Review: The Mandalorian Episode 3 – “The Sin”

Okay, I can admit that I was wrong – again. Last week David reviewed the second episode of The Mandalorian which was titled The Child. He was nice enough to give me a little space to make a prediction. I had guessed that the Mandalorian would either refuse to hand over Baby Yoda to the Client or that bounty hunters would steal the infant and the Mandalorian would have to recuse him. Episode 3 of the series is out now and it is titled The Sin. It turns out that my predictions did not come to pass. I would argue that I was on the right track but if this were a bet I would have lost. Let’s take a deeper look at third episode of The Mandalorian. Expect spoilers.

Plot

As you may recall, the Mandalorian’s ship, the Razor Crest, had been scavenged by Jawas in the previous episode. Now the stolen ship components have been won back and his vessel is repaired. While I would have thought there would be another adventure or two before he takes little Baby Yoda to the Client, it turns out that the Mandalorian heads straight to deliver the child and collects a massive payday for his efforts. It really is kind of heartbreaking to see Baby Yoda taken into a back room while his eyes remain fixated on the Mandalorian. Baby Yoda seems to have really bonded with the mysterious bounty hunter.

While the previous episode heavily focused on Baby Yoda, The Sin takes a much deeper look at the Mandalorian and the customs of his race. After accepting payment for bringing the child to the Client, he goes to meet with his clan and during this scene we learn more about the Mandalorians than has ever been shown in any of the theatrical Star Wars movies. The Mandalorian is about to be rewarded with a sigil of a Mud Horn to commemorate the one he slew in the previous episode but he declines by explaining it was not an honorable kill due to being helped by Baby Yoda. It seems these people take great pride in their righteous victories. He does get a new set of armor though and this scene is magnificent. His new armor does not come out of a chest – it is forged the old fashion way with blows from a hammer and while it is created we see flashbacks to the Mandalorians own childhood. It seems that he was hidden away by his parents during a battle when he was quite young only to be discovered by a battle droid and these memories compel him to go back and retrieve Baby Yoda from the Client.

The rest of the episode is mostly comprised of some very impressive action sequences as the Mandalorian takes on a whole bunker of stormtroopers in his quest to retrieve the baby. It doesn’t end there, though. Once he has the baby every other bounty hunter on the planet has been hired to bring him in including Greef Carga (Carl Weathers). What begins as the Mandalorian taking on over a dozen bounty hunters turns into a MASSIVE battle scene complete with rocket packs, flame throwers and, of course, laser blasts all over the place. It is the largest scale action scene we have seen so far in the movie.

There are a couple of moments in this episode that nicely serve as book ends. In the beginning we see Baby Yoda playing with a knob pulled from a control stick on the Mandalorian’s ship. The bounty hunter takes it from Baby Yoda and chides him by saying this is not a toy. At the end of this episode after Baby Yoda has been rescued we see the Mandalorian silently hand him that same knob to play with.

Performance

One remarkable aspect of this particular episode is that most of the cast from the stormtroopers to the mandalorians and even the alien bounty hunters wear masks. Greef Carga and the Client are the two largest roles in The Sin with unmasked performers. Despite the lack of facial expressions there are remarkably good performances to be seen here through the performers’ skillful use of body language. With just a tilt of his head Pedro Pascal conveys the Mandalorian’s doubts about leaving Baby Yoda with the Client even through his thick armor and helmet.

Cinematography

As with the two previous episodes of the show, The Sin is remarkably gorgeous with all kinds of hidden easter eggs for longtime fans of Star Wars. At moments the show is on part with the theatrical releases in terms of visual quality.

Verdict

I had initially thought that the Mandalorian’s doubt about delivering Baby Yoda would come about towards the end of the season but here we are already. The Sin begins an entirely new story arc which will see the bounty hunter facing the consequences for his actions while not skimping on the action scenes that the Star Wars franchise is known for.

David has his own thoughts on this episode: “I was full of stress and anxiety at the start of this episode. Could this show still carry the Star Wars name and be enjoyable ? Clearly the answer is yes. The Mandalorian has continued to bring fans something special each week. Being a fan of the Empire, is is difficult for me to admit that I love the Baby Yoda. It has continued to bring me and the rest of the fans joy.”