Three Things That Kept Me Sane in 2020

“The Mandalorian,” Disney+

After a concluding Skywalker trilogy that felt as overstuffed as often as it felt half-baker, writer/director Jon Favreau’s space western marked a welcome return to smaller-scale storytelling that managed to evoke the pulpy best of the original film series, while forging a ground that was uniquely its own. Pedro Pascal’s laconic bounty hunter Din Djarin, the Mandalorian of the title, channeled fan nostalgia for the bounty hunter Boba Fett of the original series, even as he established himself as a new and serious player in the sprawling mythos.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Fan service abounded throughout the series, with such favorites as Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano being brought to vivid life by Rosario Dawson (who’s getting her own series). The resurrection of Boba Fett was another welcome (if slightly expected moment). And, of course, the surprise return of a certain legendary Jedi Knight in the Season Two finale (I’m not going to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it) was one of those heart-stopping moments that the franchise excels at when it’s at its best.

But there’s no doubt that the emotional center of the series, its entire reason for being, was the emerging father/child relationship between Mando and Grogu (don’t call him Baby Yoda anymore).

Some of the series’ sweetest moments came when Pascal’s bounty hunter let down his guard and allowed this impossibly adorable creature into his scarred heart. That journey into fatherhood - a theme across the franchise - is what keeps the Mandalorian from devolving into just another big-budget, Hollywood shoot-em-up.

Email me at jmicek@penncapital-star.com or hit me up on Twitter @ByJohnLMicek. I’d love to hear about your picks.

An award-winning political journalist, John L. Micek is Editor-in-Chief of The Pennsylvania Capital-Star in Harrisburg, Pa. Email him at jmicek@penncapital-star.com and follow him on Twitter @ByJohnLMicek.