The Mandalorian The Mandalorian 3.01 - Chapter 17 - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Solid start of new season.. mostly to focus on reminding everybody what this show is about and what happened with mando during BoBF... definitely things will pick up in next episodes!

 

Overall a very solid start to season 3. Expansive, lush production and great action. I'm not sure where the story is going, as Mando bathing in the springs of Mandalore seems a bit humdrum, but I'm sure it will develop beyond that. The only thing I really didn't like was the design of the space pirate, who seemed better suited to Guardians of the Galaxy than Star Wars. 7.5/10 (although I marked it 8).

 

Ha, the climax that this series is working towards will be Mando getting a bath.

 

Not the strongest episode but entertaining enough. The Mandalorian was never a masterpiece, or a masterclass in storytelling but it's a very satisfying show so far and i hope season 3 will continue that way. And the production value is just sooooo good. I wonder what happened with TBOBF, it felt so cheap and cringeworthy, and now we're back to normal, i'm relieved!!

Directing was also very good IMO, kudos to Famuyiwa! I'm glad to know he'll be back for the 2 last episodes of this season. A good choice.

 

Well after all those years not removing helmets, it would be a big moment for all those standing around him.

 

Mando is their flagship show, so I'd expect it to have higher production values... and they are great... very cinematic, but it was a shame for TBOBF and the Kenobi show.

 

High? Magistrate Karga?

 

I watched the episode again... It was much better.

From now on I am going to watch an episode twice before giving a rating lol.

My 5/10 is now a 6.5/10

 

This episode is establishing what are the main narrative threads for this season:
- Fixing IG-11
- Din "redeeming" himself in the Living Waters on Mandalore
- Greef Karga needing a Marshall and conflict with Pirate King Gorian Shard
- Is Mandalore truly poisoned as the rumors say ?

It is also setting the upcoming Ahsoka series with the Purrgils in hyperspace.
Bo-Katan seems to have lost her fighting spirit from last season, her allies abandoned her and she's now moping alone sitting on her throne in her castle. Not how I expected to find her at the start but since we know she has more screen time based on the trailers, she'll be back although it's unclear if she'll become a more antagonistic character for a while at least.

 

indeed the episode was a nice set-up for the whole season. We have the main players (except for gideon...next week?) and the possible plots/subplots...now let's the fun begin!!

I really enjoyed Andor, top class show it is...but i'm glad to come back to the classic star wars feel and tone, this blend of old school/pulp all-age adventures and fantasy tale with a healthy dose of whimsy, heart and a few scares..."more adult" star wars is fine, it can be awesome, but it should be the exception once in a while, not the norm.

 

I did like that as well, greef coming a little more pompous in his new role in the government

 

Babu Friks!

 

agree! that's the SW feel i like..these little touches of whimsy, like a 70s comics or the flash gordon serials. I wouldn't call it cheesy but Star Wars always had this slightly "quaint SF" quality. It can get pretty dark and serious, but ultimately it's a funky SF fantasy tale.

 

I’m sorry, but this was so disappointing. Incredibly flat and boring. Everything with the droid rebuilding and Navarro and the pirates was super dull and just plot plot plot with no meaningful stakes or emotional investment established. Navarro could blow up and it would make no difference to my level of engagement with the world/story.

Also so much exposition, all delivered uninterestingly and in the same flat tone. Also just because it’s “set up” doesn’t mean it has to feel this plodding

I was excited when Bo showed up. I liked her scene, but even that is largely because I know about her complicated history from other media and I’m interested in seeing what she does next. Here’s hoping they focus on the stuff they have managed to make halfway interesting - all the Mandalore stuff, dark saber, Grogu’s journey (it’s telling the show leans so heavily on giving Grogu cute moments instead of actually developing his story IMO)

I feel like after Andor, this show’s faults stand out more and more tbh. Despite the difference in tone/approach, that show captured way more about what’s good about SW: interesting characters and motivations, worldbuilding that actually helps meaningfully inform the story, clearly established stakes both in terms of plot and character.

