All 3 seasons of The Mandalorian ranked from worst to best
By Josh Baggins
2. The Mandalorian season 1
A formidable masked bounty hunter and an adorable force-sensitive baby that resembles Yoda – it is hard to imagine a time when these principal players were not a guaranteed triumph. Yet, the success of The Mandalorian falls back on the intuition and inspired assuredness of the shows’ creators. Of course, every big-budget showrunner has the best of intentions to create a significant work of popular culture, but for Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, all of their decisions played out exactly as planned and it was evident that the pieces were falling into place from early on.
Favreau and Filoni went all-in with Din Djarin and Grogu and never turned back. Pedro Pascal’s voice work brought more feeling and gravity to the role than many TV leads with facial visibility. And Grogu’s simple yet detailed design followed by some masterful puppetry attracted a whole new generation of Star Wars fans to the franchise. It almost sounds absurd to state that their chemistry is majestic, but the heart of The Mandalorian is this father-son relationship.
The episodic nature of season 1 was utilized magnificently. After Dave Filoni’s absolutely perfect pilot that culminates with Grogu’s grand reveal, we have Rick Famuyiwa helming an exciting mission for Din to retrieve an egg for a pack of Jawas, and the following week Deborah Chow thrillingly faces Din off against members of his own kind. Bryce Dallas Howard expertly stages a chapter inspired by Akira Kurosawa where Din protects a village from raiders. And the most tense, riveting action unfolds in Famuyiwa’s prison break episode.
The one constant throughout the first season is the two leads and how they grow exponentially connected to one another. Run-ins with Greef Karga, Cara Dune, Fennec Shand, and Mayfield enliven the narrative with an ample amount of variety and the late-season unveiling of Moff Gideon quickly raises the stakes for an enthralling finale. The last-second presentation of a live-action Darksaber leaves viewers in awe, whether they were familiar with the significant Mandalorian weapon or not.