The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 2 movies the story forward a lot sooner than fans were expecting – but we aren’t complaining.
Something this series has always been pretty good about doing is keeping things moving along, and that is certainly the case so far with Season 3. Mando is on a mission to redeem himself and earn the right to be called a Mandalorian again.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 1 gave us an explanation of where Din needed to go and what he needed to do in order to earn this, but it will likely come as a shock that episode 2 sees him reaching Mandalore already, although things don’t exactly go according to plan.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead For The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 2: Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore
Another Fan Favorite Returns
The Mandalorian fans love Peli Motto, and so it is certainly a thrill when the opening moments of the episode give her to us. Not only that, she is her usually sassy and conniving self, as we see her working with the Jawas to trick a Rodian into paying her to fix his speeder, when they are the ones that took it apart.
Classic Peli that will definitely have viewers laughing. What a great way to kick off the episode.
After that brief, but hilarious, interaction, Din and Grogu arrive in search of an IG unit memory circuit. If you recall, they are eager to repair IG-11 so that he can come with them to Mandalore. Din needs a droid he can trust, and that is made for spelunking.
Peli talks to the Jawas but they confess they will be unable to find what he needs. It has been a long time since they were made. She offers him an astromech, R5-D4, instead but Din is not too confident in its abilities. The funny thing is, neither is the droid as he tries very hard to run away and get out of this deal. But when Peli tells him if he doesn’t go with Din he will be sent back to the Jawas, he reluctantly agrees.
Din, R5, and Grogu take off from Peli’s just as fireworks are being set off. This is when we are reminded that Grogu is still very young, as he stares at them in awe.
Trouble On Mandalore
As they arrive at Mandalore, Din explains to Grogu that he has never been there himself. He spends time talking about how navigating is important, and even points out the planet in the same system where they visited Bo-Katan last episode. Surely, this is for an important reason that will come into play soon.
They land on the planet and Din sends R5 out to run tests on the air. He needs to be sure it is safe for them to breathe since there are rumors that Mandalore is poisoned after the war. Grogu and Din track R5 but when he suddenly disappears from the radar, Din pressurizes his helmet and goes out to check on him.
He enters a cave and is immediately jumped by troll-like creatures. They put up a good fight and Mando struggles, even with the Darksaber, but ultimately succeeds at knocking them all off a cliff into the abandoned city below. He picks up R5 and heads back to the ship to check on Grogu. After R5 runs the tests on the air, it is revealed that it is breathable after all. Din and Grogu head back into the cave in search of the Mines of Mandalore.
As the two descend further into the mines, things become ominous and eerie. There are small crocodile-like creatures that look on as Din and Grogu go into the darkness. Mando discovers a Mandalorian helmet in the rubble. He picks it up and wipes it off, and this is when the first jump scare of the episode hits.
A massive mechanical crab rises from the rubble and traps Din in a cage. Grogu is able to remain hidden, and he follows them back to its lair. The creature that is piloting the crab seems to be just an eye, and perhaps a brain that is hidden. It goes from the giant crab to a smaller, more human-like body – a bit reminiscent of General Grievous.
The creature takes Din’s weapons from him. Grogu makes his way to the cage and tries to use the force on the mechanism, but ultimately fails making a loud noise. The creature runs after him but Grogu is able to escape. Din tells him to go get Bo-Katan.
A Good Navigator
Remember how we said that Mando telling Grogu about navigation was going to come back into the picture? Well it does so very quickly as Grogu rushes back to the ship (the team behind The Mandalorian throws in another jump scare as we learn these small crocodiles have bat wings and one jumps out at Grogu and chases him). He tells R5 that they need to get to Bo-Katan, pointing out the planet that Din showed him on the map earlier.
When Din’s ship lands on Bo-Katan’s planet, she is annoyed. She feels that maybe she did not make herself clear the first time and heads to the ship to give Din a piece of her mind. When she discovers only Grogu in the ship however, she knows that something is wrong. She instructs her K2 unit to download data from R5 so that she knows where to find Din.
Bo-Katan To The Rescue
Once they arrive on Mandalore, Bo-Katan tells Grogu that he needs to lead her to Din. It is a bit of a shock for her, seeing what the planet and city has become. She grew up there after all, and even ruled for a brief time. Grogu is, rightfully so, a bit nervous and on edge as they make their way through the cave. Bo-Katan gives him a pep talk though and he continues on.
Those troll creatures that Din encountered earlier come back into the picture, but Bo-Katan makes short work of them. She mentions to Grogu that if they survived, she wonders what else survived.
Once she gets to where Din is being kept, she sees the creature that lives there plugging tubes into Din and draining his blood. He doesn’t have much time left, adding a lot of suspense and intensity to the scene. That said, once she gets her hands on the Darksaber that has been left on the ground, she dominates the threat. The eye fades to black and it seems he (she?) is beaten.
However as she is talking to Din, he is able to muster two words – “behind you” – before passing out. Bo-Katan turns just in time to see that the eye has woken up and crawled into the crab armor again. Still, it is not much of a threat to Bo-Katan as she absolutely destroys it in a very quick fight.
The Living Waters
After Din wakes up, Bo-Katan gives him some pod soup that she has made. They joke about how strange it is that he has never had it before, as any Mandalorian worth their armor grew up eating it.
Bo-Katan wants to take Din back to her ship and off the planet but he insists on continuing his quest so that he can be redeemed. She doesn’t want him going alone so she offers to lead him to The Living Waters.
Once they get there, she reads the plaque which details the legend of the mythosaur. This creature was said to reside in the Living Waters. These massive dragon-looking creatures are said to be extinct now, although in the past Mandalorians had tamed and ridden them. The mythosaur skull is known as the symbol of the Mandalorian people.
Din diligently starts to remove parts of his armor as he enters the water. He recites the creed and it is clear this is a very meaningful moment for him. The Mandalorian season 3 episode 2 throws in one more jump scare for fans though as he is suddenly pulled below the surface of the water mid-sentence.
Bo-Katan jumps in after Din, swimming to the bottom of the waters to collect him and bring him to the surface. On her way up, however, she passes a massive creature. Her light shines on the face of a mythosaur.
The episode ends with Din and Bo-Katan on the ground just out of the living waters.
Overall Thoughts
The massive reveal at the end of this episode alone makes it one of the most exciting of the entire season. Mythosaurs have been rumored to still be alive, and there are all sorts of conspiracy theories out there, so fans will likely be freaking out at the confirmation.
This episode is a bit longer than the previous one, but it still keeps the solid pacing. Never once does it feel dull or drag on. There is a lot happening, including some great fight scenes. Even though they went pretty quickly, they really should have, as Bo-Katan is a skilled fighter – especially with the Darksaber in hand.
It was shocking to see Din arrive at the Mines of Mandalore so quickly into the season, but seeing that a mythosaur is still alive makes it clear there is a lot more in store for him and Grogu this season. We cannot wait to see where The Mandalorian Season 3 takes us.
Rating: 9/10 SPECS
New episodes of Season 3 of Star Wars: The Mandalorian drop Wednesdays on Disney+.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Tessa Smith owns MamasGeeky.com and is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic and a huge geek. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for almost ten years and is a member of several Critics associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association. She grew up watching movies, playing video games, and reading comic books -- and still loves all of those things. She proudly lets her geek flag fly and spreads the word that there is nothing wrong with being a geek.