History YMMV / TheMandalorian

** After Din wins the Darksaber in the Season 2 finale, the show doesn't spend much time exploring the consequences of him owning the icon of Mandalorian leadership, even though he didn't want or ask to have it in the first place. Whole episodes go by without him pulling it out, or enforcing his authority over other Mandalorians, until he finally gives it to Bo-Katan without a fight.

* SeasonalRot: There are many who argue that Season 3 represents a step-down from the previous two seasons, because of the way that it undoes the main story developments from the Season 2 finale (Grogu returning to Din for reasons explained only in ''The Book of Boba Fett'', Moff Gideon escaping New Republic custody offscreen, Din losing the Darksaber to Bo-Katan without much fanfare, etc.) in an anti-climactic fashion. Some also believe that Din doesn't receive as much development or spotlight in this season as he previously did.

* SeasonalRot: There are some who argue that Season 3 represents a step-down from the previous two seasons, because of the way that it undoes the main story developments from the Season 2 finale (Grogu returning to Din because of ''The Book of Boba Fett'', Moff Gideon escaping New Republic custody offscreen, Din losing the Darksaber to Bo-Katan without much fanfare, etc.) in an anti-climactic fashion.

%%Don't add Seasonal Rot until at least April 19, 2024, one year after the release of the Season 3 finale.

** Viewers' opinions on Season 3's looks at Coruscant under the New Republic can vary, depending on whether or not they want to consider the Sequel Trilogy canon. Those who do enjoy the looks as well-performed worldbuilding and setup for the rise of the First Order. Others see them as overly-long and depressing, if not outright boring, distractions from Mandalorian affairs.

** There's been quite a divide on whether Season 2 is a [[EvenBetterSequel step forward]] or [[SeasonalRot step back]]. The former camp prefers Season 2 for its stronger sense of pacing and cohesive narrative flow. While detractors feel that tying the show closer to the franchise's MythArc not only creates ContinuityLockout but strips the show of its identity, that being a Western that takes place in the Star Wars universe but is otherwise divorced from the Skywalker Saga. Both seasons are generally well-liked, it is just a matter of which is better that fans can't agree on.

** There's been quite a divide on whether or not Season 2 is an improvement or step back compared to Season 1. The former camp prefers Season 2 for its stronger sense of pacing and cohesive narrative flow. While detractors feel that tying the show closer to the franchise's MythArc not only creates ContinuityLockout but strips the show of its identity, that being a Western that takes place in the Star Wars universe but is otherwise divorced from the Skywalker Saga.

** There's been quite a divide on whether or not Season 2 is an improvement or step back compared to Season 1. The former camp prefers Season 2 for its stronger sense of pacing and cohesive narrative flow. While detractors feel that tying the show closer to the franchise's myth arc not only creates ContinuityLockout but strips the show of its identity being a Western that takes place in the Star Wars universe but is divorced from the Skywalker Saga.

* MisaimedMarketing: Whoever designed and approved a ''TabletopGame/BopIt'' game modeled after [[https://nerdist.com/article/baby-yoda-bop-it-the-mandalorian/ The Child]] greatly overestimated how many of the show's fans would want to [[WouldHurtAChild "bop" a baby]], as well as the chance that Mando would [[OutOfCharacterMoment order someone to "bop" the Child]].

** Whether or not Din Djarin should've abandoned the helmet rule after Season 2. Some fans believe that in order to reinforce the lesson that Mandalorians can practice whatever form of their religion they want, the rule should never completely die off, especially since Din looks uncomfortable letting other characters see his unmasked face in Chapters 8 and 15. Others believe that after Chapters 15 and 16 show Din expose himself out of love for Grogu, he reverses too much of his character development by atoning for his violation of the helmet rule. The latter camp also includes viewers who feel that they can't emotionally connect to Din without seeing his face at least OnceASeason, and/or fear that Lucasfilm squanders too much of Creator/PedroPascal's talent by regularly hiding his facial expressions.

** Din Djarin's {{guttural growl|er}}ing voice, one of his important means of expressing himself without showing his face, sounds surprisingly tantalizing during several of the character's soft-spoken lines.

* TooCoolToLive: Kuiil, a kindly Ugnaught rancher who's gruff, friendly, and won't take crap from anyone, but helps the Mando in his time of need out of nothing but frontier hospitality. After a mostly lighthearted season where hardly anyone [[AssholeVictim who didn't have it coming]] got killed, his tragic offscreen death is [[GutPunch a blaster bolt to the heart.]]

* SacredCow: The fact that the first two seasons are widely considered to be a return to what many loved about the Original Trilogy, as well as the ''massive'' explosion in popularity of its little green mascot, Grogu (or "[[FanNickname Baby Yoda]]"), have all helped ''The Mandalorian'' become universally adored to a level not seen since ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. Saying that those seasons are bad, in a manner even harsher than, "I prefer [insert another widely-beloved ''Star Wars'' show here]," is a good way to start a FlameWar.

