Notwithstanding appearances within The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian has been absent from our lives for some time. After 2 years of turmoil, a nasty dismissal of a key cast member, corporate turmoil and intrigue, will the trailer for the third season of the Mandalorian draw fans back in?
“Our people are scattered….like stars in the galaxy. What are we? What do we stand for?” – Din Djarin, Future Mand’alor
So opens the trailer for the new season, but somehow the words don’t feel earned. Oh, Din is certainly fated for the role, but it feels like a character editor has been used to add levels to the PC so he can take on the boss without having to do sidequests.
Maybe this is unfair, but how does Din Djarin have followers? Where did these Mandalorians come from? We all want to see him reach this height, but he’s got some personal redemption to go through first.
“Being a Mandalorian’s not just learning about how to fight – you also have to know how to navigate the galaxy. That way, you’ll never be lost.” – Din Djarin, Father Figure
We’re in familiar and welcome territory here. Some fans have begun to tire of Grogu, but I’m not one of them. I do believe the pair should not have been reunited in The Book of Boba Fett, but this line promises to reveal more of Din’s backstory and early life within Death Watch, and also explore his own feelings of being lost now that he’s cut off from his heritage – at least until he redeems himself.
Familiar and Unfamiliar Territory
Brief shots of a reunion with Greef Carga on a much more prosperous Navarro. (Eagle-eyed fans will notice a portion of a heroic statue of IG-11 standing atop a pile of stormtrooper helmets in the Navarro town square.)
Next we see the flight through the poisoned atmosphere of Mandalore, cross-cut with a conversation between Din and Rook Kast (erm..I mean The Armorer).
“I’m going to Mandalore, so that I may be forigven for my transgressions.” – Din Djarin, The Penitent
The bombed-out husk of Sundari beckons, but we leave it quickly for a scene with Pelli Motto, as The Mandalorians’ sleek souped-up N1 starfighter leaves Tatooine, and she calls out “May The Force Be With You.”
“This is the Way.” – Din Djarin, Way-Follower
The N1 flies through fireworks, and we cut to another unexpected scene – Coruscant, and a taxi flying through the night sky carrying Dr. Pershing. Over this, we hear the voice of Captain Carson Teva:
“There’s something dangerous happening out there, and by the time it becomes big enough for you to act, it’ll be too late.” – Captain Carson Teva, Overeager Traffic Cop
The First Order, or Thrawn? Could be either, and the tease is likely deliberate.
We cut to sickly-lit caverns, possibly on the ruined source of Mandalore. Within a cave, The Mandalorian extracts what appears to be an ancient Mandalorian Mask from the ash. Whether truly ancient, or simply ravaged by the Night of A Thousand Tears, this could be a random Mandalorian helmet, the “original” Mask of Mandalore, or perhaps the helmet that once belonged to Tor Viszla.
We then cut to a flashback of Order 66 from Grogus perspective, as a a door is nearly breached and Jedi rush to defend.
The next scene sees TIE Interceptors pursuing a Mandalorian Gauntlet Fighter over a body of water, while it skillfully evades. This scene looks to be a fake-out edit – it is intercut with the Mando speaking to Grogu, but in the scene where he appears, he is within his N1 starfighter cockpit. It’s unclear who actually pilots the Gauntlet.
“Hang on Kid!” – Din Djarin, Helicopter Parent
Several quick scenes now, involving Mando crashing an all-droid bar, Mandalorians dropping from the sky into a battle in Navarro (where it appears the IG-11 statue has been destroyed), a Mandalorian binding a Nikto in a capture cable, tripping him, and giving him a view of an apartment occupied by *shudder* a family of Babu Friks, and concluding with Grogu navigating his pram out the exit of a cave on a planet that looks VERY MUCH like Malachor V, but which is probably just Mandalore. He is confronted by a monster that could be either a ‘roided up Talz or a new version of the Rakghoul – but he bats it aside with his growing Force Powers.
“This is the Way” – Din Djarin, he REALLY likes The Way
Join #TheMandalorian and #Grogu once again in the new season, streaming March 1 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/vqewQg35mO
— The Mandalorian (@themandalorian) January 17, 2023
So, How did it Make Me Feel?
Well – not the way I expected. I’ve loved The Mandalorian up to this point. It’s one of the things that I feel Disney has gotten right, along with Rogue One, Andor, and Rebels.
The firing of Gina Carano left a sour taste in my mouth, and her presence is going to be missed. The fact that she won’t be here undercuts the presence of Carson Teva, who was clearly going to be the lead-in for Rangers of the New Republic.
The reuniting of Grogu with Mando feels far too rushed – this portion of the story feels like it should be the “personal journey” of Din Djarin. The loss of Grogu for a time would’ve left him unbalanced, and a journey of redemption would’ve given him time to grow and to discover his center again.
My hope is that this season will focus heavily on the redemptive arc of Din Djarin, and that it will involve a LOT of Mandalore, Bo Katan, Clan politics, The Darksaber, and Moff Gideon – but this trailer didn’t really give much away. It felt more like just another teaser, and in that sense I was disappointed.
Which leads to one more possible sticking point:
What should I do?
After the firing of Gina Carano, I cancelled my Disney+ subscription. I went without it for a very long time. After Bob Chapeks renewal as CEO of Disney, and following moves that looked positive to me, I reluctantly signed up for the service again in order to review Andor.
Shortly thereafter, Chapek was given the boot unceremoniously in the dead of night, and somehow Bob Iger, architect of Disneys current woes, had returned.
I cancelled my Disney+ account on the spot, and in my cancellation message said that due to the firing, they would never receive a dime from me again.
I have been on a personal boycott of all new Disney Star Wars products. Recently, I have been focusing on the old EU, and plan in the future to focus on fun or obscure things from Star Wars past that maybe you didn’t know about, or might find interesting.
However, that does prevent me from reviewing current materials, such as The Bad Batch.
I felt that readers of this site had sent me a signal that you’re all done with Disney Star Wars, but I want to make sure that’s the sentiment. As such, I’ll be launching a poll on my Twitter Page @lornconner.
Do you want me to re-up my subscription to Disney+ in order to review Mando Season 3, or would you prefer that I let it go and only focus on the older stuff, with commentary on the insider goings-on at Disney and Lucasfilm?
Let me know, and also let me know how you felt about the Mando Season 3 trailer – did it get you hyped, or are you content to let it end with Grogu heading off with Luke Skywalker?
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