Those who saw early screenings of The Mandalorian – The Mines of Mandalore, teased that it would ratchet the narrative up a bit when compared to the premiere, and they were not wrong.
The latest episode of The Mandalorian’s third season put the overarching plot into overdrive while wrapping up other story points that most fans probably figured would take all season to get to. It was unlike past Mandos, so once you’ve seen it, dive into our review below, and also check out our eggs and references breakdown!
Script
Hey now, Mando S3 is wasting no time when it comes to getting right to the stuffs, but before I get into the review of The mines of Mandalore, can I get a SPOILER WARNING! We Good? Let’s Go!
This episode was hyped as being quite a banger by those who got to see it during the premiere event, and boy were they not wrong.
The Mines of Mandalore has succinctly put this season’s main plot arc into overdrive by having Din complete his redemption mission in record time, while also opening up a whole new debate that must take place between the Children of the Watch, and Mandos like Bo-Katan who aren’t as inclined to believe in Mandalorian rumors, legends and songs from the past.
Din’s quest to regain his honor is no more, and thanks to this episode, we now know the remaining six will be fully dedicated to the various mando factions working out their differences now that he and Bo have proven Mandalore is hospitable, but more importantly, that one of its most ancient legends and myths is actually reality.
The mythosaur reveal, while not overly surprising if you’ve been following the meta that Armorer has been spitting, is a massive lore nugget for the Star Wars franchise, but also for this series’ focus on Mando mythology.
While Bo and her kind have dismissed the creed and the ancient songs of mandalore’s past as child’s play, they can no longer be ignored now that one of the prophecies is more or less coming true.
This new conundrum will surely make for some interesting exchanges between the Children of the Watch, who are now somewhat validated in their cult-like beliefs to Mandalorian legends, and the more pragmatic Mandos who didn’t join the so called cult.
That is exciting to think about, and why this episode kicked so much alamite ass.
It’s clear now that this ain’t your grandaddy’s Mandalorian series, and the rest of Season 3 should provide some extremely memorable new Star Wars canon now that the quest is done and it’s time to get the Mandalorian band back together.
After some inevitable trash talk and I told you so’s naturally.
How about some top Moments?
Gotta start with Peli’s Boonta Eve busted speeder scam she’s running with her Jawa pals. I mean how can you not love this recurring secondary Star Wars character. Peli is easily one of my favorite random character of all time, and once again it was a pleasure to hear her fast talking, smack spitting, deal brokering self gabbing it up again with Din and Grogu. Plus, how can you not smile when her and the little guy interact? This is Star Wars people!
The next scene is for the Grogu needs to do more crowd? You happy now, or does he need to actually spit some dialogue to get back in your graces?
His rescue mission for Din 100% showcased how much this little guy has grown since Season 2, and that with his Force training, he is a formidable ally, even if he can’t speak fully yet.
I loved seeing his fears and trepidations as he left the caves and the fact that he conquered them to finish the job. Grogu is a full on sidekick now and has earned his lovable rep fully now.
Bo freaking katan, bo freaking katan! How excellent was she in this episode? Coolness aside, this women can get down, and is clearly a better overall warrior than Din Djarin. She really shined though effortlessly wielding the dark saber, which we know Din still can’t do.
Katee just killed it, and seeing Bo in action while rescuing Din was thing of Star Wars and Mandalorian beauty.
Up next is Bo and Din’s walk to the living waters. Their exchanges were key in setting up the big reveal at the end, while also reminding fans as to why their factions don’t see eye to eye on how Mandos should adhere to the creed and songs of the past. I feel both characters learned more about each other’s motivations and backgrounds, while Bo, with the combination of the beast reveal, may even start to think Din and his creed aren’t so crazy after all.
Finally, big surprise, but the Mythosaur reveal was a fantastic way to cliffhang this episode. We told you to be prepared for one on the Star Wars Time Show, but like most of this episode’s narrative surprises, it was not expected to arrive so soon in the season.
The arrival of the mythosaur and Bo witnessing it herself will only hasten this season’s plot thread of uniting Mandos to take back their homeworld, so unlike season’s past, Din’s main mission is over, so the rest of the season is wide open to tackle galaxy wide mando issues like mentioned earlier, but also for the remnant and its inevitable reaction to the news that Mandos may be getting over their civil war style beef.
Nick and I will talk more about this episode on next week’s episode of the SWTS, so don’t forget to tune into the Star Wars Time Show on a weekly basis via our podcast platforms or via YouTube if you prefer the livestream angle.
