By sheer coincidence, my schedule worked out in such a way that I watched The Mandolorian season two finale and The Expanse season three finale on the same day. I started The Mandolorian a week before Christmas, and I started the Expanse back in November, and the two just kind of ended up coinciding with each other. This created a very interesting contrast for me.
On the one hand, there's The Mandolorian. I thought that season two was awesome, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The connection between Baby Yoda and Mando felt emotional and real, and was a great foundation for the series. Every frame of every episode bleeds with love, joy, passion, and skill for Star Wars. In a year like 2020, that kind of thing is deeply needed. We all need more of those things in our lives. However, as the season went on, I started to feel as though the series was leaning a bit much on nostalgia, which went to a new level with the final episode. Part of me was in love, but part of me couldn't help but feel as though it was a bit... Unsatisfying? I hope I'm making sense.
On the other hand, there's The Expanse. Absolutely unbelievable. Something I've never experienced before (even though there are clear influences from other sci-fi franchises). Unpredictable. Always looking forward. I left season three feeling deeply satisfied, in a way that The Mandolorian did not deliver for me, but also in a way that I'm not sure is possible for Star Wars to deliver anymore. Perhaps there's too much history there, too many fan expectations, and too much already said.
I apologize for sounding like a downer. I genuinely had a blast with The Mandolorian, and I can't wait for next season, but watching it at the same time as The Expanse also highlighted some aspects of the franchise that I feel are getting a bit limiting. I'm not sure how many more times I can sit through a semi-original Star Wars story that ends with a PT/OT character cameo at the end.