With February being a short month, we're just 17 days away from the drop of the first episode of Season 3 of Mando, whose own show hasn't been on since December 2020, although we had a 3-episode mini-catchup last year during The Book of Boba Fett.

Simple rules of the thread: Anything you've heard, read, or seen anywhere but a trailer or preview about an upcoming episode should have a spoiler tag.

Once an episode has dropped at 2 a.m. CDT each Wednesday, it is 100% fair game to talk about it.

Empire has a giant spread with new pictures and new quotes about it coming out on Feb 16. Here are some excerpts.'





https://www.empireonline.com/tv/news/mandalorian-season-3-opens-up-world-of-mandalore-pedro-pascal-exclusive/

It's fair to say that the scope of the new season delving further into the Mandalorian mythology Filoni helped establish in The Clone Wars is about to get bigger. "What I love most about Season 3 is how much the world opens up in terms of Mandalore and Mandalorians," Pedro Pascal tells Empire in the world-exclusive The Mandalorian Season 3 issue. "That means so many different facets of culture, politics, and rules and discoveries. Delicious doors are flying wide open." Adding complications to his quest for forgiveness? Mando now wields the much-contested Darksaber, a hard-fought-after weapon with a weighted history for the Mandalorian people, and special significance for his fellow Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze.

Introduced in live-action in The Mandalorian Season 2, Bo-Katan sees actor Katee Sackhoff reprise her voice role from the animated series and after all her years in the Star Wars galaxy, even she was surprised when she saw the territory the Season 3 scripts were taking them into. "[I was] texting Jon and Dave, 'Are you serious?' This is an epic season it's so big and so bold and so different," she promises. And for Bo-Katan, it brings big challenges her dynamic with Din Djarin isn't an easy one, and her tangled history doesn't hold easy options for the future. "We know the family that she was born into; now what's the family that she's going to choose? What does that look like?" questions Sackhoff. That's the thing with Mandalorians they always find the way.

Count me in. I'm ready for that Mando theme music.

Nice opening post, btw.

More stuff from Empire today including some concept art of Grogu excited about some "Crab-like, rock-looking creatures".



Director and Exec Producer Rick Manuyiwa says of Grogu, "There will be things [in Season 3] that once again have people talking about Grogu. In incremental ways, he's growing as a character and in this partnership with Mando. As this relationship grows, Grogu has to become more central in things that are going on. He's now firmly at the hip of Mando in every adventure…

The purity of the character brings out the best in the people round him. This next season continues to attach to that idea."

Pedro Pascal on wearing the full costume.

"It's like putting on a head-to-toe glove with weights on it. It's ironic that you can't see any facial expression because it puts you in the world so completely, and instantly makes the character feel real but you can't see *****

They've continued to finesse and make it more comfortable, but it's like going blind. Your breath completely fogs up the narrow slit that you can see through. There's no peripheral vision. If there's a hole, I'm gonna fall into it. When it's on, you immediately feel powerful, protected, dangerous, and like a protector."


Also some stuff from Katee Sackhoff about being Bo Katan for more than a decade now.

And now, with Bo-Katan making an even bigger dent in The Mandalorian Season 3, she's so in tune with the character that executive producers Jon Favreau (who also voiced Bo-Katan's fellow Mandalorian fighter Pre Vizsla in The Clone Wars) and Rick Famuyiwa regularly sought her expertise while shooting the latest batch of episodes. "I've lived in this woman's skin for a long time now," Sackhoff tells Empire in our world-exclusive The Mandalorian Season 3 issue. "One of the things that Jon and I focus on is where she is in the moment, what peppers her experience. Jon and Rick, every single day, defer to me, which is a crazy experience, to have these masters asking me what I feel." Evolving from a solely voice role to a physical performance, it's still the same Bo-Katan inside. "It respects the craft, and the years that I have put in," says Sackhoff. "I really do know her her pain is my pain. When she experiences something, I really feel it."

