What the Hell is ‘The Mandalorian’ Doing?

It happened in 1977. September 20, 1977, to be exact. It was season five, episode three of the classic TV show, Happy Days. The Fonz was challenged, so he put on swimming trunks and his classic leather jump and literally water-skied over a shark. In the most literal sense, Happy Days jumped the shark.

The phrase has since morphed into something completely different. It has become synonymous with a TV show that has to rely on stunts or guest appearances to try and maintain its popularity. My friend, The Mandalorian, has now jumped the shark.

Season three has already been mediocre, at best, but now it has sunk to a new low. And now I’m left to wonder what The Mandalorian is doing with itself.

The newest episode, “Guns for Hire,” had some special guest appearances in an effort to try and salvage something out of nothing. Instead, it just fell flat.

The first of these appearances come from Jack Black, as Captain Bombardier, a former imperial turned elected leader of Plazir-15. Wait, what? You read that correctly. Jack Black showed up in the Star Wars universe. And he did what he usually does; he played Jack Black. The man has the acting range of a lazy boy, with only one move.

His wife was none other than music star Lizzo. Okay, this must be fiction. In what world or alternate reality would Lizzo be married to Jack Black? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

This was the handiwork of show writer Jon Favreau, who, for some reason, thought that Star Wars fans needed to see this. This isn’t the first time that Star Wars has tried this. Obi-Wan brought back Hayden Christensen for an epic lightsaber battle, which actually helped to save that show. The Book Of Boba Fett resorted to bringing in a CGI version of Luke Skywalker, but even that couldn’t save that awful show.

And let’s not forget that anyone who was near the soundstage got to be a stormtrooper in the latest trilogy of Star Wars films, including Tom Hardy, Daniel Craig, Stephen Colbert, Ed Sheeran, and Jaime Oliver. But at least we didn’t have to see their faces.

And now, this. I’m only left to wonder, why? Why would a show with such promise in its first two seasons have to resort to gimmicks to get the audience? Has Favreau run out of ideas? Here’s an idea, have Din Djarin, you know, be a bounty hunter.

I don’t blame director Bryce Dallas Howard for this. The story and the cameos were forced on the director. The Star Wars fan know this season has been weak, and now the series seems a bit lost.

I didn’t even get to the worst part. There was a Christopher Lloyd appearance too. No, I actually liked that. But he was completely wasted on such a small part. If you bring Doc Brown into the Star Wars world, use him properly. Give him Jack Black’s role. Anyone would have been better.

With only two episodes left, I can only imagine what The Mandalorian might do next. Perhaps bringing in a TikTok star to attract some of the “youths?”

Please, return to what we love, what made this show work. Leave the guest appearances for the MCU. But that doesn’t seem likely.

It’s sad to say it, but, The Mandalorian jumped the shark.

Disclaimer: This article contains the opinions of the writer, which may not reflect the sentiments of Disney Fanatic as a whole.