{🚨SEMI-SPOILERS🚨}: Helmed by Jon Favreau and Rick Famuyiwa, The Mandalorian Season 3 follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) on a new journey with Grogu, after reuniting with him, to redeem his past transgressions against his creed. His journey goes in many unexpected directions that bring him face to face with new threats, allies, and revelations that will change his life and the lives of other Mandalorians across the galaxy forever.
After two incredible seasons and then a spin-off that acted as season 2.5 we return to this third season where the actions of Din and Grogu have caused a chain reaction of events that make their story part of something much larger than themselves.
I love this season as it’s not just about Din and Grogu going on adventures, but a story that expands this corner of the Star Wars universe through their perspectives, encompassing all Mandalorians and their culture through an ongoing story that’s part of a bigger picture. With the recent announcement of a Dave Filoni-directed Star Wars film that culminates the events of the Mandoverse, it’s clear why this season goes in such a different direction than what has come before. While the fun adventure element the series is known for is still present and we do still get some development with our favorite duo we also get a lot more development of the world around them as well as various characters that are directly connected to them.
The acting once again is phenomenal across the board, from returning characters and new ones, all of which get their chances to shine both in action scenes and smaller moments.
Pedro Pascal gives us a calmer and more collected Din Djarin, who after being reunited with Grogu feels more focused and aims to not only commit to his Mandalorian religion but also to train Grogu to become one as well.
They went for a much different approach with Din than many would expect but I still found him to be a central part of the season even when he’s not always the main focus. The actions he’s committed have impacted the lives of many individuals in this corner of the galaxy and so a lot of what happens this season is all because of what he did in the past two, so if it’s not as if he “does nothing” as some angry brats in the fandom would say.
Grogu is still as adorable as ever but gets major development this season, not only revealing more of his past but also showing how his training with Luke has caused him to grow bolder as he follows the path of a Mandalorian instead of a Jedi. It’s clear that big things are coming for the little guy going forward as he will no longer be the helpless one anymore, and he steps up to the plate to protect his father from all that comes their way.
The biggest surprise character who gets the most development this season and by far delivers the best performance is Katee Sackhoff as Bo Katan. She has moved from being a series guest star to a series regular this season as she joins Din and Grogu on their new journey. She receives the most development her character has ever had in her time in the Star Wars universe and absolutely loved it. Katee plays the role perfectly with such pride, emotion, and badass nature that she really gets to turn this once-considered side character into a major player in this story. Plus the relationship she ends up developing with Din over the course of this story is a very unique and compelling one that really evolves from when the two seemed to be at great odds before due to their conflicts of beliefs.
🚨Since this season’s episodes have so much happening in them I am going to discuss each of them individually while only discussing some spoilers, but nothing major, especially for the final two episodes. But in case you want to go fully blind don’t read beyond this point.🚨
The first episode may not start the season off as big as the previous season but it does start off strong, establishing the main players of the season, the aim of going to Mandalore, and most importantly establishing a lot of exciting action. Rick Famuyiwa has directed several great episodes of The Mandalorian in the past and also directs this one. But having now been promoted to the role of executive producer he plays a much larger role in the way this series plays out, especially from an action standpoint. He makes it clear in the first episode that there are lots of exciting action sequences to come involving Mandalorians and he definitely delivers. There are some solid action scenes in this episode including one at the beginning and one right at the end.
We also get the chance to revisit Nevarro, showing how much time has passed since the events of season 2 and how much Din changed it as a result of his actions. We also get to meet up again with Greef Karga, reprised brilliantly by Carl Weathers, who has changed for the better since we last saw him, but of course, he keeps that grand suave that he carries with him everywhere he goes. It’s a very fun premiere episode that welcomes back everyone who missed the good vibes this show gives and gives us a small taste of what’s to come.
The second episode, directed by Rachel Morrison, is where the season takes a major turn, showing that this was not going to be like the previous seasons. Rather than having a side quest episode that delays Din and Grogu from getting to Mandalore they get what they need immediately and end up going straight there, giving us our first look at Mandalore since its destruction during the great purge.
It’s a very haunting and tense episode directed excellently by Rachel Morrison that has Din go through the bowels of the planet, encountering terrifying beasts, and leading to Bo Katan coming to his aid, giving her a strong entrance into the season. Together they find the sacred waters that Din was seeking to redeem himself, but they end up stumbling upon something game-changing for the Star Wars universe that even shakes the beliefs of Bo Katan. This was a very surprising episode that had me on the edge of my seat with this revelation and how it makes the rest of the season feel unpredictable.
The third episode, directed by Lee Isaac Chung, further toys with the show’s usual structure and expands its scope to deal with a major plot thread of the first two seasons. It’s a new diversion that I loved because of how it manages to explore something new with the show as well as Star Wars in general.
Dr. Pershing, reprised by Omid Abtahi, moves from a side character to the main focus for this episode, being more explored than before, showing what exactly his role was to the empire and confirming many suspicions about his research in cloning and how it ties into the underlying story. On top of that, the episode is a very political intrigue-driven episode inspired by Andor that introduces a new side of Coruscant in the post-Empire years. It even explores current flaws within the New Republic government, showing that it’s not as perfect as we were led to believe. The intro and ending to this episode were also really damn good, featuring major moments for Bo Katan in particular.
