“The Mandalorian” continues with a good third episode which serves more as a setup for the larger story of this season.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Story
Picking up right where we left off last episode, we find Mando and Bo-Katan leaving the living waters. Mando has no memory of seeing the Mythosaur and Bo-Katan does not acknowledge showing her agenda to tame the beast and rule Mandalore.
Mando and Bo-Katan engage in a dogfight against an absurd amount of TIE fighters who end up bombing her home. They escaped by the skin of their teeth and even though they took out a few tie fighters.
We then go to Coruscant and follow Dr. Pershing and his endeavors post working for Moff Gideon and the Empire. He becomes reacquainted with Elia Kane, who also worked for Gideon with him. Pershing and Elia then work together to find a mobile lab on a decommissioned Star Destroyer so he can continue his research. As predicted Elia betrays him and is shown as a corrupt officer of the New Republic. She has him put in a mind flayer and wipes his memory for her own agenda.
Finally we go back to Mando and Bo-Katan where they reunite with the Armorer, Paz Vizsla and other Mandalorians. Mando proves he has bathed in the Living Waters and is redeemed as a Mandalorian. The Armorer also pressures Bo-Katan to join their creed since she also went in the waters and did not remove her helmet since.
The Good
This was an interesting episode that once again took time to focus on more side characters rather than Mando and Grogu.
The opening dogfight was so well done and kept me on my toes. I was shocked by how many TIE fighters were after them and wanted to learn more about what caused that confrontation. One cute moment was when Grogu tried to say “This is the way” with Mando and Bo-Katan further showing him embracing his path as a foundling.
Seeing Pershing’s path post Empire was really interesting. I loved that we returned to Coruscant for his story because that is my personal favorite planet in the Star Wars mythos. The cinematography on Coruscant was astounding and so well shot. It was great to finally see the New Republic in action and how some parts are extremely corrupt which will eventually lead to the First Order.
The Bad
One of the things that wasn’t terrible but definitely noticeable was the tone shift in this episode. While it was good, it felt more like an episode of “Andor” than an episode of “The Mandalorian”. There was a clear change in how the story was presented compared to the rest of the series and this purposely done as it is trying to bridge the gaps in Star Wars.
One thing that was less enjoyable was the character of Elia Kane. It was obvious she was corrupt from the beginning and it made me question how smart Pershing actually is. Now, her agenda is still unknown so she’s not unbearable but she was a little too obvious with her actions.
Review
Overall it was an enjoyable episode of Star Wars television, but the tonal shift was too dramatic as it was a set up for a new plot thread in this season. Episode three is 8/10.