I feel like it’s important to agree on some terminology here.
I submit for your consideration: yadpole.
YES. I second the motion to call baby Yoda “Yadpole”.
I’ve noticed some similar thoughts to others on here, as far as light criticisms, but honestly they’re very light concerns. This is the first Star Wars live-action show ever, and it might take some time to find its stride. But like Hal said, a show that is able to just exist in the Star Wars universe and explore it through the pov of interesting characters, it’s a dream for a Star Wars fan. I feel like Favreau and Filoni want the audience to get immersed in this world and journey this character is going on, and not be too worried about the destination just yet. I really enjoy it now, but I can imagine how enamored I would be with this show if I was 12 years old again.
As far as gripes, I guess the two main things are 1) it had an unusual pace imo, definitely more like it was just the first 40 minutes of a 6-hour movie than the first episode of a season, if that makes sense. Not a bad thing, just different.
2) His first bounty was kind of taking me out of it. My dad said he felt more like a Star Trek alien than a Star Wars one. I think they wanted a funnier character that could play off of the Mandalorian’s stoicism, so I can live with it.
Random thoughts:
If I had to guess, our Mando friend was orphaned during the Clone Wars, adopted by Mandalorians and now hates droids because the Separatists destroyed his village. I’m guessing the Empire wants to use Yadpole in some sort of Force-related experiment? I’m really curious about that. I thought the Mando Forge stuff was pretty cool! The Mando lore they’re touching on is really interesting to me. This kind of stuff does make me feel like this show is targeted more towards Star Wars fans than general audiences. I also really liked Nick Nolte’s character. I wouldn’t mind if he showed up more.
I love how the Mando actually used his rifle the same way Boba used it in the holiday special cartoon (and they mentioned Life Day!). Yeah they’re “Easter eggs” but they’re references that make sense. Definitely doesn’t feel shoe-horned in, imo.
Anyway, I’m liking it so far and looking forward to see how the rest plays out. I would say Dave Filoni’s live-action directorial debut was a success!