Finally getting to see this...
Din delivers an engaging but ultimately for this show, totally filler episode. For HIS show, this was a good, if somewhat slowish and low key season premiere... Or it would be under normal circumstances.
Starting off this review lemme say... BDH was already quite confident with her first episode of Mando, which for some reason gets lumped into sub optimal episodes for some reason by many around here but I loved that one and her subsiquent outing and now this. She has a real handle on a production like this from camera work and coordinating all the VFX and actors to getting good performances out of her cast. I really cannot wait to see what she decides to do next and would be quite happy if we got her on some high profile genre work in features or another streaming project if she is looking to go that way. I especially liked how Howard brought all the visual elements together and really made the Sci Fi aspect of SW shine here.
So coming back to Din I have some questions which funnily this didn't answer. He was given a quest, one which he accomplished and came back to see the figure in his life that sent him on such a mission. I was hoping that seeing more Mandolorians, Bo, Bobba, and traveling far from his sphere of comfort, physically and mentally, AND at least being exposed to the idea that the group he was a part of may not be anything other than a cult following some kind of draconian fanatic that he would either not go back as a blind supplicant or at least he would question more fully the Armorer.
Din's time on the Ring World was a nice slice of life and man... It's been too long. I miss the vibe of Mando. So the Armorer and Paz are all that's left of his Covert? Shame. We are setting up what the Dark Saber can be as a constant threat to Din by way of those that will covet it. Which, I kinda figured is where this was headed for bit with him.
I rather liked the idea of the Armorer in the previous seasons and was hoping she was actually on the up and up or at least not AS brainwashed as Mando's brother and sister Mandalorians. Like, I was happy to show that a philosophical/religious authority would find a way to use a harsh and unforgiving creed from a warrior culture to justify an act of compassion and mercy and continued to use it to "do the right thing" and lead Din towards his destiny as a protector of Grogu, as well as nurturing his inner morality.
Now... Not so sure but that's fine. Din was raised by something that right now STINKS of corruption. Again, I'm not sure the Armorer has to be the root cause of this, she might be another foundling like Din who is working in her own way against the foundational notions of this Covert. So far she is why Mando was able to even being to question what he was raised in.
On the other hand she's still SUS AF.
@flickchick85 Yes, for sure, he got himself a sports car. I agree that this seems a poor choice for him as a bounty hunter but it being more agile and fast as well as being a long range craft aren't bad things to trade the space of the Crest for.
This was a nice episode.
It was also the most coherent and satisfying episode and... This why it's a shame that as good as it all was it shows how slow and uninteresting BoBF has been so far. Getting back into the groove with Din makes me not want to go back to BoBF's story.
