073: Rabbit Recap: The Mandalorian Season Three

Welcome back to my review and recap of The Mandalorian! If you missed the previous posts in this series, you can find them here:

Grogu is getting his armor. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

I included the Book of Boba Fett because it contains around an episode and a half of content directly relating to the Mandalorian and impacts this season critically. More on that later.

As always, I will not be breaking down the season episode by episode, but rather talking about the plot in a general sense, how the characters develop, and key developments from this season. Spoilers follow, so use care if you have not seen the season yet. (Although I did give you plenty of time!)

There’s some really cool shots this season. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Background

The Mandalorian Season Three aired in 2023 on Disney+. The series takes place roughly five years after Return of the Jedi and shares continuity with the Star Wars franchise as a whole. This season also ties in elements from the movies and the animated series Clone Wars, Rebels, and the Bad Batch.

Showing Grogu the ropes. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Glossary

In this section I will talk about new terms and concepts, and not reiterate those mentioned in the previous posts.

Apostate: This is an actual term referring to one who’s given up their religion. In the context of the show, it refers to Din Djarin, because he removed his helmet in front of others (including millions of Disney+ viewers). His particular sect of Mandalorians believe they must keep their faces covered at all times.

Purrgil: These are large and dangerous whales that live in space. They have the odd ability to jump to hyperspace like starships. They’re shown briefly in Chapter 17 as the duo flies through hyperspace but are not explained or named in this show. They were shown in the series Rebels and Ahsoka where they play important roles.

Separatist: If you’ve skipped the Prequel Trilogy and Clone Wars, you may be a bit confused when we meet a Separatist. The Separatists were the group of terrorists that opposed the Republic and eventually became the Empire we all know.

Mind Flayer: This was a creature called a Mairan that appeared in Rogue One and a couple of the Doctor Aphra comics. It has the ability to probe people’s minds and drive them mad and was used mainly for torture and interrogation. It has been mentioned in Mandalorian before, by Cara Dune. The device used this season appears to work similarly and could be powered by the same creature, but is called the Six-O-Two Mitigator.

Shadow Council: This is pretty much the government of the Imperial Remnants. Following the Battle of Endor and the demise of Emperor Palpatine, high-ranking Imperial officers formed this council to lead the Empire back to glory. This group is the reason for the Battle of Jakku and eventually becomes the First Order.

Praetrorian Guards: These are successors to the Imperial Royal Guards and serve as bodyguards to the Shadow Council. Elite versions of these are seen guarding Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy. They’re named after the Roman bodyguards, although in the timeline of Star Wars, they wouldn’t have existed yet. (Remember Star Wars is far far away from us and long long ago.)

I love the armor designs in this show. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Returning Characters

The Mandalorian is the main character. His real name is Din Djarin, but most refer to him as The Mandalorian or Mando. He follows a strict Mandalorian code, refusing to remove his helmet in front of others. At this point in the series, he has removed his helmet three times, twice by necessity for survival and once to say goodbye to Grogu. Although he is a Bounty Hunter, he’s not necessarily as ruthless and cold as those we’ve seen in other Star Wars media. He considers himself the adoptive father or caretaker of Grogu.

Grogu is a toddler of Yoda’s species that Mando rescued in the first season. He is a very powerful Force wielder, but is still learning how to control his power. He has found a father figure in Djarin and has been learning the ways of the Mandalorian from him. He has begun showing great empathy towards other creatures, especially Droids and his friends. This shows that he’s growing up as in previous seasons he was much more immature and self-centered.

Greef is great. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Greef Karga was the former head of the Bounty Hunter Guild on Planet Nevarro and now serves as High Magistrate. He’s built the backwater village up into a bustling port city.

IG-11 (IG-12) is an assassin droid that was first hired to kill Grogu but then was reprogrammed to act as nursemaid and bodyguard. It saved Djarin’s life in Season One before being destroyed. Through the events of this season, it is rebuilt. When used as an exoskeleton for Grogu, it is referred to as IG-12.

Peli only got one scene this season. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Peli Motto is a sassy mechanic who lives in Mos Eisley on Tatooine. She is very fond of Grogu and droids. Although she comes across as sarcastic and deceitful, she’s proven to be a trusted friend and ally.

R5-D4 was an unexpected addition to the cast. This is an old astromech droid that was almost purchased by Luke Skywalker before it malfunctioned. As with many droids in Star Wars, R5 has a distinct personality although it only speaks in binary. R5 appears to have a sense of duty, but is cowardly and very into self-preservation.

Bo-Katan Kryze is the heir of Mandalore, and the younger sister of Satine Kryze, the Duchess of Mandalore, who we met in the Clone Wars. Her biggest goal in life was to liberate Mandalore from the Empire, although she faced setbacks in that.

Moff Gideon is the leader of the one of the remnants of the mostly disbanded Galactic Empire. After a pitched battle against Din Djarin, he was taken into custody by the New Republic who intended to make him face trial for his crimes.

Doctor Pershing was the scientist reporting to Gideon and conducting tests on Grogu’s blood. He is an expert in cloning and a big believer in the benefits of science to humanity. He never really believed in the Empire, just in whoever could let him explore cloning technology.

The Armoror is the leader of the Children of the Watch, the sect of Mandalorians that Din Djarin was once a part of. Along with the other Children, she has taken refuge on one of the moons of Mandalore.

Paz Vizsla is a member of the Children of the Watch. He has a slightly antagonistic relationship with Din Djarin. In the Book of Boba Fett we learned that he is an ancestor of Tarre Vizsla, the creator of the Darksaber.

