10 Harsh Realities From Rewatching The Mandalorian Season 3, 2 Years Later

The Mandalorianseason 3 made a lot of stumbles, and they're all the more evident two years later. I've always considered The Mandalorian to be the flagship show of Disney+. Partly that was because of smart marketing, with Lucasfilm deliberately hiding Grogu's existence until the premiere. In financial terms, hiding Baby Yoda was a mistake; it's estimated to have cost Disney an estimated $2.7 million in lost Christmas sales back in 2019. In dramatic terms, though, it paid off in spades.

The first and second seasons were both huge, with The Mandalorian season 2's ending even featuring the unexpected return of Mark Hamill. But season 3 is far from universally loved, and in fact proved remarkably controversial. Two years later, on rewatching, I have to say that it hasn't aged well - and the problems are all the more evident.

10 The Mandalorian Season 3 Makes No Sense If You Haven't Watched Boba Fett

I Still Have No Idea Why Lucasfilm Made This Choice

Let's start with the elephant in the room; The Mandalorian season 3 makes absolutely no sense if you haven't watched The Book of Boba Fett. Lucasfilm seem to have felt the dynamic between Din Djarin and Grogu was too important, and that the show couldn't survive a season - or even a half-season - with the two separated. That meant The Book of Boba Fett served to reset the status quo, bringing Din and Grogu back together again.

The problem? The Book of Boba Fett had lower viewership, and also wasn't particularly good. An awful lot of viewers turned on The Mandalorian season 3's premiere without knowing the found family was back together again, meaning they were bewildered; I remember writing explainer articles at the time, which performed rather well. Looking back two years later, I'm afraid it feels just as disjointed.

9 Din Djarin Feels Like He Takes A Back Seat In His Own Show

He Doesn't Feel Like The Star

Now first, let me be clear: I am not a Bo-Katan hater. I actually really like the character, and I think Katee Sackhoff's portrayal is absolutely fantastic. That said, this is not the Bo-Katan show; he is the titular Mandalorian. Lucasfilm briefly attempted to argue that "The Mandalorian" was a generic title that could refer to anyone, but that idea died after season 3 (one upcoming Star Wars movie is called "The Mandalorian and Grogu," and we all know who the Mandalorian is there).

The sad fact is, though, that Din Djarin takes something of a back seat in The Mandalorian season 3. This is nowhere more evident than in the anticlimatic way he gives the Darksaber back to Bo-Katan, so she can take on the position of leadership. Jon Favreau has defended the Bo-Katan and Din Djarin arc, insisting Din was never intended to be an Aragorn figure. But the very fact he had to do so shows just how badly Lucasfilm fumbled this, because even now, an Aragorn plot feels much more natural than what we got.

8 I Cannot Make Any Sense Of Bo-Katan's Story At All

Why Hadn't She Ever Visited Mandalore?

Let's stick with Bo-Katan for a minute, because the problems don't stop with the way she becomes a little too dominant in what was supposed to be Din Djarin's show. Rewatching two years later, one of my biggest problems at the time is all the more frustrating; I cannot make sense of her plot at all. We begin with Bo-Katan essentially retired, living at the castle of House Kryze on Kalevala in the Mandalore System... and that's where the problems begin.

Bo-Katan has been arguing that Mandalore is still inhabitable, but she's operating from a position of faith. All Din needs to do to prove her right is fly through some turbulent cloud-cover and visit Mandalore's surface. Given Bo-Katan is literally in-system, it makes no sense for her to have never tried the trip before. I also cannot understand how she was ignorant of Moff Gideon's Imperial operation in the same (otherwise abandoned) system.

7 Star Wars Badly Fumbled Its Helmet Rule Arc

There's An Obvious Course-Correction

The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 seem to be setting up an arc in which Din Djarin rejects the Children of the Watch, and their helmet rule in particular. This was foreshadowed pretty effectively the moment he crossed paths with Bo-Katan, coming to realize there were other ways; he then removed his helmet multiple times during season 2, meaning he was considered a heretic by his old faction. I admit, I approached The Mandalorian season 3 looking forward to this conflict... and there isn't a trace of it.

Instead, The Mandalorian season 3 opens with a rushed redemption arc so the full status quo can be restored. Even stranger, the Armorer shows no interest in pushing her agenda with other Mandalorians; she's fine with the helmetless Bo-Katan, and pushes her to become Mandalorian leader. It all feels like a fumbled arc, probably because Lucasfilm realized Pedro Pascal was too busy to play the unmasked role.

6 The Mandalorian Season 3's Timeline Is A Mess

This One Became Particularly Controversial

How does The Mandalorian season 3 fit into the Star Wars timeline? I admit, I'm something of a continuity nerd, and I love drawing up timeline posts. Officially, Lucasfilm claim seasons 1-2 all happened in the space of one year, with season 3 shortly afterward. But Din says the Children of the Watch fought on Nevarro "many cycles ago," and the state of that planet makes it clear there's been enough time for major redevelopment.

