The Mandalorian continues to move forward with the third season of the series. The Star Wars universe continues to expand and the fiction headed by Pedro Pascal is to blame for the fact that, despite its small ups and downs in recent years, it continues to be of interest to Disney Plus fans.
This third season has been slow in coming, but as we have seen in the last two episodes, the wait has not been in vain. In the first episode we already saw that, although it now has a more linear plot, it is still the series of independent adventures that we all remembered. And the recently released episode has confirmed it once again.
A new droid joins the team
The chapter begins with Din Djarin and Grogu (our beloved Baby Yoda) visiting, once again, Peli Motto’s workshop. On this occasion they hope to receive a part to fix the IG-11 droid, the only one he trusts and who would be the essential ally for the journey that awaits them to Mandalor. However, not everything goes as expected.
Many of us thought that IG-11 was going to be a new ally this season. But, by the looks of it, he won’t be… at least for now. In exchange, Peli Motto offers to take with him a piece of junk he has in the workshop; a droid that is falling apart and doesn’t seem to be willing to embark on the mercenary’s adventures. Mando reluctantly accepts… and takes off with him and Grogu.
This first part of the chapter already serves to put us in situation. Although I personally thought that the issue of the Mandalor mines was going to be the letimotiv of the whole season and it was going to drag on during the chapters, in the end it has turned out to be just another adventure that has been resolved in two episodes. Because yes; this is The Mandalorian, and rhythm is everything.
Arriving at Mandalor
Maybe it was a matter of expectations, but for two seasons there has been so much talk about Mandalor that I thought the arrival on the planet was going to be little more than an Odyssey. However, the episode has resolved it rather quickly, and while it has had its moments to show what it was like back in the day and explore ancient Mandalorian technology, I have to say it fell a bit short for me.
When Din Djarin and Grogu arrive at Mandalor, we land on a kind of giant planet-shaped graveyard. It is a gray, hostile and uncared-for place, where legends say that a toxin runs that kills anyone who breathes it. That’s the first thing the protagonist played by Pedro Pascal wants to check, and that’s why he has taken his droid with him.
After a moment of tension that passes rather quickly – certainly, the epic has not been the best friend of this chapter – Din Djarin discovers that, as he thought, the toxicity was a hoax, and begins to explore the planet in search of the mines where the living waters in which he must bathe are.
However, complications soon arise. Mando discovers a group of bandits and confronts them with the help of Grogu. But he keeps going down and a huge droid catches him by surprise and kidnaps him. At that moment, everything is left in the hands of Baby Yoda: it is he who must escape to seek help.
The power of Baby Yoda
Grogu leaves the planet in search of Bo-Katan Kryze, the Mandalorian who lives in a castle on one of the planet’s moons. He sets off with his small ship and an enviable orientation. And this is when the moment of truth arrives: now that he has become the protector, will he be able to use his powers?
Although the direction of the episode has left us unable to effectively see how he uses the Force, Grogu flawlessly disposes of a bandit who tries to attack him, proving that his training with Luke Skywalker has not been in vain. But I must say that, leaving it all up to intuition, we are again left with a moment with nothing epic, and practically no difference in his powers to those of previous seasons.
Be that as it may, he finally manages to escape and visits Bo-Katan, who at first is willing to put an end to Mando, but when she sees that he is in trouble, she does not hesitate to venture to rescue him. After showing her powers and a brutal performance by Katee Sackhoff, the Mandalorian arrives where Din Djarin is and manages to save him.
Finally, the protagonist goes into the Living Waters to pay off his debt… but a final confrontation awaits him. Together with Bo-Katan he manages to get away with it, but everything remains to be seen in the following chapters. Now that he is no longer an outcast and has discovered that Mandalor is habitable… what’s next?
