The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 2 Review: Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore

The Mandalorian sure knows how to leave us wanting more!

The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 2 ended on an enormous cliffhanger, and I need to see what happens next.

The focus on Mandalore throughout the first few episodes of The Mandalorian Season 3 has been a welcome change of pace.

Din’s journey thus far has been one of redemption, and he’s willing to go to any lengths to get that feeling of fulfillment.

Adding Bo-Katan into the mix as someone who was supposed to rule but lost all of her power added a different viewpoint to the narrative.

Bo-Katan was very much against Din at the end of The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 1 and seemed intent on making sure he would never return again when she thought he was operating his ship back to her castle.

Katie Sackhoff is a phenomenal actress, and witnessing some of the events from Bo-Katan’s view helped elevate the storytelling.

Din: This area looks much older.
Bo-Katan: The mines have been here for thousands of years. The Living Waters are in the chambers below.
Din: Have you been there?
Bo-Katan: Yes, when I was a child.
Din: Really?
Bo-Katan: I was part of the royal family. I took the Creed and was showered with gifts. But the rituals were all just theater for our subjects. They loved watching the princess recite the Mandalorian tenets as her father looked on proudly. Such a heart-warming spectacle.
Din: Maybe he was proud.
Bo-Katan: I know he was. I didn’t embarrass him in front of everyone.
Din: Your father sounds like an interesting man. I would’ve liked to have known him.
Bo-Katan: He was a great man. He died defending Mandalore.
Din: This is the way.

It’s hard to tell what Bo-Katan’s endgame is here because we know she wanted to be in possession of the Darksaber at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2.

Are we to assume that, even though she disagrees with Din, she doesn’t want someone like her to die?

Or are we to assume that she wants him to die while being close enough to her so that she can take the Darksaber?

The latter is a bit of a reach because Bo-Katan’s actions throughout “Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore” hinted at her caring for Din’s wellbeing.

There were opportunities to leave him to die, but she saved his life twice in one episode, and she could have gotten herself killed in the process when the sea creature grabbed Din underwater.

Bo-Katan was reflective throughout this installment because she was wading through a land she was supposed to rule that was now ruins.

I wouldn’t mind flashbacks to her younger years because Mandalore is such a key location in this story that it’d be silly not to show what it was like for Bo-Katan.

The bigger question will be where Bo-Katan and Din will leave each other on The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 3.

If this trip proved anything, there are plenty of horrors on the planet, meaning our heroes could be harmed when they least expect it.

Din managed to go into the waters to complete his redemption arc, but a part of him must be confused about how everyone aside from Bo-Katan said the air was toxic.

It’s hard to imagine there is a way to salvage Mandalore and bring it back to its former glory. It would, quite literally, take a village.

Bo-Katan and Din now have mutual respect for one another, and if that leads to more backstory about Mandalore, then I’m here for it.

Din: What is this?
Bo-Katan: You’ve never eaten pog soup?
Din: No.
Bo-Katan: Can you appreciate the irony? Any Mandalorian worth their armor was raised on this since they were his size. You should rest. I’ll get you back to my ship soon enough.
Din: I’m not going with you.
Bo-Katan: What are you talking about?
Din: I must continue to the Mines of Mandalore so that I may be redeemed. Bo-Katan: I honestly think that it’s adorable that you actually believe these children’s stories. But there is nothing magic about the waters.
Din: Without the Creed, what are we? What do we stand for? Our people are scattered like stars in the galaxy.
Bo-Katan: The Creed is how we survived.
Din: You rescued me and I’ll always be in your debt. But I can’t go with you until I fulfill my obligation.
Bo-Katan: I will take you.
Din: To the Living Waters? Yes.
Bo-Katan: You’d never find them on your own. Not in all this wreckage.
Din: Thank you.
Bo-Katan: Don’t thank me until you see them.

Grogu escaping the planet was a nice touch because it showed that the kid could keep himself safe when danger arrived.

His time with Luke Skywalker helped him with survival skills, but then again, Din showed him how to navigate the galaxy at the beginning of this episode.

Would Grogu have managed to find his way back to Bo-Katan to save Din if not for that little nugget about navigating the world?

The series did a great job of amping up the tension as the characters navigated this location deeply rooted in the lore.

With so much miscommunication about the state of Mandalore, we didn’t know what to expect, meaning that anything was possible.

The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 1 felt more like a re-introduction to this universe, while the second episode was a full-fledged adventure, complete with danger.

I’m curious to hear what the Armorer thinks of Din’s journey to Mandalore because she was adamant that it wasn’t possible.

Maybe Bo-Katan will go along for the ride to fill The Armorer in, and I would love to be the fly on the wall for that conversation.

Another strong point was the fight scenes, mainly thanks to Bo-Katan.

The only way to take Din down is by surprise, so the freaky machine that clasped him from beneath the ground early in the episode was a shocker.

Din didn’t get much room to fight beyond the bad guys in the cave when R5-D4 didn’t return from its job to check out what was ahead.

The addition of R5-D4 was organic and didn’t feel like it was thrown in to get people lighting up social media.

Din: Thank you for rescuing me. You were right. Mandalore is not cursed.
Bo-Katan: Was I? Look around. There’s nothing left. A great society is now a memory. I once ruled here for a brief time. Now, it’s destroyed. Nothing to cling to but ashes.

The Mandalorian likes to make these special appearances worthwhile, and that’s why the series remains such a success story after three seasons.

A part of me thought Din would spend eons trying to get the IG-11 to complete his mission, so I was surprised he managed to get back to Mandalore so soon.

The pace on The Mandalorian Season 3 is off the charts. It’s making up for such a lengthy hiatus between seasons.

That’s all I got, Mandalorian fanatics.

What are your thoughts on Din being saved twice by Bo-Katan?

Did you expect it?

What are your thoughts on Grogu whooshing off Mandalore to Bo-Katan’s castle for assistance?

Hit the comments.

The Mandalorian continues Wednesdays on Disney+.

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