The Mandalorian Season 3 - Something Bigger
DescriptionA review about The Mandalorian's third season and how the show's scope has expanded drastically during it.
MessageWe recommend watching The Mandalorian to form your own opinions about the show.
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Disney/LucasfilmIntroductionAs the third season of The Mandalorian comes to an end, only one thought plagues my mind: Star Wars is f— awesome. I have been a MASSIVE fan of this franchise since I was a kid, seeing every film I can in theaters and every show that pops up on Disney+. And when Mando came out in November of 2019, I was there. But back then, it was a simple story, about an armored bounty hunter "fanatic" who is transporting a small Yoda-like creature (now named Grogu). The story of the show is now much bigger than this, much more complicated, and seems to be working toward something far beyond what the first and even second seasons hint toward, which is an exciting prospect. So, here's a quick review of the story so far and what I think the future will hold.
The StoryThe story of season 3 is simple: reclaim Mandalore. Now, what is Mandalore, you may ask? Well, that's a loaded question of Star Wars lore, but to put it simply, it is the home of all Mandalorians, who have made a name for themselves as being some of the best fighters/bounty hunters in the galaxy. There are many different sects, with in-fighting being common. And this discourse is what made it so easy for the Empire to come in and wipe them out, as they refused to surrender to an Imperial takeover. The few, very few, that survived the siege, some of those being Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Bo Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and a few thousand more, are now being led by the two to retake their ancestral home after discovering that it was still habitable and not cursed as previously believed. This all culminates in a final battle, with Moff Gideon, the villain of the first and second seasons, setting up an outpost in the crystalized planet to kill off the Mandalorians once and for all. Though does he succeed? Of course not, because they need to squeeze another few seasons out of this thing!
The SeasonThis season has really expanded beyond Din Djarin and Grogu, taking focus on many different anchors across the Galaxy. We mainly see this in both Bo Katan and Dr. Pershing, who have their respective journeys, the doctor essentially going to a New Republic rehabilitation facility while Sackhoff's character works with Pascal and his puppet friend to unite all Mandalorian.
Something that I really enjoyed this season was going back to Coruscant, the practical capital of the galaxy, and seeing how the New Republic is holding up after the fall of the Empire. It is noted that there are still Imperial remnants out there, like Gideon, and we are shown how the bureaucracy of the Republic government is slowing down both innovation and other processes. This is really interesting as, of course, we all know the New Republic HAS to fall for the First Order to happen (thanks sequel trilogy), so to actually watch that unfold due to fairly realistic reasons is actually pretty cool. No one ever said democracy was easy.
Another thing that is actually more of a bad part of it is the fact that Grogu and Din are back at it after season two like nothing has happened in between, which is strange given the ending of season two. In the finale of that, Grogu is handed off to Luke Skywalker to be trained, and then in this season premiere, he's back, with no explanation. Though explanation there is, as if you go to The Book of Boba Fett, a totally different Star Wars series, you will find that he was training for a little over a year, and Mando just picked him up afterward. Yeah, a bit strange.
The last part of this season that I really loved was actually how it ended. Sure, there have been ups and downs, and season two's finale is unbeatable, but watching everyone band together and kick the Moff's ass off Mandalore is quite cool. And the open-endedness of it all is also great, as Din just plans to sit back and relax, taking case-by-case assignments by the New Republic. That's pretty Goddamn cool, if you ask me, and wraps up the story so far quite perfectly.
The FutureIt has become quite clear that the future of Star Wars is both within this show and Disney+ in general. Now, yes, we did just have Star Wars Celebration recently, and with that, announcements/showings of select future projects. But it is clear that they are all working together now to tell a bigger story, similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but on a much larger and more diverse wavelength. This recent slate made after the sequel trilogy has been dubbed the Mando-verse, and for a clear reason. Though do not be mistaken, it seems to all be working toward the sequels, filling in space between it and the OT to explain, "Somehow, Palpatine returned...." The grander story is trying to tell how the New Republic fell, giving rise to the First Order, and how the Empire was never truly gone, while also giving insight into the idea of a force-sensitive clone, something needed for the return of good ol' Palps. Sure, this most definitely changes the optimism set in by the original trilogy, which reasonably saddens many fans, but at the end of the day, Lucasfilm under Disney decided to push the stories of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker out with no plan, so this is there cover-up. And for that, I give them credit, because it makes me fairly excited to see the future that it holds.
