The Mandalorian: The Apostate (3x01)

Baby Grogu!!! My favorite father and son have returned to the screen.

Cons:

It's ridiculously stupid that the emotional payoff of Grogu and Din being separated was payed off in The Book of Boba Fett, instead of here in the show where it belonged. They don't even bother recapping it, really. They just have Grogu being there and Din being like "yep, he's back." It's kinda ballsy in a way I like, but mostly it's just really dumb and we have to acknowledge that.

Pros:

For the most part, I really like that this episode feels like a back to ground zero re-set. All the political machinations are still going on in the background, there are still things Mando is going to have to deal with sooner or later, but really we're setting up a simple quest here. Din wants to regain his place among the Mandalorians by making a pilgrimage and washing himself clean of his sins, essentially. So he goes on a fetch quest to find the things he needs, running into obstacles and building up tasks he must complete as he goes. IG-11 needs to be rebuilt, because Mando needs someone he can trust on Mandalore, which is sure to be dangerous. But there's a missing part he has to go find. It's very... standard side-quest kind of stuff, and frankly, I'm thrilled.

This first episode seems to affirm what I was hoping, which was that the writers/showrunners would realize why people like this show, and stick to it. It's about the father/son bond between Din and Grogu. It's about fun space adventures. Setting a clear goal and then watching Mando meticulously take the steps he needs to take to complete it, is exactly what I want. We have everything going on in the periphery, we've got Greef, and Bo-Katan, and space pirates, and all this other stuff going on that brings more richness to the world, and we'll surely see these elements grow as the season continues. But at the core of the story, we're on a little road trip adventure with our favorite helmet man and tiny green puppet.

Just... in case it bears repeating, Grogu is so fucking cute. All of the babbling baby noises, all of the cute, curious head-tilts, his mischievous demeanor when he picks up the Anzellans, his glee at the high-speed space chase... he's such a character, he's so expressive and adorable and lovable. I hope this show continues for years to come, with scene after scene of Grogu being a cute baby and Din being a protective, indulgent dad. The moment when he's teaching Grogu about the navigation on the ship is so great! He's training him to be a Mandalorian!

Anyway, I love this show. It's silly and it's not that deep and it makes me smile.

9/10