'Table setting' backstory burdens 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 debut
In the first few episodes of the new season there is way too much tell and not enough show — but it's too early to abandon the series.
The Mandalorian now faces what may be the biggest challenge in its relatively short existence.
I'm not talking about Din Djarin, the helmet-wearing, magnetically terse super heroic bounty hunter played by Pedro Pascal, who gives the series its perfectly direct name. I mean the series itself, which provided an electrifying debut for Disney+ back in 2019 – along with an inspiring blueprint for how to re-invent the then-floundering Star Wars TV/movie universe.
As its third season starts, this show faces the real prospect of being eclipsed by a newer, fresher series, amid spreading fan fatigue.
It doesn't help that the first two new episodes from this season of suffer seriously from a malady I call Table Setting
