There’s nothing on TV quite like The Mandalorian. It’s good to be back.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 1 was about resolution and planting seeds for the conflict to come. After such a long hiatus, it was the right pace to ease viewers back into this universe.
Din’s journey on The Mandalorian Season 3 is about redemption for taking off his mask, and the best part of that is that the series will be even more deeply rooted in the ways of Mandalore than before.
This is The Mandalorian, after all, and if the show has taught us anything, it will tell stories set in the Star Wars universe we haven’t seen before.
The writing and directing for the opening scene with The Mandalorians inducting their newest Mandalorian felt like a flashback, so it was a pleasant surprise when Din and Grogu popped up in a blaze of glory to save everyone.
If anything, Din’s arrival highlighted his need for redemption, even if The Armorer and others don’t think he deserves it.
His last meeting with The Armorer on The Book of Boba Fett (which I hope you watched before delving into The Mandalorian Season 3 to avoid confusion) was anything but friendly.
The Armorer doesn’t think there’s any way for Din to have redemption because there’s nothing left of Mandalore, so her words must feel like torture to Din.
The beauty of this dynamic is that The Armorer is so set in her ways, while you have someone like Din who’s a different kind of Mandalorian.
He’s made mistakes, but he’s devoted to the cause that he’s willing to put himself in danger to feel like a Mandalorian again.
I hope that this mission doesn’t consume him to the point that he starts making grave mistakes that could come back to haunt everyone.
Not helping matters is that people are goading him into doing things because he doesn’t like hearing people tell him he can’t do something.
That shone through the premiere, mainly when he was told that the IG-11 was not salvageable. He doesn’t take no for an answer; maybe that’s that tenacity was instilled into him after being turned into a Mandalorian.
The bigger question is what happens to Din if he finds what he wants. Where will his story go next?
Perhaps he won’t find closure this season. I mean, there’s so much set-up throughout the season premiere that I’m sure there will be plenty of hurdles before he gets close to finishing his mission.
Then again, maybe the show will become more focused on Grogu after leaving his Jedi training behind. There’s a lot to mine from the plots on this show.
Wherever Din goes, he seems to scoop up enemies like they’re going out of fashion.
The meeting with Bo-Katan was chilling because it was evident she was in a much different place than when we last met her on The Mandalorian Season 2.
Din: I’m here to join you.
Bo-Katan: There’s nothing left to join.
Din: What are your plans to retake Mandalore?
Bo-Katan: When I returned without the darksaber my forces melted away.
Din: Where is the stolen fleet?
Bo Katan: Making their way through the galaxy as mercenaries. Do you still have the saber?
Din: I do.
Bo Katan: Then you lead them. Wave that thing around, they’ll do whatever you say.
She’s lost everything, and she no longer seems driven by her determination to get the Darksaber. At the end of the premiere, she could have tussled with Din to get the weapon from him.
But she didn’t flinch when he confirmed he had it with him because she felt defeated.
It’s hard to tell whether she’s playing another angle and will follow Din into the unknown when he least expects it.
Having the Darksaber is the way to rule Mandalore, so it was certainly a change of pace for her to allow Din to leave the castle without trying to get her hands on it.
Is it possible that Bo-Katan feels like she’d be better ambushing Din?
It’s hard to tell, but she didn’t look happy about how things transpired in her super cool castle.
Din was surprised about how calm she was about the weapon because it comes with great power and responsibility, and their last meeting was anything but friendly.
I also can’t shake whether Din thought there would be a fight in the castle that day over the Darksaber.
There are many unanswered questions, but hopefully, Bo-Katan will be a more permanent figure on The Mandalorian Season 3 to give us some answers.
Din’s journey to Nevarro was exciting because we got some updates on the likes of Cara Dune (Remember, Gina Carano was fired) and Moff Gideon.
It’s hard to imagine Cara returning to the series, even with a recast. So, being recruited by special forces after bringing in Moff Gideon was an easy way to explain her departure.
The Moff Gideon of it all is far from over. That storyline didn’t reach much of a conclusion on The Mandalorian Season 2, so I fully expect Giancarlo Esposito to be back on-screen before long and getting under Din’s skin.
The pirates leading Din into a trap was hardly a surprise.
They wanted to cause problems in Nevarro, and it’s hard not to think about the broader plan here.
Din has a knack for gaining enemies everywhere he goes, which will probably continue throughout the series.
The season premiere successfully set up the plots to drive the season ahead.
What did you think of the updates on Moff Gideon and Cara Dune?
What’s your take on Bo-Katan’s lack of care for the Darksaber?
Hit the comments.
New episodes of The Mandalorian stream every Wednesday on Disney+.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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