This may sound contrarian, but I'm happy that The Mandalorian season 2 isn't coming out all at once. If you weren't aware, The Mandalorian's second batch of episodes is getting weekly releases on Disney Plus, much like traditional TV.
So, for those who watched season 1 well after its episodic release, and were surprised to see this happen this year, or the Baby Yoda fans who were hoping that Disney would let us eat our whole bag of candy at once, I have a message: this is the (better) way.
- How to watch the Star Wars movies in order
- What's new on Disney Plus this month
- How to watch The Mandalorian season 2 online
We've even made sure people can find that information out easily, with our Mandalorian season 2 episode release guide. But what about all the people who are grumpy with Disney for making them wait? Well, I've got three reasons why this is a good thing.
We're gonna run out of new shows sooner or later
The Coronavirus pandemic hasn't just upended all of our lives, it's also shut down production on TV shows and movies around the world. Those include binge-worthy shows such as Stranger Things season 4 and The Witcher season 2, and even The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's release date was seemingly erased during the start of the pandemic.
This means that, eventually, we're going to start to see a slowing down of new programming. That might not be a huge deal if you've got a huge backlog of the best Netflix shows to watch (I still haven't seen Sherlock), but for those who are all caught up, imagine what happens when the seemingly never-ending faucet of programming runs dry.
Instead, The Mandalorian season 2 is spread out over 8 weeks, culminating on Dec. 18, as a nice little holiday present to us all. I hate to sound like a parent telling you to stop eating so fast ... but I think rationing the new shows isn't a terrible idea.
Let everyone watch at the same pace — together
Apologies to all who live their life in binge-mode: it's just not for me. I've only ever really enjoyed bingeing shows in odd circumstances, such as on an airplane or when I'm sick.
I just get a weird anxiety when I watch something for more than 3 hours at a time, and that usually kicks in earlier, at hour 2. I even have this mental block with live events, especially when WWE Monday Night Raw drags into hour 3.
And I'm sure I'm not the only one either. Not everyone, I bet, can dedicate a whole weekend to watch a brand new show, but the effect of a series being out all at once means that we can all consume episodes during the same week, and have a larger conversation together.
If you've never been tired of "catching up" to friends on just-released TV shows, you'd be amazed by how annoying and chore-like it can be.
Shows get a chance to breathe at a weekly pace
I think a lot about how I wish I'd watched HBO's Watchmen at the weekly pace it normally releases at. The buzz wasn't strong enough to pull me into its orbit until later in the season, and I found myself pounding through its whole run in a manner of days — all so that I could watch the finale live.
And I don't think that helped me enjoy it. The same thing happened with Lovecraft Country, and that show was more complex, and its episodes needed breaks so you could process the events and character development.
There are rare exceptions, though. Tiger King? Pretty much made to be devoured like a whole sleeve of Pringles or Oreos. But the more I think about the best shows I've seen, the more I'm happy I didn't say "Hi" and "Bye" to their characters in instants.
It all depends on where you stream
That being said, my opinion won't change how companies are doing business. Disney Plus, HBO Max and Apple TV Plus are set in the weekly process, though they've released multiple episodes at the start of some seasons.
The best Netflix shows, as well as the programming on Hulu and Peacock, though, all come out in one big release. I doubt those three will change their ways, for risk of angering their audiences, but I get why Disney Plus doesn't. Why, on Earth, would you want to watch all the Baby Yoda at once?
