– Spoiler Review –
It’s simultaneously been over 2 years since The Mandalorian last aired and yet only over a year since we last saw Din Djarin and Grogu, as The Mandalorian season three premiere picks up after where their story left off in their takeover of The Book of Boba Fett. “Chapter 17 – The Apostate” won’t make this clear to those who didn’t partake but, besides why Grogu isn’t with Luke Skywalker still, viewers won’t find it difficult getting into the swing of things with this exciting, fast paced premiere that charts the trajectory for the season.
As a quick refresher, after Din Djarin let Grogu go into Luke’s arms, he ends up finding what’s left of his Children of Death Watch cult to understand the Darksaber he’s acquired, only to find out he’s kicked out of the group because he’s too honest about his helmet habits. Getting a new ship from Pelli Motto, he checks in on Grogu’s training before leaving to help Boba Fett defend his new kingdom on Tatooine…only for Grogu to leave Luke to be with Din. The fact this show made a big deal out of Luke showing up and yet mentions Cara Dune’s absence but not Grogu leaving Luke, other than a quick line of how he came back to Din, is a little surprising, and hopefully most viewers aren’t too left in the dust here, finding resources online or friends or reviews like this to help fill in those blanks. Anyways, sometime between the end of TBoBF and now, not only has the cult grown considerably, even initiating a new foundling, but Mando’s found proof Mandalore isn’t as poisonous as everything likes to say it is, meaning he could potentially wash away his past transgressions (next time, lie to them, Din!), and be part of the group again by bathing in some mines under the planet’s surface.
These scenes help focus the premiere and get viewers ready for where it’s heading, though they come after what feels like an unnecessary action sequence where the only takeaway is Din’s cool. In the middle of the initiation ceremony, a giant crocodile/turtle creature attacks and makes a snack of some of the cult until Din kills it with his N-1 Starfighter. Don’t get me wrong, I found the scene fun and very Star Wars-esque, as it’s a well-shot and animated sequence, especially the moment when the camera follows a Mandalorian jetting away from an explosion rocking the creature, but I felt like this time could’ve been spent on some time filling in some blanks. In particular, I’m still not sure I understand why Din is so dead-set on rejoining the cult, despite everything he’s seen and learned since leaving them on his quest, so a moment here to explore if he’s doing so to ensure he feels worthy of holding the Darksaber to unite the Mandalorians or is just looking to lead them or something else would be appreciated to help flesh out his motivation, which would’ve felt a little more beneficial to the series.
When Grogu and Din travel between their destinations, Din’s been teaching the youngling about being a Mandalorian. Before his latest lesson while they are in hyperspace on their way to Nevarro, Grogu spots a surprising image amongst the swirling blue: Giant creatures travel alongside them, just outside the hyperspace tunnel, only their silhouettes seen. For most general viewers this might be an image with more questions than answers, but for fans of previous Star Wars shows, it’s a thrilling and exciting moment. These creatures as purrgil, a race of space whales which inspired hyperspace travel due to their ability to jump to hyperspace on their own! Their appearance here is a reference to what’s come before and what’s yet to come, as the purrgil were first featured in Star Wars Rebels, becoming instrumental in the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a name almost familiar to most fans (be it from Rebels/novels or Legends novels), but most viewers will recognize the name as the person Ahsoka Tano was looking for when she appeared in “Chapter 13 – The Jedi.” The purrgil help remove Thrawn from the picture, but the main reason Ahsoka is after him is because to gain the purrgils’ help, young Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger had to sacrifice himself as well, as Ahsoka originally sets off with their mutual friend, and Mandalorian, Sabine Wren to look for Ezra. The upcoming Ahsoka show will dive into this more, as Sabine and Ezra have both been castfor it (who plays Thrawn isn’t officially confirmed anywhere yet), so for now the purrgil feel like a tease of the larger Mando-verse story, though it could come into play later this season as well…we’ll just have to wait and see. Either way, this Rebels fan was shouting at the TV when the silhouettes appeared, so I’m happy no matter what (even if I still wish animation got to tell the sequel to the show).
On Nevarro, they find the already thriving community in season two almost idyllic now, to the point the now High Magistrate Greef Karga has droids both to litter the streets and share the wonders of their slice of the planet, but also ones which carry his excessively large King-like cape. I love the visual because, beyond his impressive clothes, it speaks to the level of wealth and comfort he can offer to all those who visit, including Din. He extends a stay to Mando and Grogu when the pair first arrive, but they are interrupted by reports of pirates on the streets. The confrontation with the pirates is a reminder of how far Nevarro has come, pirates once a necessary line of business to protect the place, but also how they both aren’t necessary and tarnish the image Karga’s painting for the galaxy. Vane and his group don’t listen to Karga’s request to leave, feeling they are still owed, leading to a stand off where Karga disarms Vane, though it all quickly dissolves into a shootout with the others. Karga lets Vane go to tell his Captain, Gorian Shard, pirates aren’t welcomed anymore, and while this all might seem random at first, their return later in the episode signals a potential for them to be a thorn in Karga and Din’s sides the rest of the season. I really loved the look of Shard, who reminded me of Davey Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and he has a great actor performing him in Nonso Anozie, while he and his pirates seem like a good escalation of a threat for Din and Grogu to deal with this season, a fun, persistent villain that could show up to mess up their day at any moment. The resulting dogfight in an asteroid field shows off the N-1’s capabilities and Din’s impressive flying (and Grogu wearing Din’s bandolier as a seat belt, I love it), while the animation reminds me of Obi-Wan and Jango Fett’s fight in Attack of the Clones, if not almost more impressive visually.
