The Mandalorian (Season 2, Disney+) - 2/5

The second season of The Mandalorian keeps introducing great characters, moments, and setpieces like the first season, it sprinkles in painfully terrible characters, dialogue, and character choices. The action is often good, though sometimes absolutely terrible, and Amy Sedaris, Sasha Banks, Katee Sackhoff, and even occasionally Rosario Dawson are painfully grating every instant they are on screen. Boba Fett gets many outstanding moments that fans will appreciate, though he gets Worf’ed in another pointless and irritating scene. Overall it’s like nice dinner of filet mignon and lobster tail with a diarrhea gravy; the wonderful things in this show get completely ruined by the vomit-inducing parts. If you can ignore the bad and enjoy the good, or just have selective memory, then it’s worth a watch.

Closest comparison: This is the Shanghai Nights of the Star Wars saga.

Setting: Sci-Fi
Plot: Western
Tone: Adventure

The Mandalorian (Disney+) - 4/5

This show is the best Star Wars to come out since Return of the Jedi (1983). It starts off strong, then dips to its worst episode in episode 4, then climbs back up to finish strong in the final two episodes. Not only are the stakes small enough to care about but the job-a-week format keeps the plot moving to new and exciting places, both physically and metaphorically. The music is outstanding, not relying on any of the previously established themes, and the cast is mostly character actors that settle comfortably into a flushed-out world.

Closest comparison: It’s like a mix of Have Gun Will Travel (1957) and Lone Wolf and Cub (1970) with all the trappings of the original Star Wars trilogy.

Setting: Sci-fi
Plot: Western
Tone: Adventure