“You Had Me at Battle Droids.”
It had been over two years since we had any official episodes of The Mandalorian. Of course, in that time, I subscribed to Disney+ and watched the first two seasons, so I was finally ready to watch a season live. Unfortunately, this season was weaker than the seasons we’ve had before.
This season picks up right where…The Book of Boba Fett left off. You’ll notice how carefully I worded my opening sentence, I hope. The back half of that show was really more about these characters than Boba Fett, so if you haven’t watched them, you’ll be a little confused when you sit down to start season 3 of this show. (And why they did things that way is beyond me.)
When this season opens, Din Djarin, aka The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), is a bit lost. Yes, he and Grogu have been reunited, but he knows that he has broken Mandalorian code and must atone for his transgression of taking off his helmet. There is only one way to do that – he must bathe in the living waters on the planet Mandalore. But is the planet even hospitable to life anymore? What will he find when he arrives?
Honestly, I rather expected this to be the plot of season 3 before I sat down to watch the premier. As a result, I wasn’t surprised when that is how they started things off. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the show actually went off in some other directions for much of the season, and in ways that logically flowed of what came before.
We also got to see plenty of old friends along the way, whether that be for cameos or longer, more important guest parts. It’s always fun to see them.
The exception to that was Gina Carano’s Cara Dune. They do mentions where she is as the season starts, so at least we get that much closure. She was my favorite character in the first two seasons, so I was disappointed knowing she wouldn’t be in this season. However, given where the plot went, I feel like she would have slowed things down.
And the show, naturally, doesn’t need any help with that. Honestly, that’s been my complaint all along. The pacing is just too slow at times. When the show is on and telling good stories, it is wonderful, but when it isn’t, it plods along.
A perfect example of that is the third episode of the season. It spends almost the entire episode updating us on a character that, too be honest, I don’t even remember. We didn’t need that information for the rest of the season to make sense, at least in that much detail. A few sentences of dialog or a couple of scenes could have covered it. You could skip the bulk of it and just watch the stuff at the beginning and end and be perfectly informed to move forward.
Then there’s the fact that we spend a lot of time around Mandalorians this season. Lots and lots of time. My complaint here is that they almost all wear helmets. That means there will be entire scenes where we don’t see any one actor’s face. And their armor isn’t always distinct enough to follow who is who, especially if there are several of them in a shot all talking. When we just have Din Djarin and one or two others in a scene, it works, but an entire group of them is a bit much.
Finally, there’s the fact that Katee Sackoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze is a major character this season. I’ve never been a fan of the actress, and her work here does little to change my mind. I did find it watchable, but that is about all.
The rest of the cast is fantastic, however.
And Grogu continues to steal the show. He’s getting more powerful, which is fun, but he’s still as mischievous as ever.
The series continues to look amazing. The special effects are outstanding, and the sets and locations are wonderful. If you just want to watch the visuals, you will not be disappointed.
I do have to touch on the sixth episode of the season. It guest stars Christopher Lloyd, Jack Black, and Lizzo, and many fans hated it. Personally, I thought it was one of the stronger episodes of the season. It had a standalone plot that was strong and led into scenes that were important for the overall season plot. But the side quest that our characters had to go on was so much fun. No, we don’t need the special guest stars, but they didn’t pull me out of the episode. I just had fun with it from start to finish.
There continues to be enough that I enjoy to draw me to The Mandalorian. However, I found season 3 to be average overall.
I just finished watching season 3 yesterday and I agree with your thoughts. It was an average season.
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