The Mandalorian season 3 started off extremely strong, taking fans on a journey with Din Djarin towards his redemption. However, just three episodes in things have taken a turn for the worse.
This episode clocks in at 59 minutes, the longest so far this season, but less than half of that features the title character. While we do get a side story that is certain to have long-term meaning in the series, it isn’t all that interesting… until the end.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead for The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 3
Trouble for Din and Bo-Katan
The Mandalorian season 3 episode 3 picks up exactly where it left off, with Mando and Bo-Katan on the rocks by The Living Waters. As soon as he wakes up she begins to question him, asking if he saw anything alive down there. He claims that he didn’t, and it seems she is going to keep her spotting of the mythosaur a secret.
As they attempt to leave Mandalore, they are attacked by some Tie Interceptors. We get a fair amount of action as they navigate back to Bo-Katan’s planet – just in time to see her castle destroyed. When a whole army of ships show up, they know it is time to leave. Din tells her that he will take her somewhere that no one will be able to find her.
A Side Story In Coruscant
The majority of the hour-long episode is spent in Coruscant with Doctor Pershing. Star Wars fans will instantly know him as an Imperial Scientist who was heavily involved in the cloning process.
It turns out that those who wish to be redeemed after their work with the Empire were sent to rehabilitation facilities before being allowed to live in amnesty buildings on Coruscant. Dr. Pershing is one such person. They are given numbers instead of names in order to hide their identities.
When he first arrives, he crosses paths with someone else who was on Moff Gideon’s ship. The two, along with a few others, have a couple of drinks and share stories about what they miss from the Empire. Nothing serious, but rather things like the food. Pershing mentions that he misses the travel biscuits.
Later that night there is a knock on his door and he finds a huge box filled with biscuits. Someone is clearly trying to get on his good side. It doesn’t take long to realize that it is the woman he knows from Gideon’s ship. The two form a quick friendship, however, she is constantly asking him about his research, and seemingly trying to get him to start doing it again, behind the back of the New Republic.
She eventually gets to him, as she continues to explain he would be doing something good for the New Republic by continuing his research. The two decide to venture to the junkyards where they are storing the Imperial tech and ships they plan to destroy. Dr. Pershing packs up everything he needs for his work. But leaving the ship, they are caught by the New Republic guards almost instantly.
It turns out that she was setting him up. He finds himself arrested and in a device very similar to a mind flayer, although they continue to tell him that it is not. Once everyone leaves, his new “friend” is allowed to stay behind. She turns the dial up taking him from a relaxing treatment to an excruciating one.
This Is The Way
The Mandalorian season 3 episode 3 then cuts back to Din and Bo-Katan. They arrive with his people, and he tells them he has bathed in The Living Waters. Since Bo-Katan has also done this, and has not removed her helmet since, The Armorer tells her that she is also redeemed. She is welcome to stay there as long as she likes.
Overall Thoughts
The Mandalorian season 3 trailers advertised this season as Din’s journey to redemption. But just three episodes in he has already found it – and Bo-Katan’s as well. With nearly 40 minutes of this episode being spent away from him, it is hard to know where things are going from here.
The storyline of his redemption was very rushed, so hopefully Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have something up their sleeve for us as the season continues. While the side story of Doctor Pershing that was explored will surely have future implications, it fell a bit flat.
We already know that the New Republic is just basically the Empire, even though they try to act like they aren’t. So nothing in this episode came as a surprise. In fact, from the moment that woman showed up, she was shady. Not once did we think she was trying to help.
Hopefully things turn around again next week.
The Mandalorian season 3 episode 3 is now airing on Disney+.
Rating: 6/10 SPECS
New episodes of The Mandalorian drop every Wednesday 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.