This review contains full spoilers for episode one of The Mandalorian Season 3, now available to watch on Disney+.
“I’m confused,” Bounty Hunters’ Guild leader-turned-High Magistrate of the planet Nevarro, Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), tells the Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). “I thought you had completed your mission but you’re still running around with the same little critter.”
Greef is serving as an audience surrogate to catch up viewers who might not have watched the parts of The Book of Boba Fett that were effectively episodes of The Mandalorian, but his commentary also gets at the core challenge The Mandalorian faces in Season 3. The two-season long quest to deliver Grogu to a Jedi who could teach him was both completed and effectively failed, since Grogu decided he’d rather be with Din than Luke Skywalker. So where do the show and its characters go now?
The answer offered in “The Apostate” is a redemption quest, with Din needing to atone for removing his helmet in Season 2. The only way he can be cleansed of his sins is in the living waters in the mines of the devastated planet Mandalore. This is explained in The Book of Boba Fett and rehashed at the beginning of the Season 3, but not before we witness a thrilling opening fight between some of the surviving Mandalorians and a giant crocodile. This clash shows off just how many Mandalorians have survived Moff Gideon’s attack and how well they fight together as a unit rather than just lone bounty hunters, teaming up to face a rampaging beast that’s nearly immune to most blaster fire and has plenty of nasty moves of its own.
Din’s new quest requires the help of some of the series’ recurring stars, taking him back to where it all began, where he hopes to repair bounty hunter-turned-nanny droid IG-11. He needs a droid he can trust to help explore Mandalore, so it’s obvious he’d choose the one intent on killing Grogu, right? What follows is an effectively creepy scene ripped straight out of Terminator, with the mangled IG droid desperately clawing its way to get Grogu before unceremoniously being dispatched for a second time. Yet somehow Din still thinks rebuilding IG-11 is a good idea.
As Din tries desperately to return to his status quo, “The Apostate” is focused on how much others have changed. Nevarro is nearly unrecognizable as a thriving trade hub, a place that’s as prosperous as it is peaceful. It’s a fragile peace though, and Greef briefly tries to recruit Din for Cara Dune’s old job as marshal since she’s been roped into New Republic activities following Gina Carano’s firing from the series.
Nevarro still feels like a classic Western setting, a place that deeply values its independence and isn’t willing to ask the New Republic for help. In a clever bit of costuming, Greef’s cloak of office — so bulky it’s carried by two tiny droids — conceals his blaster and he’s still a fast and sharp shooter. He and Din quickly dispatch a group of pirates serving Captain Gorian Shard (Nonso Anozie of Sweet Tooth), a new character that will undoubtedly continue to cause trouble this season.
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His men don’t fare any better against Din in space, where they ambush him and chase him through an asteroid field. It’s classic Star Wars dog fighting, with Din cleverly using the environment to reduce the impact of their numbers, even if he has to smash some mining equipment in the process. Their losses seem like they might pay off when Din is herded into a confrontation with Shard’s imposing flagship, but it just provides an opportunity to show off the utility of the new ship Peli Motto built Din. He jumps off to hyperspace while warning Grogu never to trust pirates.
Beyond potentially being a recurring antagonist, Shard’s introduction also might provide a gateway for Star Wars Rebels standout Hondo Ohnaka, a very untrustworthy pirate who nevertheless often wound up helping out that show’s heroes. The Mandalorian is already drawing on Rebels by introducing Purrgil, whale-like creatures that can travel through hyperspace. It’s a beautiful scene, with the bright colors reflecting on Grogu’s pod and the vague shapes just showing off that Star Wars is a place not just of violence and danger, but great wonders.
Grogu continues to be painfully adorable, whether snuggling in Din’s lap while flying or stealing some candy from Greef’s desk. The recurring gag where Din shares Grogu’s name with former allies who basically refuse to acknowledge it feels like a nod to any fan who prefers to keep calling the critter Baby Yoda. Grogu’s best moment is grabbing and hugging one of the Anzellans working on repairing IG-11, earning him the reprimand “bad baby.” Hopefully he just wanted to cuddle and didn’t plan on slurping the mechanic down like a frog.
While Greef has prospered, Bo-Katan’s world has fallen apart. Her speech to Din about the power of the Darksaber as a symbol and how her movement fell apart without it underscores the burden of the artifact Din now carries. Bo-Katan’s not going to challenge him for it, but it seems clear that to get his redemption, Din will likely have to finish her mission of restoring Mandalore. Katee Sackoff does a great job selling wearied despair, lounging on a throne in an empty hall like an abandoned queen.
It already seems likely that Din’s new quest will end something like his first, with the things he’s learned along the way proving very valuable while the original goal is largely abandoned. His interactions with Bo-Katan have shown Din that he doesn’t have to be part of the Children of the Watch to be a Mandalorian, and he’s clearly been questioning his own faith based on his bond with Grogu.
There are also apparently plenty of other members of his sect around, and it wouldn’t be surprising if one of the characters from this episode’s opening scene later emerges as a new rival for Din. “The Apostate” didn’t have a singular big character reveal moment like the introduction of Grogu in the pilot or Boba Fett appearing in the Season 2 premiere, instead focusing on reuniting Din with established characters. But the series has always had a strong memory and this episode very much feels like it’s laying groundwork that will pay off later.