of things you do and don't do to define you as a member of this religion? Or the ultimate goal that religion espouses? Or is something external to the religion's teaching more important than any of the former?

 

 

To say that the show is cotton candy might work for you. But to others it has a deep and abiding meaning and I sincerely appreciate that it's being explored. 

[Bacon]

Spoiler

 

[skillzdadirecta]

Here's a simple explanation for the facial recognition thing that seems to have a bunch of folks hung up. It either A. is to prevent droids from accessing material or B. Because its the Empire, only HUMANS can access material and not aliens because the EMpire is somewhat racist as well as fascist. Take your pick... whichever one fits your head canon and enjoy the show.

 

Next thing you know we're gonna need a WHOLE MOVIE to explain why the Empire's scanners require facial recognition from pretty much ANY human face 

[Greatoneshere]

2 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Here's a simple explanation for the facial recognition thing that seems to have a bunch of folks hung up. It either A. is to prevent droids from accessing material or B. Because its the Empire, only HUMANS can access material and not aliens because the EMpire is somewhat racist as well as fascist. Take your pick... whichever one fits your head canon and enjoy the show.

 

Next thing you know we're gonna need a WHOLE MOVIE to explain why the Empire's scanners require facial recognition from pretty much ANY human face 

 

It's definitely both I think. You're right - that was my immediate take when watching as well: "it's probably really easy to send in hacked droids to go undercover into a place" so a captcha would force actual humans to have to go undercover, and humans are easier to spot/catch.

We checkmark "I'm not a robot" all the time in this current day and age and no one finds that stupid. 

 

And yeah, the Empire is racist as well. 

[CayceG]

1 minute ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

It's definitely both I think. You're right - that was my immediate take when watching as well: "it's probably really easy to send in hacked droids to go undercover into a place" so a captcha would force actual humans to have to go undercover, and humans are easier to spot/catch.

We checkmark "I'm not a robot" all the time in this current day and age and no one finds that stupid. 

 

And yeah, the Empire is racist as well. 

 

After seeing the entirety of Rebels and the original trilogy where either Chopper or R2-D2 just pops right up to a terminal and gets exactly what they need, it makes sense that this level of security exists. 

[skillzdadirecta]

It could also be 

 

Spoiler

Who gives a shit?

 

[CayceG]

17 minutes ago, Bacon said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

So one of the cool things about this scene was at the end, Mayfeld says "I never saw your face," essentially allowing Mando some cover in terms of anyone else knowing he broke his creed. 

 

But he wouldn't have called him Brown Eyes to the ISB officer if Mayfeld hadn't gotten a really good look at him. 

 

 

These little flourishes are wonderful little treats when you go back to think about the character interactions. 

[TwinIon]

Maybe I'm getting my timelines messed up, but why wouldn't Fett be the ideal candidate to access a terminal? Are there no longer any clones among the troopers? They once made up 100% of the fighting force, and we've seen clones working at every level of the army, so surely it wouldn't have been unusual for a clone to access a terminal. I didn't think we were so far removed that they'd all be gone by now. Did I miss the point at which the empire got rid of all the clone troopers?

 

Regardless, I generally agree that Star Wars is at it's best when it's gesturing to bigger things and wider worlds as opposed to investigating the minutia or the mechanics of something.

[skillzdadirecta]

1 minute ago, TwinIon said:

Maybe I'm getting my timelines messed up, but why wouldn't Fett be the ideal candidate to access a terminal? Are there no longer any clones among the troopers? They once made up 100% of the fighting force, and we've seen clones working at every level of the army, so surely it wouldn't have been unusual for a clone to access a terminal. I didn't think we were so far removed that they'd all be gone by now. Did I miss the point at which the empire got rid of all the clone troopers?

 

Regardless, I generally agree that Star Wars is at it's best when it's gesturing to bigger things and wider worlds as opposed to investigating the minutia or the mechanics of something.

 

Because Bobba Fett was a known to the Empire and is wanted by both the Empire AND the New Republic, maybe? I mean he was kinda famous.

[ort]

But that's what doesn't make sense. If it's able to see who you are and compare it to a database, surely a person not in the empire would not be in the system, and it would not recognize him as a person able to access it, but also, who gives a shit. Yes, that is the correct answer.

 

It's one of those things that yes, they could add 60 more seconds of exposition and explain it, but why bother... this is a face scanner, it scans your face and sets up a dramatic moment, fill in your own blanks and just sit back and enjoy it.

 

Just like they could show a scene where he's flying around the planet for 6 hours looking for the right place, but why even show that? Or have Ashoka give him directions, but again, why bother?

 

Like I said, the quality of the rest makes up for moments like this. You can pick anything apart if you really want. There are very few films that stand up to real scrutiny.

[ort]

A better question is... why does the Mandalorian keep a well-trimmed mustache?

[johnny]

The face scan doesn’t matter. We are operating in Star Wars world not ours. 

[skillzdadirecta]

6 minutes ago, ort said:

But that's what doesn't make sense. If it's able to see who you are and compare it to a database, surely a person not in the empire would not be in the system, and it would not recognize him as a person able to access it, but also, who gives a shit. Yes, that is the correct answer.

 

It's one of those things that yes, they could add 60 more seconds of exposition and explain it, but why bother... this is a face scanner, it scans your face and sets up a dramatic moment, fill in your own blanks and just sit back and enjoy it.

 

Just like they could show a scene where he's flying around the planet for 6 hours looking for the right place, but why even show that? Or have Ashoka give him directions, but again, why bother?

 

Like I said, the quality of the rest makes up for moments like this. You can pick anything apart if you really want. There are very few films that stand up to real scrutiny.

Han Solo isn't in the Empire. Neither are Luke or Lea...  What they are is FAMOUS and known enemies of the Empire. So while some random scrub wouldn't show up in the system, one of the most Famous Bounty Hunters in the galaxy probably would... I thought that was pretty much a given when Fett said it shouldn't be him going in 

[skillzdadirecta]

Just now, johnny said:

The face scan doesn’t matter. We are operating in Star Wars world not ours. 

and this is the TRUE correct answer.

[TwinIon]

27 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Because Bobba Fett was a known to the Empire and is wanted by both the Empire AND the New Republic, maybe? I mean he was kinda famous.

Yeah, but he's genetically identical and has the same face as the majority of their army. Unless he shows up in his armor shouting his name, he seems like an ideal candidate to sneak into an Imperial facility.

 

I'm actually more confused as to what the implication was when he said they'd recognize his face than the mechanics of the terminal. I feel like the implication is that there aren't many clones left around, so either that makes him either recognizable as Boba Fett (as you suggest) or an outlier for being a clone. Not really sure which they were getting at.

[tbca]

It's a kids show, nerds

[Kal-El814]

40 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

Maybe I'm getting my timelines messed up, but why wouldn't Fett be the ideal candidate to access a terminal? Are there no longer any clones among the troopers? They once made up 100% of the fighting force, and we've seen clones working at every level of the army, so surely it wouldn't have been unusual for a clone to access a terminal. I didn't think we were so far removed that they'd all be gone by now. Did I miss the point at which the empire got rid of all the clone troopers?

 

In Rebels it's made pretty clear that the clones are old, the Empire has great contempt for them, and they were all essentially released from service. So I don't know if there are literally zero clones in service, but it's a safe assumption that after RotJ there just aren't many left and one strutting up to a terminal would be notable unless there happened to be one in that specific garrison.

 

Not especially practical logistically speaking, but... it's canon.