The Mandalorian's latest episode shows how exciting Star Wars can be when something previously unknown appears

Los Angeles Times

"It really is," says James Whitbrook, "because Star Wars—The Mandalorian in particular—has conditioned us to prepare for a more insular, smaller-feeling galaxy far, far away. Already this season we’ve had a return to Tatooine and Boba Fett, the familiar sight of New Republic X-Wings and monsters ripped right out of Ralph McQuarrie art (and not even the first time that art inspired something!). Now we have Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls, talk of the Darksaber, and soon Ahsoka. What was once heralded as a great unknown coming into this series has become a vehicle for nostalgic hints at what we already know and love. In some ways, loving Star Wars involves accepting the dual joy and frustration that fan service can bring: for every little bit of newness, we are couched in the imagery of what came before. Which means it’s nice when we do get that little bit of the new, or when Star Wars canon hints at one path and goes another—lending a sense of banal normality to something we would expect to be so much grander. We put so much importance on the canonicity of its world that we are sometimes robbed of the simple joy of refreshingly being in the dark about something that seems, right now, so important. Even as we look forward to meeting Ahsoka once more, it’ll be nice to do so in an environment we aren’t so intimately aware of."