Chapter 19: The Convert

I really enjoyed this episode once I'd recovered from the whiplash of the change in pace. The opening was so quick out of the gates and so fun to watch that the second part of the episode struggled as a result. I loved the world building and return to Coruscant and the setting the seeds for stories going forwards, characters motivations are still a bit of a mystery at the moment and I'm looking forward to seeing this continue to develop, especially with Bo Katan who is being written so well over the last couple of episodes. This series is defying all expectations so far and I'm excited to see what is next especially as this feels like the end of arc 1.

I get it, Coruscant is a beautiful place and is part of the Star Wars heart. Although most of this episode was aimed away from Mando and focused more on some side characters with another subplot. These short shows don't have time for subplots, unless it's a short 20 minutes at the most but not an entire episode.

We had Mando at the beginning with the soundtrack department overusing Mando's two tone chime everytime he came on screen. Yes it was overused and i know it's his signature theme but do they have to use it every time we see him? The dog fight at the beginning looked weak, entertaining but it looked like something just to keep us watching.

I don't know if the rest of the episode meant something, maybe it plays a bigger part but i'm sick of sticking up for this series if it just continues to be silly like this. Please make sense, build up to something, give us the meaning. At the minute i'm confused, to the point i actually didn't care for the final scene and i know i should.

I'm amazed this episode has so many people being negative. For my money, the Coruscant plotline - while technically a detour which takes up most of the episode's runtime - is some of the best worldbuilding, best acting and best writing to come out of any of the Disney+ Star Wars shows. It feels like Jon Favreau popped over to the Andor editing room, watched an episode, thought "hey this is good stuff, I should try that" and inserted a story of complex motivations, flawed institutions and heartbreaking intrigue. In terms of cinematography, tone and scale, it feels far closer to Andor than The Mandalorian, but what can I say? It's a welcome change from previously stilted, awkwardly structured and relatively emotionless episodes. Whatever new approach Chapter 19 was presenting, I think I prefer it.

This episode invests way to much stake in a side-character. It appears to be that this investment is intended to pay-off in a future episode, but it was way too much of a deviation without any immediate pay-off or obvious progression.

There is a brief interaction with the Mandalorian before a long-cut to the side character (30 minutes roughly). The Mandalorian scenes in this episode are great, but total about 10 minutes. I feel like the 30 minutes dedicated to the side character could have been further condensed or needed to get us a lot more invested in this character. It felt like an unnecessary side-quest.

We shall see how this story plays into the future, but this episode left quite a bit to be desired.

A former Imperial scientist struggles with life in the New Republic.

This is a solid episode with some interesting story development.

The plot spends a short time with the lead characters, but that time is spectacular and gives Din and Bo some great opportunities to be very cool.

I quite enjoyed when the plot deviated. There's only so much you can watch every week of the title character on various missions, so for me it's a welcome change of focus. It feels slightly jarring, as it comes out of the blue in the series narrative, but hopefully it is laying the foundations for good things to come. These scenes are more reminiscent of the style and tone of 'Andor' than other Star Wars shows, which works fine for me.

As ever the fan service and visual spectacle is top drawer in all aspects. I like the art design on Coruscant and the action sequences in the opening scenes are outstanding.

Omid Abtahi leads the episode well.

Update to review after finishing season - it would appear this episode only lays the foundations for a very small aspect of the overarching narrative so it feels now like an excessive detour. I still enjoyed it slightly more than the other episodes of series 3 for showing something different.

For me it's a 7.5/10, but I round upwards.