Lee Isaac Chung did a phenomenal job directing this third episode, making it unnerving and giving a lot of interesting political undertones you wouldn’t expect to find in this show, but it’s a nice detour that gives this season more variety.
The fourth episode, directed by Carl Weathers, is an action-driven episode that develops the Mandalorian culture, having them work together as a team to rescue one of their own, and also has Grogu take his first steps towards becoming a Mandalorian. This episode also finally reveals to viewers how he escaped Order 66 through the help of a very special appearance, Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, played by Ahmed Best.
Now for those who don’t know Ahmed Best, he was the actor who played Jar Jar Binks, a character so hated by the fandom that they spent years harassing Ahmed to the point where he almost committed suicide. This was his official return to mainstream Star Wars after years of enduring all that, and I couldn’t be happier that Favreau got him to come back for a small yet important role: the high honor of being the savior of Grogu. It could have been anyone that could have saved him, such as some random beloved Jedi from the past. Instead, they went this route and I absolutely loved it. Good on them for getting Ahmed to return in such a fantastic way that he deserves.
Weathers did an excellent job directing a simple yet satisfying action episode, proving himself worthy as a director.
The fifth episode, directed by Peter Ramsey, is another action-driven episode but one that is amazing thanks to the energy Peter Ramsey gives to it. It expands upon how well the Mandalorians are together as a team in action against any kind of force, while also adding more to the story of the Mandalorians needing to come together to reclaim their world and start anew. But as all this occurs there are clear signs of evil forces seeking to move against them. There is also a very big surprise cameo that will make people happy if you happen to have watched a little series called Rebels.
The sixth episode, directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, does end up taking a rather odd detour. It is primarily a filler episode that doesn’t necessarily develop the story in a major way like the previous episodes, but it does develop the evolving chemistry between Din Djarin and Bo Katan while putting them on a side quest that expands the Star Wars universe. There are three guest star castings that I was not expecting to see at all, but it was a lot of fun to watch them in this universe as the kind of characters that are fitting for their personalities. I don’t care what anyone says but I will never say no to Jack Black and Christopher Lloyd being in Star Wars.
Another thing I loved about this episode is that there are some big callbacks to The Clone Wars. I don’t want to spoil much so I’m just leaving it at that, but Clone Wars fans will definitely dig this episode for sure. It’s a very George Lucas/Clone Wars-like story and to be honest I did not have any problem with the episode itself, as it’s a fun and enjoyable one for what it is. But its placement being so late in the season felt off for me. Thankfully the ending of the episode does tie back into the main story and once again gives another development, setting the stage for the final two episodes.
The final two episodes, helmed by Rick Famuyiwa, are easily two of the best episodes of the season, and also two of the most impactful episodes that really change the course of this universe going forward, and resolve several plot points established in the previous seasons. Both were epic, intense, and emotional, and truly culminate everything that was built up over this season and the previous ones as well.
As I suspected and had been trying to tell people for weeks, these episodes bring everything together, with all the setup in the earlier episodes paying off in powerful ways and giving some massive revelations of Mandalorian history, as well as revealing the true enemy in the shadows that arises to strike back with a vengeance.
Moff Gideon, reprised by Giancarlo Esposito, returns and gives his most menacing performance of the character yet, and cements himself as truly one of the best original Star Wars villains ever to be made. Rick Famuyiwa really ends the series strong, delivering the biggest scale episodes of the series by far, raising the stakes, delivering absolutely amazing action, many emotional moments, and development for all characters involved.
It is also made clear in these episodes that seeds have been planted as to where the connected storylines of all of these shows are heading. These shows are indeed building up to the recently announced Dave Filoni film that will culminate everything that has happened so far into one big Endgame-like event and I couldn’t be happier that Star Wars has a plan for once.
When it comes to visuals in terms of effects, editing, and cinematography this season is easily the most beautiful, despite enduring so much in production that was impacted by the pandemic. Everything from the practical effect to the CGI to the sets looks fantastic and leans very much into a blend of all three generations of Star Wars. The cinematography was also extremely good, giving us beautiful shots of the various landscapes on different worlds and keeping us fully engaged in all the action.
When it comes to music Ludwig Gorannson does not return to do the full soundtrack for this season. Instead, we have Joseph Shirley who ends up doing a fantastic job with the music for this season, living up to the high bar Ludwig Gorannson set before him. Shirley creates a truly wonderful score that adds to the excitement and intensity of this season, but also manages to heighten smaller scenes as well.
It feels as if this was the conclusion of the first chapter of these connected stories and I’m seriously excited to see where things go next in the future shows, including the upcoming Ahsoka series this year and the confirmed fourth season of this series. This season did a lot of things differently than I was expecting, but I loved the fact it was different and wasn’t repeating the same paths as previous seasons because it would get old as hell if it did.
I was left extremely satisfied by the end of this season even with its small faults here and there. And if Star Wars fans are going to come at me with hate messages and death threats like they do with every positive Star Wars review I do then so be it. Bring it the fuck on because I don’t care what excuses or bullshit you have. I love Season 3 and aint nothing going to change that. I’m going to give The Mandalorian Season 3 an A = 97.
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