The highly anticipated third season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian has finally arrived with its second episode titled “Chapter 18 – The Mines of Mandalore”. Below is a breakdown of what was seen in the episode and how it possibly connects to future events in the season.
As the episode opens, we see some type of speeder race happening on Tatooine and old friend, Peli Motto up to her old tricks by bilking people of their money but Din Djarin arrives for a tune up on his N-1 starfighter and states that he’s there on business. Reluctantly, Din reveals that he is heading to Mandalore and asks Peli if she is able to locate a memory core for an IG droid but since they have not been made in a long time, he is out of luck. However, she manages to pawn off her old astromech droid, R5 on Mando and even outfits his starfighter so he can haul around the old droid. As Mando and Grogu fly away, he even asks the child if he is “ready for an adventure” aiding to the feeling that the opening of this episode and all of Chapter 17 was somehow a prelude for the actual adventure.
Grogu marvels at the galaxy during their flight and even gets acquainted with the star maps as Din is beginning to explain to him what it means to be a Mandlorian. They arrive in the atmosphere of Mandalore as Din remarks that he has never actually been to the planet before and it’s hard to see what’s going on under that helmet but there is a hint of sadness to his voice as he wishes he could have seen the planet in its glory. They land but the skepticism is high as Din sends out R5 to scout ahead and confirm if the environment is toxic. R5 comically shakes his head no but he eventually goes out but as Din and Grogu are watching him on the screen, he mysteriously disappears. Din is forced to go investigate but as he does, he is ambushed by monstrous creatures who are clearly inspired by the Morlocks from H.G. Wells’ The Time Machines and as Din fights them off with the Darksaber, it is clear that he is still not used to handling the weapon and he eventually fights them off but not before he takes a few hits.
Following this encounter, Grogu and Din being explore deeper into Mandalore, they marvel at the ruins of the old city but during their journey, Din finds another Mandalorian helmet that is mysteriously buried in the dirt implying that another warrior was there but was killed sometime ago. This quiet moment is interrupted by some type of mechanized creature emerging from underground and manages to capture Din. Grogu attempts to free him but is noticed by this creature and quickly flees in his pod after being commanded by Din to go to Bo-Katan for help which he does but Bo-Katan appears annoyed at the arrival of Mando’s ship but becomes immediately concerned when she only sees Grogu emerge from the cockpit. She then travels to Mandalore to try and rescue Din.
Bo-Katan is then forced to make the journey to Mandalore and remarks that she has not been to the planet in years. Her voice also marks a trace of regret and sadness about the destruction of her planet but is also able to recount to Grogu how Mandalorians and Jedi once fought side by side and it’s here that the Grogu puppet truly becomes a marvel and asset for this show. The movement of the eyes, ears and mouth all work together to sell the authenticity of this character. The two then retrace the movement of Din and Bo encounters the same creatures who attacked Din but reveals that they are Alamites, creatures who once lived on the outskirts of Mandalore but retreated underground after the destruction of the planet. She then runs into the mechanized creature that captured Din but it is shown to be draining his blood for some unknown reason but Bo is able to see that the creature has tossed aside the Darksaber as she snatches it and quickly destroys the creature. It is obvious that she is more adept at using the Darksaber than she is so it’s probably that we will see another conflict for the weapon later in the season as Bo-Katan tries to rebuild the Mandalorian society. The tension between Din and Bo-Katan is palpable as she wants to disregard the old legends of Mandalore whereas Din wants to use the old stories to reunite the Mandalorians. Bo offers to guide him to the Living Waters as they explore even further into the city and have to go beneath the mines.
The two arrive at the Living Waters and it is an ominous sight; the cavern is dark and the water seems to have no measurable depth but as Bo-Katan begins to recount an old legend about the Living Waters and the massive creature that may live within it, Din begins taking off his armor to fulfill his quest of bathing in the Waters and atone for his transgressions but as he begins to enter the water, something appears to snatch him and take him deep under the surface. Without hesitation, Bo-Katan jumps in after him and is able to rescue him once again but they also find that the old legends are in fact, real as they witness a terrible sight; the massive creature that is said to be guarding the Living Waters, the Mythosaur is real and while they are able to escape the deep pool, it is unknown if the Mythosaur will allow them to leave.
Featured Image Credit: Wookieepedia