** There’s also significant disagreement about how Season 3 handled the Mandalorian cultures and established factions in contrast to previous Star Wars media and even some of the show’s own set-up. In general, more supportive fans enjoyed seeing the Children of the Watch and Nite Owls get portrayed as almost purely heroic, get untied fairly quickly, and act as straightforward heroic faction. However, the lack of any reference or acknowledgement of the New Mandalorians from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', the Imperial Super Commandos and Protectors from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels'', or any storytelling dealing with how the barely mentioned Death Watch that both the Children and Nite Owls sprang from was a viciously villainous {{Deconstruction}} of being a ProudWarriorRace also aggravated many fans.

* FanDislikedExplanation: According to Jon Favreau, Din Djarin could never rule Mandalore due to struggling with the Darksaber in ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett''. Fans who spent years endorsing Din as the Mandalorians' new leader have countered that he could've mastered the saber if he used it in more than two ''Mandalorian'' chapters.

* CompleteMonster: [[SmugSnake Moff Gideon]], known for his war crimes even among the horrible [[Characters/StarWarsImperialRemnant Empire]], is a [[FauxAffablyEvil mild-seeming man]] who helped lead the attack on Mandalore. In what was dubbed [[Recap/TheBookOfBobaFettS1E5ReturnOfTheMandalorian the Night of a Thousand Tears]], Gideon led a mass slaughter and bombing campaign that saw the abject genocide of Mandalore's population with the survivors scattered, even going back on his word to stop the massacre should Bo-Katan surrender the Darksaber to him. Returning to try to capture the infant Force-user Grogu, Gideon tries to [[WouldHurtAChild harvest the child's blood]] to help craft a legion of Force-sensitive clones and lead a new conquest of the galaxy. Making Mandalore his base, Gideon intends to complete his purge of the Mandalorians, uncaring to how many he has to kill in his mad quest for power.

* WTHCastingAgency:
** A lot of people were quite surprised that Creator/WernerHerzog, of all people, was involved with this series, mostly because franchise work is so left-field for him. He stated that he's never cared about the franchise and originally took the role [[MoneyDearBoy to finance his own work]], but later grew to enjoy the experience, praising the WorldBuilding and PracticalEffects. He especially fell in love with the baby of Yoda's species, calling the puppet "heartbreakingly beautiful" and shaming the show runners into going ahead with it when they were considering CGI instead.
** The guest appearances from Creator/BillBurr are mostly quite popular, but he was a bit infamous for not being a fan of the franchise and preferring more cerebral science fiction. When he brought this up upon being approached for the role, Favreau replied "That's what makes it funny." Like Herzog, he grew to quite enjoy the experience once he realized it was more akin to a Spaghetti Western, which he’s also a big fan of, than the franchise's usual thing.
** Very few people were expecting to see Creator/JackBlack and Music/{{Lizzo}}, of all people, in the series, with some taken aback to see their involvement basically as themselves dressed in sci-fi costumes.

* SeasonalRot: There are some who argue that Season 3 represents a step-down from the previous two seasons, because of the way that it undoes the main story developments from the Season 2 finale (Grogu returning to Din because of ''The Book of Boba Fett'', Moff Gideon escaping New Republic custody offscreen, Din losing the Darksaber to Bo-Katan without much fanfare, etc.) in an anti-climactic fashion.

* ItsShortSoItSucks: Season 3 only took two chapters to send Din into the Living Waters, even though most viewers didn't expect him to reach them until at least halfway through the season. This put any more CharacterDevelopment on him on pause for multiple weeks, as the next few episodes fleshed out supporting characters instead.

** Whether or not Din Djarin should've abandoned the helmet rule after Season 2. Some fans believe that in order to reinforce the lesson that Mandalorians can practice whatever form of their religion they want, the rule should never completely die off, especially since Din looks uncomfortable letting other characters see his unmasked face in Chapters 8 and 15. Others believe that after Chapters 15 and 16 show Din expose himself out of love for Grogu, he reverses too much of his character development by atoning for his violation of the helmet rule. The latter camp also includes viewers who fear that Lucasfilm squanders too much of Creator/PedroPascal's talent by regularly hiding his facial expressions.

** Season 3 requires a viewer to have watched Season 1 of ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' in order to understand a few very important plot developments, such as where Mando got the new ship and why Grogu is back. Likely this is why the first wave of ''Mandalorian'' home media sets doesn't include Season 3, despite releasing about eight months after the finale dropped.

** Whether or not Din Djarin should've abandoned the helmet rule after Season 2. Some fans believe that in order to reinforce the lesson that Mandalorians can practice whatever form of their religion they want, the helmet rule should never completely die off, especially since Din looks uncomfortable letting other characters see his unmasked face in Chapters 8 and 15. Others believe that after Chapters 15 and 16 show Din's love of Grogu overpowering his devotion to a dying custom, he reverses too much of his character development by atoning for his violation of the rule. The latter camp also includes viewers who fear that Lucasfilm squanders too much of Creator/PedroPascal's talent by regularly hiding his facial expressions.

** Season 3 requires a viewer to have watched Season 1 of ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' in order to understand a few very important plot developments, such as where Mando got the new ship and why Grogu is back. Likely this is why it's taking longer than Seasons 1-2 to receive any physical releases.

** Season 3 requires a viewer to have watched Season 1 of ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' in order to understand a few very important plot developments, such as where Mando got the new ship and why Grogu is back.