The Mandalorian season 3 episode 5 review: The story finally begins

This season of the Disney Plus show has been up and down, with some really stunning standalone episodes, including episode 3, which saw the focus taken away from Grogu and Mando in a refreshing new take, but with almost a complete lack of an over-arching story – until now.

There have been plenty of hints that Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) would have a greater purpose this season, from the actress's starring role alongside Pedro Pascal to the character being the only one to see the real-life mythosaur, but it's finally been revealed that she'll be the one to unite the Mandalorians, or at least try.

It's an arc that makes total sense for the season, and is a brilliant new way to watch Bo-Katan shine, especially after the Armorer's decision that she's permitted to "walk both ways", meaning she won't be labelled an apostate if she takes off her helmet. It's just a shame the most interesting story of the season had to begin more than halfway through.

The episode on its own, though, goes back to the roots of why we love Mando with spectacular battles, Djarin and Bo-Katan saving the day, a mega character return teasing huge potential for the Rebels, and an eerie reveal at the end of the episode.

It begins with Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) realising that Gorian Shard (Carey Jones) has come to Nevarro for revenge after his gunman was killed (cast your minds back, this was way back in episode 1). He starts openly firing, with Karga fearing for his people.

Karga sends a distress call to Captain Carson Teva of the New Republic (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), who takes it to his superior, Colonel Tuttle (Tim Meadows), but Tuttle says they don't have the resources to help Nevarro right now. Teva thinks something bigger is going on but Tuttle won't listen – and we get an appearance from Elia Kane (Katy M O'Brian), who's still incredibly shady.

Assuring his people that help is on the way, Karga is confident that his call will be answered, with Teva paying the Mandalorians a visit (it turns out he got their location from R5, who he knew from previously). He tells Djarin that he thinks the Empire is growing again, and says he knows he won't let Karga die. But Djarin has to convince the other Mandalorians, who aren't the biggest fans of Karga, to help.

In the end, it's an unexpectedly rousing speech from Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher) that does it, after Bo-Katan helped save his son in a very disjointed episode 4. The Mandalorians take on Shard and his crew in an epic battle and win, managing to save the people of Nevarro. Karga decides to give The Mandalorians a plot of land to live on, saying that while they no longer have a home planet, they do have a home.

Meanwhile, the Armorer summons Bo-Katan and, in what appears to be a complete character transplant, orders her to remove her helmet. She vows that Bo-Katan will be the one to unite the Mandalorians and permits her to "walk both ways" – something that may be a little frustrating for Djarin to hear after his whole jaunt to Mandalore in search of redemption.

However, the episode ends on an eerie note as Teva discovers an abandoned ship, that matches the departure date of Moff Gideon's prison ship – pretty much proving that he never made it to his trial. To make things even worse, his body is gone.

The Mandalorian is available to stream on Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus now for £7.99 per month or £79.90 for a full year.

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