The Mandalorian season 3 episode 3 has everyone feeling conflicted with its surprise detour away from Din Djarin and Grogu. The following will contain light spoilers for the new episode, so turn away now if you're not up to date!
The latest installment of the Star Wars show only spends a brief amount of time with Grogu and Mando before diverting to Doctor Pershing, who is living on Coruscant after going through a rehabilitative program for former Imperials. We catch up with Bo-Katan, Din, and his little green charge at the beginning and end of the episode, but the rest of the runtime is dedicated to Pershing. It's a change-up that fans can't seem to agree on.
"I just wanted to see 56 minutes of Mando, Grogu, and Bo-Katan," says one disappointed viewer.
"WOOOOOW #TheMandalorian S3E3 is so good. It made me really interested in the story again and does a huge detour that does a good job of tying up a loose end, making the whole galaxy feel so well realised," says another fan. "Lee Isaac Chung's direction was intimate. Maybe best Ep of #Mando ever?"
"I see #TheMandalorian is taking notes from The Book of Boba Fett in having an hour long episode with only about 10 minutes of Din in there…" is another person's opinion – The Book of Boba Fett features two episodes that follow storylines from The Mandalorian.
It's a sentiment echoed by others: "They gave us an hour episode only to show Dr Pershing's storyline…. this is really payback for The Book of Boba Fett huh."
"Chapter 19 of The Mandalorian is one of the best episodes in the whole show so far," shares another fan. "A very important episode that focuses on the New Republic. Lee Isaac Chung's Star Wars debut was a great one. Very intense with a lot of beautiful shots."
"People are really dubbing the new episode of #TheMandalorian 'filler' because of Din and Bo had 10 minutes of screen time despite the fact that the plot line with Dr. Pershing and his research is SO IMPORTANT Y'all have not been paying attention to the full story, and it shows," is another person's verdict.
"I see what they were trying to do for that ep but it was just too long. All of the Pershing stuff was very drawn out & could've been cut down. They also could've cut back and forth between Din & Bo to Pershing so it breaks it up," thinks this person.
"New episode gives major Andor vibes and I love it. Get a more personal look into the effects of the New Republic coming into power on Coruscant and an interesting dive into the cloning doctor Pershing. Great opening action scene as well 10/10" says this fan.
Despite not focusing on Din and Grogu, we still got an adorable Baby Yoda moment when he appeared to try and speak his first words. Elsewhere in the episode, we also saw the return of a key location in Revenge of the Sith.
You can keep up to date with the Disney Plus show with our The Mandalorian release schedule, and see all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows through the link.
