The Mandalorian - Spoilers thread

[Mammoth miniatures]

A bit of headcanon about stormtroopers - We don't KNOW that these are actually stormtroopers. apparently the stormies are only the elite of the imperial forces, and are vastly outnumbered by the generic soldiers of the imperial army.

Now personally i think it  would be a bit more dramatic if the soldiers we saw were just generic troops and that way, the stormies would seem more menacing when we see them. But what if the imperial remnant is just dressing up any troops as stormtroopers to try and look more menacing than it is. think about it, you've lost control - you flee to the outer rim with all the gear and men you can take - no doubt the hyper loyal stormtrooper regiments are gonna come with you and you want to keep them equipped, so you put what resources you have into making new stormtrooper armour etc. but what about all these generic human soldiers you have kicking around? it's gonna look pretty crap if the new empire rocks up and they've got 5 fearsome stormtroopers and 200 rag wearing schlubs who just happened to have tagged along. So you stick them in old stormtrooper armour, use them to replenish the ranks, generally try and big up your image by making everyone look that little bit snazzier.

[Cubs]

A quick bit re: stormtrooper armour. The way I see it, is we see them fall over when shot in their armour, so we're assuming that means they've snuffed it. It could be that, like modern combat armour, getting shot in it means you're still probably going to fall over, maybe be out of that firefight, but you will survive and be back on duty after some medical treatment.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Cubs... that is head cannon I have used previously, I forget where I first heard it though.

To be fair though, Stormtroopers aside... I am still stunned Jango has had his canon lore changed to make him a Mandalorian!

[nozza_uk]

I half wonder if Luke or Ben won't show up in the end.  It would tie the show back into the universe at large, as Luke is running around starting a new academy right now in the timeline.

This has been doing the rounds recently.



Seems fans either want Mark Hamill 'deaged' digitally or have Sebastian Stan cast as Luke Skywalker.

[Cubs]

Cubs... that is head cannon I have used previously, I forget where I first heard it though.

Aha! Then I'm not being a n eejit with it. Or maybe I am, but I'm in good company.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Cubs... ta, mate!

Nozza.... hmm... interesting!

[CookAndrewB]

How does one determine which troopers are stormtroopers vice regular Empire soldiers? I mean, naval uniforms and the occasional pilot/scout aside I've never even seen "normal" front line infantry type grunts anywhere that I can think of. I've always been of the mindset that stormtroopers were the grunts, not the elite. It hardly makes sense to have your elite soldiers wandering the decks of a star destroyer as patrols, but this seems to constantly be happening in movies. Wandering troopers here and there, around every corner walking in small groups. It is really confusing behavior for a "ship at sea."

I have to say that the Sebastian Stan thing looks interesting. I was underwhelmed by Hamill's participation in the final trilogy. I don't know that I was ever all that impressed with him in the original trilogy either, to be honest. I don't know that I ever wanted to root for Luke as a kid. Solo, yes. Vader? Yeah. Luke? Not so much.

[DivisMal]

How does one determine which troopers are stormtroopers vice regular Empire soldiers? I mean, naval uniforms and the occasional pilot/scout aside I've never even seen "normal" front line infantry type grunts anywhere that I can think of. I've always been of the mindset that stormtroopers were the grunts, not the elite. It hardly makes sense to have your elite soldiers wandering the decks of a star destroyer as patrols, but this seems to constantly be happening in movies. Wandering troopers here and there, around every corner walking in small groups. It is really confusing behavior for a "ship at sea."

I have to say that the Sebastian Stan thing looks interesting. I was underwhelmed by Hamill's participation in the final trilogy. I don't know that I was ever all that impressed with him in the original trilogy either, to be honest. I don't know that I ever wanted to root for Luke as a kid. Solo, yes. Vader? Yeah. Luke? Not so much.

Well after the movies there was the Star Wars RPG which developed a lot of what became Canon (and mostly is now Legends). They even first mentioned Coruscant in the sourcebooks....and it was here that Stormies where mentioned as Elite and normal Imperial Army as the standard.

In the accompanying tabletop we then got models for the army. I actually thought (and still think) the mud troopers from Solo, where a young Han joins, are the standard, and Stormtroopers are indeed some form of elite.

