Thoughts on each series thus far as of June 20, 2024.
A) The Mandalorian, s1e3, when Mando gives Grogu to the Client and returns to his ship where he is about to take off and he looks at the ball of the shifter and we sit there for a moment in that moment -- we don't see Mando's face, I don't recall if any music plays, but we know exactly what he's feeling and he acts on that feeling, betraying the guild rules and putting his life in danger for someone he cares about. I was locked in at that point.
Are there some silly or not great episodes of the Mandalorian? Sure. Like "The Prisoner" or "Guns for Hire", but the through line is there from start to finish regarding Mando and Grogu. I will say that you can definitely debate the effectiveness or enjoyment of the side stories regarding The Marshal or Bo Katan or Pershing. Those can definitely either be hot or cold.
B) The Book of Boba Fett was a swing and a miss. The backstory stuff was decent but the present day stuff didn't make sense. The Mando episode was good but his inclusion in the show wasn't enough to save it.
C) The Obi-wan Kenobi show had an okay through line, but stumbled on the execution and the side stories making it only slightly better than BOBF in my opinion.
D) Andor was fantastic. Solid through line, acting, characters, side characters, etc.
E) Ahsoka had an intriguing story premise, continuing what fans have wondered since the end of Rebels, but the showrunners/writers assumed the audience had seen every episode of Rebels and/or The Clone Wars which did not do anyone any favors. Even if you were in "the know", wooden Ahsoka and sleepy Sabine Wren were not great to watch. Thrawn also left a lot to be desired. Also, if you didn't know space witches are a thing.
F) Lastly, there's The Acolyte, which I knew nothing about going in but I knew it was closely related to "The High Republic" novels and comics. I have read none of that material so I'm going in cold, learning as I go from what the show is offering. I thought the first two episodes were okay and three was not great but I'm still sort of interested. Then when episode four was 24 minutes of walking just to end on a cliffhanger was not very good storytelling. Overall, four episodes so far, I don't really care about any of the characters and I'm not seeing a great story here. Remember the space witches in Ahsoka (and Rebels and The Clone Wars and Tales of the Jedi), well, we have them too. And? So what? The only character I like is Yord as he's so sure of himself which represents the entire embodiment of the Jedi Order which will lead to the eventual fall.
