The Mandalorian Episode 4: Sanctuary

The Mando seeks a planet to lay low for awhile with baby Yoda and ends up on Sorgen, a backwater skughole, that's sparsely populated by blue krill farmers.
Mando meets a former Rebel Shocktrooper Cara Dune. The two hit it off right away >.- but she asks Mando to find another planet to hide on as she arrived on Sorgen first and wishes to remain under the radar.
As the Mando is prepping to depart 2 farmers approach him and ask for his help against raiders.
The Mando accepts under the condition the farmers provide shelter for him, baby Yoda and Cara.
Cara and the Mando train the farmers to defend themselves. Cara and the Mando discover the raiders have a tank....no an AT-ST!
OK so I'm rewatching The Clone Wars series on D+ also and just happened to watch S2E17 Bounty right after this episode of The Mandalorian...so we have bounty hunters defending farmers from pirates/raiders by teaching them how to fight and the Pirates/raider bring a tank/AT-ST to suppress the coalition.....hmmmm.
Aside from introducing Cara Dune in this episode it was a very basic story that I've seen time and again in shows like The A team and Knight Rider.

Gris Launch Trailer

This trailer is stunning! I reminds me of 3 games I love, Child of Light, Transistor and Journey! I'm definitely gonna check this game out!

The Mandalorian Episode 3 The Sin

Another strong episode this week, the Mando delivers baby Yoda to the Client and Dr Pershing, and collects a large cache of Beskar Steel which he brings to the mystery Mandalorian Blacksmith to forge him new armor because his "armor has lost it's integrity" and "he may have to "start over" Interesting choice of words! absolute intentional double entendre . This scene was the most intriguing to me as we got a few more nuggets of info regarding the Mandalorian culture...."This is the way"!
And a further glimpse into the Mando's troubled childhood,
Jyn's hiding spot was much better than his was.
We know he survives but I'm curious who saves him....we know he's a foundling so I'm guessing a Mando. With 5 episodes left I doubt we will delve too deep into Mandalorian clan structure this season but I have a feeling we will be treated to a revelation in the season finale. Clan Wren, House Vizsla anyone?
When the Mando meets up with Greeve we get a nice little comment to reiterating the state of the galaxy. The Mando asks Greeve what they plan to do with the Mark and Greeve tells him if he has a greivance to take it up with the New Republic, the Mando's reply "That's a joke" is very telling....
7 years have past since the events of RotJ and the galaxy doesn't seem that much better off, in some cases it might be worse!
This insight is sorely lacking in TFA!

Now to the question of Dr Pershing's comments to the Mando, He protected him, if it weren't for Dr Pershing "he'd be dead already." So there's more to this bounty than meets the eye! Someone wants baby Yoda dead but who??? Is Dr Pershing Imperial? Right now Greef Karga is the furthest from the trust tree in my opinion. I think he'll betray anyone if the price is right, and yes I believe the Mando purposely shot him where he did.
Now to the shoot out, seeing the Mando's come to the aid of one of their own was great! It brought back fond memories of TCW episode The Lawless when Bo Katan helps Obi Wan escape from Mandalore. The one part that felt off to me was when the Razor claw was leaving and that one Mando flies up along side and salutes him....seemed kinda cheesy to me.
So where are we headed in episode 4? The Ocean Dunes of Karnak? He still has the puck....

Capcom Pro Tour North American Regional Finals and SFV Champion Edition Announcement trailer

So as promised Ono took the stage at the conclusion of the Capcom Pro Tour NA regional finals.The crowd usually goes bonkers when Ono takes the stage to show a trailer for new content....not last night! Gill's trailer was met with sporadic clapping like when people aren't sure whether to Cheer or Jeer.
I was always sure Gill was coming, but honestly I thought he was going to be the final character revealed in season 5. This would segway nicely to SFIII's story line. Based to the awkward response to the reveal I don't think anyone expected Gill.
The second trailer for Champion Edition was met with the same level of applause....or lack there of.
Color me curious about Gill, he was rediculous in SFIII 3rd Strike, he made Bison look like Dan Hibiki!



 I'll probably get the upgrade kit for $25, the cost of Gill and the 40th character  is $10 right there, and the stage. I'll also be getting free FM from the 3 characters I was never gonna waste FM on, Ed, Blanka and Alex.

