Spoilers The Mandalorian Season 3

[ashleytinger]

Was Zeb just there for fanservice or is he going to have a significant role this season?

I'm betting part fan service, part introduction to Ahsoka series

 

[Nerys Myk]

Yup, that's been bugging the hell out of me all season. Pretty sure I brought it up before, too.

I posted in the wrong thread. But the point remains.

 

[JD]

So was Zeb then. I obviously recognized him as a Lasat right away, but I wasn't sure if it was Steve Blum's Zeb voice.
This was a fantastic episode. Teva has been one of my favorite recurring characters, so I liked that so much of the first half focused on him. Once again we got more examples of how the New Republic has very quickly become a bureaucratic nightmare.
The whole battle on Navarro was awesome.
The Armorer having Bo Katan take off her helmet was definitely a surprise. I guess be a bit more open minded than I would have expected when it comes to The Creed.
This episode really seemed to bring everything we've seen so far this season together, with the pirates, Kane, and Bo Katan and the covert all being involved.

 

[valkyrie013]

The pirate in the fighter really looked like a Drazi from B5 .. Even sounded like him..

 

[Reverend]

The pirate in the fighter really looked like a Drazi from B5 .. Even sounded like him..

The design dates back to the RotJ palace/skiff guards, and later in the PT as various extras including at least one Jedi. The only real difference is that the previous ones were simple pull-over rubber masks, while this one is by necessity a more involved and sophisticated prosthetic to allow for actual emoting and dialogue.
As for the voice; that's just what most people sound like when speaking through theatrical dentures, while their nose is being squashed under prosthetics. See also: old school Planet of the Apes movies.
Also: Drazi don't have horns.

Was Zeb just there for fanservice or is he going to have a significant role this season?

As already noted; that's a LOT of effort to go to purely for fan service. It's a fair bet they were doing a trial run for a more substantial appearance in 'Ahsoka'. That was after all the show's first entirely performance capture character. Possibly the first time they've ever done this in camera, on the volume. Also probably why three of their stable of directors got cameos again; they were there to shadow/collaborate to see how it's done.

 

[Starkers]

That was fun. I know time and distance are all over the shop when it comes to Star Wars but it did seem ridiculous that Carson Teva could fly all the way to Coruscant and then to the Mandalorian camp meanwhile on Nevarro it still seems like the pirates have only just arrived rather than have been there days or even weeks! Also they didn't seem to have a lot of extras representing the Nevarro populace unless only a handful actually followed Karga into the wilderness?

Loved the pirate ship, lots of action, Katee Sackhoff got to take her helmet off again (didn't see that coming) plus we got the return of Capt Teva and the universes' most obvious fifth columnist! I was worried for Teva at the end, definitely smelt like a trap.

The people of Nevarro seem happy now but I wonder if they'll stay happy once hundred and possibly thousands of Mandalorians begin showing up?

 

[Booji]

ZEB!!!!!!!! This ep was exactly what I needed after the Bad Batch season finale. A lot of fun and the good guys won. I guess we'll be seeing Sabine pop up shortly.

 

[Set Harth]

That was fun. I know time and distance are all over the shop when it comes to Star Wars but it did seem ridiculous that Carson Teva could fly all the way to Coruscant and then to the Mandalorian camp meanwhile on Nevarro it still seems like the pirates have only just arrived rather than have been there days or even weeks!

It doesn't take weeks to go from the outer rim to the core. It takes less than a day. We can see this in the films.

 

[valkyrie013]

Speed of plot is insane on Star Wars, where it takes literal minutes to get to a nearby system. Practically a day trip.

 

[Mach5]

ZEB!!!!!!!! This ep was exactly what I needed after the Bad Batch season finale. A lot of fun and the good guys won. I guess we'll be seeing Sabine pop up shortly.

Imagine if she didn't.

Honestly, I'd be pissed. Natasha Liu Bordizzo seems like such a spot-on pick (knock on wood).

I'm hoping she shows up in the season finale. Being the head of one of Mandalore's top-tier houses, and all.

 

[UssGlenn]

Also they didn't seem to have a lot of extras representing the Nevarro populace unless only a handful actually followed Karga into the wilderness?

Not everyone got out, the guy with the tray of food looked to be a resident left behind, I expect there were lots of people hunkering down in their houses.

 

[Crazyewok]

That was fun. I know time and distance are all over the shop when it comes to Star Wars but it did seem ridiculous that Carson Teva could fly all the way to Coruscant and then to the Mandalorian camp meanwhile on Nevarro it still seems like the pirates have only just arrived rather than have been there days or even weeks! Also they didn't seem to have a lot of extras representing the Nevarro populace unless only a handful actually followed Karga into the wilderness?

