Grogu is coming back to Disney scenes, and we can't wait to gush over his cute demeanor and green complexion. Photo / Supplied
Grogu is coming back to Disney scenes, and we can't wait to gush over his cute demeanor and green complexion. Photo / Supplied
In the two years and change since The Mandalorian last released new episodes, Star Wars has released two new shows.
There was the divisive The Book of Boba Fett, the more-or-less well-received Obi-Wan Kenobiand the universally acclaimed Andor.
It’s Andor that actually raises the bar for The Mandalorian. Until Andor, The Mandalorian was comfortably considered the apex of the Star Wars TV universe, but Tony Gilroy’s grounded and gritty series shook up that order, praised for its accessible and mature storytelling away from the Star Wars lore.
How do you position The Mandalorian in a post-Andor world?
The thing to remember is these two shows are doing very different things. Andor was designed to fill a space in the Star Wars universe that wasn’t so bogged down in the mythology, where it dealt with the political and the personal of those who didn’t have the Force. It wasn’t even Force-adjacent.
The two shows are wildly different in tone, and it only takes about seven minutes into the first episode, named The Apostate, before you remember what drew everyone to The Mandalorian in the first place – that relationship between Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and Grogu (formerly known as The Child/Baby Yoda).
Even though one is a puppet and the other is a helmeted character, there is a beautiful and resonant connection between the two. When they first appear on screen together in the season opener – and it’s a triumphant entry – you’ll smile and feel as if the world is right again.
They’re just so goddamn adorable together. And if you don’t think so, you have an impenetrable heart of stone, or beskar steel.
Pedro Pascal will revive his role in the series, continuing our favourite father/baby yoda bond between Din Djarin and Grogu on screen. Photo / Disney
But why are they together, you might ask? Didn’t the last season end with Grogu going off to train with Luke Skywalker, and thus ending Din Djarin’s quest of reuniting the little green munchkin with the Jedi?
You might be one of the not inconsiderable number of viewers who clocked off The Book of Boba Fett after the first or second or even third lacklustre episode and never got to the final three chapters when the show basically morphed into unofficial The Mandalorian season 2.5.
Quick summary of those Boba Fett episodes is Din Djarin and Grogu miss each other dearly and aren’t doing so well on their solo adventures. In order to wield the Darksaber better, Din Djarin goes to the Armorer who tells him the back story to the weapon that could either rule Mandalore or curse it.
But Din Djarin can no longer be the saviour because he removed his helmet (this is NOT the way), but he argued that he can redeem himself if he can be washed within “the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore”. Problem is Mandalore is a wasteland, supposedly poisoned.
'I watch the series for the plot. The plot:'
Photo / Disney
And somewhere in there, Grogu chooses to go with Din Djarin instead of continuing his Jedi training.
The new season picks up with this fresh quest, of Din Djarin trying to claim his Mandalorian-ness. There are familiar favourites – Carl Weathers’ Greef Karga, Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze and Amy Sedaris’ Peli Motto among them – while the creature feature aspect is robust.
Two episodes of season three were made available for review and while the first feels as if it’s trying to refind its feet, the second episode, directed by Rachel Morrison, is a stronger, grippier chapter.
The Mandalorian has always been a particular kind of Star Wars project, one that’s immersed in the lore, leans into the family friendly adventure, and has well-choreographed and engaging albeit sanitised action sequences.
But its core is that seemingly unbreakable bond between Din Djarin and Grogu. As long as it centres that – and it does – The Mandalorian will retain its place in fans’ hearts.
And besides, if you really want to see a grittier version of a story where Pedro Pascal as father figure shepherds a younger charge through a dangerous world, there’s always The Last of Us.
