The Mandalorian: The Mines of Mandalore (3x02)

I don't really care where this show falls in terms of objective quality, I'm having so much fun with it!

Cons:

R5 sort of confused me as a concept. I thought we were doing a fetch quest to get parts for IG-11, and that was necessary before going to Mandalore. And then here Din just shrugs his shoulders and takes another droid? That's fine, I guess, it just surprises me given that we're only on the second episode, and I figured we'd build up to Mandalore a little more? It's not really a problem except that I hope we do loop back around to IG-11 at some point, otherwise it feels like a weird little detour.

Pros:

Peli is such a fun character to me. I love that when Mando shows up she's like "where's my guy!" and she and Grogu are just so excited to see each other. The gurgling that Peli interpreted as Grogu's first words was really funny. That's such a grandma-and-baby thing to do. She holds the kid for that whole scene, both of them pleased to be reunited, and I smiled the whole way through.

Din teaching Grogu little lessons about the Mandalorian lifestyle is always the absolute cutest thing. It's a simple way of showing how this season is different from the first two. Before, even as he was growing this special bond with the child, his mission was always to turn him over to his people. Now, Din and Grogu have both fully embraced that they are family. Grogu is a Mandalorian Foundling now, and Din is taking the task of teaching him and caring for him very seriously.

These first two episodes of season three have taken on a real adventure-serial quality, with the plot just kind of hopping around and skipping to the good part very quickly, and honestly I'm not mad about? Sure, I could critique the pacing in all sorts of ways, but why would I want to? We get straight to Mandalore, and Din is immediately in peril, and Grogu has to go fetch Bo Katan to rescue him. Lots of drama and tension and action, no meandering or time-wasting to be found.

I kind of like Bo Katan's whole vibe where she's like "you're so stupid for buying into Mandalorian myths and culture and I don't care about you and you stole my cool sword and you're the worst" but then the minute Grogu shows up alone and anxious, she hops into rescue mode and saves Din's life. She cares, even if she can't quite admit that. It's not even about Din personally, I don't think. It's a loyalty to her people that still remains with her, even if she's given up so much of what she was originally taught.

And that's basically all I'll say for this one. Another delightful outing from our favorite helmet man and his little green son.

8/10