Midway through season 3, The Mandalorianfinally brings into focus a storyline that has plagued it since its premiere, but to get to it - the path is lined with comically ill-equipped pirates. With episode 5, "The Pirate", Jon Favreau breaks from one of his scriptwriting conventions and presents a story with numerous points of view, intertwined throughout its 40-minute runtime. It's a welcome relief for a series that often gets stuck on a single character's point of view at the expense of the larger plot.
After Episode 1 of this season, it was pretty obvious that Greef Karaga's (Carl Weathers) piracy troubles were far from over, and "The Pirate" wastes little time pitting the High Magistrate against Captain Shard (Nonso Anozie) and his terrible gang of pirates. Still disappointed by not being able to party in the converted cantina, they return to Nevarro to exact revenge on their fellow brothers who died in the previous encounter. To his credit, Greef tries to bluff his way out of the situation by claiming that Nevarro is one of many planets under the protection of the New Republic, but Captain Shard knows that's not true. There is no one to protect the planet from piracy.
But there is at least one member of the New Republic that Greef can call upon in times of need: Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun Hyung). With Nevarro's fate hanging in the balance, the New Republic officers battle it out in a derelict cantina at their Adelphi station outpost, where Teva receives Greef's message. The scene adds some depth to the New Republic's complacency issue, but this location seems largely designed to keep the rebels audience with a familiar face: Zeb Orrelios (Steve Blum). The brief scene between Teva and Zeb feels like a tease to an ongoing storyline The Mandalorianor a preview of what's to come Ahsoka. With Greef's plea heavy on him, Teva heads straight to Coruscant to get clearance and backup to provide assistance.
It should come as no surprise that, after such a triumphant victory over the Empire, the New Republic has become largely apathetic to the idea that their victory might not have been so final. On Coruscant, Teva meets an affable Colonel (Tim Meadows) making it clear that not only is Teva's presence annoying, but his determination to help Nevarro is misplaced. Teva is convinced that Nevarro is just the beginning of more Imperial activity in the Outer Rim, noting that the planet has seen stormtroopers and TIE fighters in recent months, but the Colonel just brushes everything aside. Teva's case is further eroded when the scheming Elia Kane (Katy M. O'Brian), still disguised as a newly reformed member of the New Republic, points out that Nevarro was one of the planets that refused to sign the charter to join the New Republic. She further alludes to the fact that by Nevarro alone facing - and suffering for - the pirates will make them see the worth of joining the New Republic. Teva tries to point out that this seems like Imperial thinking, but his judgment is dismissed as simply a prejudice against her because of her history. With his hands tied, Teva makes it clear once again that he believes something is happening in the Outer Rim and that once the New Republic sees it, it will be too late.
With the New Republic turning a blind eye to Nevarro's plight, Teva flies to the only place he knows where Greef Karga has an ally. The Mandalorian quick to point out that it's kind of odd that Teva would know where the super-secret Mandalorian hideout is, revealing that R5 is the one who revealed their location to Teva. It's a relatively easy fix for connecting the storylines, though it raises further questions about whether R5 is so easy to follow or just chatting to his old war buddies about the crazy Mandalorians he's stuck with. It is not surprising that Paz (Taty Fletcher) first instinct is to kill Teva for discovering them, but Din (Pedro Pascal/Brendan Wayne/Lateef Crowder) is willing to give him a break, since he gave him a break before. Teva reveals that Greef Karga and Nevarro are in trouble and explains that he sought out Din because he knows he is one of Greef's few friends.
Later that night, Din requests the rest of the Secret Service to help him save Nevarro before it's too late. Din relates that before reuniting with the Secret Service, Greef Karga offered him a piece of land to settle on, which he now believes is prime real estate for the Mandalorians to rebuild on. After all, it wasn't that long ago that their secret lived on Nevarro. Din thinks it's time for the Mandalorians to step back into the light and live openly, for the sake of their children. However, he is aware of the fact that there is some bad blood between Greef and the secret one, after what happened in Season 1.Emily Swallow) asks if anyone else would like to speak for or against the case, Paz steps forward and at first it seems he's still dwelling on that bad blood. However, after the events of last week's episode, Paz has taken a new path. Instead of stopping Din's plan to save Nevarro, he agrees to fight on their side, citing Din and Bo-Katan's (Kate Sackhoff) rescue of his son as his motivation.
