I’d personally be fine with all future SW shows, both live action and animated, being Filoni-esque.
I wouldn’t. This show’s lowest points are the ones Filoni directed and wrote. The highest points are the ones he has the least involvement with.
I’d agree that the least good episodes are the ones Filoni directed, though I’d say that’s simply due to his inexperience doing live-action. As far as first-time directors go I’d say he did a pretty good job.
“Filoni-esque” doesn’t really mean much, either, since the only real identifiable hallmarks of Filoni’s storytelling are, as stated by his biggest fans:
George Lucas talked to him a lot.
He likes Princess Mononoke.Filoni’s status seems to be less earned than it is an easy substitution exercise: All the ways fans used to unfairly deify Lucas as a storyteller supreme are just being mapped onto Filoni now because George Lucas handpicked him.
The thing Filoni has most in common with Lucas is that his storytelling instincts are sound but his execution is lacking and he’s probably better off being “The Story Group” than he is actually involving himself in directing or writing.
I don’t see how that’s necessarily a critcism. He’s known as a showrunner, not as a director. And showrunners can have a “style” the same way as directors and writers do. Being able to control and guide a creative team, including directors and writers, is an important and difficult job. And unlike the story group he doesn’t just maintain continuity, he makes sure it all feels consistent and sticks to th established style of each individual show. Although Mando is very much Favreau’s creation, I think Filoni has added far more to it than he gets official credit for.