What I still cannot understand is why the Empire stopped cloning their troops, though.

[Mammoth miniatures]

Solo shows off some imperial ground troops. They're apparently the leftover troops from the grand army of the Republic - come regiments become stormtroopers and normal troops get upgraded to stormtroopers gear bit by bit according to wookiepedia.

I do think it'd be a shame if after such a strong first series the show is used simply as a way to try and redeem the poor plot devices of the latest films. But the introduction of cline wars characters and plot lines is nice to see.

[Hobgoblin]

I do think it'd be a shame if after such a strong first series the show is used simply as a way to try and redeem the poor plot devices of the latest films.

I agree very much with that. As the series inches closer to the sequels, I find myself wishing it wouldn't.

Did anyone else think that the latest episode's honourable Boba Fett was somewhat at odds with the mercenary character sketched (very lightly!) in The Empire Strikes Back? I mean, two of his four lines in that film are "What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me." and "He's no good to me dead." That wasn't really the impression I got from the post-sarlacc version.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Greedo did not seem that motivated to bring in Han alive... so knowing a bit more about Jango’s and therefore Boba’s now canon background maybe his desire to have Han alive is part of his Mandalorian honor? Maybe not.

Maybe Boba has spent time among the Tusken Raiders (Sandpeople) and this has affected his values? The new canon suggests they are still raiders but honorable ones at least. Boba seems to have Tusken gear but that does not necessarily mean he spent time among them though.

How did Boba know where to find Din and Grogu? I entertained the thought Boba might be working for the Empire, since they did not shoot Slave 1 but once Moff Gideon has Grogu why not Boba turn on Din?

“Back in the day” from the the canon expanded universe (now called Legends) I seem to recall Han failed a flight academy on Corelia. The movie Solo having him be a grunt instead surprised me. I figured what folks call Mud Troopers are the regular army, whereas all the various white armored troopers are elite stormtroopers... at least as elite as US Marines are, which as a former US Army Infantry myself is a matter of much debate! “Elite” shipboard duty and Embassy/White House guard duty?

“Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?” from Leia would indicate at least a height requirement.

Much as I dislike the latest films if the Mandalorian can in any way help fix that rubbish I would appreciate it. It has already made me more interested in Clone Wars and Rebels.

[Manchu]

I completely agree, Hobgoblin. This guy does not seem like Boba Fett from the OT. In the same way that the Jedi of the Prequels do not seem anything like the Jedi referred to in the OT.

With Boba, I have no doubt that the five years since RotJ could be (back)filled in with any number of experiences that might have made him more honorable. But introducing him without anything but potential visual references to such experiences means he just feels like a completely different character to whom the producers cynically assigned a familiar name.

Like Rogue One, this latest episode abandons substance in favor of style and, just like in Rogue One, that ends up being to the detriment of style as much as substance ... because the style isn’t even that good. What a pity that Boba Fett is just casually thrown into the mix, as one thing among a bunch of things that happen in a paltry 27-minute episode. It should have been handled much more like the introduction of Ahsoka in the previous (45-minute) episode.

[Michi]

Boba seems to have Tusken gear but that does not necessarily mean he spent time among them though.

And he finally proves the usefulness of those Gaffi sticks better than any Tusken did in the past!

[Manchu]

A big hittin’ stick is really useful when the boys with guns politely cease fire and queue up so each one can walk up and receive a solid crack on the head, in an orderly fashion.

nyuk nyuk nyuk

[Cubs]

Did anyone else think that the latest episode's honourable Boba Fett was somewhat at odds with the mercenary character sketched (very lightly!) in The Empire Strikes Back? I mean, two of his four lines in that film are "What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me." and "He's no good to me dead." That wasn't really the impression I got from the post-sarlacc version.

Maybe, but the same is true of the Mandalorian himself in a way. Before he meets the child, he's much colder and more ruthless. Not needlessly cruel, just stoically getting on with the job. That's how I always saw Boba Fett as a kid, just a dude doing a job for the money. If you weren't on his list and didn't try to stop him doing his work, you were safe.