‘The Mandalorian’ Recap – ‘Chapter 17: The Apostate’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(L-R): Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

It’s been a little while since we all settled in to discuss the wondrous Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, and understandably so. After all, ‘Chapter 16: The Rescue’ was in many ways… the closing of a grand chapter. One that saw Grogu and Din Djarin be separated by the power of the Force, courtesy of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (who made the most epic cameo in the history of cameos in that tale). Giving rise to time away from this duo so we could learn how Boba Fett was doing in his resurgent second act in life. Yet even his story, and perhaps the power of the Force… helped to reunite everyone in the end, giving rise to new adventures between Din and Grogu that are once again gracing our televisions.
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For yesterday saw the season three premiere of the show drop on the streamer and well, ‘Chapter 17: The Apostate’ turned out to be quite the fascinating tale. One that let it be known what Din Djarin is searching for at this new stage in his life and that just so happens to be… redemption, and a sense of belonging. Because he simply hasn’t had a place where he truly fits in and obviously, everything he’s held dear regarding the ways of the Mandalorian has been denied to him because of a powerful choice in a moment of equally as powerful emotion, and he began that journey here… by playing the hero. For when we caught up with Din and his little one, he was forced to save his people from a disastrous helmet ceremony where nature made life tough for his friends. 

Of course, despite doing that, he was still… Mandalorian non grata because of the mask incident, but that didn’t stop Din from asking the Armorer if by chance… he could redeem himself by proving that the home world was still viable and that the old ways could be conducted. And once he received that blessing, it was off to Navarro to begin to collect everything he needed to complete his quest to bathe in those holy waters and find redemption and of course… embrace the ways of Mandalore and finally belong. Which allowed for us to discover that Navarro has become a wonderful place to live under the guidance of High Magistrate Greef Karga, and that scum and villainy are no longer welcome there. A reveal that offered hope for the future of Navarro and hope that Din might just complete his all-important quest.

Largely because, IG-11 was still in the city proper, albeit incomplete. But Din believed that his memory banks might help in this quest. But alas, that loyal droid wasn’t quite ready to help thanks to the devastating damage he suffered back in the day, saving lives. Which prompted Din to look toward the stars for help in finding the right parts to fix his old friend and… such a search also prompted him to properly pull together a coalition of heroes to triumphantly reclaim Mandalore for its people. So, after an epic skirmish with some nasty pirates, Din found himself face to face with Bo Katan once more, in the hope of using her vast army for this plan. But alas… the army abandoned her since she never held onto the Darksaber, leaving her alone and angry and that forced Din to look elsewhere once again for what he needs. 

All of which brought forth… a vastly different kind of premiere. One that slowed things down greatly to make us comfortable with this universe again and of course… it also focused heavily on the characters over the action and that is never a bad thing. Not when clearly, our hero is searching for something more, something fulfilling and his quest this season should provide a vastly different type of Star Wars tale. One that is intimate in nature and moving and supremely dramatic. And now is the perfect time to offer up this kind of story since we are far, far away from seeing the rise of the First Order and well… the prospect of this kind of journey, the kind that we don’t often see in the mainstream Star Wars Universe… definitely leaves one eager for next week’s adventure and beyond. To see if Din Djarin can finally find what he is so desperately searching for. Until next time.

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