Before the fight, we learn Din’s purpose in visiting Nevarro, as he wants to take rebuild and take IG-11 with him to explore Mandalore, which Karga is initially reluctant to provide, as he’s hoping instead for Mando to be the Marshal so they aren’t beholden to the New Republic. Din declines, his mission too important to plant roots at the moment, so Karga acquiesces. Din’s first attempt to revive IG-11 seems to go well, until his programming goes haywire and he tries to kill Grogu, its undeterred commitment taking me back to being a kid playing Shadows of the Empire and IG-88 being a creepy boss battle, with Karga’s protocol droid stopping IG-11 for the moment. So Karga suggests the resident Anzellans, who all seem to be expert droidsmiths, though they aren’t successful either, conveyed in a hilarious way as Karga, often unnecessarily, translates to Din. They can only fix IG-11 if he finds a part they don’t have, putting Din and Grogu on their latest quest…not before Grogu believes one of the Anzellans is a pet and hugs it!! It’s one of the funniest moments of the episode and, you know what, same Grogu, same!
After the dogfight, Din decides first to visit a familiar face for some information on Mandalore itself: Bo-Katan! Holed up in a Mandalorian castle on Kalevala (an planet within the Mandalore system), instead of Bo-Katan trying to steal the Darksaber or being wholly antagonistic to Din, as I was expecting due to how it all went down, she’s apathetic almost, chilling on her castle’s little throne, seemingly done with all their Mandalorian shenanigans. Having lost her troops and armada because she didn’t have the saber, she tells him to take the saber and lead them, but he’d rather focus on his mission at the moment, which she calls a fool’s errand because she doesn’t subscribe to mythic takes on mines under their planet, though she’s sure as most it is poisoned. Regardless, he’s dead-set on going so she tells him where he can find it, bidding him goodbye as if she could care less about the whole thing. It makes sense Bo-Katan might initially feel defeated at this point, as why should it matter if you can wave around a sword, but as much as she’s not into some of the superstitious stuff, it still dominates their people’s mindsets, so eventually I see her this season caring a little more…and likely coming for the Darksaber at some point down the line. As for Din, packed with the knowledge of where the mines are and what piece he needs to restore IG-11, we at least know where he’s heading this season, though I’ll be curious to see how much season three follows the path of the previous ones with sort of planet-of-the-week adventures or if it’ll be more serialized this time (my preference).
Here are a few other things:
- On Sundays I watch Pedro Pascal act the hell out of Joel in the adaptation of one of my favorite games of all time, The Last of Us, and on Wednesday I get to hear him (mainly) protect the cutest little Grogu in The Mandalorian. And also get to enjoy more of The Bad Batch season two before it wraps up. And a ton of Star Wars comics. What a time to be alive.
- The young actor playing Ragnar, the initiate, is also the same actor as the Tusken Kid in TBoBF! Bravo, Wesley Kimmel!
- The show didn’t forget about Moff Gideon at least either, mentioning he went to a New Republic war tribunal, his ultimate fate left unknown, but we know actor Giancarlo Esposito has teased his character’s return for some time now.
The Mandalorian season three premiere “Chapter 17 – The Apostate” is a classic return to the show, and while it might not shake any of its foundations for a safe landing, it has plenty to enjoy and lots of intriguing paths for the season to go.
+ Purrgil and their tease of what’s to come
+ Thriving Nevarro
+ Some fun little moments with Grogu and a cool space battle
+ Gives the season goals…
– Relitigating without some needed context for all viewers
– …but curious how committed it’ll be to following them
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE MANDALORIAN REVIEWS
Season Three:
The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 5 -Return of the Mandalorian | Chapter 6 – From the Desert Comes a Stranger | Chapter 7 – In the Name of Honor
Season Two: Chapter 9 – The Marshal | Chapter 10 – The Passenger | Chapter 11 – The Heiress | Chapter 12 – The Siege | Chapter 13 – The Jedi | Chapter 14 – The Tragedy | Chapter 15 – The Believer | Chapter 16 – The Rescue
Season One: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 – The Child | Chapter 3 – The Sin | Chapter 4 – The Sanctuary | Chapter 5 – The Gunslinger | Chapter 6 – The Prisoner | Chapter 7 – The Reckoning | Chapter 8 – Redemption