Mando season 3

[MarkB]

They didn't abandon the idea. Mando is going to search for the necessary part to fix IG-11.

Is he? He needed the part so that he could have a droid to accompany him to Mandalore. He no longer has that requirement.

 

[Ryujin]

Did anyone else immediately think "Morlocks" when those creatures ambushed Din?

First thing that crossed my mind. All that was missing, was them shrinking back from the light.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

First thing that crossed my mind. All that was missing, was them shrinking back from the light.

Yeah and someone decided to make them more Morlock-like, because the concept art has them actually significantly less Morlock-y.

 

[Argyle King]

I think what we saw was Bo Katan atoning.

She bathed in the water. Seeing the creature in the water (after she mocked the story) was a way of bringing her back to her faith.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I think what we saw was Bo Katan atoning.

She bathed in the water. Seeing the creature in the water (after she mocked the story) was a way of bringing her back to her faith.

The trouble with that is, Mando's lot are a wacky-ass obscure cult with a lot of obviously dubious or wrong-headed beliefs, not the "true faith" or whatever. I don't think Bo Katan is going to decide she's never taking her helmet off again or something. Plus she's already clearly a "chosen one" in that she can wield the Darksaber no probs. I'm sure seeing the Mythosaur will have some impact on her, but I think it's more likely to propel her back to trying to reunify the scattered Mandalorians rather than some sort of religious faith. Also maybe she needs to kick Din's ass and take the Darksaber.

 

[Argyle King]

The trouble with that is, Mando's lot are a wacky-ass obscure cult with a lot of obviously dubious or wrong-headed beliefs, not the "true faith" or whatever. I don't think Bo Katan is going to decide she's never taking her helmet off again or something. Plus she's already clearly a "chosen one" in that she can wield the Darksaber no probs. I'm sure seeing the Mythosaur will have some impact on her, but I think it's more likely to propel are back to trying to reunify the scattered Mandalorian rather than some sort of religious faith.

I agree that I don't see her following "The Way," but I do believe that she atoned and regained her "faith" in so much that -like you said- she now has something to fight for again.

I also think that the symbolism and stories she mocked may now be viewed with more weight, even she's not as extreme in her beliefs as Din Djarin.

 

[MarkB]

I agree that I don't see her following "The Way," but I do believe that she atoned and regained her "faith" in so much that -like you said- she now has something to fight for again.

I also think that the symbolism and stories she mocked may now be viewed with more weight, even she's not as extreme in her beliefs as Din Djarin.

Yeah, that was very much the impression I got. This has pulled her out of her cynicism, and allowed her to appreciate the symbolism of the Mandalorian belief system as more than mere pageantry.

 

[pukunui]

1) What is Mando's "major malfunction" re: the Darksaber? Like, before it was clear he was unpracticed with it, but it's been, according to Favreau, like two years, and the dude is still inept with it. I don't know if I'd even be strong enough to lift it, but assuming I could, I stone-cold guarantee, I, Ruin Explorer, would be a better Darksaber fighter than bloody Mando relatively quickly, simply because I'd spend a few days or a week practicing with the damn thing! (Assuming I didn't lose a limb in the process) Even if you didn't know how it worked inertia/weight-wise at the start, you would after ten hours or whatever, and then it'd be a matter of training yourself.

I do feel like at least it's consistent enough that this is some kind of characterization - either that Din isn't very sensible as a warrior, and doesn't practice or try to learn new things, or that he's just innately bad with the Darksaber, and will never be good with it, because he's not meant to wield it.

As @MarkB pointed out, there's a psychological / spiritual / Force connection element to it that Din just hasn't grokked yet.

2) If the latter, what we saw was very interesting, because Bo Katan was an absolute effortless total badass with it, kicking the ass of the power armour/cyborg which attacked them like she was a Jedi Master with a lightsaber. She was clearly is trained with it (which I believe we know from Clone Wars/Rebels) and possibly also born to it.

3) Bo Katan generally made a pretty good case for being "the real Mandalorian" here, hope Din was paying some damn attention. I'm actually feeling kind of sorry for Din at this point, because his naivete is really causing him issues.

Yes, it's fascinating how quickly things have turned in Bo-Katan's favor.

4) Bo Katan also was the only one to actually see the Mythosaur (one presumes, given Din appeared to be unconscious), which seems pretty omen-y.

Interesting. I figured they'd both seen it, but yes, it's possible Din was not conscious. Do we think that the mythosaur pulled him under, or did he just cluelessly step off the ledge and plunge to the bottom?

5) Grogu is absolutely clearly now fully sentient and just non-verbal. He's at least as smart as a 6/7-year-old or so, and with a lot more emotional maturity than most. I mean, we already kind of new that, but it's now unarguable.

