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The thing I think I appreciate the most about The Mandalorian is how it is centered on the isolation and loneliness of its central character and how the story grows along with his own understanding of the world.
Our protagonist is part of a culture with no interest is outside ideas. Their value appears to be survival of the culture through the pursuit of an ideal way of being; a path of individual hardship and toughness where one must always be ready for war. “This Is The Way”
His people do not see one another’s faces. They don’t seem to use one another’s names. They seem to compete to see who is stronger. Who you are as a person is not important. What matters is if you are pursuing the cultural ideal. This Is The Way.
Importantly, our protagonist was adopted by this culture. It makes sense that this culture of survivorship finds others who are abandoned and brings them in. This is not a kindness. The strong survive. This Is The Way.
The motto is a perfect circle. There are no other ways to follow. It prevents members of the culture from wondering “what if I’m wrong?” It does not matter what you think. This Is The Way.
This means that interaction with the outside world can only be transactional. You do something for me; I do something for you. That’s all. Our protagonist has one of the few professions that fits this as well as his culture’s obsession with violence: he hunts people for money.
(A criticism I’ve seen if the show is that “every episode is someone saying they’ll help Mando as long as he does something for them first.” Of course every episode is that. It’s the only way he’s willing to interact with outsiders.)
The moment that will change everything for him happens when a conflict arises: he ends up owing his life to one of his targets. Suddenly the simple path is not clear. What is the way?
His target is also an orphan. A survivor, like him. This conflict exposes him to something that his culture has shielded him from. Empathy. The unaskable question arises: “what if I’m wrong?”
Choosing to help the child puts him in uncharted territory. Eventually he has to reach out and look for answers, but he’s not ready to look further than his own people. He seeks out other Mandalorians.
These Mandalorians aren’t living by the standards of the ones who raised him. He immediately rejects their help.
They don’t just let him go, though. They use his transactional view of outsiders to reach out to him. Do something for us, and we will do something for you. This is the way, right?
I think Bo-Katan is pretty awesome. She doesn’t contradict him or fight him. It turns out she probably didn’t really need his help for her mission. Instead of telling him he’s wrong she shows him that he could be something different. That there are other ways.
Anyway, I love that The Mandalorian is a show about a lonely man raised in a gun cult who is learning that there is more to life than “being a badass”.
