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Post #1318846

Author
ZkinandBonez
Parent topic
The Mandalorian - a general discussion thread - * SPOILERS *
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1318846/action/topic#1318846
Date created
10-Jan-2020, 11:59 AM

OutboundFlight said:

In terms of “filler” episodes…

I don’t think I would consider any of the episodes “filler”. Even Chapter 5, despite not setting anything up, provided lots of insight into world as well as just a fun adventure.

I actually find too much focus on an overarching plot a sign of a “filler episode”. Let me explain. Way too many shows focus on building mysteries and teasing the audience, to the point that’s the entire show.

A good example would be Stranger Things 3. I was bored watching most of it, and I kept wondering when the plot would actually start. Because the first 75% is just slowly teasing the ending, when I would rather they either shorten the season or add new storylines to make each episode somewhat unique.

This is why I like Mandalorian so much: each episode brings something new to the table.

Well put, couldn’t agree more. I had a similar experience watching GoT a while back. I gave up during the second season because it felt so “padded”. I’d watched several episodes and one of the too many plots only advanced so far as to have two characters walk from one place to another. The dialogue was fine and added to their characters, but nothing really happened to their story for several episodes. When something finally did happen it was yet another cliff hanger and at that point I’d simply stopped caring. My personal idea of a perfectly done long narrative in TV series form would be something like the last few seasons of Star Trek DS9. There’s an overarching narrative that’s always present (e.g. the Dominion War and several character arcs, etc.), but each episode (apart from two-parters and such) still felt like their own self contained story. The Mandalorian did a similar thing, where the child and the bounty hunters / imperial remnant hunting it was the overarching plot, yet episodes 2 & 4-6 also told their own stories while still being connected to the main plot.