5 Things That Make Disney's The Mandalorian So Good.

The Mandalorian has breathed a new life into the Star Wars universe in a way the sequels have not been able to. The show has been one of the biggest reasons for people to sign up for a Disney+ subscription (until, ofcourse, the Marvel shows arrive). As the second season of The Mandalorian nears it's denouement, let's take a look at why it has succeeded at reinvigorating the Star Wars fandom and captivating the Non- Star Wars fans as well.

Great World-Building 

One thing The Mandalorian excels at is expanding and exploring the Star Wars world. Throughout season 1 and 2, The Mandalorian visits all the familiar planets of Star Wars canon with Baby Yoda aka Grogu. Being a series instead of a movie gives the show ample amount of time to flesh out the characters and explore the little things and the backdrop of all that's shown in the movies. The show revisits and develops the Jawas and also does a great job at showing that the Tusken Raiders are not just some brutal savage nomads - they can listen to reason and even cooperate with other races/people too. The show also boasts a great cast list with some familiar and popular characters and some great new introductions as well. The Mandalorian has travelled many parsecs to various planets such as Nevarro, Coruscant, Corvus, Tatooine and also the re-canonized ancient home planet of the Jedi from the old Legends continuity - planet Tython.

Fan Service

The Mandalorian is filled with references and callbacks to the original trilogy and the prequels while also bringing stuff from old Legends continuity into canon. The canonizing of the Star Wars lore comes bustling with sequences that are just pure fanservice. This is even more true for the second season of the show, so much so that it actually got update off criticism for being too fanservice-y. For the hardcore Star Wars fans, however, the fanservice has been one of the best content from Star Wars in years. 

From Boba Fett, his ship Slave-1 and the seismic charges to Ashoka finally coming to live action and the ultimate Luke Skywalker's cameo in second season's finale. 

Going Old School

The Star Wars franchise is essentially a space western and arguably nothing in the whole roster of live-action and animated content has realised and embraced the Western genre as well as The Mandalorian.

I mean, the Mandalorian is a bounty hunter, taking bounties across the universe, meeting new characters and saving towns. Instead of the 'Man with no Name' trope, we have the 'Man with no Face.' With episodes like "The Gunslinger" and characters like Marshal Cobb Vanth and the Tusken Raiders being the Indians to the Cowboys of Mos Pelgo, it is not a stretch at all to say that the show is a Western. 

Being a Western plays on the nostalgia of the old original trilogy as well as give something new to the general audience since deficit deficit of Westerns in entertainment right now.

You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to love it!

Another thing that's great about the series is that it appeals almost just as much to the general audience as it does to the longtime fans of the Lucas-verse. Even if you aren't familiar with the longtime characters in places making appearance on the show, you can easily follow the story and the characters as something totally original. A whole slew of new episodic stories and fresh faces with a videogame-like structure to the show, you really wouldn't miss out on that much if you go into the show without watching any prior Star Wars media. 

Baby Yoda.