The Mandalorian S3, Ep 6 Review
Last week, we saw the Mandalorians become heroes by freeing Nevarro from pirates, giving them a chance to live in the open. At the same time, though, the Armorer pulls Bo-Katan and lays down the situation. It’s time for them to stop fighting and rebuild their way of life by uniting their scattered people. Thus, Bo-Katan, Din, and Baby Yoda go on a quest to do just that. However, instead of anything big and meaningful, we get an episode that seems silly, lighthearted, and filled with guest stars. At least four major guest stars pop up in this episode, seemingly for the sake of having them.
At least we get to see more of the Battle Droids, though. They’re hilarious.
Welcome to Prazir, Ruled by Guest Stars Jack Black and Lizzo
Earlier in the season, Bo-Katan mentioned how after she couldn’t get the Darksaber back, her forces took the fleet she built and returned to being guns for hire. At this point, we find her former followers now doing mercenary work and guarding a planet called Prazir, AKA the planet that everyone thought looked like Mandalore before it got razed. It’s an independent Outer Rim planet, and it’s where Din, Bo, and Grogu head first. Instead of the straight-forward path they want, though, the group’s forced to go on a meandering side-quest when they’re brought to the planet’s rulers without consent. And the planet’s ruled by characters played by Lizzo and Jack Black. Jack Black is now in Star Wars.
The reason behind this whole side-quest is that the planet’s people need help. They’ve used refurbished droids to do all the jobs so they can indulge their interests, but the droids are starting to go haywire. Since some of these droids include Battle Droids from the Clone Wars, and their planet’s rules won’t let them use weapons (because Jack Black’s guy is an Ex-Imperial), their hands are tied. Since the other Mandalorians can’t go inside the city, they ask for Din and Bo-Katan’s help in exchange for recognizing Mandalore as an independent world.
As unnecessary as this side-quest and the use of high-profile guest stars seems, that offer could end up becoming useful in the future. Last week, we saw Captain Teva finding evidence that the Mandalorians freed Moff Gideon. If the New Republic were to come down on them for this, having a neutral party vouch for them could be important. Also, it’s Jack Black; you can’t go wrong with a guest star like Jack Black.
Seeing the Battle Droids Again is Always a Pleasure
As a Star Wars fan, I’m aware of the flak the Prequels Trilogy’s gotten over the years. However, one part of it I’ve always loved has been the battle droids. They’re not only a means for the Jedi to show off their skill without a lot of guilt (mostly), but they’re also great comic relief. Matthew Wood worked hard helping to make them so funny from Revenge of the Sith onwards, and it’s great hearing his voice again. I also counted him as one of the first stars.
Given their history and original purpose as war machines, one would think they’re reverting to their original programming. However, it’s not their fault, and this isn’t part of some big droid uprising going on. The droids of Prazir are mostly ones that the Empire or the New Republic would scrap. They’re well aware of the stigma droids got after the Clone Wars, and they don’t want to ruin their second chance. As it turns out, the droids have been consuming this “drink” laced with nano-droids that’s forcibly reverting them into battle droids. Din and No manage to track down the culprit, the last of the episode’s guest stars, Commissioner Helgait, played by Christopher Lloyd, AKA Doc.
As it turns out, Helgait was part of the Separatists all the way back during the Clone Wars, and he’s angry that a former Imperial (Jack Black) helps run the planet. Once he’s outed, he launches a spiel about how the Separatists were great, and Count Dooku was a visionary, at which point I stopped caring. He was just a die-hard for a long-dead cause built on a lie, and I couldn’t help but thank Bo-Katan when he knocked him out.
Bo-Katan Regains the Darksaber Once More. For real, this time!
In the last minutes of the episode sees Din and Bo finally set out what they wanted to do: talk to the other Mandalorians. Instead, bo-Katan reasserts her dominance by beating their leader and proclaims all she wants is to reunite their fractured people at last. However, they point out she still lacks the Darksaber, which Din has.
This would’ve been the perfect chance for the show to give us the duel between Din and Bo they’ve been teasing for some time. Instead, however, they opt for an in-universe cop-out. Since Din got beaten by that mystery cyborg on Mandalore and Bo had to save him, she won the Darksaber by right of combat.
I will be completely honest: I wouldn’t say I liked this solution, even if it was clever. As much as I didn’t want to see Din and Bo-Katan have to fight and fracture their people even further, I also wanted to see them fight for the sake of awesomeness. This feels like an easy way to resolve that issue and a bit of a letdown for fans. Not the kind of thing I’d want.
A Poorly-Placed Episode Weighted Down by Guest Stars
I always try to see the best in every episode of The Mandalorian since I know it’s a great show. However, I came out of this episode feeling a little disappointed. It felt like something we’d see in the first season, detracting from the threat of Moff Gideon being free. In addition, having guest stars like Jack Black and Christopher Lloyd took a lot of focus away from everyone else, which is not good. I love Jack Black to death, and I can’t wait to see him as Bowser in the Super Mario Bros Movie later this week, but it seemed unnecessary.
The only saving grace I could think of was seeing the battle droids again. I love Matthew Wood as the battle droids, and it’s nice to see they’re still around years after the Clone Wars. The last two episodes, though, better be mind-blowing.