He looks really out of place. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Carson Teva is a returning character from the New Republic. Last time I included him as a minor character, but this time he gets a promotion. He is an overworked captain in the New Republic Rangers. Although concerned about the rumors of Imperial activity in the Outer Rim, he struggles to do anything about it within the bureaucracy of the growing galactic government.

Coruscant seems like a fun place. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

New Characters

Elia Kane: A former communications officer who worked with Moff Gideon before his arrest. Currently working as a spy in the New Republic Rehabilitation program, she befriended Dr. Pershing and betrayed him.

Minor Characters

Minor characters in this season include Axe Woves and Koska Reeves, the two Mandalorian warriors who worked with Bo-Katan as members of the Nite Owls. Gorian Shard: This is a mossy space pirate and that’s about all there is to him. Brendol Hux: This is a good one setting up the sequel trilogy and the First Order. Hux is the father of General Armitage Hux from the sequel trilogy. (I knew Brendol from the excellent Phasma novel.) Ragnar Vizsla is the son (possibly a Foundling?) of Paz Vizsla.

Din’s new ship. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Plot Summary

Before we get started, As I mentioned in my Rabbit Recap for the Book of Boba Fett, they made the inexplicable choice of putting an episode and a half of Mandalorian content smack in the middle of Fett’s show. They could have released a special, or extended this season by two episodes, but instead they sacrificed the pacing and stability of Fett’s show to include crucial plot points that should have been included in Season Three. It was an odd choice and complaining about it won’t change anything. (And besides, I complained enough in that post.)

So in case you skipped The Book of Boba Fett or didn’t read my recap of it, here are the important plot points that impact this season to bring you up to speed. If you recall Season Two ended with Grogu going off with Luke Skywalker himself to train in the ways of the Jedi. This, obviously, didn’t last long. While he did learn a lot with Luke, he was clearly still attached to the Mandalorian and missed him.

Din sought out the Armorer and Paz Vizsla, both of whom shunned him for having removed his helmet in the presence of others. The Armorer melted down his Beskar spear to create a chainmail shirt for Grogu. (Beskar is not meant to be used in weapons.) We get some important plot points to be carried into Season Three such as this fringe sect of the Mandalorian survivors believe it’s Bo-Katan’s fault that Mandalore fell since she didn’t properly win the Darksaber. It became cursed and the curse transferred to Mandalore itself. The only way for Din to redeem himself and regain his status as a Mandalorian is to bathe in the Living Waters beneath Mandalore.

Din gets a fancy new ship from Peli Motto, his old one having been destroyed in Season Two. The new ship is a Naboo N-1 Starfighter from the Galactic Republic era modified to be super fast and more maneuverable. This done, Din drops off the gift for Grogu without being allowed to visit him. Luke gives his young student a choice: a light saber of his own that once belonged to Yoda, or Mando’s gift. The choice between becoming a Jedi Padawan or being a Mandalorian foundling.

Long story short, Grogu chooses the armor, reunites with Din Djarin, and saves his life in the final battle on Tatooine. He has much more control over his Force powers now and much improved jumping skills.

So there you have it. Anyone who missed this miniseries would have been utterly confused going straight from Season Two to Season Three. There wasn’t even a recap at the beginning of the episode or any reference aside from a question about what Grogu was doing with him. Mando’s response was “I left him with his people and he found his way back to me.“ It’s like they went out of their way to avoid explaining what happened.

Aww a kid-sized helmet! (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

With the setup out of the way, the season proper begins with a cool sequence of the Armorer crafting a Mandalorian helmet. It’s small, clearly for a child. There follows a ceremony where an adolescent boy receives the helmet, takes the creed, and prepares to bathe in the waters outside the cave. At first I was certain we were seeing a flashback to Din Djarin as a boy, but when we see Paz Vizsla’s distinctive armor, we realize this is where the tribe went to hide out, on a desolate moon of Mandalore where they live in caves.

Uh oh, monster! (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

A big-ass reptilian monster attacks, nearly eating several Mandalorians. The adults fight it off and the boy is narrowly rescued by Paz. The Mandalorian speeds in with his new ship in the nick of time, blasting the monster away. Although he saved all their asses, the Armorer is still cold towards him since he’s been shunned. He’s now an Apostate. He insists he can still redeem himself and produces a green crystal he got from the Jawas. They got it from a traveler who found it on the surface of Mandalore. This proves the planet may not be poisonous, although it’s been crystallized by the Separatist bombs. She relents, agreeing that if he somehow can prove he bathed in the Living Waters of Mandalore he can be redeemed.

The new ship has its Droid port removed and replaced with a bubble dome that Grogu can sit in and stare out at space as they fly. They’re in hyperspace and he sees Purrgil flying there. He climbs into the sleeping Mando’s lap and dozes himself. It’s adorable.

Hug your mechanic. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The pair make a pit stop back on Navarro, which is now a bustling port city filled with a variety of alien life. They come across the remains of IG-11 which is now a statue. Karga is now calling himself High Magistrate and offers Mando some farming land and a job as marshal. “What about Cara Dune?” Din asks. This is where we get Dune casually written off of the show. Karga mentions she was recruited by the special forces of the New Republic. We also learn Moff Gideon is imprisoned after the events of last season, facing a New Republic war tribunal.

Cara Dune’s absence means Navarro really needs a marshal. This is instantly proven by the appearance of rowdy space pirate aliens who want to get drunk in the school. (It used to be a bar.) There’s an old west-style shootout in the street as Karga and Mando chase off the pirates. That certainly won’t come back anytime soon!

