The Mandalorian has now bathed in the living waters on Mandalore and has been redeemed, meanwhile a former doctor and a crew member on Moff Gideon’s ship have joined the New Republic’s amnesty program but the doctor learns things aren’t quite what they seem in the latest episode of “The Mandalorian.” The Armorer of the Children of the Watch accepts both Din Djarin and Bo Katan into the group given neither has removed their helmet since they both technically redeemed themselves in the water.

This episode contained a weird split to tell the two stories it was trying to tell. The parts involving the Din Djarin and Bo Katan felt like a traditional “The Manadalorian” episode, as it should. You can feel Din Djarin’s pride in being redeemed and being allowed to return home to the Children of the Watch. You can also sense that Bo Katan hates being alone and hates that TIE fighters destroyed her home forcing her to escape with Din Djarin. Still, she also seems happy to be accepted as family with Din Djarin, despite not agreeing with the Children of the Watch philosophy.

Viewers can also tell Paz Vizsla is not happy to see Din Djarin or Bo Katan. He is a true believer in the Children of the Watch philosophy and sees them both as apostates. While the philosophy may allow for redemption, he doesn’t believe they should be allowed to be redeemed and it is obvious by his body language. Plus, anyone who watched some of the “Star Wars” animated series knows there is history between Paz Vizsla and Bo Katan’s family.

In a complete tonal and aesthetic shift, the middle of the episode heads to Coruscant to follow Dr. Pershing and Elia Kane as they have joined the New Republic’s Amnesty Program. Dr. Pershing had not loyalty to the Empire, so joining the program makes sense to him, but he still wonders if his previous research could be of assistance to the New Republic. Meanwhile, Elia is working to build a budding friendship with Dr. Pershing that seemed to be setting up an obvious betrayal. That betrayal comes while he’s trying to recover his research and he is identified as a weak link in the Amnesty Program who appears to have his mind altered.

This section of the episode felt more like an episode of “Andor” than an episode of “The Mandalorian.” That can be both good and bad. I liked how they set up the story arc for Dr. Pershing and Elia Kane, but it felt rushed to get to the betrayal. I think they should’ve taken more time to build their story to make the betrayal pack a punch. Still, anything that reminds me of how great “Andor” is welcome.

I want to see more about Din Djarin’s life following his redemption. I want to see how Bo Katan continues to act given her current acceptance into the religion with which she was raised and her family’s personal history with one of the less welcoming members. I want to see more about Dr. Pershing’s journey. I don’t really care much about Elia Kane though. That’s why they should’ve built this story up more before the betrayal, so I could care about her too.

Rating: 4.75 stars

What did you think of the latest 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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