And not just emotionally. While five different women donned Bo-Katan's armour throughout the shooting of Season 3, some of the action moves still came down to Sackhoff. "If one person has a better skill-set than the other, well, that person needs to put the suit on that day," she explains. "That being said, I have a wicked knee-slide. I've been practicing my knee-slides on my mum's kitchen with dish rags since I was five years old, so when that knee-slide comes up, you'll know: that's me. There are holes in my suit because I had to do that so many times. I came home with so many bruises on my knees. But I love that. If I came home with bruises, it was a good day!"

Animation, comics, books, video games. The armorer talks about the jedi being enemies of mandalorians when she tasks him with returning grogu to his own kind.

The Porkchop Express said:

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Animation, comics, books, video games. The armorer talks about the jedi being enemies of mandalorians when she tasks him with returning grogu to his own kind.

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In retrospect, they should have made that tension a bit more obvious when Luke showed up.

But mando himself doesn't know the jedi. His enemy is the Empire for what they did to mandalore. US troops weren't mad at the Brits because of the Revolutionary War when we rolled up to Europe in World War I.

Din is sort of an unusual Mandalorian, so it's fine if he isn't wrapped up in the traditions and lore to a large extent, but emphasizing the Mandalorian-Jedi distrustful dynamic using the other characters would have made it a better story. I'm willing to bet they've been trying to drop hints here and there to be subtle about it, but the odd couple-ness of Din and Grogu could have been more interesting if they'd laid it on thicker.

Not to mention all those KOTOR missions.

Not only does Mando not really know the Jedi, Luke doesn't really know the Mandalorians or the history there either.

Without trying to seem like Comic Book Guy here or sound condescending, TC, you either need to just accept that you're not going to get the full picture because you're not into the source material, or venture out step by step and get familiar with it.

I know you don't like the animated stuff, but Filoni and Favreau are clearly doing this show holding the animated plot lines as just as important as the live-action movies. They've already breathed life into 3 animated characters - Bo Katan, Cad Bane, and Ahoska Tano - who all have intricate plot lines and contact points with many other characters from the PT, the OT and other live action shows.

There's a whole section on Disney Plus right now entitled "Mandalorian Culture episodes" that has a few Clone Wars eps, a few Rebels eps, and some of the live-action stuff that is clearly there to get people who are relative novices on Star Wars / Mando up to speed. There's too much lore there to explain it again in the limited time of the ;ive episodes - at least look up some stuff on Wookiepedia if you can't/ don't want to watch the previous episodes that built this particular section of the universe.

I can't find the clip on Youtube, but here is an quote from Chapter 8, Season 1 between Mando and the Armorer that references the Jedi

• The Mandalorian : What is it?
  Armorer : It is a foundling. By creed, it is in your care.
  The Mandalorian : You wish me to train this thing?
  Armorer : It is too weak. It would die. You have no choice. You must reunite it with its own kind.
  The Mandalorian : Where?
  Armorer : This, you must determine.
  The Mandalorian : You expect me to search the galaxy for the home of this creature and deliver it to a race of enemy sorcerers?
  Armorer : This is the Way.

Also, if you aren't going to get familiar with the source material, you're going to going to be very frustrated the Ahsoka show, where Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, and Thrawn from Rebels are all set to appear.

The Porkchop Express said:

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Without trying to seem like Comic Book Guy here or sound condescending, TC, you either need to just accept that you're not going to get the full picture because you're not into the source material, or venture out step by step and get familiar with it.

I know you don't like the animated stuff, but Filoni and Favreau are clearly doing this show holding the animated plot lines as just as important as the live-action movies. They've already breathed life into 3 animated characters - Bo Katan, Cad Bane, and Ahoska Tano - who all have intricate plot lines and contact points with many other characters from the PT, the OT and other live action shows.

There's a whole section on Disney Plus right now entitled "Mandalorian Culture episodes" that has a few Clone Wars eps, a few Rebels eps, and some of the live-action stuff that is clearly there to get people who are relative novices on Star Wars / Mando up to speed. There's too much lore there to explain it again in the limited time of the ;ive episodes - at least look up some stuff on Wookiepedia if you can't/ don't want to watch the previous episodes that built this particular section of the universe.

