The Mandalorian: The Spies (3x07)

Okay, all of the twiddling of thumbs and weird pacing issues this season, and now suddenly the bad guy shows up and he's not messin' around. Let's talk about it.

Cons:

I still think it's odd how much this story has become Bo-Katan's, instead of Din's. There's this moment that I liked well enough, where Din is talking about why he's loyal to Bo-Katan, and it felt like a growth moment for her, but not really for him. He doesn't have an ego problem, he didn't want to rule. Even the fact that Bo-Katan and her people take their helmets off and don't follow "the Way" doesn't seem to bug him that much. He doesn't have to go on a journey of self-discovery and realize that his method of practicing his faith isn't the only valuable one. There's just no growth opportunity here. Nothing that's happening feels rooted in his character at the center of this show.

This episode features the heroic sacrifice of Paz Vizsla, as he fights off Moff Gideon's baddies in order to give the other Mandalorians a chance to escape. I just wanted to flag that I barely know who this dude is or why I should care about him? I mean, I know who he is, he's been around, but they really framed his death as something that should have some sort of bigger emotional impact on the viewer, and it really... did not.

Pros:

At this point, I'm literally watching the show in hopes of more moments and concepts like Grogu riding around in IG-12, saying "yes" and "no" and driving Din mad. This was such an adorable concept, I loved the dry delivery of "this isn't working for me", and the "yes, what?" said in exasperation as Grogu just kept hitting the button in joy. It's silly and cheesy and childish and that dang puppet baby is still so freakin' cute I can't even stand it.

Also, for all that I've said I don't mind a more episodic format to this show, seeing Gideon show up and have an epic showdown with all these different Mandalorians was really an adrenaline boost after a season where it feels like not very much has happened. The action was cool, I like seeing Bo-Katan as the bad-ass leader getting to use the Dark Saber... yeah. It was exciting.

While I might have characterization issues here, I do enjoy getting to see the different strands of the Mandalorian people, coming together and trying to do what's best for them as a collective. The scene where Bo-Katan asks for volunteers, and after Din breaks the silence, we see people from both factions stepping up, was quite moving in its own right!

I can't believe next week is the season finale. This has been an odd season of television, if I'm being honest. I still don't mind tuning in, but I'm a little concerned about the long-term future of the show at this point. I think they need to find something for Din and Grogu to do...

7.5/10