Anyway, Mando turns down the offers of farm land and a job because he is actually here to revive IG-11. He wants a droid he trusts to help on the mission to Mandalore. Karga doubts he can be rebuilt, but allows his statue to be disassembled. Mando revives the droid, but it instantly tries to kill Grogu, since it’s reverted to its previous programming. (Before Kuiil the Ugnaught reprogrammed him into a nursemaid in Season One.) They take him to Anzellan droidsmiths who determine that his memory circuit is shot. (In their manner of speaking: “Is broken.”) The Anzellans are the gruff little critters introduced in Rise of Skywalker. Grogu thinks they’re pets and hugs one, which annoys the little mechanic. They say the memory circuit is impossible to find, but agree if Mando can find one, they can fix IG-11.

I’m glad my boss isn’t a moss creature…or is she? (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

As they fly away, Mando teaches Grogu about space navigation and radars. The pirates from Navarro ambush them and we get a classic space dogfight. Since his new ship is faster and more navigable, Mando is able to hide in an asteroid belt and pick them off one at a time. He’s led directly to the pirate flagship. The pirate Captain is named Gorian Shard and he’s some sort of hideous moss monster. Shard orders Mando to surrender, but he just blasts off over the pirate’s ship.

She just hangs out here. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Next they visit Kalevala, another planet in the Mandalore system. Bo-Katan has set up in a castle there and just happens to be posing on her throne when they walk in. (I find it funny and unrealistic that monarchs are depicted just hanging out on their thrones all day. That would be so boring! Plus they never look comfortable. If I was a king, I’d demand a nice worn recliner.) She says he can’t join her because all her followers left when they realized she wasn’t able to get the Darksaber from Moff Gideon. She passive-aggressively tells him to lead them. Din’s tribe is part of the problem, she says, since their people are all fractured and fighting amongst themselves. He explains his quest and she calls him a fool. She says the mines aren’t magic and the planet is poisoned. She still gives him directions to the mines, though.

It wouldn’t be the Mandalorian without at least one stop on Tatooine. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Back on Tatooine (how far is Tatooine from Mandalore? He’s just wasting fuel at this point!) Mando checks with his mechanic friend Peli Motto. Grogu leaps into Peli’s arms and also tries to talk to her. She doesn’t know where Djarin can find a memory chip for his droid friend. The Jawas don’t have any. Peli does, however, have a perfectly adequate droid to sell him— R5-D4, a familiar face from the past. Peli claims the little droid fought with the Rebel Alliance. The droid just seems to want to hide.

Mandalore time. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

On the flight to Mandalore, Djarin teaches Grogu about the planet and its moons. We also see the moon of Concordia, which was an important setting in The Clone Wars series. They touch down on the planet’s surface and it’s a mess. The magnetic field is disrupted, making it impossible to use their radios.

R5 is sent out to scan the atmosphere. The droid is hesitant to do it, and Grogu seems worried about him. The droid quickly goes missing and Mando has to go look for him. Shortly after entering the mines, he’s attacked by tusked aliens wearing tattered clothes. (We later learn they’re a native race to Mandalore called Alamites.) He clumsily uses the Darksaber to defeat them, but it’s clearly too heavy and awkward for him to wield well.

Creepy cyborg. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Mando and R5 safely return to the ship and Grogu is relieved. The scans show the atmosphere is breathable, which means despite the Armorer’s belief, Mandalore is not cursed. Now with Grogu in tow, Mando returns to the mines. (R5 stays in the ship.) As they’re searching for the Living Waters, Mando is caught in a trap. The trap turns out to be a huge cyborg with what appears to be a human eye magnified by a lens. Grogu follows and tries to use the Force to save him but can’t unlock the cage. Grogu leaps clear of the cyborg’s attack and Mando tells him to go get Bo Katan. (He showed Grogu which moon she was on with his ship’s map earlier.) Grogu flees in his floating carriage, having to Force shove one of the Alamites. R5 flies him to Bo-Katan.

The mines of Mandalore. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Realizing the boy is alone, Bo-Katan rushes to Mandalore, asking Grogu to guide her through the mines. As they travel, she tells him to be brave and tells him of a time when Mandalorians and Jedi were not enemies, when they fought side by side. She defeats some Alamites, amazed that they survived the scourge of Mandalore.

The Darksaber is cool. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

When they reach Mando, they find the cyborg draining him of his blood. She picks up the Darksaber and seemingly defeats it, but it detaches its head and climbs into a bigger exoskeleton. She dispatches that one easily too, clearly much better at wielding the weapon.

After resting briefly, he continues to look for the Living Waters and Bo-Katan grudgingly agrees to accompany him to keep him safe. They reach their goal without more trouble. She explains the mines were the lair of the Mythosaur, which the first Mandalorian defeated. She treats this story as legend. Mando bathes in the Living Waters and says his creed, but then falls underwater. Bo-Katan dives in after him and as she saves him she sees what can only be the Mythosaur swimming there.

Time to find a new castle. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

With Din’s epic quest wrapped up neatly in two episodes, the group heads back. Bo-Katan asks if Mando saw anything but doesn’t mention her own sighting. The main thing worth mentioning here is that Grogu tries to say “This is the way” when the others say it to each other.

They’re attacked by TIE fighters, which the two of them fight off. Meanwhile Bo-Katan’s castle is destroyed by TIE bombers. As they fly off to evade the reinforcements that have arrived, we scene jump to visit our old friend Doctor Pershing.

Workin’ in a cubicle. But in space. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

He’s now at the New Republic headquarters on Coruscant in the Amnesty Program, where former Imperials are rehabilitated and put to work on non-evil bureaucracy work. (An oxymoron, I know.) He has trouble fitting in and misses his cloning work. He meets another member of the program, Elia Kane, who we saw as a background character in Season Two working for Moff Gideon.

