The Mandalorian - Episode 1.03 - Chapter 3 - Review

It is rare when a TV show continually gets better week after week. But the first episode of The Mandalorian was merely "good", so the rest could be great. Chapter 3, subtitled "The Sin", took everything good about the first 2 episodes and expounded on it ten fold. There will be a few spoilers throughout if you have not watched the episode yet.

The show establishes that Mandalorians are great warriors, and feared and respected throughout the galaxy. But as the protagonist, the audience needs to be on his side. In this case, that means the Mandalorian had to be on the same side as the child, because that is who the audience is rooting for. So, the change of heart, and subsequent rescuing of the child makes sense. If he had just taken his money and moved on to the next thing, he would have not been very endearing.

The insight into the Mandalorian race, and the insight into him as a character helped deepen a so-far two dimensional character. His moral center is now apparent, which is unique for a bounty hunter.

The infiltration and fight scenes put on display made the Mandalorian the Batman of the Star Wars universe. More accurate would be a mix of Batman and John Wick. This episode reminded everyone that the Star Wars universe is dangerous. It feels dangerous again. It feels like watching Star Wars for the first time, and feeling uncomfortable in the Cantina, because there is a sense of danger there. That went away when some of the future installments introduced more humorous and cuddly creatures for the heroes to interact with.

The Mandalorian blew his whole life up for this child now. His whole way of life is now over. To make a conscious choice to burn every bridge for the sake of a random child is huge. It ties into his parents seemingly dying to protect him when he was a child, which is why he can live on. We didn't get a lot of his history, but we were given enough to understand his motivations.

The episode also enforced how the Mandalorians stick together. The scene where they all came to help was incredible. Not only was incredibly well framed and shot, but you could feel the triumph and emotion in the act.

Chapter 3 was a fantastic episode, and it changed everything. The show will amp up to a whole other level now. The Mandalorian will be one of the most wanted men in the galaxy, so now we can see what he is really made of. It should make for a fun time.

The Mandalorian is now streaming, exclusively on Disney+.