I can't find the clip on Youtube, but here is an quote from Chapter 8, Season 1 between Mando and the Armorer that references the Jedi

• The Mandalorian : What is it?
  Armorer : It is a foundling. By creed, it is in your care.
  The Mandalorian : You wish me to train this thing?
  Armorer : It is too weak. It would die. You have no choice. You must reunite it with its own kind.
  The Mandalorian : Where?
  Armorer : This, you must determine.
  The Mandalorian : You expect me to search the galaxy for the home of this creature and deliver it to a race of enemy sorcerers?
  Armorer : This is the Way.

Also, if you aren't going to get familiar with the source material, you're going to going to be very frustrated the Ahsoka show, where Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, and Thrawn from Rebels are all set to appear.

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I'm all for there being ancillary content that helps enrich the viewing experience of the main, live-action films and TV series. I don't need to know who Bo-Katan dated in high school because it's not crucial for her arc on the live-action series. If she makes an off-handed comment in a live-action series referencing an old flame, and you happen to have seen the Clone Wars episode where her ex stood her up at prom, more power to you, and I'm glad you get that little wink/nod/easter egg.

However, for something as crucial and revealing as the fact that "Mandalorians developed all of those tools and armour and weapons to be able to counteract the Force abilities of Jedi," ONE "enemy sorcerers" line isn't nearly enough. Especially when there's been montage after montage of Mandalorian armor being forged, and it would have been so incredibly easy to give that context, especially with Grogu right there. Again, it's a conceit that makes for such great dramatic irony, to the point where Favreau and Filoni leaving it out only re-iterates the fact that they're not the best story tellers for on-going, live-action TV (which was only made clearer by Andor, comparatively). And if they chose not to include such a gem because it was mentioned years ago in, say, some random Clone Wars episode, that's objectively terrible story telling because only a small percentage of their viewing audience is inherently going to get or remember it.

EVERY live-action film and TV series should be able to stand on its own. Any relevant or crucial historical context from ancillary content should absolutely (and efficiently) be repeated in live-action form, even if only through dialogue. Again, we don't need wikipedia-esque history lessons or breakdowns, but the broad stokes, as they relate to character motivations and dramatic irony, should be re-delivered, in some form or fashion, even and especially in something like Ahsoka.

Laugh/cry at the chair spinning and candy taking

TCTTS said:

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I'm all for there being ancillary content that helps enrich the viewing experience of the main, live-action films and TV series. I don't need to know who Bo-Katan dated in high school because it's not crucial for her arc on the live-action series. If she makes an off-handed comment in a live-action series referencing an old flame, and you happen to have seen the Clone Wars episode where her ex stood her up at prom, more power to you, and I'm glad you get that little wink/nod/easter egg.

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I realize you're being flippant to prove a point, and I'm not the least bit offended, but the amount of things you don't know about a character like Bo Katan because you don't want to invest your time in Clone Wars / Rebels is going to diminish your understanding of the story line that's going on here. If I didn't watch the prequels without watching the original trilogy, the ending of Luke and Leia delivered to minor characters on Tatooine and Alderaan wouldn't have much resonance for me, but that's my problem for not watching the other movies.

Bo Katan's appearance on the Mandalorian is not the result of a one-off Clone Wars episode that aired 15 years ago, but rather multiple arcs of multiple seasons of multiple TV shows. Bo Katan has had direct encounters in experiences with everyone from Obi-Wan and Anakin to Ahsoka and Maul. A character like her isn't an Easter Egg, she's important, and that importance has been built over years and years of appearances in Star Wars media. She's in 9 episodes of The Clone Wars and 2 more of Rebels. She fights the Empire and wields the Dark Saber. She allies with the Jedi despite her planet's long, bloody history of fighting the Jedi. The answers you're wondering about Mandalore and the saber and so many other things are literally there for the taking.

The Porkchop Express said:

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TCTTS said:

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I'm all for there being ancillary content that helps enrich the viewing experience of the main, live-action films and TV series. I don't need to know who Bo-Katan dated in high school because it's not crucial for her arc on the live-action series. If she makes an off-handed comment in a live-action series referencing an old flame, and you happen to have seen the Clone Wars episode where her ex stood her up at prom, more power to you, and I'm glad you get that little wink/nod/easter egg.

