Disney Plus’ The Mandalorian chapter three recap: The Sin

It’s all about #BabyYoda in the third episode of The Mandalorian. The bounty hunter must make a tough choice between his people and the asset.

The Mandalorian was tasked with recovering an ‘asset’ in the season premiere of the show, but he wasn’t expecting to find a child. The internet has christened the adorable bundle #BabyYoda, though we still know little else about the character, other than the fact that he can already wield the Force.

Considering how utterly cute the baby is, we can hardly fault our protagonist from dithering over completing his mission. Will he go through with the trade and deliver Baby Yoda to the Client?

The Trade

Not much is known about the Mandalorian ways, but we have gathered that the bounty hunter, who is often referred to as Mando by others, is on a mission to retrieve as much beskar metal as he can to return to his people. The metal belonged to the Mandalorians till the Empire ceased their stash. Considering that George Lucas modeled the Empire on the Nazis, it’s not a stretch to imagine that the Mandalorian people suffered at the hands of the fascist regime.

Is it any wonder then that Mando goes ahead and hands Baby Yoda to the Client at the start of this episode? You can see how much he struggles with his decision; Mando’s obviously got a soft spot for the kid (as he refers to it). While on his ship, Baby Yoda crawls out of his bassinet, unscrews the top of the gear and attempts to gnaw on it. Mando, despite being usually gruff and temperamental, politely tells the child that it’s not a toy to play with and delicately places him back in his cradle. Suffice to say, Mando does not want the remaining pieces of the Empire to get its hands on the kid.

But the Client offers him payment of a ton of beskar, and Mando agrees. Baby Yoda looks terrified, squawking as he’s taken away from Mando. Afraid of what Dr. Pershing has in store for the child, Mando breaks Guild code by asking the Client what their intent is. He doesn’t receive an answer, only a veiled threat of death.

This is the Way

Now the owner of a bucket-load of beskar, Mando returns to the covert Mandalorian base to get new armour. His arrival with the beskar attracts plenty of attention from his fellow bounty hunters, some of whom don’t believe he is worthy of any rewards. The Empire has driven the Mandalorians underground, and now Mando is ostensibly working with them. After a brief scuffle, the Armorer (Emily Swallow) stops everyone in their tracks by reminding them that being a Mandalorian means choosing to be both a hunter and a prey. Mando, of all people, should be respected since he has never removed his helmet, nor has it been removed for him. This is the Way of the Mandalore.

I’ll admit it’s a little weird for a show to have two refrains in the span of three episodes. First there was Kuill and his ‘I have spoken’, now the Mandalorians going ‘This is the Way’ as an argument-ender.

The other visual refrain on the show is that the forging of Mando’s armor gives him flashbacks to his childhood. He repeatedly sees a particularly distressing memory of his home being destroyed and his parents scurrying to hide him from harm. In this episode, it seems that the moment his parents locked him in a bunker, the doors were ripped apart by a battle droid from the Clone Wars. Did this devastating event forge the boy’s path to becoming a Mandalorian? We have five more episodes to find out.

Despite flaunting his shiny new armor, Mando can’t shake his concern for the kid. He decides to immerse himself in his work and asks Greef Karga for a new job. Greef would rather Mando enjoys his reward, especially since he’s the only bounty hunter in a cantina full of them who retrieved the asset. Mando’s work even made Greef rich – he’s got some beskar in his coat pocket. However, it doesn’t take much persuasion for Greef to hand over a new fob to Mando.

What Ever Happened to Baby Yoda?

Mando boards his ship, and the first thing he sees is the top of the gear, displaced by Baby Yoda. And that’s enough to make him change his mind. Instead of chasing bounty, he remains on the planet to search for the baby. Let’s all collectively ‘aww’ at this gesture. We knew Mando wouldn’t abandon the baby.

Mando returns to the Client’s hideout and overhears him threatening Dr. Pershing to ‘extract the necessary’ material from Baby Yoda quickly, or else the doctor’s safety is in jeopardy. Realizing he hasn’t much time, Mando attacks the base, taking on all the stormtroopers that come at him.

He finally locates the baby – it’s about to be interrogated by an imperial droid! Mando blasts it to smithereens, but Pershing misunderstands Mando’s actions, believing the bounty hunter is going to hurt the child. I like that Pershing isn’t some sinister mad scientist, he was protecting the child. Played by Omid Abdi, it’s good to see more actors of colour play characters who may be morally ambiguous, but innately good people at heart.

Mando grabs the baby and ploughs through the rest of the stormtroopers. He even uses his latest weapon – whistling birds – to fire at four stormtroopers at one go.

The Showdown

If Star Wars fans know anything, it’s that nothing is ever easy. As Mando escapes with the baby, the fobs of every bounty hunter on the planet go of. In the town centre, the bounty hunter is surrounded by his colleagues, waiting to take him down. Surprisingly, helps is at hand.

Just when it looks like there’s no way out, and Mando’s running out of juice in his armor, the cavalry arrives. The rest of the Mandalorians fly in all guns blazing. This action scene is breathtaking – full of tension and impressive tactics by the characters. Not only is Mando an astute warrior, but Carl Weathers’ Greef Karga is one smart cookie.

Though they know that the Mandalorian base will have to be relocated because of this showdown, the bounty hunters do not back down from protecting Mando and Baby Yoda. They cover for him as Mando runs to his ship.

Remember how we said that Greef is super smart? Well, he proves it by hiding out in Mando’s ship. He knew that’s where Mando was headed. Mando is one level smarter though. He switches on the carbonite and in the haze, Greef loses him. Mando shoots Greef right off his ship. But don’t worry – Greef isn’t dead, just winded by the blast. The beskar in his coat pocket took the brunt of the blaster fire.

Mando bids farewell to his comrade as Baby Yoda reaches for the top of the gear again. Mando unscrews it and drops it into the baby’s hand and rides off into hyperspace.

Adorable cuteness aside, this episode was stunning. Directorially, Deborah Chow blew this out of the park. The writing by Jon Favreau suffered from too much exposition, but there’s no denying that there was a lot of smart thinking involved in making this episode. From the slow burn of Mando’s predicament, the heart-pumping action sequences, the magnetic presence of Carl Weathers, this is the Star Wars show that fans want and deserve.

What did you think of this episode of The Mandalorian? Be sure to tell us in the comment section below!