Mando hands over his bounty and receives his prize, but can his conscience live with the possibilities of what may happen next to the child?

Bounty hunting isn’t a profession where sentiment will do you many favours in the Star Wars universe. You are, after all, hunting down whoever you’re directed to, and handing them over to people for money – what happens next isn’t really supposed to factor into your list of concerns, otherwise why take up the profession in the first place?

But of course, Mando is no more immune to the charms of tiny green baby Yoda thing than the entirety of the internet, and therefore doesn’t feel greatly easy about handing the little mite over to some ex-Imperial warlord and his retinue. Especially when he doesn’t know for sure what their interest is in the little guy, or what they might do with him.

Once again, it’s not a particularly complex episode narratively speaking – we have the handover, the wrestling with conscience and the eventual conclusion. What it does do in between is flesh out a little more about Mandalorian culture, the codes by which it conducts itself, and how those codes measure up against the Bounty Hunter code itself. Mandalorians here are scattered and weak compared to their proud heritage, but they maintain the old ways, and they have a powerful sense of tradition and honour, a set of values which no amount of money or other laws and cultures can set aside.

It’s stunning to look at as usual, and it romps along at a rapid old pace, being fairly predictable in terms of our hero’s decisions. But it also sells its schtick quite successfully – narratively thin it may be but what narrative is given lands hard, giving a real sense of emotion and investment to proceedings. It’s difficult to escape the feeling that this is the closing part of the trilogy of opening episodes. It’s introduced us to Mando himself, given us the glimpses we needed into his character and the culture from which he hails, and there’s a definite sense by the time the credits roll of a new phase starting in the life of Mando as well as in the series itself. I for one look forward to seeing where that takes us next.

Verdict: Yes it’s predictable and the plot is lasered down to a very tight focus, but when it looks, sounds and feels this good, who cares? 9/10

Greg D. Smith

The Mandalorian completes his mission by delivering his charge to his employer, but is he doing the right thing?

After Chapter 2’s frolic with the Jawas, the stakes are raised as Pedro Pascal’s gun for hire starts doubting his actions. As he delivers the 50-year-old infant to Werner Herzog’s Imperial bad guy he suddenly finds himself rich in baskar, a metal from which he has a new suit of armour forged. But this doesn’t sit well with him, particularly when he experiences flashbacks to his own youth when he lost his parents during the Great Purge, featuring the Super Battle Droids from the Star Wars prequels.

We gain some more understanding of the Mandalorian mantra (‘This is the way’) as well as the understandable anti-Empire conflict that exists within the clan. But it’s not until Mando (as Carl Weathers’ Greef Carga calls him) decides to go rogue and break the bounty hunter guild’s code that things take off. With his new armour and weapons upgrades, the bounty hunter continues to illustrate that Stormtroopers are the worst shots in any galaxy – near or far far away. Not afraid to use his disintegrator rifle or wrist flamethrower, he’s tooled for action and rescues his charge.

Once the Mandalorian’s transgressions are known, all the bounty hunters get notification of their new prey in a scene that reminiscent of John Wick 2; but how is he going to escape? I suspect many a fanboy had a smile on their face when the jet-packing cavalry flew in – myself included. This series revels in its use of Star Wars tropes and iconography, writer Jon Favreau clearly fulfilling childhood dreams of ‘cool stuff’.

Verdict: While still lurching from one set-piece to another, seemingly structured like an animated half-hour show with a ‘peril of the week’ plot, it’s happy to plough its own furrow and is such a joy as it whizzes past you. 8/10

Nick Joy