TL;DR – We finally make it to Mandalore, and it should be no surprise that it is not as empty as once thought.  

The Mandalorian Review –

It has been an interesting transition to shift tonally from Andor, with its much more severe and grounded story, back to the romp of The Mandalorian. It is probably a good showing of the strength of the underlying Star Wars universe that both can work within the same frame. This week we do lean hard into that romp because … is that pod racers I see?

So to set the scene, last week in The Apostate, we were reminded [for those who skipped The Book of Boba Fett] that The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) has been excommunicated from his group. Because he showed his face … willing … the shame. He can only seek forgiveness if he bathes in the sacred waters under the mines of Mandalore. The only problem is that The Empire used fusion bombs to glass the planet’s entire surface. It is poisonous. It is cursed. Or is it? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole and the rest of the season, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

If I could subtitle this week’s episode, it would be ‘Grogu Goes on an Adventure’. Sure, they let you know this was going to happen by walking Grogu and the audience through each of the things he would need to know to survive, and shockingly he needed to use them in this episode. This literary technique could have felt tacky, but they always have a way of making it feel endearing. Most of that might come from just how adorable that Grogu is, and hats off to, I assume Jon Favreau, for knowing that Baby Yoda will play. But more than that, you get into that more adventure feel and can hand wave away a lot of contrivances that would have felled another show.

We first witnessed the Great Purge of Mandalore, or The Night of a Thousand Tears, on the screen in The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 5 (Return of The Mandalorian), where the planet and its people were wiped out overnight. I wondered how they would depict the now-destroyed planet, and I am glad they did not just go for grey dust. Sure, there is more of that once they get down in the mines. However, the choice of green glass shattered across the surface was a striking image. Without contextualising it, you know how hot the weapons must have been if glass remains. It also helps reinforce the tomb-like feeling of the planet.

This setting also lays the groundwork for the several action scenes we get this week as Mando and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff), oh and Grogu, have to fight off a bunch of Alamites as well as what else lurks in the dark, waiting to come out. The semi-organic droid hiding down in the ruins was a fantastic choice from a design and narrative level. It was menacing, but it also gave you that uncomfortable feeling like General Grievous. Add to this seeing the darksaber in all its glory, and well, fun is to be had. On that note, I am not even mad that they once again went back to Tatooine, because Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) has fundamentally grown on me, and I love everything she is in.

In the end, do we recommend The Mines of Mandalore? Yes, we do. Once again, I don’t think this will be groundbreaking for the greater universe. However, it was a bunch of fun, and I don’t mind that.    

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen The Mandalorian yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Mandalorian
Directed by – Rachel Morrison
Written by – Jon Favreau
Created by – Jon Favreau
Based On – Star Wars by George Lucas
Production/Distribution Companies – Lucasfilm, Golem Creations & Disney+
Starring – Pedro Pascal & Katee Sackhoff with Amy Sedaris, Brendan Wayne & Lateef Crowder and Dawn Dininger, Leilani Shiu & Ariel Shiu