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I realize you're being flippant to prove a point, and I'm not the least bit offended, but the amount of things you don't know about a character like Bo Katan because you don't want to invest your time in Clone Wars / Rebels is going to diminish your understanding of the story line that's going on here. If I didn't watch the prequels without watching the original trilogy, the ending of Luke and Leia delivered to minor characters on Tatooine and Alderaan wouldn't have much resonance for me, but that's my problem for not watching the other movies.

Bo Katan's appearance on the Mandalorian is not the result of a one-off Clone Wars episode that aired 15 years ago, but rather multiple arcs of multiple seasons of multiple TV shows. Bo Katan has had direct encounters in experiences with everyone from Obi-Wan and Anakin to Ahsoka and Maul. A character like her isn't an Easter Egg, she's important, and that importance has been built over years and years of appearances in Star Wars media. She's in 9 episodes of The Clone Wars and 2 more of Rebels. She fights the Empire and wields the Dark Saber. She allies with the Jedi despite her planet's long, bloody history of fighting the Jedi. The answers you're wondering about Mandalore and the saber and so many other things are literally there for the taking.

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I realize that Bo-Katan was a major character prior to now. That really has nothing to do with my point, though. I wasn't being flippant about her character, I was simply saying that I don't need every detail about every Clone Wars character in order understand what's going on or appreciate their arcs in The Mandalorian. I just need the broad strokes, and IMO, Mandalorian-armor-was-designed-to-protect-against-Jedi falls under that category, all things considered.

I'm sorry, but I just don't have the time to invest in Clone Wars or Rebels or any of the animated stuff. I have to prioritize live action over animation, just to keep up with everything I need to watch. And asking someone like me - someone representative of MOST of the viewing audience - to go back and devote hundreds of hours to animation, just to be able to understand basic dynamics in a live-action series, is ridiculous. Especially when those basic dynamics can easily be repeated via dialogue and context clues in the live-action stuff.

It is obvious this contest cannot be decided by your knowledge of TV...but by your skills with a lightsaber.

TCTTS said:

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I'm sorry, but I just don't have the time to invest in Clone Wars or Rebels or any of the animated stuff. I have to prioritize live action over animation, just to keep up with everything I need to watch.

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That last arc in season 7 is amongst the best content in Star Wars. There's admittedly a lot of filler in the Clone Wars, but this is not that. You should check it out, not to fill in the backstory, but because it's excellent story-telling, straight up.

Season 7, episodes 9, 10, 11, 12.

I never watched the Clone Wars show or the other animated stuff, but they made it pretty obvious that the Mandalorians and Jedi were historical enemies. At least, I understood that from only watching the Mandalorian.

DallasTeleAg said:

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I never watched the Clone Wars show or the other animated stuff, but they made it pretty obvious that the Mandalorians and Jedi were historical enemies. At least, I understood that from only watching the Mandalorian.

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Not nearly to the point to where it was even remotely obvious that the "Mandalorians developed all of those tools and armor and weapons to be able to counteract the Force abilities of the Jedi." Not liking the Jedi is completely different than essentially designing your entire cultural appearance/weapons arsenal as a defense system against the Jedi. That hasn't come across in any way, shape, or form in any of the live-action series.

Took me a while but I finally found the convo between the Armorer and Mando about the Mandalorians' fight with the Jedi. it's in Chapter 8: The Redemption when they initially escape Gideon by going underground.

Mando: "It's injured but it's not helpless. Its species can move objects with its mind."
Armorer: "I know of such things. The songs of eons past tell of battles between Mandalore the Great and an order of sorcerers
called Jedi that fought with such powers."
Mando: "It is an enemy?"
Armorer: "No. Its kind were enemies, but this individual is not."
Mando: "What is it?"
Armorer: "It is a foundling."By creed it is in your care."
Mando: "You wish me to train this thing?"
Armorer: "It is too weak. It woud die. You have no choice. You must reunite it with its own kind."
Mando: "Where?"
Armorer: "This you must determine."
Mando: "You expect me to search the galaxy for the home of this creature and deliver it to a race of enemy sorcerers?"
Armorer: "This is the way."