They’re just gonna wipe his mind a little. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Through Kane’s manipulations, Pershing breaks the rules and steals equipment to set up a mobile lab. He wants to continue his cloning work for the betterment of mankind and thinks if he can prove it’s feasible, the New Republic will let him continue. Unfortunately, they’re caught and Kane betrays him. He’s hooked up to a Mind Flayer, which we saw before on Rogue One but was also featured in a few of the Doctor Aphra comics. It’s meant to be used as a form of therapy, but when no one is looking, Kane turns it up to the highest setting, seemingly to fry his brain.

A quick little side note here: so far we don’t know exactly why she did this, but we later find out she’s still in communication with Moff Gideon. My theory is that she was trying to erase the knowledge of Pershing’s work so no one knew what Gideon had been up to. Pershing may not be useful anymore and so was a loose end that needed cut. They were likely worried that he would flip and inform on Gideon, letting the New Republic know what he worked on for them. This would explain much of her behavior in the episode, as she could have been feeling him out, gauging his loyalty. And when she learned that he wasn’t totally into the Empire, she set him up for the big mind fry.

Paz is badass. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

After this all happens, our three main characters arrive at the Mandalorian Covert to hide out from the Imperials and report the results of their quest. They face push-back from Paz Vizsla, but the Armorer believes their story. (Din brought a sample of the Living Waters which reacted to her forge for reasons that were not explained.) Bo-Katan, who jumped in after him, has also been redeemed since she hasn’t removed her helmet since and is now considered part of the Covert.

Grogu plays with crabs. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

As they settle into life in the Covert, we see the Mandalorians training. Even Grogu gets to practice combat against the young Foundling we see in the season premiere. Shortly after this, the Foundling, who we later learn is named Ragnar Vizsla (Paz’s son) is taken by a pterodactyl-looking monster whose species is not named. Some adults try to chase it, but run out of fuel. Bo-Katan tracks it for them and puts together a hunting party to storm its nest.

Jedi Knight Jar Jar. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Grogu is left behind with the Armorer, who shows him how Beskar is refined and shaped and how it serves as a metaphor for the challenges and trials of the Mandalorians. The pounding of her hammer triggers a flashback to when Grogu was rescued from Order 66. One of the Jedi was Master Kelleran Beq, who fought off Clone Troopers and flew him to some Naboo pilots who were attempting to smuggle Jedi out of Coruscant. Back in the present, the Armorer presents Grogu with the next piece of his armor, a rondel that fits over his chest. (This implies that he will eventually have a full suit of armor!) The rondel has the symbol of the Mudhorn on it, which has become Din’s emblem.

Birdy things. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The hunting party travels across the land and climbs the steep mountain to the monster’s nest. In the nest are three baby monsters and the momma attacks. After a jetpack chase and midair battle they manage to save both Ragnar and Paz, who had crashed right into the momma bird’s mouth. The bird-creature ends up being eaten by one of the huge aquatic creatures from the premiere. Din directly saved Ragnar, which finally earns him Paz’s gratitude and respect.

The hunting party returns triumphant, bringing along the babies, who are now technically Foundlings too. As a result of this successful rescue, Bo-Katan has earned the Armorer’s respect. She replaces Bo-Katan’s missing signet for her. She decides instead of the Nite Owl emblem to get the Mythosaur. During this she reveals that she saw a real Mythosaur in the Living Waters. The Armorer states that she’s very lucky and treats it as a vision, not seeming to believe her.

The revenge of Moss Creature. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Next episode it’s back to Nevarro to deal with those pesky pirates from the season premiere. Gorian Shard wants revenge for his dead pirates and Greef Karga refuses to pay him off. As they bomb the city, Karga sends out a message to Carson Teva, the New Republic captain we saw in previous seasons. When he gets the message we also see Zeb, one of the main characters of Rebels, seen in live action (well, CGI) for the first time.

Teva heads to the New Republic headquarters on Coruscant to request aid on behalf of Nevarro. The important parts of this scene are that his request is shot down due to Nevarro being an independent world and the New Republic being short-handed. (We get the clear sense that they’re overreaching and unprepared for their role of unifying the systems.) Also Elias Kane is there and learns what’s going on. She actually works against Teva by interjecting her opinion. Teva is worried that the Imperial Remnants are working in the Outer Rim but his superior scoffs at that. We also learn that Moff Gideon never made it to trial. (Uh oh.)

Bo-Katan gets a plan together. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Teva finds his way to the Mandalorian Covert where he’s given a very cold welcome. He found them by tracking R5, who he says he used to work with. (The little droid wasn’t lying!) I’m not entirely sure how he knew R5 was with Mando, but whatever. They needed a quick way for him to find them and didn’t care about plot holes. (I read a lot of comic books. I’ve learned to jump over plot holes.) Although he’s nearly shot, he passes on Karga’s message and leaves, promising not to tell anyone where the Mandalorians are hiding.

After he leaves, Din asks for help from the Covert, suggesting that they can all settle on Nevarro, making use of the land Karga offered. Paz lends his support, showing that he now trusts Din. They get a whole squad together and fly off, Bo-Katan forming the plan.

Retaking Nevarro. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

While Din and Bo-Katan distract the pirate ships, the others form a ground team and retake the city. The Armorer even gets into the fight, taking out a group of pirate snipers in Karga’s office. At the end, Nevarro is retaken, the flagship crashes, killing Gorian Shand, and the pirate that Karga let live earlier in the season bails on everyone. (I’m sure we’ll never see him again, certainly not as the leader of a new band of pirates ha ha.) Also of note, the flagship appears to have landed on the abandoned Imperial base from Season Two.