The late Carl Weathers is fantastic as Greef Karga, and sorely missed, but his very appearance makes the point. Take a look at the shots in the gallery above, particularly at the white in his beard. He's aged quite considerably since season 2, and the show makes no effort to hide it. The Mandalorian season 3's timeline makes no sense.

5 Pirate King Gorian Shard Had So Much More Potential

A Sad Waste Of A Character

The Mandalorian season 3 introduced Gorian Shard, a thrilling new pirate king who felt like a formidable adversary in the Star Wars galaxy. Played by Nonso Anozie, he swiftly develops a promising vendetta against Din - one that comes to nothing. Instead, Gorian Shard makes an ill-considered occupation of Nevarro, ostensibly spurred on by allies in the Imperial Shadow Council. He doesn't live long after crossing Din.

It's hard not to watch The Mandalorian season 3 and feel Gorian Shard was wasted. The design is fantastic, and Anozie's performance is striking enough to make me want to see more. Instead, he's killed off in short order, and he'll likely never be mentioned again.

4 Grogu Gets A Cool Upgrade - But It's Dropped Far Too Quickly

Grogu As An IG? Yes, Yes, Yes

Greef Karga gives Grogu a delightful upgrade, repurposing IG as an exoskeleton for him to drive. It's an exciting twist, and it comes with some hilarious moments, as Din tries to turn the exoskeleton down - and Grogu insists otherwise. These are some of the funniest moments in The Mandalorian season 3, not least because it's great to see Grogu develop a degree of mobility.

It's odd, then, that Grogu's new IG exoskeleton doesn't become a mainstay. Instead, The Mandalorian season 3 ends with IG-11 repaired and taking on the job of Marshal of Nevarro. Grogu goes back to his old status quo, another reset just in time for the movie. I can't help being reminded of Marvel's old "illusion of change" - the idea of doing change-like things that nonetheless evolve a character into what they already were, thereby avoiding changing a popular brand.

3 The Mandalorian Season 3's Best Episode Is Wasted

Elia Kane Is The Mandalorian Season 3's Most Interesting Villain

Katy O'Brian returned in The Mandalorian season 3, playing a former Imperial who had become a spy after she was captured and supposedly rehabilitated by the New Republic. Elia Kane is a formidable villain, with a commanding presence and an intriguing plot centered on Coruscant. There, she manipulates Omid Abtahi's Doctor Pershing, ultimately flaying his mind so his secrets will not fall into New Republic hands.

I admit, The Mandalorian season 3, episode 3 - "Chapter 19: The Convert" - frustrated me the first time I watched it. The plot feels so left-field and utterly unnecessary to the overarching narrative, and I wound up wishing the story would move on so I could get back to Din Djarin. Rewatching, I had a different experience; I really enjoyed "The Convert," and found myself wishing there was more of the Coruscant plot in season 3.

2 Moff Gideon's Plan Just Doesn't Quite Work

Just What Is Going On?

The Mandalorian season 3 tries to wrap up Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon story, and it does so in a dramatic finale that reveals exactly what he's been doing all along. We'd always assumed Gideon was involved in the cloning experiments that would lead to Palpatine's resurrection, but it turns out that was only partly true; Moff Gideon had corrupted Project Necromancer to serve his own purposes. He had a pretty copy-paste motive of wanting to create Force-sensitive clones of himself.

The explanation just about ties everything together, but it doesn't feel at all satisfying. The core problem is that it's all been done before; Project Necromancer was all about creating Force-sensitive clones, after all, so Moff Gideon is just repeating a familiar plot. Worse still, that particular arc was then done much better, in Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3. It's an unfortunate end for a great character (even if Esposito did deliberately shave off his mustache for his return, in the hopes Lucasfilm would retcon the version who dies as a clone).

1 The Resettling Of Mandalore Comes Far Too Easily

This Isn't The Grand Story It Deserved To Be

The retaking of Mandalore was hardly a surprise. It was pretty clearly set up as soon as Din found the planet inhabitable; I admit that I guessed it was Imperial-occupied the moment Din was attacked by TIEs, because they don't have hyperdrives and there were no capital ships in sight. This arc doesn't work any better on a rewatch, feeling obvious and ultimately rushed rather than epic.

That, fundamentally, is the one word I'm left with by the end of The Mandalorian season 3; it was "rushed." Din was reunited with Grogu too quickly, he was redeemed at speed, and the retaking of Mandalore feels like it happens far too easily. I can't help feeling Lucasilm would have been wiser to split this into two seasons, one focused on redemption and the other on the Mandalore occupation. Hopefully, The Mandalorian and Grogu will have learned from these mistakes and missteps.