Mandalorian S3E7: Back to Mandalore!
Apr. 21st, 2023 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerWe're getting near the end of season 3 of The Mandalorian. After S3E7 there's only one more episode, the season finale, in the season. ...Which is a shame because the writers only found The Way after stumbling badly through the first half of the season.
In S3E7, "The Spies", Bo-Katan leads two now-united tribes of Mandalorians back to planet Mandalore to explore resettling it. She and main character Din Djarin, aka "Mando", lead an exploratory party down to the surface of the planet to find the Great Forge and scout for where they can build an outpost. With the epic space-western structure of the show (This Is The Way) it's predictable both good and bad things happen.
Good things: they discover another tribe of Mandalorians, people who never left the planet. They've become nomad-scavengers to survive and are in shabby shape, but they're welcomed into the fold. (This Is The Way.) And the never-lefts know where the Great Forge— or at least what's left of it— is.
Bad things: while delving beneath the planet's surface to reach the location of the Great Forge, the search party is attacked by a platoon of Imperial Stormtroopers. They repel the Stormtroopers and give chase... which leads them to a totally not-ruined area underground that looks a heck of a lot Imperial construction. And there are lots of Stormtroopers here. And they have Beskar steel protection. And Moff Gideon is here.
Gideon's plans are tipped in an earlier scene in the episode. First, yes, he escaped captivity. Second, his former communications officer, Elia, aka Amnesty Officer 68, is spying for him on Coruscant. The side-plot in S3E3 with her double-crossing Dr. Penn Pershing was at Gideon's behest. That side plot makes more sense in context now, though it did still run too long and suffer from weak writing. Third, and most significantly, Republic Captain Teva was right— the warlord activity in the outer rim is not isolated actions but part of something bigger. Gideon is part of a council of ex-Imperial generals. He asks the rest of the council to provide him additional men and materiel to fight... the Mandalorians.
As much of a plot driver as Gideon's base on Mandalore is, I've got to call a writing foul on it. How long has he been there? The visuals make it look both extensive and sophisticated, like he's been there for years. Did he already have this going before the start of the series? If so, why didn't he have Beskar steel resources sooner? And with such a big base there, could Mando, Grogu, and Bo-Katan, have explored the holy waters (S3E2) without anyone noticing? And the Mandalorian nomad-scavengers who've remained on the planet the whole time, constantly moving around, never noticed a base with lots of soldiers and spacecraft?
Despite this being yet-another instance of sloppy writing this episode is otherwise strong and enjoyable. It'll be interesting to see how this gets wrapped up in the next episode, the season finale.
In S3E7, "The Spies", Bo-Katan leads two now-united tribes of Mandalorians back to planet Mandalore to explore resettling it. She and main character Din Djarin, aka "Mando", lead an exploratory party down to the surface of the planet to find the Great Forge and scout for where they can build an outpost. With the epic space-western structure of the show (This Is The Way) it's predictable both good and bad things happen.
Good things: they discover another tribe of Mandalorians, people who never left the planet. They've become nomad-scavengers to survive and are in shabby shape, but they're welcomed into the fold. (This Is The Way.) And the never-lefts know where the Great Forge— or at least what's left of it— is.
Bad things: while delving beneath the planet's surface to reach the location of the Great Forge, the search party is attacked by a platoon of Imperial Stormtroopers. They repel the Stormtroopers and give chase... which leads them to a totally not-ruined area underground that looks a heck of a lot Imperial construction. And there are lots of Stormtroopers here. And they have Beskar steel protection. And Moff Gideon is here.
Gideon's plans are tipped in an earlier scene in the episode. First, yes, he escaped captivity. Second, his former communications officer, Elia, aka Amnesty Officer 68, is spying for him on Coruscant. The side-plot in S3E3 with her double-crossing Dr. Penn Pershing was at Gideon's behest. That side plot makes more sense in context now, though it did still run too long and suffer from weak writing. Third, and most significantly, Republic Captain Teva was right— the warlord activity in the outer rim is not isolated actions but part of something bigger. Gideon is part of a council of ex-Imperial generals. He asks the rest of the council to provide him additional men and materiel to fight... the Mandalorians.
As much of a plot driver as Gideon's base on Mandalore is, I've got to call a writing foul on it. How long has he been there? The visuals make it look both extensive and sophisticated, like he's been there for years. Did he already have this going before the start of the series? If so, why didn't he have Beskar steel resources sooner? And with such a big base there, could Mando, Grogu, and Bo-Katan, have explored the holy waters (S3E2) without anyone noticing? And the Mandalorian nomad-scavengers who've remained on the planet the whole time, constantly moving around, never noticed a base with lots of soldiers and spacecraft?
Despite this being yet-another instance of sloppy writing this episode is otherwise strong and enjoyable. It'll be interesting to see how this gets wrapped up in the next episode, the season finale.
