The Mandalorian Chapter 11: An exciting story that could have been the season 2 opener

The Mandalorian had an exciting third episode for season 2 of the series. 

Warning! This story contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 2 episode 3.

At long last, The Mandalorian finally upped the stakes to create one exciting episode this season. Plus, this was the episode that included some absolutely huge reveals that I think all Star Wars fans have been waiting for up until this point.

The Mandalorian season 2 episode 3 is officially titled “Chapter 11: The Heiress,” and as we suspected based on the synopsis, the Mandalorian was finally going to make some much-needed progress on his journey to bringing The Child back home, presumably to the Jedi.

Excellently enough, that’s exactly what happened in this episode. The Mandalorian was finally able to land his ship on a planet with a seaside city and reunited the Frog Lady with her husband. It was a treacherous trip for Mando and the crew as his beloved Razor Crest was reduced to nothing but a bag of bolts by the time he landed. But we’re assuming it was worth it considering the information he was about to get.

Upon entering the seaside town, he was able to get information about finding fellow Mandalorians. But we found out that the boating trip to “lead” him to the Mandalorians was just a setup. Eventually, the Mandalorians he was looking for did come to his rescue, leading to the live-action reveal of character Bo-Katan Kryze, and that’s where things got interesting.

Bo revealed in order to give Mando information about the Jedi and returning Baby Yoda back home, she would need his help taking down an Imperial ship. In their mission together with two other Mandalorians (including Sasha Banks’ character), the four were successful. We got the confirmation (finally) that Moff Gideon has the Darksaber, and that’s precisely what Bo is after. She also revealed to the Mandalorian that he could find out more about the Jedi from a person who knew all about them… Ahsoka Tano!

Finally, this was the type of episode we’ve been waiting for in season 2 of The Mandalorian. Arguably, this is the type of stuff that Jon Favreau should have opened with in the season 2 premiere. This episode forwarded the narrative by a lot, and it offered up some key characters that we’ve been waiting to see. Finally, for example, we got a glimpse of Moff Gideon. The holographic communication scene was all we needed. But to have us wait three episodes to find out what he was up to just felt like too long a wait.

Additionally, the Bo-Katan reveal was huge, considering fans have been waiting to see the characters from Dave Filoni’s animated TV series come to life. The Ahsoka Tano name drop was perfect as well (if this were a season opener) because it gives you just enough to be hopeful for before we get the full reveal.

If Favreau had chosen to lead with this episode, then filler adventures like the Mando vs. the krayt dragon or Mando vs. ice spider episodes would have made for great episodes in between as we draw out the suspense to push forward the narrative. Leading with two filler episodes in a season isn’t necessarily a great way to open strong and reel the audience in. Luckily, The Mandalorian season 1 was strong enough to keep audiences coming back in the first place. But for some of the more non-committed viewers, a strong episode like this could have worked to keep fans wanting more this season.

Additionally, I can’t help but mention one fantastic scene from this episode, which was when the Mandalorians infiltrated the Imperial ship. What an awesome sequence that was, nearly reminiscent of the prison-break episode in season 1. Returner Bryce Dallas Howard did a fantastic job directing this episode. And composer Ludwig Göransson’s score was the perfect accompaniment to this episode, especially during the Imperial ship scene.

We’ve still got a little over half the season to go, and things are finally heating up in The Mandalorian, so it will be exciting to see where the series goes next.

What did you think of The Mandalorian season 2 episode 3? Let us know in the comments!