He's also using the Force a lot more, and not just to spin chairs and steal candies.

6) The power armour driven by the cyborg was fascinating. Primarily it seemed extremely Rifts-esque, which is interesting because Rifts was always heavily Star Wars influenced (among many others), though it most resembled a Tachikoma from Ghost In The Shell. The cyborg driving it had massive Doctor Who vibes too, and just really seemed perfectly that sort of '80s "grotesque cyborg" deal we used to see a lot. The head detaching and skittering away is something I've seen before but am having difficulty placing. Probably in a '80s movie or cartoon? Or 2000 AD. Or Rifts, actually.

A review I read online was speculating that it was a cyborg dianoga because the eye looked a lot like the one that poked up in the trash compactor. I have my doubts, but yeah, it would be nice to know more about that creature. I was glad that Bo-Katan explained what the mylock thingies were and that they've been on Mandalore for a long time.

Speaking of the mylocks, they actually put me in mind of the D&D version (the grimlock) at first but of course they weren't blind. I briefly wondered if they were meant to be degenerate / mutated Mandalorians, but no, it would appear they are indigenous to Mandalore.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Interesting. I figured they'd both seen it, but yes, it's possible Din was not conscious. Do we think that the mythosaur pulled him under, or did he just cluelessly step off the ledge and plunge to the bottom?

He was totally unmoving and had to be fully carried (without gripping back), so yeah I'd say the apparent intention was that he was unconscious. Also the way they shot it, they show Bo Katan taking a good look at the Mythosaur, but no reaction shot of Din at all, which I think they'd have had if he'd seen it.

Re: pulled under vs sank - hard to tell - pulled under would make slightly more sense as to why he was all the way at the bottom. Bo Katan reacted almost instantly and was using a jetpack to get down faster and he still beat her to the bottom, which if he was just sinking, I'm not certain would have happened. But equally it's a TV show, not Mythbusters, so I can't assume that's intended. Either way is not a good look for Din's faith in his faith and/or himself. If the Mythosaur pulled him down, it's because he was unworthy and/or because Bo Katan was worthy, and if he sank, it also implies he was either foolish in his faith - too trusting - or unworthy.

(IIRC terminal velocity for a human in water on earth is about 3m/s - but this is an alien world blah blah blah so I think we'll have to wait for Din to say what happened.)

Yes, it's fascinating how quickly things have turned in Bo-Katan's favor.

Indeed. Last episode I thought "Well that's probably the last we'll see of Bo-Katan until late this season!" and now this episode she was basically the protagonist. At least they're not predictable!

As @MarkB pointed out, there's a psychological / spiritual / Force connection element to it that Din just hasn't grokked yet.

Yeah I'd forgotten about that. I wonder if he ever will, or if it'll be confiscated by someone who already gets that (i.e. Bo-Katan or Sabine) before he does. I suppose Grogu could teach him but until that little guy starts talking it might be challenging. That said I'd be super-unsurprised if Grogu was able to wield it (Yoda-stylez) - when Grogu went to open the cage-thing, I initially thought he might grab the Darksaber and chop it open - though literally the very first thought I had when he was spying on trapped Din was "Oh crap go get Bo-Katan" so I was pleased when they did. She was probably only like double-digit minutes away given she was on a planet in the same system (and that the High Republic stuff where ships don't use hyperdrives between planets in a system seems to be untrue here - presumably that was an artifact of the time period).

 

[pukunui]

He was totally unmoving and had to be fully carried (without gripping back), so yeah I'd say the apparent intention was that he was unconscious.

Good point.

Indeed. Last episode I thought "Well that's probably the last we'll see of Bo-Katan until late this season!" and now this episode she was basically the protagonist. At least they're not predictable!

We were all also thinking "She's not worthy" last episode, and now she's looking more worthy than ever.

EDIT: On a different note, Bo-Katan seems to be engaging in a bit of revisionist history. She keeps styling herself as a member of Mandalore's royal family, as if her father was king rather than merely a duke from Kalevala (which had its own prince during the Clone Wars era). Her sister, Satine, was just a "duchess" when she ruled Mandalore. But Bo-Katan is making herself out to be a princess. (I note that she also left her sister out of her story to Din, but I suppose that's not surprising since the two didn't get along and Bo-Katan undoubtedly views her sister's pacifism as un-Mandalorian.)

I initially thought he might grab the Darksaber and chop it open

I feel like he wouldn't be able to wield it since it's bigger than he is. There's a reason Yoda has a tiny lightsaber. It would be great if Grogu could somehow get Yoda's lightsaber off Luke.