The Mandalorian’s journey through the galaxy returned for a third season this month much to the delight of its fans after a three-year absence.
Since Season 1 of “The Mandalorian” aired in 2019, fans have been stunned by the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), who travels the galaxy alongside the Jedi youngling Grogu (also known as Baby Yoda or The Child) as a hired gun five years after the events of “Return of the Jedi.”
In Season 2, which aired in 2020, Djarin attempts to take Grogu to the Jedi to be trained. While much of the season focuses on this, in the climax Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), the leader of an Imperial remnant faction, kidnaps Grogu and Djarin and his allies rescues him.
Since Grogu is a member of Yoda’s species, which is known to have strong connections to the Force, Gideon wants to use Grogu’s blood to artificially supply a person with Force powers, which his head scientist Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) ultimately fails to do.
Esposito returns as Gideon in the new season. Other returning characters include Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and The Armorer (Emily Swallow). It has also been disclosed that Christopher Lloyd, famous for his role as Dr. Emmett Brown in the “Back to the Future” trilogy, will make an appearance.
Popular speculation is that one of Star Wars’ forgotten villains, Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn, best known from the animated show “Star Wars Rebels,” also will make his return to the screen, though he has yet to be seen in the first two episodes.
In the official trailer released on Jan. 16, Djarin is seen traveling between planets with Grogu while discussing the shattering of the Mandalorian way of life brought by the Empire.
A shot where Djarin is chased by TIE fighters hints at the return of Gideon’s Imperial faction, the re-introduction of Thrawn, or even the rise of the First Order from the sequel trilogy of movies. It’s also hinted that Djarin will once again join other characters, while Grogu becomes stronger with the Force.
This season delves into the journey of Djarin and Grogu as they travel to the planet Mandalore. It also largely revolves around Djarin seeking redemption for the act of removing his helmet, which is seen by many Mandalorians as a crime in their culture.
Considering that previous seasons have already featured several famed characters, including Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker, some fans fear the introduction of any more well-known characters may take the focus of the show away from Djarin.
The first episode, which aired March 1, begins with action right off the bat, with the iconic theme music composed by Ludwig Göransson.
As anticipated, Djarin is immediately plunges into conflict when he suggests to The Armorer his plan to visit Mandalore, which was largely destroyed by Imperial bombers.
Undeterred, he travels to the familiar planet of Nevarro, which has featured heavily in previous episodes in the first two seasons. There he helps his longtime friend Karga rid the town of pirates and in return is offered a reward, which he refuses to pursue his quest to Mandalore.
One of these offers is the position of marshal, previously held by Carasynthia “Cara” Dune (Gina Carano). Carano was fired from Lucasfilm after controversial social media posts.
While preparing for his journey, Djarin revives IG-11, an assassin droid turned nurse, who sacrificed himself to save Djarin, Karga, Grogu, and Dune. He also meets up with Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), who has now given up on her goal to retake Mandalore.
This was a great start to what promises to be a phenomenal third season. An exciting journey awaits viewers in the coming episodes, released every Wednesday on Disney+.