With his city safe, Karga proclaims the Mandalorians heroes and friends of Nevarro. He gives them enough land to support their tribe. Bo-Katan is summoned by the Armorer, who’s at the old forge in the sewers that she used to use. She asks Bo-Katan to remove her helmet. She says that the Mandalorians need to stop being fragmented and at odds with each other, as it’s made them weak. In order to survive, they must be united, regardless of belief. She also reveals that she believes Bo-Katan saw the Mythosaur and she thinks Kryze is the one who can unite them all and usher in a new age.

She walks among the others with her helmet off, shocking the Children of the Watch. The Armorer explains to them all that Bo-Katan can walk both paths and will go off to find more Mandalorians in exile so they can all finally retake their planet.

In a short epilogue to the episode, Carson Teva is patrolling in space and finds a blasted and abandoned Imperial shuttle. He calls it in and find out it’s one of the New Republic’s, and it’s been classified. A probe shows that it’s been repurposed as a prison transport and was being used to take Moff Gideon to trial. He’s been liberated and Beskar is found on the scene.

Um, space brunch? (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

I’m going to mostly skip Episode 6 in here. This is the one I refer to as the Planet of the Celebrity Guest Stars and it’s almost entirely filler. The brief rundown is that Bo-Katan’s old crew are guns for hire on the independent planet Plazir-15. The pair end up working for Captain Bombardier and the Duchess who want their help stopping old Separatist droids. They do some good ol’ fashioned police work (taking turns swapping roles of good cop and bad cop) and find the culprit is Commissioner Helgait (Christopher Lloyd) who got the droids drunk on nanodroids so they’d go crazy. (No, seriously. There’s a droid bar and everything.) The whole episode felt like a way to fill some runtime and put three guest stars into the Star Wars mythos for no real reason.

Here’s the important bits that happen: Bo-Katan challenges Axe Woves and gets her crew back. Din admits that he was defeated by the cyborg that took the Darksaber. Since Bo-Katan defeated him, she technically won it back. (Which is something I’d been complaining about since the second episode and thought was going to be an unresolved plot hole.) The Nite Owls are still using the captured Imperial Star Destroyer they liberated last season.

And to be fair the episode wasn’t all that bad. Some good points: I liked the points the droids made about how they run society and are considered disposable even though they’re sentient. (In the comics, the crossover Dark Droids explored this quite a bit too.) I think it’s cool that a Separatist was still alive and believed in the cause all these decades later, even though the cause was actually a smokescreen for the Empire. Christopher Lloyd is always great. Oh, and Lizzo didn’t sing. (Jack Black didn’t either.) It was cool to see classic Clone War-era battle droids. My favorite part was that Din used what he’d learned from his departed friend Kuiil to communicate with the Ugnaughts.

A Zoom call in a galaxy far far away. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The next episode opens in the underworld of Coruscant and Elias Kane is contacting Moff Gideon, proving she’s still working with him and is a spy in the headquarters of the New Republic. (We saw the underworld a lot in the Clone Wars and the comics. Also in Attack of the Clones, which I feel was an underrated movie.) Moff Gideon is not happy to learn that the Mandalorians stopped the pirates. Turns out he hired them. He’s worried that the Mandalorians are pooling their resources and becoming a real threat. He walks past mysterious tanks and meets with the holographic representatives of the Shadow Council, a group of Imperial Remnant officers scheming to bring the Empire back to power.

Here we get some serious foreshadowing. For one thing, they’re awaiting the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn. For those who don’t know, Thrawn is a brilliant tactician who starred in his own novels and comics and served as the primary antagonist of the series Rebels. He’s been missing for some time, and the Shadow Council are waiting for his return to begin their real plans. (If you recall, in Season Two Ahsoka was also searching for him.) They also mention Project Necromancer, which apparently was first mentioned in the Bad Batch. (I really need to watch that!) The goal of this project is to infuse clone bodies with midochlorians, giving them Force powers. It’s also probably setting up the weird, abrupt plot twist in Rise of Skywalker. You know the one.

Gideon pretends not to be interested in cloning even though he had his own pet cloner. Brendol Hux has been stockpiling resources with them and agrees to send TIE fighters and some Praetrorian Guards to help Gideon take out the Mandalorians.

The Nite Owl Mandalorians arrive on Nevarro and meet up with the Children of the Watch. Things are tense, as these factions have always been ideologically opposed. Greef Karga reveals that IG-11 has been rebuilt into a ridable mecha by the Anzellan mechanics. It’s called IG-12 now and has just enough space for Grogu to ride in. It also has buttons for Grogu to “say” yes or no. Din is worried that Grogu is too young to operate heavy machinery but Grogu disagrees. Repeatedly. Grogu shows his age here, constantly hitting the “yes” button, stealing food, and generally being a bit of a pest.

At the welcome feast Bo-Katan gives a speech about moving the fleet into orbit and scouting Mandalore so they can attempt to retake it. She asks for volunteers from both tribes. Of course Din and Grogu are the first to volunteer, followed by Bo-Katan’s people. Not surprisingly, Paz Vizsla volunteers, followed by several others, including the Armorer. They quickly set off and the scouting party lands. (We’re reminded of the magnetic interference that will prevent them from calling for backup.)

As they’re scouting, they run into a land-ship piloted by Mandalorian survivors. (Of which they didn’t think there were any.) We later learned that they survived the siege by moving underground and managed to plant crops underground, proving that the planet can still support life. They pledge their support to Bo-Katan and agree to show them to the Great Forge. When they state that they never surrendered, Bo-Katan reveals that she actually did, after the bombing. She met with Moff Gideon and agreed to disarm if he spared her people. He took the Darksaber and betrayed her, continuing the purge of Mandalore. (I believe this is all shown in the final season of the Clone Wars, but I’m not that far along yet.)