The Mandalorian Episode 2 The Child

Picking up where the first episode leaves off we see the Mando making his way back to his ship the vintage Razorcrest with baby

Yoda

, but as the expression goes "some days you're the dog, some days you're the hydrant". The Mando gets ambushed by a trio of Trandoshan bounty hunters. but manages to fight them off and protect baby

Yoda

. When he arrives at his ship he finds that Jawas have stripped it clean and left it on proverbial cinder blocks! The Mando chases them down as they try to flee on their Sandcrawler. This was a treat for OT fans and lesson #2 in proper Star Wars humor.
We are treated to some ultra kawaii moments between the Mando and the asset. Those of us with kids can appreciate when the Mando has to return the lil fella back to his stroller.
With no means of return back to the Client the Mando returns to Kuiil's farm. Kuiil offers to help the Mando get his parts back. Kuiil arbatrates an agreement between the Jawas and the Mando, the parts for the Razorcrest for an egg. This scene is a crucial point in the story because it reveals that this species is perhaps the most in tune with the force and it again illustrates that even Mandalorians aren't omnipotent.

. It also shows the connection the two beings have and raises one very important question, why are all these other bounty hunters trying to kill the asset while Dr Pershing was so adamant on bringing it back alive.
The episode concludes with an A-team style montage of Kuiil and the Mando repairing the Razorclaw and the asset waking up from naptime after over exerting himself.
I understand that the asset is a McGuffin but unlike a holo map, wayf-finders or a Sith dagger, this McGuffin feels less like a pointless object and more plausable within the galaxy.

The Mandalorian Episode 1

I've been eagerly waiting for this show since uncle Bob revealed it back in 2017! And today was the day I would find out if my hopes would be dashed or realized. I am here to say The Mandalorian has in 1 episode eclipsed anything the ST has shown thus far. The Mandalorian harkens back to a simpler time when a young farm boy met a crazy old hermit and dreamt of joining the academy to fight the Empire....a small story brimming with potential to expand. A story that sparked the imagination of a generation....my generation! The Mandalorian is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe during a lawless, post Empire time in the Star Wars Universe. The look and feel of the very first locale hit the mark for me, it's a planet we've never seen before but it feels very familiar. It's clearly evident that The Mandalorian is using Spaghetti Westerns as the the genre to mold the story around, which is perfect considering the state the galaxy is in after the fall of the Empire. The scene where the Mando learns how to ride a Blurgg and the scene where the Mando scouts out the encampment where the mark is being held screams Spaghetti Western!  

Faverau and Filoni show they're respect for the source material by sprinkling in bits of fan service such as the Mando's rifle, Mythrol's mention of Life Day and Kuiil's mention of the Mythasaur. 

We also get hints of the state of the people of Mandalore thru a few lines by the Client and the scene where the MAndo brings the Beskar Steel to the Mandalorian Armory. This reiterates to me that Both Favreau and Filoni understand Star Wars but have a clear idea of how their story will fit into the Makers Universe and expand upon it, much like how Rogue One did.

The scene in the second half of the episode introduces IG-11 and serves to not only drive home the lawless state the galaxy is in but to also show these hacks Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams what Star Wars humor is and ISN'T. 

The shoot out at the encampment gives fans of IG droids and Mando's a glimpse of they're bad-ass-ness which is a treat but the episode also shows the Mando is not unstoppable...he has weaknesses and flaws. He is relate-able....a simple man trying to make his way in the universe.

In the interest of not spoiling the surprise at the end of the episode, the mark the Mando was hired to find is the cutest damn thing I've seen since baby Groot!

I cannot wait for the next episode on Friday! 

My hopes and fears for that Galaxy far far away on the eve of The Mandalorian

On the eve of the Mandalorian I find myself excited for the potential of this show but nervous for the future of the franchise after hearing the sobering rumors of how poorly the initial test screening for The Rise of Skywalker went.
I'm a fan and seeing how these ST movies have absolutely missed the mark and divided the fandom hurts a little, I introduced my son to Star Wars with the OT and then the PT and we watched some of TCW and all of SWR together. He's about to turn 10 and his interest in the once legendary franchise is waning! Part due to me, he hears me complaining about TLJ and the utterly deplorable manner the legacy characters have been treated in the ST and how 1 dimensional the new characters are. Ever since the announcement of these movies and the choice of 3 different directors I had a lingering question in the back of my mind; why?
So with 40 days till TRoS I hope this movie will succeed and help reunite the fan base to ensure future generations can enjoy adventures in that galaxy far far away. But truth be told I never had faith in JJ Abrams or Ryan Johnson or the plan to let each director "do their own thing".
So getting back to Hope, I have a good feeling about The Mandalorian, they certainly have the right people working on it, Dave Filoni the heir apparent to the Maker, Jon Favreau, Taika Waititi, Deborah Chow and an impressive cast with talent like Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Giancarlo Esposito.
I hope this show explores the Mandalorian Culture and what happened to them during the years of Imperial Control. I pray this show connects to the events of Star Wars Rebels and we are re introduced to Bo Katan (voiced by Katie Sackhoff) and the Dark Sabre! I wouldn't mind mentions of Tarre Vizsla, Dutchess Satine, and House Wren as well.....

This series has the potential to unite the fandom by connecting the OT and the ST thru a few threads and be it's own story at the same time just like Star Wars Rebels did!