It’s been three years since the debut of a new bounty hunter in the galaxy far, far away that has captivated audiences around the world and helped put Disney+ on the map among other streaming platforms when it comes to original content. After making an appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, Din Djarin and Grogu make a return to The Mandalorian for its most anticipated third season. As the two have reunited with Din taking on a more fatherly role to the young Grogu, their relationship continues to grow stronger as we go deep into the new season full of adventure and discovery in the ever-expanding world of Star Wars.
After being absent from the main series, The Mandalorian returns as it picks up the pieces from where things ended with our main hero and his young companion after the events of The Book of Boba Fett. The premiere opens with a new young recruit joining the clan as The Armorer (Emily Swallow) starts the initiation before being attacked by a huge sea creature. Luckily, Djarin (Pedro Pascal) arrives just in time to save the day to save what’s left of Mandalorians. After breaking his code, Din seeks to regain entry back into his clan, only to find that the only way to redeem his transgressions is to bathe in the rivers of Mandalore, which of course has been destroyed by the Empire. However, Din believes there is still some of the clan’s homeworld out there in the galaxy, prompting our stoic hero on another grand adventure alongside his adoptive child Grogu. The father-son duo will be facing some new danger in the form of space pirates and other enemies who are out for them.
The premiere does offer some information on where things have left off since audiences last saw Djarin and Grogu. After getting permission from The Armorer to look for the holy water to purge Din into the clan again, we find our heroes reaching out to some old friends along the way. We see the return of Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), who has taken over as Magistrate of Nevarro. We also see the return of Star Wars character Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) as she contemplates bringing Mandalore back after Din gains the dark saber. We also can’t forget IG-11 (Taika Waititi), the android from the series’ first season as Din searches for answers to how he can get into the good graces of his people.
The show’s first episode does cover a lot of the groundwork of what the third season’s story will be. As the episode closes, it is clear that viewers will be learning a lot about the history of Mandalore and its people. It’ll be interesting to see what direction the show will take as it dives deep into this secluded community of warriors that have followed a certain code and way of life. So far, it seems like the show hasn’t changed much since the first season but still has a way to please Star Wars fans with its story focusing on Djarin and Grogu’s journey across the galaxy and their growing bond. This new mission may seem impossible for Djarin to accomplish, but his optimism proves that he’s ready to take on whatever danger comes to him.
It is sweet to see how much growth has been shown in the father-son bond between Djarin and Grogu. Most of the scenes between them are fun to watch, especially the funny moments that take place with Grogu. It is quite daunting to see that Djarin is willing to get back into the good graces of his people even though it appears he’s having doubts about what the clan stands for. What will be quite interesting is seeing where things stand between Djarin and Kryze as they both have different ideologies of what being a Mandalorian is. It seems like the season follows the same formula as its previous installments by being more serialized in its storytelling, but it’ll need to raise some stakes to keep the intrigue going as it has done for Andor.
The third season of The Mandalorian kicks off familiarly but is pretty straightforward when it delivers on story and action. There are some great opportunities for the show to expand beyond its similar style of storytelling from the past two seasons, but it’s still early to tell after only seeing the premiere. Based on what we’ve seen, there’s a lot of promise when it comes to what lies ahead for our Wolf and Cub duo. The new season has already set up a story that will perhaps be just as grand as its opening sequence. As the show takes it back to the beginning, it feels like The Mandalorian is showing some big changes coming even if the way it’s being shown is the same. We should expect some big things coming for Djarin and Grogu, and we are all ready to hop on the ride with them.
The Mandalorian’s third season is currently streaming on Disney+.
