The original “Star Wars” character that helped launch Disney+ is back, and this time he is on a mission to redeem himself in season three of “The Mandalorian.” Din Djarin must find a way to redeem himself in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore after removing his helmet in season two. He has been cast out of the Children of the Watch for his actions but is insistent on finding a way to redeem himself in the eyes of the leaders of the Children of the Watch despite every Mandalorian believing the mines have been destroyed.

Overall, this episode goes a long way to setting up a nice story arc for the season despite the limited action. There is a gun fight between the Mandalorian, Greef Karga and a group of pirates. That gunfight then sets up a nice space battle between Mando and the pirates. It’s a nice amount of action to balance out the episode that is heavy on storyline and plot development.

There is a nice amount of fan service in this episode without going too far in that direction. There is a glimpse at a Mon Calamari, several Kowakian monkey-lizards and a protocol droid. They don’t do much other than demonstrate the diversity of Navarro where Karga is now the Chief Magistrate. If they had done much more than this, it would’ve been too much, but this is just enough. Plus, we get to see the return of Bo Katan at the end of the episode referencing her mission and setting up a possibility of either a big fight between her and Mando or them joining forces later in the season.

While it’s a nice return for the first “Star Wars” Disney+ Original Series, it’s far from perfect. If you haven’t watched “The Book of Boba Fett,” you might not understand some of what’s going on and, while the episode does provide a recap that touches on those subjects, it could still be confusing. Grogu was an integral part of the first two seasons, but his story arc with Mando should’ve finished when he went with Luke to start the Jedi Academy. His return in “The Book of Boba Fett” wasn’t great storytelling, and now he just feels like he’s there to be a cute kid rather than an important character. Plus, if you didn’t watch “The Book of Boba Fett,” you may be asking why the pair are back together. Dave Filoni is very bad about writing some of his shows with the assumption that viewers have seen his other works, and this is a shining example of how that can backfire.

It’s not a perfect episode, but it’s still entertaining. It feels like “Star Wars” while also being better about world building than other “Star Wars” Disney+ Original Series have been. I’m excited to see this story arc about his mission to redeem himself according to Mandalorian culture. I’m excited to see what could happen with the return of Mandalore. But I’m not excited to see Grogu’s role in this season, at least not yet. It’s not too late to make his return make sense, but they aren’t there yet. Still, it’s good to have this show back.

Rating: 4.5 stars

What did you think of this episode of “The Mandalorian?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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