Monday, March 6, 2023

What I’m Watching: The Mandalorian (Season Premiere)

The Mandalorian: Season 3, Episode 1 “Chapter 17: The Apostate” (B)

It’s definitely weird to have “The Last of Us” airing concurrently with this show since Pedro Pascal’s characters sound very similar, but the whole point of this one is that he’s ashamed because he took off his helmet, something he’ll likely never again do. I didn’t realize that it had been more than two years since this show wrapped its second season, which came less than a year after its first, but that’s probably because there have been multiple Star Wars shows in that time. The opening of this episode with a Mandalorian-filled flashback was its most worthwhile moment, another action sequence worthy of tuning in and a rare chance to see so many armor-wearing characters that no longer exist in this show’s present. Getting to see Carga in a new role of legal authority was an interesting change, and he was all about trying to get Mando to just retire and live out a peaceful life with Grogu while grappling with seedy elements of his past eager to take advantage of his old ways. It’s always a treat to see Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan, though she seems to have given up hope of restoring glory to Mandalor. I hope that Mando’s latest solo mission won’t be too isolated and that we’ll still have a chance to see other faces from this show’s recurring cast as well as new players who show up. Moff Gideon seems unlikely to return, but this universe has never been all that set in stone about killing off its greatest villains.

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