#really wish this season had done what it should have and explored Din’s relationship with his faith

[vvitchering]

I think maybe everyone should cool it with the “weird cult” comments regarding the covert, honestly. It wasn’t that funny to begin with but now that it’s the popular describer it’s starting to become a little uncomfy. No one is forced to join, no one is forced to stay. There’s a ton of parallels between them and real world cultures and religions and I just think MAYBE we need to be a little more aware of what message we’re sending when we say “haha that group of people who are in hiding because their lives were/are at stake and who practice anonymity to survive and follow certain rules that I don’t personally understand or like are a weird cult”.

#maybe we should lay off that word #I’m not the first person to say this obviously but now it’s starting to make me a little 😬 #really wish this season had done what it should have and explored Din’s relationship with his faith #then maybe we’d learn more about the covert and Mandalorian culture and people wouldn’t feel the need to use this kind of language #they’re not a cult they’re just a group of people trying to survive in a universe that would prefer they did not #and that hits home for a lot of real people watching #anyway there’s that #the mandalorian #everyone a Din stan til we talk about how his faith is still a huge part of his character and his life #although the show really really needs to address how all of the events so far have changed his mindset #personally I don’t think he wants to leave his creed behind #but I think he would benefit from reevaluating what it means to him Now as opposed to when he took it as a child #the fact of the matter is: the covert and the creed are Important to Din on a fundamental level #would he enjoy you running around calling his family a cult? probs not #mine

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Mandalorian: Guns for Hire (3x06)

I just realized there are only two episodes left of this season. That feels... kind of strange.

Cons:

Pacing-wise, this season hasn't really felt like it was building to anything in particular, and if it is, it's not anything to do with Din or Grogu. I'm of two minds about this whole thing. It's kind of fun and almost charming to have Mando and Baby Yoda take on the role of side characters this season. They're just vibin', father and son, doing their thing. But this is still supposed to be Din's show, isn't it? I wonder if they really are just out of plans for this character already, and what that bodes for the future of the show. I don't have a bad time watching them just hanging out on the periphery of other people's stories, but I don't really understand the decision to structure things this way.

After all that, Din just... gives Bo-Katan the Dark Saber? Talk about an anti-climax. Maybe that's my overall critique of this season. The driving force of seasons one and two are over, and now we just have Din sorta... hopping around, cleaning up messes, with Grogu happily along for the ride. This whole thing about the fate of Mandalore was one of the last big dangling threads we had that connected specifically to Din's character, and now that's resolved with him basically saying "no I don't wanna", and handing the sword off? To be clear, I'm very on board with Bo-Katan getting the sword and leading their people. Seems like very much the appropriate move to make. I just wish there could have been something more momentous surrounding this great moment of destiny.

Pros:

The thing is, this episode felt very much like filler for the bulk of it, and the pacing was odd, and it wasn't riveting or revelatory or anything of the kind. But it was... fun! It was charming and easy to watch Lizzo and Jack Black as the royalty on their own planet of extravagance. I loved the fact that Grogu was easily seduced by Lizzo feeding him fish, and that he got knighted at the end. I loved that Din and Bo-Katan's different strategies came into play as they tried to investigate the malfunctioning droids and how to suss out the true nature of their strange behavior. It was a pitstop, not important in the larger sense, but it gave us a chance to hang out with our characters and watch them fight and negotiate and investigate. Not the worst way to spend some time!

I was also caught up in the opening scene, it was cool to have a bit of star-crossed lovers to start things off. Moments where we see other species, other places, aspects of the world we might not otherwise get to explore, really makes the universe of Star Wars feel big and lived-in. And speaking of, another reason it was so fun to see Lizzo and Jack Black's planet was that so much of this universe is dirty and dark and run-down, done in browns and greys. So this pop of color, with some fun costume design and interesting environments, was also very welcome!

I feel like I get more and more vague and brief as I write about this show. I think ultimately it's hard for me to grasp onto where the plot is going or how much I should care. The thing I'm invested in is the father/son relationship at the center of it all, and it feels like that relationship doesn't have any new dimension to it this season.

7/10

#review #the mandalorian #the mandalorian review #mandalorian #mandalorian review