‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3, Episode 5 Review
by Frank Martin
Fans of The Mandalorian who complained that this season hasn’t been action packed enough definitely got their wish with this week’s episode. It managed to accomplish a lot from its opening moments to its last. It dealt with New Republic bureaucracy, Mandalore culture, plenty of action with pirates, and a tease to the fate of Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and where the season goes next. If fans of the series and Star Wars couldn’t find something to enjoy about this episode then they obviously weren’t paying attention. Or perhaps, they just want to complain and get more pleasure from trashing on Star Wars than enjoying it.
The conflict with the pirates that was teased earlier in the season came to a head as the pirate ship attacked Navarro. Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) had to flee the city and plead for help with New Republic. They decided not to go, but Adelphi Ranger Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) sought out the Mandalorians for help instead. Believing that this was an opportunity to come out into the light and have a home of their own, the Mandalorians came to Navarro’s aid. They defeated the pirates in an epic battle and Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) is sent out on a mission to find other Mandalorians and bring them back to unite the clans.
Besides the action, which was awesome, this episode moved the overall Mandalorian storyline along in a big way. The Mandalorians now have a place out in the open to call their home. They can build up their culture and society. And with Bo-Katan going out to convince other Mandalorians to come, it will only create a more fertile ground for stories. Plus, the tease that Gideon was broken out of custody by Mandalorians further ads to the mystery. The fate of the Mandalorians has largely been untold in the sequel era, so it will be interesting to see how they eventually wind up.
The Mandalorian streams Wednesdays on Disney+.
