The Mandalorian

Jon Favreau, the writer of the series, “The Mandalorian” has created something special.  The series pulls on influences from old samurai films and spaghetti westerns, which were also the original inspiration for Star Wars. The show created iconic characters in just eight episodes with the blank-faced Mandalorian himself, voiced expertly by Pedro Pascal.

And of course, there’s Baby Yoda, the most adorable creation in Star Wars history. But one that isn’t dismissed as “kids stuff” by fans, like Ewoks or the annoying Jar Jar. Baby Yoda is too cute to hate no matter how hard your heart is, and has an incredibly important role to play in the plot of the series.

The fourth episode, in particular, highlighted how the smaller scale of the show works well, when suddenly an AT-ST, a mech we’ve seen a million times before, can become the most terrifying thing in existence to anyone of the battlefield.  The writing of the show is also expertly done with each character showing just the right amount of emotion between playing a merciless bounty hunter who does what has to be done; to playing a caretaker who wants nothing more than the best for his companion.