I think this is what ultimately bothers me about this show in spite of some strong elements: things just happen. Characters just statically exist. The Navarro guy, the mechanic on Tatooine, Boba, even Ashoka in this show are all just there. Again, it all often feels so flat because there’s little effort to weave story/character into a meaningful whole.

 

^ Correct.

Also, a subplot about repairing the same droid for the second time?? Come on, you can do better than this...

 

Bo Katan

 

I loved the episode. The monster battle at the beginning was a great way to start and then we get to catch up with an old friend. Greef is becoming more and more like Lando every season but I liked that they showed he’s still dangerous with a blaster. The pirates were a really fun addition and I like the conflict this sets up. Greef says he doesn’t want the New Republic’s help which obviously leaves Nevarro vulnerable which is why the pirates feel like they can push Greef around. I also really loved the design of the Pirate King and I’m wondering if he could be a Drengir. The episode bookending with the introductions of The Armorer and Bo-Katan was a nice touch. These two are the most important influences in Din’s life but I think they’re both bad influences. They’re both extremists. Din needs to find the middle between them. He needs to show Mandalorians that you don’t have to hide behind a mask or wait for savior to come wielding some ancient weapon.

Anyway, very good start to the season. 9/10

 

I wont go as far as you with my views of this episode but as a whole I somewhat agree. There should be more Stakes/feeling for Navarro, bc we have seen the planet grow and change immensely over three seasons. but all the episodes are so surface level and short you really don't grow as an attachment to the place, at least I haven't yet. There is actually some good world-building for navarro but the stakes are never there to match it. I feel like the Pirates are there to try to heighten the tension and Stakes for the planet but the first mate was played so comically and Scooby-Doo villain like, that it kind of ruined it for me.

like I've said in other threads, I feel like John Favreau and Dave filoni have a serious villain problem in their pocket of the universe, none of them are all that threatening, or all that interesting so far. Andor in just a couple of episodes really established their villains, even though they're all very low level in the grand scheme of the Galaxy. They feel way more fleshed out and interesting than anything we've gotten from mandalorian, Obi-Wan kenobi (minus vader), book of Boba fett. At least in my opinion. I keep waiting for Moff Gideon to take that next step and I hope he does the season.

 

Not only was the episode short, but it was so dense with gratuitous action scenes that there was no time for some good character moments, or setting the stakes of the adventure. I see the videogame analogy being done frequently, and that's probably the reason, they had very little screentime outside action scenes and they used it all to fit as much exposition as possible into a single episode.

 

It was sort of a “Meh” episode. I can’t believe they didn’t explain the Luke/Grogu thing. What an incredibly stupid thing to go from Chapter 16 straight to this without recapping why Grogu is back with Mando from the Book of Boba Fett. All of that tension… All of that loss Mando felt from losing Grogu… And now it’s like it never happened. They should’ve had him live without Grogu for at least an episode before it caught up to the events of the Book of Boba.

I found some of the dialogue to be pretty bad, but that’s not a major thing for me.

As for IG-11, I did really love that character and I’m glad they are bringing him back as stupid as it might be to bring yet another dead character back to life. But sure, it’s a droid so it can work.

I gave it a 5/10 mostly because they didn’t address the events from the Book of Boba Fett.

 

I'm seriously tired of the tensionless action. Like mowing down the pirates was kind of cool I guess - those guys were losers anyways... but the dogfight was just boring. Mando never felt in any danger at all; it was just pew-pew filler.

 

Almost an 8 for me, its soo good. Good to be back with the Mandalorian. I dont give it 9 or 10 because I know there will be bigger episodes.

 

Literal robe-bots.

 

Can we all appreciate the fact that there were more aliens in this episode than the entirety of the first season of Andor?

Damn, I wish every main character in Disney Star Wars wasn't a human though (I mean, yeah, you get people like Snoke but you know what I mean)...

 

i see what you mean but...the originality and fun of it was that towards the end the camera followed the pirates point of view, with the mandalorian coming in and out of the frame, like he's the dangerous creature of the abyss here, and not the pirates! i thought the directing of this scene was quite interesting, with mando's ship emerging seemingly out of nowhere each time, like a predator, skilled & collected.