'The Mandalorian' Gets Back on Track with Canon-Infused Chapter "The Pirate" Reaching a Central Plot Point for Season 3

by Darian Scalamoni

    Truthfully, I didn't intend to skip last week's review of The Mandalorian, but since we're on the topic, it felt like a MAJOR departure from what we come to expect as fans of the series. The runtime especially was something that felt wrong, almost like it was a mistake. However, it's a new week and I went into this episode, Chapter 21: "The Pirate" with an open mind and it did not disappoint.

    This episode dealt with some peripheral characters as it's tried to do a lot of this season building out the different sections of the galaxy throughout a time where the Empire has "fallen," but we get some big-time plot points towards the central ideas formulated by series creator Jon Favreau for this season. Favreau does a terrific job of juggling different perspectives surrounding one major plot this episode which is the invasion of Nevarro by the pirate king, Gorian Shard (Nonso Anozie), who was introduced at the beginning of the season. He's on a revenge mission to destroy the planet after members of his pirate gang were killed previously by High Magistrate Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder). Karga reaches out to Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung) in a glorious return to try and save the day, which leads to a major moment in Star Wars canon, as we see Star Wars Rebels character, Garazeb Orrelios, also known as Zeb, the muscle of the Ghost Squad chatting up with Teva at a cantina. I personally thought this was a great use of Star Wars canon to lead to fans chattering online about speculation on where Zeb has been and he looked fantastic in live-action.

    I think a lot of us can attest to the fact that many of this season's episodes so far have felt very isolated, almost like a pointless mission-of-the week type feel, however, this week's installment gives a deeper sense of purpose for a storyline for Season 3. In getting Karga's distress call, Teva interacts with a new character played by SNL alum Tim Meadows, who is cordial but frustrating, as it seems that he is easily swayed by Elia Kane (Katy O'Brien) who also returns. It's clear that Kane's devious intentions are to help infiltrate the New Republic to rise up the ranks by Moff Gideon's (Giancarlo Esposito) side as we later discover in the episode that Gideon never made it to trial for his villainous actions and was actually rescued. We see even more of Kane's intentions when she makes comments regarding Nevarro not signing the charter to be a part of the New Republic, insinuating that they should suffer for their non-committal nature. When Teva challenges that, it's Meadows' colonel character that responds and answers for Kane. 

    After Teva's attempt to get real clearance from the New Republic to help the smaller rebuilt planet on the outer rim goes south, he heads to find Mando, and recruits the Mandalorians for a terrific fight scene that sees many of our favorite characters in action, including The Armorer (Emily Swallow) who we've yet to see play around with combat in the series. However, it's her actions concluding the battle that have left many shocked by her surprising request of Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff). But, we'll get back to that. 

    The protection of Karga and his Nevarro citizens by the Mandalorians and Captain Teva bring out a major reward for the Children of the Watch, as the High Magistrate grants them territory amongst the lava flats to rebuild a new landscape since the fall of Mandalore. He also welcomes them to settle as protectors of Nevarro while walking amongst their people. Bo-Katan is a major part of the tactical plan to save the planet and its people, leading the Armorer to have a private word with her.

    After the massive action setpiece that the episode centers around, The Armorer surprisingly tells Bo-Katan to remove her helmet. After exchanging a few sentiments about the sacred times of when the Mandalorians thrived upon their homeland, The Armorer talks to Bo-Katan about how all Mandalorians must walk The Way together, no matter how they might agree or disagree to cling onto the sacred practices of certain tribes. It seems that Bo-Katan's sighting of a real Mythosaur has led The Armorer to believe that it was a sign that a new day is coming, with the belief that Bo-Katan is the one who has walked both sides of the coin and is fit to lead the new uprising of every Mandalorian.

    It's a major reveal that the beloved animated character brought to live-action is seemingly becoming a 1B to Din's 1A for the titular tribe of characters that are currently reigning supreme over the Star Wars landscape. I think this episode brought about everything I could ask for in a current story within this universe. There was action, there was stakes, great connections formed and a glimpse into some intriguing things in the near future. In my opinion, "The Pirate" was the best episode of the third season thus far.

Overall Rating: 9.3