WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Mandalorian, "Chapter 14: The Tragedy," streaming now on Disney+.
Game of Thrones is a very divisive aspect of pop culture, mostly because most fans despise the final season after loving most of what came before. Of course, there are other gaffes, such as having a Starbucks cup in a key shot with Daenerys Targaryen, so one can see it goes way beyond creative choices in the narrative.
Now, as Season 2 of The Mandalorian rolls on, the escapades of Din Djarin has the series repeating one of the worst moments from the HBO series, and it's one that will upset people who were hoping the show would redeem Stormtroopers.
Stormtroopers continue to miss the mark after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi, and it seems to be one of the reasons why Moff Gideon's plotting and intrigued by the droids known as the Dark Troopers. The Stormtroopers still don't know how to hit the target and it's clear they have no sense of direction when they try to kill Boba Fett upon his return to action, as well as Fennec Shand and Mando on Tython. Boba's come for his armor with Fennec as a backup, but as a firefight breaks out when Gideon's troops arrive for the Child, fans see just how incompetent the troops are.
After Boba and Fennec vow to protect Mando and Grogu, one sequence finds the sharpshooter pushing a boulder down a rocky hill with her feet. The boulder careens into Stormtroopers within close range, but the shocking thing is those further down don't move, opting to stay in its path. Obviously, due to momentum, it'll garner pace, crushing the soldiers, yet no one opts to run sideways to get away from the rock. The final trooper even remains on his gun platform at the base of the hill, watching it smash into him.
This moment is reminiscent of the penultimate episode of Season 6 of GOT, "Battle of the Bastards." In the episode, when Jon Snow took an army to reclaim Winterfell, as part of the negotiations, Ramsay Bolton released Rickon Stark in an open field, only to shoot arrows in the air at the boy. Rickon knew the sharp-tipped objects were raining down, yet he never zigged or zagged.
Running sideways might have helped, but he stuck to running in a straight line, leaving fans yelling at the TV for him to bob and weave, duck and dodge and simply use some common sense. Instead, Rickon ended up with an arrow lobbed straight through his heart, and as fans see the Stormtroopers making the same bad decisions, they can't help but think that only the clever will survive.
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, with guest stars Gina Carano, Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito. Directors for the new season include Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed and Robert Rodriguez. New episodes arrive every Friday on Disney+.