After this there’s a touching scene where Bo-Katan worries that she won’t be enough to keep them all together and all she has going for her is the Darksaber. Din says that that doesn’t matter to him or his people. Honor, loyalty, and character are why he serves her. And he will until she fulfills her destiny. He basically promises to be her knight and this seems to mean a lot to her.

The Armorer leaves with the survivors who are too weak to fight, leaving their captain behind to guide them. As they sail their sand-boat, Paz and Axe get into a fight over Space Chess. (Everyone had to know it would be these two who would scrap first.) As a point of honor, no one’s supposed to interfere, but Grogu (riding IG-12) gets in between them, holding them apart and saying “no” over and over. Din says he didn’t learn that from him. (Jedi are peacekeepers, so it makes sense.) I think Paz would’ve won, no question.

The ship is destroyed by a giant creature and they escape, entering the remains of the Capital, where the Great Forge is. Almost instantly they’re attacked by Troopers in awesome white armor.

They do well fighting them off at first. Paz covers Axe so he can run off to get reinforcements. Further in they find a hanger full of TIE fighters. Din is trapped inside and Moff Gideon walks up in sleek black armor. He gives a villain monologue that they’ve created the next generation of Dark Troopers with Beskar Armor being worn by his clones. (Yep, we finally know what he’s been up to these three seasons and what those green tanks were all about.) He sends out the TIE fighters to kill the fleet. Din is captured. Paz Vizsla sacrifices himself to save the others and he goes down fighting, a real hero’s death. His minigun overheats but he manages to defeat all the troopers and fights the Praetorian Guards for awhile before they overwhelm him.

One quick side note, this episode was called “The Spies” and I think that was the crew messing with viewers. The only spy shown was Elias Kane. As I first watched this I expected the Mandalorian survivors to be Imperial spies, leading them into a trap, but this doesn’t appear to be the case. Some viewers thought the Armorer was the spy, and that’s why she flew off before they got to the forge, but she really was just helping the wounded. Strange choice for a title, but whatever. A better choice would have been “The Scouts” as the episode involved a scouting party.

Space battle. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

And here we are at the season finale. Din escapes capture with the help of Grogu in IG-12. In a cute moment, the kid sprays Bacta spray on Din’s armor like it would help him to recover. This is a pretty cool episode and a lot happens, jumping back and forth, but here’s the brief summary. Din contacts R5 to hack into the base to guide them to the Command Center where Gideon would be waiting. He also helps them manipulate the energy shields so that Din can defeat waves of Troopers. This part is like a video game, with him gathering weapons as he goes to move further in. Din finds the tanks with the Moff Gideon clones and blows the tanks, killing them before they activate. (Although one does open his eyes.)

Meanwhile the stolen Imperial Star Destroyer provides cover for the dropships as they bring reinforcements to the planet. Bo-Katan leads them all into an epic fight against the Imperials. (Really cool to see her wielding the Darksaber and flying on her jetpack chopping down the Troopers.)

The armor designs are seriously so cool. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Back in the Command Center, Din and Grogu are confronted with a furious Moff Gideon. He’s pissed about his clones being killed and reveals they were identical to him except they could use the Force. (Due to Project Necromancer and Grogu’s blood, which he got in Season Two.) The Praetorian Guards almost kill Din, but Grogu distracts them. Gideon stops Din from rushing off to the rescue. The Guards chop up IG-12 and Grogu evades them with his sweet jumping abilities.

Bo-Katan interrupts the duel and gives Din the chance to go save Grogu. Grogu helps him fight the Guards by Force pushing them and freezing their weapons. Together they take out the guards. Gideon fights with Bo-Katan and crushes the Darksaber, destroying it. Before he can kill Bo-Katan, Din arrives and they battle him together, reinforcing this season’s message that Mandalorians are stronger together.

The flagship crashes into the base, causing explosions. Grogu disarms Gideon and they push him back to the edge. He’s enveloped by the flames of the exploding base, presumably dying. Grogu forms a huge Force bubble, protecting himself, Din, and Bo-Katan from the flames. (He’s weakened by this, but stays conscious, showing how far he’s come in using his powers.)

We cut to a couple of epilogues. In the first one, Ragnar Vizsla gets the chance to finish his creed (which was interrupted in the premiere) at the Living Waters of Mandalore. Grogu can’t talk, so the Armorer says he can’t take the creed. Din points out that his parents can give permission and since no one knows where (or even if) they are, he officially adopts Grogu in the eyes of his people. This makes him Din Grogu, Mandalorian Apprentice. They have to leave Mandalore to take their journey and give the new apprentice life experience. Deep under them, the Mythosaur opens its eyes, as though sensing its people have returned.

The Din family stops off to see Carson Teva, who’s thrilled Gideon is dead. Grogu points out an IG-series head on the trophy shelf. Din says that now that he has an apprentice to teach, he has to be more selective in the Bounty Hunter assignments he takes. He proposes becoming an off-the-books contractor for the New Republic, doing things the new government wouldn’t be able to handle. He asks for the head as an advance.

On Nevarro, Karga gives Din the deed to his land so they have a place to stay between adventures. IG-11 has been rebuilt and becomes the new marshal of Nevarro. In the final scene we see that Din has built a little house for them on the land. Complete with a frog pond for Grogu to keep his snacks in!

