WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Mandalorian, a Star Wars show streaming on Disney Plus that stars Pedro Pascal, has made a return with its third season. New episodes are posted on the site every Wednesday, and there will be a total of eight episodes this season. The first two episodes have already been released, and they have brought with them all the hype that Star Wars fans needed.
The first episode, “Chapter 17: The Apostate”, starts off with a kick. We see what appears to be The Armorer from the previous season, as she is making a new helmet for a Mandalorian child. The ceremony is eventually interrupted by a monstrous creature that emerges from the water, and we get a thrilling fight scene between this creature and the Mandalorians.
This scene is very well done, as it shows us the capabilities of the Mandalorians, as they use their jetpacks to take to the sky and rain fire down onto the creature. However, just as all hope seems lost, we are reintroduced to Din Djarin, as he fires on the creature from his Starfighter, killing it in the process and saving his people.
We are reminded of Din’s mission to regain his status as a Mandalorian, after taking off his helmet in the previous season. The main plot of the season is here introduced to the audience, as Din must go back to Mandalore and bathe in the living waters, so that he can become a Mandalorian once again.
The episode then shows Din returning to different planets in search of a droid who can help him on his journey and measure the toxicity in the atmosphere of Mandalore, to make it safer for him and Grogu.
The episode ends with Din flying to another planet in the Mandalorian System, to visit an old friend who is living in a castle on that planet. In this scene we are reintroduced to Bo-Katan Kryze, and this is a fantastic way to start a season, as it does not reveal too much of the plot to the audience and leaves us on a cliffhanger for the next episode.
The next episode, “Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore”, starts of with Din buying a droid from his old friend Peli Motto at Mos Eisley on Tatooine, and then he sets a course for Mandalore. Once he reaches the planet of his ancestors, Din has a run-in with some of the planet natives, but then he and Grogu set off into the mines of Mandalore to find the living waters.
For many Star Wars fans, this following scene in the episode will blow them away. The ruins of Mandalore, and the creatures that have adapted themselves to this new environment, are shown for the first time. This opens up a completely new field for the future for both this series and the larger Star Wars universe.
As the scene continues, Din and Grogu explore deeper into the mines, and Din is all of a sudden trapped and taken by a giant robotic creature. Now helplessly captive, Din tells Grogu to find Bo-Katan for help. What follows is a pretty funny scene featuring Grogu speeding back to the starship in his pod and flying back to Bo-Katan.
Once Bo-Katan and Grogu are back on Mandalore, they begin their rescue mission to save Din. As they get closer to him, Bo-Katan is attacked by the creatures of Mandalore, but she finishes them off with ease.
Once they reach Din, we get a pretty unmemorable fight scene between the robotic alien creature and Bo-Katan, who ends up using the Darksaber in her combat. This fight is not all that great, but the fact that we see Bo-Katan using the darksaber in live action for the first time is something that got me excited. Bo-Katan wields this weapon with such ease and power, and watching this scene is much more enjoyable than watching Din try to use the Darksaber last season.
After Din is saved, the three companions finally arrive at the living waters, where Din puts down his weapons and goes to bathe in the lake. When he is almost fully submerged, he is suddenly pulled underwater, and Bo-Katan dives in to save him (again).
Bo-Katan finds Din on the floor of the waters and brings him back up to the surface. But on the way, she is shocked to see a live Mythosaur, one of the legendary creatures that were previously believed to be extinct and whose skull is the Mandalorian emblem.
The episode ends with Bo-Katan gasping for air as she looks back into the waters, most likely disbelieving her own eyes, after catching a glimpse of the creature she found below. Will she keep this vision to herself, or will she share this news with Din? .
These first two new episodes of The Mandalorian already seem to exceed the expectations that viewers may have had coming into this season. This is a perfect start to Season 3, and I highly recommend watching them, as my review cannot possibly do them justice.
This show is highly popular, and if you have not watched it yet, I don’t know what you are waiting for! And remember to look out for new episodes of The Mandalorian every Wednesday!
