Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (October 15, 2026)
As the Star Wars “Sequel Trilogy” came to an end with 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, Disney didn’t decide to give the franchise a break. Immediately before – and during – the theatrical film’s appearance on screens, a new series called The Mandalorian ran on the Disney+ streaming channel.
Set between Return of the Jedi and the Sequel Trilogy events that first came to us with The Force Awakens, Mandalorian follows its title character. All eight of Season Three’s episodes appear on these two 4K UHD discs, with plot synopses straight from the show’s official site.
The Apostate: “Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) begins an important journey.
Well, that’s a vague synopsis, isn’t it? Left unmentioned: the purpose of that “important journey”.
At the end of Season Two, Mando allowed himself to be seen without his helmet, a choice that led to his excommunication from his tribe. He intends to go to Mandalore to redeem himself.
This makes “Apostate” a place-setting episode. While it comes with some of the expected action, it mostly exists to introduce S3’s arc and send Djarin and his young Force-powerful pal Grogu on their adventure.
In that regard, it does fine, even if it seems slightly uninspiring. Not that “Apostate” becomes a bad episode by any stretch, but it feels a bit “Star Wars By Numbers”. Nonetheless, it gets S3’s narrative up and running so it does what it needs to do.
The Mines of Mandalore: “The Mandalorian and Grogu explore the ruins of a destroyed planet.”
If someone wants to claim Mandalorian goes deep into “fan service”, “Mines” will offer evidence. When Djarin visits Tattooine for droid parts, he ends up with R5-D4.
Normal people wouldn’t recognize that name. Star Wars geeks – hello! – know R5-D4 is the astromech Owen Lars initially buys but who goes kablooey, and allows the Lars family to purchase R2-D2 instead.
Perhaps we’ll find some compelling reason Mandalorian needed R5 but I suspect he appears mostly to delight Star Wars geeks – hello! – who find ourselves perversely curious to see his backstory. Well, partial backstory, as we don’t know what brought R5 to Tattooine in the first place or why he ends up back there after his time with Djarin.
If you think I spent this much time rambling about an obscure droid because I don’t have much to say about “Mines” otherwise, then that’s a bingo. Slower-paced than usual, this one lays out mystery and exposition but not a lot of verve.
Of course, Mandalorian doesn’t need to pack action non-stop, but “Mines” can just feel sluggish. Though nothing here makes it a bad episode, it does seem a bit flat.
The Convert: “On Coruscant, former Imperials find amnesty in the New Republic.”
The episode starts with action but then soon introduces us to former Imperial scientist Dr. Penn Pershing (Omid Abtahi) as he attempts to integrate into New Republic society. This becomes a pretty fascinating concept, one that makes me wish we’d get a more extended look at how the galaxy dealt with the collapse of the Empire in this kind of personal way.
This means we get an episode of Mandalorian that barely features the Mandalorian but I don’t mind. Despite some predictable elements, “Convert” offers an intriguing look at a particular aspect of the post-Return of the Jedi order.
The Foundling: “Din Djarin returns to the hidden Mandalorian covert.”
After a detour from our main characters, “Foundling” returns with an emphasis on Grogu. We get an intriguing flashback that provides a little backstory for him – and some rockin’ Jedi action.
Otherwise, though, “Foundling” comes with some character exposition that doesn’t seem all that dynamic. After that vivid beginning, “Foundling” feels a bit like a placeholder episode.
The Pirate: “The people of Nevarro need protection from rampant pirate attacks.”
I admit that after the tantalizing view of events with former Imperial officers/scientists in “Convert”, a story that deals with pirates seems like a disappointment. However, “Pirate” expands beyond that domain and gets into a potential renewed threat from the remnants of the Empire.
That allows “Pirate” to become a good bounceback episode. I like the glimpses of New Republic elements and the manner in which the show delves into intrigue related to the Empire.
Guns for Hire: “The Mandalorian visits an opulent world.”
Sometimes well-known people can do guest spots in the Star Wars universe but sometimes it doesn’t. Put “Hire” in the “doesn’t” category.
Jack Black and Lizzo appear as the leaders of Plazir-15 and their presence becomes a distraction. Not that this ruins the episode, but I think “Hire” would work better with less prominent actors.
That said, Christopher Lloyd does a guest spot as well but he blends well, probably because his acting style lacks the flamboyance of Black or the wooden nature of Lizzo. Or maybe he just is more of a character actor so he knows how to blend with various franchises.
Questionable casting choices aside, “Hire” offers an entertaining episode, though it highlights a flaw in Season Three. This year tends to feel all over the place, like its stabs at an overall arc digress too often.
For the most part, S3 wants to pursue Djarin’s reunification with his tribe and the attempts by the Mandalorians to establish a home. However, S3 wanders away an awful lot and can feel scattered.
That trend continues with “Hire”. This leaves it as an enjoyable show but not one that seems like a great fit with the rest of S3.
The Spies: “Survivors come out of hiding.”
If nothing else, “Spies” offers more intrigue related to the remnants of the Empire. It also works to connect the disparate plot threads about which I moderately complained.
Does this make “Spies” a great episode? No, but it creates a pretty solid foundation for the season finale so it works.
The Return: “The Mandalorian and his allies confront their enemies.”
S3 comes to an action-packed close with a ton of battles – both big and small – across “Return”. This provides more exposition and intrigue related to the rebellious remnants of the Empire and the evolution of the Mandalorian tribe.
All of this creates a pretty good finish for a generally good – but not great – season. Without question, S3 becomes the weakest of the three, but that certainly doesn’t make it bad.
S3 lacks the purpose and clarity of S1 and S2. Nonetheless, it offers pretty decent Star Wars and that’s enough for me.
