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canyonwalkerSeason 3 episode 4 of The Mandalorian, titled "Chapter 20: The Foundling", could just as well be called "Timmy Falls Down a Well". It's like the parody trope of the old Lassie TV show where the dog Lassie whines at a human and the human says, "What's that, girl? Timmy fell down a well?!" and then the whole town rushes to rescue Timmy from a well. Sadly this episode continues the streak of plot writing so juvenile it's ripe for parody that's afflicted most of season 3 so far.
Things in this episode that made me feel like a 12 year old is writing it:
Some people say it's silly to get hung up on mundane things like, "Where does the food come from?" when it's a science fiction story with FTL space ships and magical powers. But that gets back to something I've talked about before. It's a well established maxim in science fiction writing that an author gets only a small number of "freebie" things to include in the story without justification; the rest have to make sense. ...Or, as I've phrased it, after one or two freebies the rest of the plot points have to be earned. Ignoring simple logistical questions like how people travel, get supplies, or get food— until suddenly a subplot makes such things a crisis— is amateurish writing. The kind that reminds me of D&D adventures constructed by 12 year olds.
At this point you might be wondering, If it's so bad, why do you keep watching it? It's a fair question. It's one I ask myself!
The reason is two things: characters and production values. Interesting characters, as I've also written before, are central to crafting a compelling story. Din Djarin is a very compelling character. I could sit and watch him read a phone book for 5 minutes, much in the same way that it's fun to listen to Samuel L. Jackson read people's tweets in his own inimitable style, or watch James Brown simply walk across a stage. It's at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Seven Deadly Words.... Instead of "Why do I care about these characters?" it's "Heck yeah, let's see what they do!"
In terms of production values, this Star Wars spinoff series is among the best. Each episode has beautiful scenery, staging, camera work, practical effects, and special effects. It's obvious there's a tremendous among of professional skill— and money— that goes into producing each episode. That makes up for a certain amount of deficiency in the writing. But it's not a blank check. At some point I'll lose interest in this show if the writing doesn't improve.
Things in this episode that made me feel like a 12 year old is writing it:
- A Mandalorian covert is living on a deserted desert planet. How did they all get there? None has a star ship, and it's not like there's a spaceport on this deserted planet.
- How do they get supplies? Fuel? Again, zero infrastructure here. They're literally living in a cave.
- One day while the tribe is practicing outdoors a flying dinosaur swoops in, grabs one of the adolescents, and flies off. This moment isn't ridiculous but it does set the stage for lots more ridiculousness:
- Several Mandalorians give chase, but their jetpacks run out of fuel. What, suddenly resources are limited? And their jetpacks only had, like, 1 minute of fuel?
- Seriously, they couldn't have flown that far before all running out of fuel because they walked back to the cave.
- It's mentioned that the dino-falcon, or whatever it is, raids them occasionally for food. This underscores that there's no natural food on this desert planet. So again, where do all the humans get food?
- They devise a plan to rescue the kidnapped child with the help of Bo-Katan and her ship. But their plan will take 2-3 days from the time the child was grabbed by the monster. Really, it's going to hold onto the child that long before eating?
- On the hunt the party stops for a night. They're shown eating the space equivalent of hardtack. Again, where does this food come from?
- After defeating the dino-falcon and rescuing the child (you knew they would) the rescue party returns to the tribe... and introduces three baby dino-falcons (their parent was killed in the fight) as "new foundlings". WTF? Unintelligent, flesh-eating monsters are now foundlings, too?
- And they're show luring the dino-falcon chicks— which are already larger than adult humans— out of Bo-Katan's ship with large hunks of raw meat on sticks. WHERE DOES THIS FOOD COME FROM?
Some people say it's silly to get hung up on mundane things like, "Where does the food come from?" when it's a science fiction story with FTL space ships and magical powers. But that gets back to something I've talked about before. It's a well established maxim in science fiction writing that an author gets only a small number of "freebie" things to include in the story without justification; the rest have to make sense. ...Or, as I've phrased it, after one or two freebies the rest of the plot points have to be earned. Ignoring simple logistical questions like how people travel, get supplies, or get food— until suddenly a subplot makes such things a crisis— is amateurish writing. The kind that reminds me of D&D adventures constructed by 12 year olds.
At this point you might be wondering, If it's so bad, why do you keep watching it? It's a fair question. It's one I ask myself!
The reason is two things: characters and production values. Interesting characters, as I've also written before, are central to crafting a compelling story. Din Djarin is a very compelling character. I could sit and watch him read a phone book for 5 minutes, much in the same way that it's fun to listen to Samuel L. Jackson read people's tweets in his own inimitable style, or watch James Brown simply walk across a stage. It's at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Seven Deadly Words.... Instead of "Why do I care about these characters?" it's "Heck yeah, let's see what they do!"
In terms of production values, this Star Wars spinoff series is among the best. Each episode has beautiful scenery, staging, camera work, practical effects, and special effects. It's obvious there's a tremendous among of professional skill— and money— that goes into producing each episode. That makes up for a certain amount of deficiency in the writing. But it's not a blank check. At some point I'll lose interest in this show if the writing doesn't improve.
