The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 6 Review: Perfectly Blended That The Star Wars Fan Will Not Be Able To Resist
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff, Jack Black, Lizzo, Christopher Lloyd
Director: Bryce Dallas Howard
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
There’s always a little something that doesn’t go perfectly in this third season of The Mandalorian. We are not talking about details, as we have often researched in Andor (here you can retrieve our review of Andor): it is clear that the Rogue One spin-off series has very different ambitions, it aims at a different target while our good Mando looks in the fund the purest entertainment, which is the main purpose of Star Wars. From this point of view, the latest installment of The Mandalorian collects one of the most classic themes of the franchise created by George Lucas, which is to give us a peculiar world and base the next half hour around his extravagance. Needless to say, it worked on Tatooine, it worked with the Ewoks and it still works wonderfully today because we viewers remain dreamers looking for places and events that can stimulate our imagination.
So, at the moment, we are caged, even enchanted by the tide of lights and shapes on the screen, we rejoice in the presence of so many guest stars who meet almost anyone’s tastes, and we remain entangled in an intriguing investigation complete with a conspiracy and we he exalts himself. And all these merits remain, they cannot simply evaporate. But sooner or later the end credits arrive and, thinking back to the episode as a whole, one realizes that between roles that wink at the and the always excellent direction of Bryce Dallas Howard, something in the underlying plot does not add up, that a critical moment for the plot has once again been relegated to the final minutes rather than explored in its dramatic power and that pinch of disappointment returns with arrogance.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 6 Review: The Story Plot
The plot essentially resumes from the conclusion of the last episode (here we refer you to our review of The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 5): Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) has been charged by the Gunsmith (Emily Swallow) to bring together as many Mandalorians scattered throughout the galaxy as possible, despite enormous differences of creed and habits, and first of all he embarks together with Din (Pedro Pascal) in search of the fleet conquered last season, now at the service of any local squire willing to shell out some credit. And between as improbable as surprising guest stars and a bizarrely functioning planet even for Star Wars, they will find themselves enmeshed in a rather exciting plot involving droids, to the clear happiness of Mando.
Already at the base, this is a fact that should not be underestimated, namely the fact that the episode is essentially a delightful investigation of the Star Wars universe, something in which the franchise is lacking in inexplicable ways. Sure, you can easily remember some narrative arcs of The Clone Wars – first of all the sumptuous Ahsoka accused of murder – or the first half of The Attack of the Clones, but these are white flies, very far from representing statistically relevant cases. In The Mandalorian, we have another addition, certainly in a much lighter context and mood, although no less pleasant thanks to the chemistry between Bo-Katan and Din that releases situations almost like The Odd Couple. If we then add the clean and effective direction of Bryce Dallas Howard, brilliant above all in the chases and in the final confrontation, the game is done, and the victory of entertainment is assured.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 6 Review and Analysis
As already mentioned, however, there are in particular two elements that just fail to work at the level of the script. The first is directly linked to the narrative of this specific episode, which without making too many spoilers struggles to justify the presence of the Mandalorian fleet on the planet or at least consequently relies on the duo of protagonists; in short, someone is too many and it is not clear who, a problem that does not affect the pleasure of the investigative story but somewhat disturbs its raison d’etre. The other sore point is unfortunately still linked to the management of the season’s macro-plot, which Filoni and Favreau are unable to make shine: in a nutshell, the essential or most dramatic moments cannot be constantly relegated to the final minutes of an episode, as they lose effectiveness.
It is as if the double ending, so to speak, of the first season, had been compressed into a single chapter that is not that long-lived, losing much of its emotional charge and iconicity. This is what is happening to the third season of The Mandalorian, it is dispersing its potential because it never leaves the necessary time for a threat or a fundamental passage to develop and leave a decisive impact on the viewer. Let’s hope that the closure, in some ways still fairly epic, can at least give way to an ending to remember. The first thing that immediately strikes the eyes when watching this sixth episode is visual care. Plazir-15 is a perfect setting where you can play with the genres of history (noir, action, sci-fi utopia) giving life to a lively and particular world. Especially nice to see. Never once, during these 45 minutes of Expendables, does one have the sensation of seeing a television product. Thanks to the true cinematographic eye of Bryce Dallas Howard, now a hallmark for Star Wars, who knows how to move the camera and what to insert within the frame. The screen gets smaller and smaller as Din and Bo-Katan explore the planet, encountering droids, people, and Ugnaught (nostalgic harking back to a name from the show’s first season).
