The Mandalorian Season 3 (2023) Review

With Disney having a mixed reputation for how it has handled Star Wars, The Mandalorian has been universally loved and the third season of the show finished this week and it is about time I reviewed it. The premise of the show sees after the events of The Book Of Boba Fett Din Djarin & Grogu reunited and heading to Mandalore in order for the titular character to be redeemed in the eyes of his clan. 

Main Character

Pedro Pascal is back to voice Din Djarin and does a fantastic job in the role. His character has development this season and Pascal has become iconic in his voice acting role. There are some issues with how his character is presented but I don't think it has anything to do with Pascal and his great job. Credit has to go to Lateef Crowder & Barry Lowin who physically play The Mandalorian the majority of the time and do a seamless job in the role. 

Supporting Characters

Katee Sackhoff reprises her role as Bo-Katan and is fantastic in this season. The show puts way more spotlight on her and Sackhoff nails it, she is the real heart of the this season of the show and she is great at it. The dynamic between her and Din Djarin is really well realised and she also has a great dynamic with other characters on the show. Grogu is back reunited by Din Djarin and though there isn't as much time focused on him, he is till adorable and the more we learn about his character, the more interesting that the character becomes. Carl Weathers is back a Greef Karga and it has been really nice seeing his development over the 3 seasons, he is given more to do here and he is a constantly entertaining part of the show. Emily Swallow reprises her role as The Armourer and she is possibly the most interesting character on the entire show, the mystery behind her provides the intrigue needed to make this character worth the extra screen time she gets here. Giancarlo Esposito is back as Moff Gideon and though he isn't in the season much, his character is really well handled and Esposito is an amazing character that can just bring an aura to this performance. 

Story 

The overall story of The Mandalorians trying to find a home is interesting. We are introduced to different leaders in Mandalorian culture and seeing how these factions are usually enemies being forced to try and work together to save their planet. But there are some big issues with the story here, the main one being that the focus is taken off of Din Djarin & Grogu meaning we have other characters taking the lead which doesn't work as well. It feels like the story is trying to already fill in loads of gaps between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy that it is moving away from where I think the focus should be. 

Script

The script is okay, these characters are mostly ones we have spent time with and have grown to care about. The script keeps with this and they are given some chance to shine. But there is a reason that there are no new interesting characters and there was so much filler that by the time we got to the end it felt a bit rushed. 

Style 

The show looks amazing, it is a legit movie budget style here. The action scenes are also really well handled with all the action scenes being a pure joy to watch, seeing multiple different Star Wars locations is really fun. But the pacing of this season is all off, there is too much focus on other characters that the show that it doesn't quite work or make you care about the main story. Some of the tone also feels a bit out of place, one episode in particular. 

Overall

Overall, The Mandalorian Season 3 is a good series of TV. It is easily the weakest of this show but there is still good things here, this whole universe needs to get a bit more focused and return to the higher levels of previous seasons. 

Rating - 7/10