The Mandalorian Season 3 Isn’t The Way

Over the past few years, Disney has been pumping out multiple Disney+ exclusive series and seasons, one of these is “The Mandalorian’s” third season, which premiered on March 1. Pedro Pascal reprises his role as Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter.

The show opens with a young Mandalorian boy speaking the creed, a process by which one becomes an official Mandalorian, when the group is attacked by a large crocodile-like creature. Din shows up to save the day, setting off what I hoped would be another stellar season. Oh boy, was I wrong.

The first half of the season is one slow slooooggg compared to the previous two seasons, which were action-packed, full of adventure, and benefited from a roller coaster pacing. In contrast, the first several episodes feel like watching a turtle move. This season also feels less about Din and Grogu, a small Yoda-like character who possesses The Force. You’d think that a show titled The Mandalorian would follow the man we have been calling the Mandalorian since 2019. Again, wrong.

In Episode 2, Din and Grogu explore Mandalore, the homeworld of the Mandalorians. However, the conflict in this episode is really boring, as Din gets captured by a mechanical spider, leaving it up to Grogu to go and get help. This episode feels like it’s slower than molasses. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either, just middle-of-the-road, which is really sad for this series.

Episode 3? Sigh. I did not enjoy this episode at all since it’s like watching the proverbial paint dry on the wall. It follows Dr. Pershing, the Imperial doctor who attempted to get Grogu’s blood in the first season, as he tries to adapt to life after the Galactic Civil War. Honestly, I nearly fell asleep during this episode.

Episode 4 wasn’t too bad. It follows a group of members of the creed as they try to rescue the foundling, Grogu, from a giant bird-like creature. This episode reveals some of the culture of the Mandalorians, but the fact that the Mandalorians mention how they have lost foundlings before made me wonder why they are still on this death trap of a planet.

Things start looking up by the 5th episode when we get to see the Mandalorian creed in action as they work to save the world of Nevarro from a pirate attack. We also get more build up from the previous episodes about Moff Gideon and if he even made it to trial at the war tribunal. If they bring back Gideon, I feel like that would be a cheap move. Gideon had a pretty satisfying defeat, as his dark troopers got defeated by Luke showing up.

Episode 6 of this season was actually not too bad either, although I wish its events had happened earlier in the season. The plot and feel reminds me of an episode of “NCIS” or a later “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” episode. It features cameos from actors Jack Black and Christopher Lloyd, as well as one by the singer Lizzo.

Episode 7 makes the mistake of bringing back Moff Gideon, to my disappointment. Really? The writers can’t think of anything new to introduce? Even though Giancarlo Esposito does a good job as Gideon, the writers really need to move on from him. You know he’s going to be defeated in some way even though all hope is lost, but at least the plot seems more thought out than the rest of the season. Turns out that even when kids play with their toys, they actually have a story toward the end.

If you make it through the first seven episodes without giving up, you’ll be rewarded by the season finale, which is easily the best episode of the season, tying up all the loose ends. The final fight between Gideon, Katan, and Djarin is really good and well-choreographed.

Despite ending on a high note, Season 3 of “The Mandalorian” is a bit of a mess. The episodes are mixed in quality, the acting is a little all over the place, and the plot takes forever to get going. By the end of the season, it felt like very little had been accomplished, so I’d give it a 5 out of 10. It’s like coming to the realization that that one friend who seemed really cool for the first few years has suddenly become a total bore.