The Mandalorian has already made a huge mistake with season 3

1 Mar 2023

The Mandalorian season 3 episode 1 spoilers follow.

The internet's favourite daddy is back with his adorable child in tow, and they've arrived just in time to help some Mandalorians fight off a big old space gator. It's business as usual then for Din and Grogu, except, wait: wasn't Mando's ship destroyed at the end of season two? And come to think of it, didn't Baby Yoda go off with Luke Skywalker after a gut-wrenching goodbye?

So what gives? How come our faves are suddenly back together again? And in a brand spanking new ship, no less?

No, you didn't just accidentally snort some brain lizards. The answers to all this and more were actually revealed in a completely different show, The Book of Boba Fett (where said brain lizards were introduced). If you missed that spinoff, then you won't understand Din's reunion here with Grogu or that psychedelic space reference either.

grogu, pedro pascal, the mandalorian, season 3

Disney

To recap, The Mandalorian's season-two finale ended with Grogu leaving Mando behind so he could go train with Luke Skywalker and grow stronger in the ways of the Force. All those delicious macaroons aren't just going to Force-grab themselves, you know?

Since that episode aired over two years ago on December 18, 2020, the story later continued in The Book of Boba Fett, where Din surprisingly showed up with his own special episode, five weeks in. For fans tired of that show, this was a welcome but still jarring move.

At the time, it felt as if even the writers themselves had lost interest in Boba halfway through and just decided to transform what should have been his show into season 2.5 of The Mandalorian instead.

This wasn't just a cute little side-quest or interlude either. That fifth episode in particular, which aired on January 26, 2022, was basically Mando's season-three premiere, for all intents and purposes, because it picked up directly where season two left off.

By the end of Boba Fett's season, Din found himself a new ship and a new quest to boot. According to The Armorer, Mando must be washed within "the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore" if he's to show penance and regain his status as a true Mandalorian.

Oh yeah, and some stuff happened to Boba blah blah blah, but anyway, what's most interesting about this arc is that Grogu eventually decided to forsake his training with Luke and return to Din.

pedro pascal, grogu, the mandalorian, season 3

Disney

This was one of the most important things to ever happen to these characters, and yet none of this actually took place on their own show. And now, fans of said show who didn't watch Boba Fett are forced to fill in the gaps for themselves.

Well, mostly for themselves, because The Mandalorian season-three premiere does eventually explain at least some of this backstory, particularly in regards to Din's new quest. But that's a double-edged sabre too, because these recaps don't really do the story justice, plus fans who did watch Boba Fett are now forced to hear the Armorer chastise Mando all over again in basically the same way she did before.

It's a clumsy move whichever way you look at it, which begs the question – why? Why leave out so many crucial developments from the main show?

Ahead of The Mandalorian's return, io9 asked series creator Jon Favreau that exact question, and his answer wasn't exactly the most helpful:

"It became clear to me as we were looking at what their lives would be like apart ... I guess you could do Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as like Butch Cassidy a few episodes and the Sundance Kid separately. But they’re both bumming. They’re both not their best selves without the other person, but yet you want to have time spent apart."

"And so I was thinking more how you would do it in a novel," he continued. "You’d be apart from them, but you’d check in. The two years between when the last episode aired of season two and [now] allowed for time to pass. But it did force us to create stories around them, each individually. It just felt like that’s where the dramatic momentum was."

"Yet we felt that time had to be spent apart and we had to show progression, so that when we meet Grogu now we understand why his abilities are different. And also the fact that the Mandalorian has to learn about what he has to do, or can do, to be permitted back into the fold after committing the one sin that was very clear from the first scene of the first episode, that was part of his identity."

the mandalorian, season 3

Disney

That's all well and good, but none of this really explains why these events couldn't have just happened at the start of The Mandalorian's third season instead. It's not fair to Mando fans who feel like they have to watch some random episodes of Boba Fett to catch up, and it's also not fair for Boba Fett to lose huge chunks of his own show to a different bounty hunter whose name is not even in the title.

Despite all that, there was still fun to be had in this first episode back, and with all that nonsense out the way, it looks like episode two will finally take Daddy Din back to Mandalore, just like The Mandalorian Boba Fett teased at the start of 2022.

The Mandalorian seasons 1-2 are streaming now on Disney+, where season 3 premieres on March 1. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the entire Skywalker Saga are available on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K now, as well as on Disney+.

Star Wars LEGO – The Mandalorian Razor Crest toy

Star Wars LEGO – The Mandalorian Razor Crest toy

Star Wars/LEGO amazon.co.uk

£119.99

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and The Child (Baby Yoda) Funko Pop! figurine

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and The Child (Baby Yoda) Funko Pop! figurine

Funko Pop! popinabox.co.uk

£29.99

LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Child Building Set (75318)

LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Child Building Set (75318)

LEGO iwantoneofthose.com

£65.99

The Mandalorian 'Redemption' limited-edition lithograph

The Mandalorian 'Redemption' limited-edition lithograph

Chris Christodoulou for Zavvi zavvi.com

£39.99

Star Wars The Mandalorian Mandalorian Flying with Jet Funko Pop! Vinyl

Star Wars The Mandalorian Mandalorian Flying with Jet Funko Pop! Vinyl

, See all reviews popinabox.co.uk

£9.99

The Child/Baby Yoda animatronic toy

The Child/Baby Yoda animatronic toy

Hasbro iwantoneofthose.com

£59.99

Read more
Similar news
This week's most popular news