Sometimes it's apostasy and deconstruction. Sometimes it's "cool guy fights big monster with stick." And that's why it's great.

I'm a month late, but hey, the world’s on fire and I want to write about something fun.

That's the operative word here. The Mandalorian and Grogu is a blast. Is it a good movie? I don't know. I don't care, either.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love when Star Wars asks big, interesting questions—when it turns a critical eye on both itself and the world around it. Until Andor came along, my absolute favorite piece of Star Wars media was Obsidian's Knights of the OId Republic II, a story about an excommunicated Jedi performing a religious deconstruction of her beliefs on the Force, the Order, and the Galaxy at large. It asks things like "can free will exist in a universe with the Force?" and "if the Force does exist, is that actually a good thing?"

Mando and Grogu asks none of that. It asks, mostly, "wouldn't it be awesome if Din Djarin fought a bigass water dragon on Nal Hutta?" "Isn't it cute when Grogu runs around on his little puppet legs?" "Isn't it still cool when a squadron of X-wings descends from the sky and blows shit up with proton torpedoes?" (The answer to all those questions is a resounding "yes.")

Without diving too deeply into my issues with modern media criticism (I have many), the absolutism of current Star Wars discourse is reductive and depressing. We've forgotten that more than one thing can be true at the same time, that any piece of media can contain both good and bad, and that the existence of one doesn't negate the other. Star Wars has always had both—good and bad in the same IP, in different episodes of the same TV show; hell, in different scenes of the same MOVIE.

It's a natural result of a franchise that's existed for so long in so many forms and been explored by so many creators. It's part of what's so interesting about it: Star Wars is nearly 50 years old (2027 will be its golden anniversary). In that time, it's experimented with countless genres, themes, ideas, and mediums. It's like The Beatles' discography—it's gone in so many directions that no matter which one you like to walk, you can probably find it.

I try to remember that, because I'm not immune either. I've found myself frustrated by Dave Filoni's aversion to risk in recent years, and I was skeptical when he stepped up to replace Kathleen Kennedy. But then I remind myself that he was also in charge when Clone Wars did Ahsoka's apostasy from the Jedi Order, a story that deeply resonated with me as a disillusioned Catholic. The same creator can also write both well and poorly, and Dave did both in Clone Wars and Rebels.

And as for Mando and Grogu, he, Favreau, and Kloor did a damn good job.

I love when Star Wars makes me smile. I love when Star Wars makes me think. I love when Star Wars goes *pew pew*, *cool dude fights big monster.* I love when Star Wars is Star Wars, and what Star Wars can be is pretty much anything.