The episode surprises with the ability to present new characters, played by famous actors that fans will adore (we are talking about Jack Black, Lizzo, and Christopher Lloyd), in a short time, even managing to characterize them in the best way. If Jack Black and Lizzo have fun in their exaggerated costumes, the character played by Christopher Lloyd, with a small and biting monologue, even knows how to give the viewer a thrill, binding himself to the whole canon of the saga. In any case, let’s not talk about the important cameos and the fan service: the real great goal of this episode – which in any case could be seen as a slowdown about the macro-plot – is that of being able to excite thanks to the simplest things.
This is the case in the prologue, in which a confrontation between two lovers is enough to unleash the magic of Star Wars again, the one that allows the viewer to believe that two puppets have feelings. Or the looks of the Ugnaughts when Kuiil’s name is mentioned or even certain reactions of Grogu (a character who, however, in this third season seems little used and too additional to everything else) or, finally, that last shot on which the episode ends. Slowly, perhaps too much, The Mandalorian is changing, but it is also leading viewers (of all ages, we remember) to root for the protagonists, to empathize with their story and to create those right cliffhangers that the series needs to continue to be eagerly awaited.
“Without the Creed what are we?” Din asked a few episodes ago. For many fans of the saga, Star Wars is almost a religion rather than a myth, as are the Mandalorians for their own Creed. Several times, in recent years, faith seems to have wavered towards the fans, with products not up to the quality standard to which a brand like that of the far distant galaxy must yearn. The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi (without forgetting the wounds that the sequel trilogy carries with it or the numerous announcements of projects in development, somewhat lost in the ether), and this third season of The Mandalorian simply seemed to be satisfied with a formula that had proved successful, without being able to give that extra interest that stimulated the vision.
In this seemingly simple episode with a “filler” flavor, that Force that has always distinguished Star Wars and The Mandalorian is perceived again. Because Star Wars, beyond the epic and mythology, beyond the political story (and also in this episode we perceive the failure of the New Republic and complete democracy, an interesting aspect that makes the series a little more cynical than expected), it remains that universe where creatures, droids, and humans complement each other. It is the universe in which the taste for adventure corresponds to a spectacular pleasure, and where zero degrees of entertainment is not only sufficient but the primary identity of the emotional story. When these elements manage to get married they make Star Wars a unique work. And we are starting to believe that yes, this is the Way.
There’s always something that doesn’t go perfectly in this third season of The Mandalorian, even in episodes that satisfy and not a little. And it couldn’t be otherwise when the sixth episode essentially turns out to be a delightful little investigation into the Star Wars universe, something the franchise continues to be inexplicably lacking. Despite having radically different tones from some arcs of The Clone Wars or that sketch of cyberpunk seen in Attack of the Clones, here The Mandalorian still manages to convince thanks to the chemistry – a bit to the Odd Couple – between Bo-Katan and Din. If then there is an interesting plot that binds well to the history of Star Wars and the always-convincing direction of Bryce Dallas Howard is added, the game is won. Some narrative details don’t fully convince us and above all the macro-management of the season’s plot, continues to relegate the essential moments to the final minutes of the episodes, without giving them the slightest space or possibility to unleash their dramatic charge. And it’s happened in almost every episode this season, sadly.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 6 Review: The Last Words
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 6 may seem like yet another filler for a season that is starting to tiringly pull the strings. But it also offers a big-screen aesthetic, creativity and a blend of genres perfectly blended that the Star Wars fan will not be able to resist. An episode that, with brief cameos, a few spot-on sequences, and a precise ending, dusts off the typical (zero-degree) adventure of Star Wars and makes us rediscover faithful to the Mandalorian Creed.
