EPISODE 09
Mando: "I need that Mandalorian armor."
Cobb Vanth: "Okay, but first you need to help us kill the Krayt Dragon, THEN I'll give you the armor."
Mando: "Ugh. Deal."
EPISODE 10
Mando: "I need to know where the other Mandalorians are."
Peli Motto: "Okay, but first you need to transport Frog Lady to her husband, THEN her husband will tell you where they are."
Mando: "Ugh. Deal."
EPISODE 11
Mando: "I need you to tell me where I can find the Jedi."
Bo-Katan: "Okay, but first you need to help us raid an Imperial cargo ship, THEN I'll tell you where the Jedi is."
Mando: "Ugh. Deal."
EPISODE 12
Mando: "I need my ship repaired."
Greef Karga: "Okay, but first you need to help us destroy an Imperial base, THEN, by the time we finish, your ship will be ready."
Mando: "Ugh. Deal."
It's just getting so old at this point, the exact same plot dynamic week after week, the first four episodes of the season.
Again, for the most part, I can enjoy the episodes when I'm able to watch them through the eyes of a 12-year-old kid, which I can do for maybe half each episode (or maybe two thirds, when it's something like episode 11). But overall I echo the sentiments that the acting is often subpar, the dialogue is often bad, and the writing, overall, often isn't very good. There's next to no character development, no real thematic thrust, and the plot advancement is so incremental that we're past "mildly frustrating" and into "full-on aggravating" territory at this point. And for those us like Ol_Ag_02, the only satisfaction we get from the easter eggs are in watching the ScreenCrush videos after the fact. It's not something we're responding to in-episode.
Now that we're venturing past what the trailers set up, and heading into Ahsoka/Jedi land, I'm just really, really hoping we're finally past the "I need [X]" "Okay, but first we need [Y]" dynamic of each episode. This show is at its best when there's a central, team-oriented goal across multiple episodes, with Moff Gideon standing in the way, like the latter part of the first season. And now, with Mando, Gideon, and hopefully Bo-Katan all converging with Ahsoka, that's exactly what we get over the second half of the season.