The Mandalorian season 3 episode 2 takes us through a rollercoaster ride down the mythical Mines of Mandalore. This is the location of the living water that will sanctify Mando/Din Djarin of his banishment from the Mandalorian clan. Last week, we predicted that his journey to redemption would take a whole season to accomplish, but we’ve never been happier to be wrong. Mines of Mandalore zaps through the entire quest in one action-packed episode full of visual wonders and fun character moments for each of its main players.
If you haven’t watched The Book of Boba Fett, it’s easy to feel lost about the significance of the Mandalore Planet that Mando is so adamant to get to. In the sixth episode of that mini-series, we found out that The Armorer had exiled Mando from the clan for taking off his helmet in front of other living beings. To gain back his honor, he has to essentially be re-baptized in the aforementioned water, the holy site of Mandalorians’ inception. The problem is Mandalore is long assumed to be inhospitable following its destruction. That’s why last week, we saw Mando seek out a droid who can assess the atmosphere before he steps in.
Long story short, he gets a droid this week, albeit not the one he wanted. Keen-eyed fans might recognize the R5D4 astromech droid as the very one that Luke Skywalker bought off the Jawas in Star Wars: A New Hope. Even the telltale scorch mark from its blown-out motivator (that led to it being swapped with R2D2) is there!
Arriving in Mandalore, Mando and Grogu quickly realize that the planet is surprisingly breathable. Trudging through the mines – a journey that recalls the Fellowship walking into the relic of Moria’s lost great civilization – they find that the abandoned planet isn’t so abandoned after all. Soon, Mando gets captured, and now it’s up to Grogu to summon Bo Katan for help.
While last week’s premiere episode was all about establishing the plot, this episode hits the ground running. The show wastes not a second of its 40-minute plus runtime, hitting every plot beat at hyperspace speed. We expected Mando’s IG-11 predicament last week to play out a bit longer. Still, they managed to find an unexpected solution within minutes of this episode – eliminating our concern that this season will be one side quest after another.
After that, it’s just one splendid sequence after another: Mando vs. underground creatures, Grogu’s first solo mission run (which totally should be Galaxy’s Edge’s next ride), Bo Katan’s rescue operation, and the haunting final moment of Mando’s creed renewal in the living water (with a bonus appearance that appears to thrill diehard fans). We see our characters grow a little: Mando patiently mentors his little tyke, Grogu becomes the rescuer for once, and hints of Bo Katan rediscovering her faith in the lore. It’s an outstanding episode, and from the look of things, still just a tease of what’s to come – our excitement is through the galaxy for this one!
