The Mandalorian (Season 3)

Available on Disney Plus

The third season of this hugely popular Star Wars spin-off recommences after the events of the hopelessly forgettable Book of Boba Fett, with Pedro Pascal’s titular protagonist still shepherding his adopted (and endlessly marketable) child Grogu around the galaxy.

Jon Favreau’s screenplay, which was co-written with Noah Kloor and Dave Filoni, initially focuses on the anti-hero’s quest for spiritual redemption and sees him return to his tribe’s long-abandoned home of Mandalore so that he may be re-baptised in the planet’s holy waters.

As well as being a means of lessening the series’ reliance on Pascal’s physical presence (his character remains helmeted throughout), this opening gambit does effectively establish its overall premise – that being the Mandalorians’ quest to retake their homeland, a venture which eventually puts them in the crosshairs of a familiar foe.

Nobody benefits from Favreau’s commitment to world-building more than the character of Bo-Katan Kryze (played by Katee Sackhoff), who essentially assumes equal billing with Din Djarin and Grogu for much of this series.

Alas, the pacing of The Mandalorian’s third act is problematic, with many of its episodes becoming bogged down in the sort of fine detail that only the most devout of fans would care for.

It is also difficult to shake the nagging feeling that the show would have been best served by concluding at the end of its second season, when Grogu was successfully packed off to Luke Skywalker’s Jedi school. Alas, content is king in the world of Disney and it’s clear to see that this once unique tale is now just another conduit through which the larger Star Wars universe can be fleshed out.

Thankfully, this latest serving of The Mandalorian does manage to recover from an inauspicious beginning (thanks in no small part to a Jack Black and Lizzo-starring sixth episode that is delightfully bizarre) and delivers a finale that is befittingly grandstand.