We knew this was coming since Episode 1; pirates are coming for Nevarro this week. Irked by High Magistrate Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and Din Djarin’s (Pedro Pascal) defense of the planet from his underlings, pirate leader Gorian Shard (Carey Jones) attacks the planet.
Karga gives a distress call to the New Republic, which pilot Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) responds to. He travels to Coruscant to see if they can approve help, but is turned away, in part due to the efforts of former imperial Elia Kane (Katy M. O’Brian), who previously betrayed former imperial cloner Dr. Penn Pershing. I think she’s a likely traitor working for Moff Gideon.
Undeterred, Teva finds Mando’s coven and tells him of the news. Knowing that he cannot save his friend by himself, Mando tells his clan of Karga’s offer of a tract of land and status on Nevarro, which he argues could be a good opportunity for them to live again “in the light.” Such a future would see them no longer hide in the shadows, as they would be heroes of the planet, and put in a place where they can prosper.
Mando initially attacks Shard’s ship, allowing Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) to safely drop in Mandalorian ground forces. She then helps Mando out, and they jointly wipe out Shard’s forces. The prideful pirate refuses to accept defeat and is destroyed, but one of his underlings escapes. He’ll probably come back later at some point.
This is a very nice, uplifting episode. It has it all: turbulent spaceship battles, thrilling ground combat and just a whole lot of sci-fi awesomeness. This is one of the “Mandalorian” episodes that will make you feel like a kid again and it is easily one of the series’ strongest episodes so far.
The aftermath also has interesting ramifications going forward. With Mando’s clan now having a formal home, the only thing left for them to do it retake their home world of Mandalore, which is a huge undertaking that will require the unification of all Mandalorians. The Armorer (Emily Swallow) allows Bo-Katan to take off her helmet as she wishes, suggesting that she can be a bridge between their sect of Mandalorian and others.
Taking back Mandalore I think is the last possible thing this series can give Mando to do, though it’s an interest quest that might take multiple seasons to accomplish. While it does feel like the last card up this show’s sleeve in terms of direction, it feels like the show has plenty of steam left, though we are in need of some new villains.
“Star Wars: The Mandalorian” Season 3: Episode 5 “The Pirate” gets a 9/10
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