ConclusionTo really conclude things, season three of The Mandalorian was pretty good. It is leading to something bigger, way bigger than first thought, and I'm loving every moment of it. The whole force-sensitive clone thing, the rise and fall of the New Republic, and everything in between, are all great to watch, the adventures of Grogu and his adopted father never getting old. Not only am I excited for season four, but for the future in general, as it looks like Star Wars has finally gotten itself together under the control of Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, and that is just truly awesome to see. I'm excited, are you?
The StoryThe story of season 3 is simple: reclaim Mandalore. Now, what is Mandalore, you may ask? Well, that's a loaded question of Star Wars lore, but to put it simply, it is the home of all Mandalorians, who have made a name for themselves as being some of the best fighters/bounty hunters in the galaxy. There are many different sects, with in-fighting being common. And this discourse is what made it so easy for the Empire to come in and wipe them out, as they refused to surrender to an Imperial takeover. The few, very few, that survived the siege, some of those being Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Bo Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and a few thousand more, are now being led by the two to retake their ancestral home after discovering that it was still habitable and not cursed as previously believed. This all culminates in a final battle, with Moff Gideon, the villain of the first and second seasons, setting up an outpost in the crystalized planet to kill off the Mandalorians once and for all. Though does he succeed? Of course not, because they need to squeeze another few seasons out of this thing!
The SeasonThis season has really expanded beyond Din Djarin and Grogu, taking focus on many different anchors across the Galaxy. We mainly see this in both Bo Katan and Dr. Pershing, who have their respective journeys, the doctor essentially going to a New Republic rehabilitation facility while Sackhoff's character works with Pascal and his puppet friend to unite all Mandalorian.
Something that I really enjoyed this season was going back to Coruscant, the practical capital of the galaxy, and seeing how the New Republic is holding up after the fall of the Empire. It is noted that there are still Imperial remnants out there, like Gideon, and we are shown how the bureaucracy of the Republic government is slowing down both innovation and other processes. This is really interesting as, of course, we all know the New Republic HAS to fall for the First Order to happen (thanks sequel trilogy), so to actually watch that unfold due to fairly realistic reasons is actually pretty cool. No one ever said democracy was easy.
Another thing that is actually more of a bad part of it is the fact that Grogu and Din are back at it after season two like nothing has happened in between, which is strange given the ending of season two. In the finale of that, Grogu is handed off to Luke Skywalker to be trained, and then in this season premiere, he's back, with no explanation. Though explanation there is, as if you go to The Book of Boba Fett, a totally different Star Wars series, you will find that he was training for a little over a year, and Mando just picked him up afterward. Yeah, a bit strange.
The last part of this season that I really loved was actually how it ended. Sure, there have been ups and downs, and season two's finale is unbeatable, but watching everyone band together and kick the Moff's ass off Mandalore is quite cool. And the open-endedness of it all is also great, as Din just plans to sit back and relax, taking case-by-case assignments by the New Republic. That's pretty Goddamn cool, if you ask me, and wraps up the story so far quite perfectly.
The FutureIt has become quite clear that the future of Star Wars is both within this show and Disney+ in general. Now, yes, we did just have Star Wars Celebration recently, and with that, announcements/showings of select future projects. But it is clear that they are all working together now to tell a bigger story, similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but on a much larger and more diverse wavelength. This recent slate made after the sequel trilogy has been dubbed the Mando-verse, and for a clear reason. Though do not be mistaken, it seems to all be working toward the sequels, filling in space between it and the OT to explain, "Somehow, Palpatine returned...." The grander story is trying to tell how the New Republic fell, giving rise to the First Order, and how the Empire was never truly gone, while also giving insight into the idea of a force-sensitive clone, something needed for the return of good ol' Palps. Sure, this most definitely changes the optimism set in by the original trilogy, which reasonably saddens many fans, but at the end of the day, Lucasfilm under Disney decided to push the stories of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker out with no plan, so this is there cover-up. And for that, I give them credit, because it makes me fairly excited to see the future that it holds.
ConclusionTo really conclude things, season three of The Mandalorian was pretty good. It is leading to something bigger, way bigger than first thought, and I'm loving every moment of it. The whole force-sensitive clone thing, the rise and fall of the New Republic, and everything in between, are all great to watch, the adventures of Grogu and his adopted father never getting old. Not only am I excited for season four, but for the future in general, as it looks like Star Wars has finally gotten itself together under the control of Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, and that is just truly awesome to see. I'm excited, are you?
