Chapter 21: The Pirate

For the longest time the mandalorian has been a very episodic series. With an overarching plot for the season as a whole in the background.

However with the advent of its third season it has shifted to a more connected plot. Episode five titled. The Pirate it's the payoff of 4 episodes of build up. Whilst also building up for the next half of the season, it has given us the most action packed episode thus far whist also focusing on smaller characters throughout the episode. As it's only halfway through that we see the Mandalorians really take centre stage.

***SPOILERS***

The episode follows an group of pirates decimate Greef Karga's planet Nevarro. He is forced lead his people into the lava flats for safety as they wait for help to arrive from to Republic. However due to their world not being a member of the republic, help doesn't look likely to arrive. Greef sends word to Captain Teva to send urgent military aid. And although Teva is eager to help the people of Nevarro he is prevented by the New Republic bureaucracy. And the "redeemed" Imperial Officer Kane. Despite this Teva tracks down the Mandalorian covert. Pleading for them to help instead. After some deliberation and the support of Paz Visula they agree to liberate Nevarro. This is the most exciting point in the episode. As we get a small but full on battle featuring the entire covert taking on the pirate corvette in the skies and the troops on the ground.

The episode ends with our heros being rewarded with settlement on Nevarro, this time not being in the sewers but instead wide open pastures.

And with the promise that mandalore will be retaken.

This episode was pretty solid. It just feels a bit off for me. Shouldn't mando be the main character? I thought this season would be about him atoning for removing his helmet. Now it's about Bo Katan uniting all mandalorians. It's fine, but it couldn't have been mando uniting them? He's the title character, and he also has walked both paths. It just makes more sense. I don't see how mando fits in in the coming episodes. It looks like he will just be there to be there. Side note- why does Navarro, aka a whole planet, have like twenty citizens? Seriously, it really threw me off. Just hire some more extras.

This week we received an overall great episode that got the ball rolling on the future for Bo Karan and the rest of the Mandalorians. I'm glad to see that the events of episode 3 are also coming back to actually play a significant role in the story. My sole complaint, as evidenced by the title, is that this season's cinematography has been subpar at best. Greig Fraser, the cinematographer for the first two seasons was also responsible for projects like Rogue One, Dune, and The Batman, all of which were incredibly visually stunning works. With his absence, season 3 feels more like a cartoon than anything else. Seeing Mandalorians fight in the broad daylight with no particle effects outside of blaster sparks just takes me completely out of the story. It makes it obvious that this is shot on a set and takes me out of the immersion of what is otherwise a good story. The shots inside of the pirate ship are front lit, which eliminates any feeling that we're bunkered down with the pirates. It's definitely a nitpick, but I feel the difference in quality is extremely noticeable and should not be glossed over just for the fact that we're getting good Star Wars content.

Honestly you have people basically calling it another filler and others calling it a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean. I mean What?! It wasn't a bad episode in the slightest, not a 10/10 but not how people are making it out. Don't believe the critics. This episode had progression on the Mandalorians and story, not a filler.

When i started watching this episode i could tell it was going to be great already due to the build up of music and the flowing cinematography. Wasn't too sure on certain subplot characters returning but the rest of the episode justified it well. Going against my review from the previous episode, the Mandalorians actually seemed badass again. Even Din Djarin himself had flawless screen time. It's just a pity it's taken this long to get an episode like this because this is why i started watching The Mandalorian.

The last scene has so many questions it makes me actually intrigued for the series again.

9.1/10.

This is more like it. After a shaky start to this new season, we are back on track. The established characters and storylines are coming together now. It's even possible to appreciate the episode two weeks ago.

The action is as good as it ever has been. It's cool to see the Mandalorians act like a special military force. We do not see a lot of strategy in Star Wars so it was good. The stories revolving Bo-Katan and Mando are very interesting and we seem to have an actual clear objective for this season now (which is great).

Honestly, Grogu is not cute anymore. He does not seem to be very intelligent and he walks slowly. I don't know if Disney can keep playing him as this cute little baby because it's getting annoying. He is 50 years old and he can't be this naive right? The biggest problem is that his writing is so inconsistent. Sometimes he gets flashbacks and can handle himself and find Bo-Katan on a different planet, but at other times he is just a little baby who can't do anything on his own. Is this sweet little act not getting old? I think so. If they took Grogu more seriously that would benefit the show and its storytelling.