The Mandalorian, which kicked off season 3 at the beginning of March, concludes its eight-episode run on April 19. The series, which is among Disney’s top projects in its television series slate, has been created by Jon Favreau, and stars current Internet favourite Pedro Pascal as the titular Mandalorian warrior Din Djarin. The third season of the show picks up right after the events that took place in the final three episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, and follows the adventures of Din Djarin after he reunites with Force-sensitive youngster Grogu (Baby Yoda) and tries to reintegrate himself into his Mandalorian clan.
The Mandalorian season 3 recap: Spoilers ahead!
While enthusiastic Star Wars fans may disagree, others suggest that the third season of the Mandalorian was entirely unnecessary in the larger storyline, following the events of the end of season 2 where Din Djarin and Grogu parted ways with the latter going off to Jedi training with Luke Skywalker. The start of the third season sees them reunited, which might be confusing if you haven’t watched The Book of Boba Fett.
Indeed, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and upcoming Star Wars universe series Ahsoka all take place in a similar timeline, and have seen their characters interact with each other on numerous occasions. Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) himself made key appearances in The Mandalorian, while Din Djarin and Grogu’s story were carried forward in some episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, which was arguably a ridiculous decision by the show’s creators.
If you haven’t watched that – as you may not have, given the fact that it’s a completely different series from The Mandalorian – you might find the storyline a bit disjointed, having missed key events that took place in between. Even if you have, you might still be a bit annoyed about the continuation of a story that could have concluded on a high note at the end of season 2.
Anyway, getting back to season 3; Din Djarin and Grogu reunite with one-time collaborator Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), after the latter rescues them from trouble on the ruined (but otherwise inhabitable) planet Mandalore, the home world of the Mandalorian race. Having bathed in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore, Din Djarin is redeemed in the eyes of his rather strict cult, and both he and Bo-Katan are accepted once again.
Bo-Katan, being former royalty, is tasked with reuniting Mandalorian clans in an attempt to retake Mandalore, and brings her former followers back, along with her stolen fleet of starships. All of this takes place quickly, and harks back to events in previous seasons and episodes, including Din Djarin coming into possession of the Dark Saber by defeating Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito).
The fabled weapon is the key to ruling Mandalore, and was a significant cause of friction between Din Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze, so it feels a bit anti-climactic for Djarin to simply hand it over to Kryze on a technicality. However, this also established the honourable intentions of Djarin, who while a skilled warrior, has never seen himself as a leader.
In all of this, Grogu’s role in the third season feels tame and largely pointless. Din Djarin’s attachment to the child is well established, yet the youngster’s Force tricks are kept to a minimum. He doesn’t really do much beyond his child-like cooing sounds and piloting the frame of a former battle droid for some comedic moments. Perhaps this also has to do with the fact that Grogu’s Jedi training has ended, and he might be better suited to eventually learning Mandalorian-style combat.
The Mandalorian season 3 finale: What to expect
The seventh episode of season 3 ended on a cliffhanger, with Din Djarin captured by Moff Gideon and his Imperial remnant on the planet Mandalore, during a reconnaissance run. Pervious seasons saw Din Djarin reveal his face at least once, and the season finale will likely have the character do so again, although it could be under torture and against his will this time around.
Notably, the series manages to work with the talent of Pedro Pascal despite the fact that for most of the episodes, he is wearing a Mandalorian helmet and not showing his face. That said, his expected face reveal will be particularly special in season 3, given his recent increase in social capital following his much-praised performance in the The Last of Us (Review).
Given that a fourth season of The Mandalorian is already in the works, we can expect some drama from the season 3 finale, including a hopeful rescue of Din Djarin, and Grogu finally contributing in some meaningful way. With Gideon now wearing Beskar armour, and a team of Praetorian guards in the picture, this could prove to be difficult.
The eighth and final episode of The Mandalorian drops on Disney+ Hotstar on April 19 at 1:30pm. Meanwhile, Ahsoka starring Rosario Dawson is the next major live-action release in the Star Wars universe, and is expected in August. The show will take place in the same timeline as The Mandalorian, and could see characters from the latter make guest appearances.