Star Wars: The Mandalorian has just finished its latest season on Disney+. Following Din Djarin and his foundling, Grogu, season 3 kept up the momentum built from the first two seasons, as well as The Book of Boba Fett to give us an action-packed third season, rich in Star Wars lore.
After being denounced “a Mandalorian no more” by The Armorer (Emily Swallow) for removing his helmet, Din (Pedro Pascal) returns to his covert to be instructed to bathe in the Living Waters beneath the Mines of Mandalore, the home planet of all Mandalorians, decimated by the Empire. There, along with Lady Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) they find that their planet has not in fact been poisoned as so many in the Children of the Watch believe.
As they assemble their forces to retake their home world, they discover that the infamous Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) never made it to trial for his war crimes and is rebuilding the Imperial Shadow Council, led by the mysterious Grand Admiral Thrawn. Will our Mandalorians be able to take this new threat, or is the Empire set to rise once more?
This season was yet-again, amazing. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s production quality throughout the season is unrivalled, with special effects, scenery, set design and puppetry as realistic as you could ever imagine. The storyline sometimes suffered slightly in order to hit certain goals and achieve certain cameos (such as Jack Black and Lizzo as Captain Bombardier and The Duchess) but all worked out well in the end, with many of these decisions making more sense as the season progressed.
The intensity of the story was always very high, with many moments leaving me very excited but also some making me extremely anxious for our heroes. Throughout the third season, Din, Bo-Katan and The Armorer have great character development, each one’s morals and allegiances tested as we progress through the season.
In particular, The Armorer’s progression from exiling anyone who removes their helmet, to accepting and even instructing Bo-Katan to remove hers is a great moment in their story, with the two groups having been sworn enemies.
This season was also brilliant in dropping easter eggs for longer Star Wars fans, without it excluding those who haven’t seen all of the media. From characters like Captain Pellaeon (The Thrawn Trilogy), Brendol Hux (Aftermath Trilogy, Phasma) and Garazeb Orrelios (Star Wars Rebels), to locations and even background scenery, this season was incredibly rewarding for those who engage with all Star Wars content, but to those who don’t, didn’t feel alienating.
With Dave Filoni’s ‘Mandoverse’ film announced at Star Wars Celebration (connecting The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and the upcoming Ahsoka series), this season has been an exciting time watching, and I cannot wait to see where Ahsoka picks up in August!