And that was Season Three of the Mandalorian! No end credit scene this time, but it’s clear the pieces are being moved around for something big. I loved the season finale especially. Lots of action and resolution for ongoing plot points. It almost felt like a series finale, but it’s just an act break.

Hey, I know this guy. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Continuity

As with previous seasons, this series follows its own continuity closely and fits neatly into the expansive space between the Original Trilogy and the Sequel Trilogy. It incorporates elements from Rebels, the Bad Batch, Ahsoka, and the Clone Wars. It also heavily foreshadows the rise of the First Order in the later movies.

I love that every season we see Nevarro more built up and prosperous under the continually self-promoting Greef Karga. (He is now High Magistrate, a title he gave to himself that is uncontested.) I’m certain that if Carl Weathers was still with us, we would have President Karga next season. (More on that later.)

Cara Dune’s brusque write-off was amusing to me, although it was awkwardly done. I expected them to kill her off, but nah… they just off-handedly said she took another job. (It reminded me of Poochie on the Simpsons. “I must go. My home planet needs me.“) If you recall, her actress, Gina Carano, mouthed off on social media with some tone-deaf shit and was fired. As a fan of the show, it’s frustrating to me for a character to be written off so clumsily, but I do agree she had to go. It’s a shame, but she caused it. (Why can’t people stop wrecking their careers with stupid shit? Ugh.) Anyway, I feel like Carson Teva’s role would have been taken up by her character if she hadn’t made an ass of herself and gotten canned.

We got to see some of the post-Empire Coruscant and got to find out what happened to some of those former Imperials. It makes sense that most of them would just follow the old “we were just following orders” excuse and adapt to the new status quo. It also makes sense that many wouldn’t be able to and would try to get their old lives back. Maybe I’m being jaded, but I have to wonder how many of these “rehabilitated” people leave to join the First Order at the absolute first opportunity.

I dunno, I liked this. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

As always there were several ties to previous Star Wars installments. The biggest and most obvious one, of course, was the return of R5-D4, the droid who— were it not for a malfunction— may have taken R2-D2’s place on Luke’s adventure. Fun fact, in a canon anthology book called From a Certain Point of View, we learn that R2 talked R5 into sabotaging his own motivator so Luke wouldn’t buy him. Cool stuff.

An interesting choice was bringing in Jar-Jar’s actor Ahmed Best as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. This was a character considered outside of canon who hosted a web game show called Jedi Temple Challenge. And I have to say, he had some moves.

Other notable returning faces include Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios from the cartoon Rebels and Brendol Hux, who was a Republic soldier in the Clone Wars and goes on to help form the First Order. Also the Anzellan mechanics appeared. A member of this race was seen in Rise of Skywalker. (That actual character, Babu Frik, was on another planet during the events of this show.) As mentioned earlier, the Prrgil made an appearance, although their significance here is not clear. (Probably just an Easter egg for those paying attention.)

I’m going to miss the Darksaber. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Thoughts

This was my favorite season so far. This show just keeps getting better. I felt like this season stayed way more focused than previous seasons, although there was the side quest to the Planet of Celebrity Guest Stars, and the entire episode devoted to Pershing… which was necessary. I think some recap of the Book of Boba Fett would have served the viewers better— I did hear there was some confusion by casual fans who had no idea that was an essential miniseries. A lot of people skipped it, but ignore the reviews. It’s great. At least read my post!

I feel like, aside from a couple of instances, the series flowed from one episode to the next and told (mostly) one continuous story arc with everything seemingly tied up neatly at the end. Even the slow interlude with the Imperial converts on Coruscant didn’t do much to break up the momentum… it just felt like setup for the future and a short break from Din’s story.

It was nice of them to develop Dr Pershing’s character more. He’s not evil— he believes in the work he was doing and being with the Empire was just the easiest way to have access to the technology he needed. I can appreciate that they chose to devote most of an episode to his story. I feel like most shows would have cut up those scenes and sprinkled them throughout the season as a B-plot. I think this worked better. Get it out of the way and get back to the main story with those seeds planted. But yeah, they added a lot of depth to Pershing and I hope they bring him back. (If he’s not a drooling vegetable now.) I feel like his story may be over, though. We’ll see. It would be sad if his last appearance is strapped to a table, screaming.

That episode also showed a lot more of the floundering mismanagement of the New Republic. Destroying potentially useful technology, drowning under red tape, ignoring the needs of their citizens and the worlds who need their help. Turning a blind eye to possible threats due to arrogance of complacency. We get some real seeds for the sequel trilogy here, showing why the New Republic failed and how the First Order was able to rise in its midst and gain such momentum. It’s sad to see what the Rebellion became, but it makes perfect sense, story-wise.

The finale was awesome. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

I really appreciated that Bo-Katan’s role was expanded. She’s a fantastic character and the casting was spectacular. I like that they stayed relatively focused on the retaking of Mandalore and the reuniting of the splintered clans. We got an ultimate conclusion to those plot points as well as that of the Darksaber.

A great focus this season was on Grogu’s growth and Din’s role as father and teacher. He’s officially adopted him now, so there is no question about whether they will stay together or not. Grogu has matured quite a bit since the start of the series, showing that he can care about others and follow societal cues. He’s becoming a powerful Force wielder and becoming more brave and compassionate through his journeys. He is trying to talk more and Din is spending more time teaching him the skills he will need to survive in the galaxy. Although he seemed to be immature and selfish when he got IG-12, I think that was really more him being ecstatic that he was more mobile and able to communicate. When they get ready for the scouting mission, he calms right down and is all business, even trying to keep the peace between Paz and Axe. All in all, he grew up a lot this season and it was good to see.

