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‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Review Lifestyle
Hayden Alexander Staff Reporter
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SPOILER ALERT
I can now confidently say that “Star Wars: The Mandalorian” is not following the armor-clad Mandalorian’s favorite mantra, “This is the way.”
Season three, like the Mando himself, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), fell from the way before a quick recovery in the final two episodes.
Season three began with a promising start with the introduction to a more Mandalorian focus, finally peering into the culture and lore of Mandalore.
Djarin and Grogu explore the ruins of Mandalore to redeem Djarin for removing his helmet in the previous season. Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), the fallen Mandalorian leader, joins them. Fighting the horrors of the ruined Mandalore, bathing in the Living Waters, and seeing a Mythosur, the symbol of Mandalorians everywhere, alive and well. Sounds fun, and it was.
For five minutes.
Episode three of “The Mandalorian” took a sharp turn from the main storyline, creating an unnecessary disruption. Instead of following Djarin, Grogu and Kryze as they established themselves as the subjects in the opening sequence, the episode did a fu1l 180. Instead, the audience followed Penn Pershing (Omid Abtahi) from season one, episode one, for 40 minutes as he navigated being a New Republic Refugee.
I understand the point of episodes three, five and six were to allude to and build the reasoning behind the First Order’s rise to power, but it didn’t work for me. Episode three could have worked if it ran with the Mandalorian storyline. It didn’t work. I love the concept of bridging the gap between the New Republic and the beginnings of the First Order, but it could have been handled better. A more interwoven, evenly-paced storyline that balances the Mandalorian and First Order subplot would have worked better. There is still hope because director and producer
Dave Filoni is helming a new movie to close out “The Mandalorian” and bring all the story threads covering the rise of the First Order within the galaxy. Filoni is no stranger to filling in the Star Wars timeline with excellent production and storytelling. Filoni’s animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is among the highest-rated “Star Wars” series.
The most glaring example of poor pacing is Djarin, Grogu’s and Kryze’s adventure on Plazir-15, starring Lizzo and Jack Black as the Duchess and Captain Bombardier. I have nothing against these talented individuals, but they don’t fit the tone of “The Mandalorian.” Both could have worked better in different “Star Wars” products, but this was too silly. “The Mandalorian” has always toed the line of goofiness with Grogu, but this is too much. The whole point of the episode was to untie the Mandalorians, and they spent little to no time doing that. In fact, when challenged on the possession of the Dark Saber, Djarin hands it over to Kryze because of a loophole. Luckily, this sad excuse for a claim on the Dark Saber was rectified when Kryze dueled Moff Gideon in the final episode.
A few more glaring issues were the brief throwaway line about the entire mini-season in “The Book of Boba Fett,” where Djarin takes Grogu back from Luke Skywalker. This season didn’t even feel like their story because the audience spent more time with Kryze than the main characters. The Dark Saber was also effectively destroyed, completely negating the meaning the weapon has been assigned for several shows.
The final two episodes of the show were standout episodes. However, they were at the end. I would be writing a much more positive review had the audience received earlier episodes of the same caliber.
As an avid Star Wars fan, there were a lot of things that I loved about this season. The cinematography was off the charts, and the music from Joseph Shirely carried the show as usual. Mando’s familiar motif never failed to excite.
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Episodes seven and eight opened with a 10-minute meeting between Moff Gideon and the remnants of the Empire, namedropped
Admiral Thrawn, introduced the audience to General Hux’s father, and confirmed project necromancer. Multiple Easter eggs for fans then ended with what every “Star Wars” fan has always wanted, an all-out, live-action, Mandalorians flying into battle united. Grogu revealed more of his power and Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) was defeated. It was an epic way to close the season and single-handedly save it overall.
In the end, Kryze relit the forges of Mandalore, and Djarn adopted Grogu. The show closes on Grogu and the Mandalorian working as private contractors for the New Republic, perhaps the start of the Resistance.
“The Mandalorian” started well, lost in the middle, but saved itself in the final stretch. A tighter storyline and better pacing will be the key to a better season four. As always, may the Force be with you.