The Secret Service once again leans on Bo-Katan to develop their tactical plan to rescue Nevarro and defeat the pirates once and for all. While giving them an overview of her plan, which includes air and ground attacks, she notes that Nevarro's independence from the New Republic makes it an attractive place for the Mandalorains to settle, giving them even more motivation to fight. Although several of the Mandalorians are wounded in their firefight, they emerge victorious, taking out Captain Shard and most of his crew.
After their victory, Greef expresses his gratitude to Nevarro's Mandalorian liberators, telling them that the planet will forever be indebted to them. He then presents them with the piece of land he had promised Din, stretching from the lava plains to the Bulloch Caves, which will serve as a home for the Secret One. While Bo-Katan listens to Greef's speech, Paz approaches her and tells her that The Armorer wants to see her.
Below Nevarro, where the Secret once lived, The Armorer waits for Bo-Katan at the remains of her old forge. They exchange a few words about the blacksmith shop that once stood on Mandalore, before The Armorer immediately gives chase, telling Bo-Katan to take off her helmet. She is clearly hesitant to break the creed that this secret service is so strict about, but eventually Bo-Katan takes off her helmet. Now that they have a new home, The Armorer's attitude seems to have changed, and she speaks at length about how the Mandalorians must walk the Way together - however they adhere to it. With Bo-Katan's claims that she saw a real, living Mythosaurus, The Armorer believes it was a sign that a new era is dawning and that, as legends indicate, it is Bo-Katan who can unite any Mandalorian.
As you might expect, the Mandalorians are surprised to see Bo-Katan walking alongside The Armorer without her helmet on. The Armorer reveals to them that Bo-Katan will be leaving the Nevarro to find more Mandalorians in exile, and she points out that Bo-Katan is ideally suited for the task as she is a Mandalorian who roams both worlds. Now is the time for the Mandalorians to retake Mandalore - something that's been telegraphed throughout the series since they reintroduced the Darksaber. It's a shame Din's face is hidden under a helmet, because you can only assume he's annoyed at the moment. He was banished and ostracized for taking off his helmet to save his child, and forced to take dangerous risks to be accepted back into the fold, only for The Armorer to do Bo-Katan this kind of favor.
Hopes for Mandalore's future are dashed in the final moments of "The Pirate", when Captain Teva encounters a Lambda-class shuttle in space that has sustained significant damage. After a brief examination of the wreckage, it is revealed that this ship was used as a prison transport from the New Republic to transport Moff Gideon.Giancarlo Esposito). Earlier in the episode, he had pointed out that Gideon had failed his trial, which had encouraged his theories that something is wrong in the Outer Rim. But the extraction doesn't appear to have been orchestrated by an Imperial holdout; all signs point to it being Mandalorians who killed the crew and freed Moff Gideon.
That The MandalorianWith the third season halfway through, it seems audiences have finally gotten a concrete plan for where the season is headed. While many viewers had theorized that Din Djarin would be the one to unite the Mandalorians, it seems that it's Bo-Katan Kryze stepping into her rightful role. If it's Bo-Katan who will ultimately be the ruler of Mandalore, hopefully the series is aware that a large portion of their audience has never seen it and never will. Star Wars: the Clone Wars. For Bo-Katan's rule to work, they have to fill in the blanks for who she is, the mistakes she's made, and why she's worthy of that title - especially when Din was previously presented as a new type of potential. ruler, one with no importance in history, and had evolved beyond relying on other Mandalorians to be happy.
Judgement: B
New episodes of The Mandalorian Season 3 is available to stream exclusively on Disney+.
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