Downsides of the season for me mainly just center on the clumsy beginning building off details from an entirely different series. I’ve complained about that enough, but I still don’t think it was a good decision and hurt the integrity of this season’s story. I also feel like the guest star episode was odd, as it took us away from the main story for too long and ultimately was unimportant. (I will say I liked it more on my second viewing, as I was able to see what they were getting at with it.)

Critics were not happy with this season, but overall I feel it was a good continuation and flowed well. A lot of it, however, did seem like setup for the future: getting the Mandalorians to their home planet, getting Moff Gideon out of New Republic custody, rebuilding IG-11, getting the Darksaber back into Bo-Katan’s hands, and getting the Dins set up for their continued adventures.

Future

Yes, a new category in this installment! Not long before I started working on this post, we got an announcement that I completely missed for some reason until I was well into the post. The series will make the jump to the big screen in a theatrical movie called The Mandalorian and Grogu. It is being done by the same crew as the series and will continue the story. We won’t get to see it for two more years, with an expected release date of 2026.

The movie changes things… no one is entirely sure if there will be a Season Four and if it will be before or after the movie. The showrunner Jon Favreau has stated that Season Four has been written for some time, so there’s content out there for it. But still, it’s up in the air right now. If the movie bombs, the series will likely be over. If it does well, the studio will more than likely want more movies. This will definitely not be the last Rabbit Recap I do… I still want to do one for Ahsoka… maybe Obi-Wan… and will do one for the movie. But we’ll see where the series goes from there.

Since Season Three ended with a clear act break, this would be the perfect time for a time jump, giving the Shadow Council the time to get their plans together, perhaps the beginnings of the First Order will emerge. I’ve been expecting a time jump for awhile now… a couple of years at least, probably requiring a slight redesign of Grogu’s puppet. No matter what happens in the movie, I suspect this is when Grogu will first talk, as he has made clear attempts to do so this season. I expect his first words will be “This is the way” and that will probably be the last line of the movie before the credits roll.

I also have a persistent image in my mind of Grogu as a teenager, wearing a modified Mandalorian helmet (with ears) duel wielding a lightsaber and blaster. I hope we see this before the series ends. Maybe as a post credit scene to set up whatever comes after the Mandalorian finally ends.

Other future possibilities: we have the Dins working as contractors for the New Republic. The Mandalorians are rebuilding their planet. And if they choose to cash in that plot point from this season, Captain Jack Black did promise that their world would petition the New Republic to recognize Mandalore as a sovereign planet.

Oooh, creepy science tanks. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Lingering Questions

This season actually serves as a pretty good act break for the series. While it’s clearly not over, I suspect we’ll see a big time jump before the next season (or the movie). So, of course, the biggest questions involve where it goes from here. Is Moff Gideon really dead? (My theory is that we didn’t actually see Moff Gideon on the season finale. I suspect it was a clone programmed with his vendetta against Din and Grogu.) If he went to all that trouble to make the clones, why would he leave them relatively unguarded in easily-exploded science tubes and not have more in storage somewhere else? What exactly was Kane up to with her manipulations of Dr. Pershing? Is he okay? Will the Mandalorians be successful in resurrecting their dead planet? What kinds of adventures will Din Djarin and Grogu have while working for the New Republic? And did the Mandalorians take the weird bird monsters with them to Mandalore? Or did they eat them in the feast?

A big, sad question I have is what will become of Nevarro in the movie or Season Four? Tragically Carl Weathers, who plays Greef Karga, passed away on February 1st of 2024. Obviously they won’t be recasting him and they’ll have to come up with some way for his character to pass on. Or they’ll leave the character alive and scrap Nevarro as a setting, just mentioning that it’s continuing to prosper under his rule. Either option is possible… Nevarro is vital to the series, and it is where the Dins have settled. But it’s a big galaxy. Who knows. Maybe they’ll just say he went off to work with Cara Dune.

Another big question I have involves the sequel trilogy. Where are the Mandalorians? Did they decide to ignore the First Order or were they conquered again? I doubt they would stay out of the conflict, so the implications here are pretty sad, especially after how hard they worked to get their planet back. I can’t imagine the small group of Mandalorians that have survived would do much against the full army of the First Order. My research did uncover a screenshot showing two Fang Fighters in the Battle of Exegol, so it appears there are at least some Mandalorians fighting back against the First Order.

And so we don’t end on a low point, one more question occurred to me as I was editing this. Grogu is getting pretty close to talking. As I mentioned above, I’m assuming they’re saving that for a significant moment in the movie. If not the final scene, then a critical moment where Din is giving up hope and to inspire him, Grogu belts out with “This is the way.” We all know Yoda had odd speech patterns where he would reverse the order of some words. We know from Tales of the Jedi that Yaddle (the only other of his species we’ve seen) spoke normal Galactic Standard. Did she speak this way naturally or did she go to Space Speech Therapy for it? Is the odd speech a cultural thing or is Yoda just weird? I guess what I’m wondering is will Grogu say “This is the way” or “The way this is”?

I think Yoda is just weird. Although I do like the idea of Space Speech Therapy. (#yaddlelives #eventhoughwetotallysawherdie)

This was a great shot. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Thank you for reading my long overdue next installment in the Rabbit Recap Star Wars series! I know it took me awhile to get this out, but it’s no big deal ultimately since the Writer’s Strike delayed everything by quite a bit. It will be at least a year before we see anything else (aside from Skeleton Crew, which probably won’t get the Rabbit Recap treatment unless I change my mind after watching it) so this recap wasn’t quite so time critical.

Still, I appreciate you all for following me along with the Mandalorian journey and hope you’ll read the next installments as we get more content. See you soon with something else! The way this is!