Loved the pirate ship, lots of action, Katee Sackhoff got to take her helmet off again (didn't see that coming) plus we got the return of Capt Teva and the universes' most obvious fifth columnist! I was worried for Teva at the end, definitely smelt like a trap.

The people of Nevarro seem happy now but I wonder if they'll stay happy once hundred and possibly thousands of Mandalorians begin showing up?

Navarro on one of the major hyper routes.
From the very beginning of starwars travel is done in a few hours on the major lanes.

It's only on the lesser known routes it slows down.

 

[Crazyewok]

Like I said, it's mostly supposition, but it does seem to fit the facts. Probably the closest to direct evidence we have is the secret mining operation on Concordia where Deathwatch were mass producing armour. Seems unlikely all that ore would just left lying around if it were beskar. Much more likely that's local ore used to make beskar alloy from old stockpiles (probably House Vizla's that they managed to keep secret after the civil war.) That or Concordian beskar ore contains WAY more impurities than what's found in the mines of Mandalore, which would account for why Concordia (an agricultural moon) was all but strip-mined in the last civil war. Either way, the sheer scarcity of the material implies beskar alloy armour is far more common than pure.

As for the properties of alloy vs. pure: most alloys are inherently stronger than pure metals (indeed that's kind of the whole point of them) so it's more likely that the trade-off is in it's thermal characteristics. After all, blasters and lightsabers aren't really kinetic weapons, they're thermal. So an alloy with a lower melting point than it's pure form means it'll be more vulnerable to high energy plasma weapons. Indeed, it's that high melting point that Sabine's 'Duchess' weapon seems to take advantage of, by heating the beskar to such a high temperature that anyone wearing it is incinerated.

I can't help but wonder if that was at least in-part a trial run/live rehearsal for Zeb's appearance on Ahsoka. I mean Filloni was literally right there on the set. Indeed the fact that it looks so flawless tells me ILM put some serious effort into this, which is a long way to go for what's a fairly disposable part. Like, if it didn't work, they could have very easily re-shot the scene with literally anyone else. Hell, they may have done that on the day with one of the masked extras and just dub & sub in the dialogue in huttese later as a 'Plan-B'.


The smart money seems to be on all roads leading to Thrawn. Whether we'll actually see him here first, or in Ahsoka remains to be seen of course. My gut though says it'll be in Ahsoka, but even then, rather late on, if not the very final episode. We may get a more explicit hint here though; perhaps a stinger with Gideon on a holo-call with the (off-camera) Grand Admiral.
Assuming of course Gideon is working for Thrawn and not a rival. Moffs were after all not subordinate to the Admiralty, and have more overlapping power and authority than not, so they may be rivals. (Which incidentally is by design; Palpatine like to keep his underlings too busy trying to throttle each other to pose a coherent threat to him.)
It's possible Thrawn had Gideon extracted because he has information he needs. Like say, the location of Weyland?

Thrawn was a Grand admiral.

That's puts him above a normal moff in military matters.

 

[Set Harth]

Navarro on one of the major hyper routes.

Yet Tim Meadows had still never heard of it.

 

[Crazyewok]

Yet Tim Meadows had still never heard of it.

It was mentioned on a previous episode it was on a major trade spur.

Maybe it's only just been linked up on a major route? Before due to its poverty the route might not have been fully developed.


Plus he is a coruscant beurocrat. He probably doesnt know about much outside of the core. If you look at UK politic, most politicians dont seem to think anything but Westminster exists.

 

[Ithekro]

Navarro seems to be on the edge of Mandarlorian Space. So using that as a jumping off point to retake the sector and Mandalore is good I suppose. That the New Republic doesn't know much about it stands that it only recently became more than just some Mandarlorian backwater world once Grief started to set it up as a major trade port on a spur of the Hydian Way.

 

[Skipper]

Speed of plot is insane on Star Wars, where it takes literal minutes to get to a nearby system. Practically a day trip.

I don't remember a single instance in the SW movies or TV shows were we see something akin to a long, long trip. It always seems that they last hours or very few days at best.

 

[Reverend]

Imagine if she didn't.

Honestly, I'd be pissed. Natasha Liu Bordizzo seems like such a spot-on pick (knock on wood).

I'm hoping she shows up in the season finale. Being the head of one of Mandalore's top-tier houses, and all.

I'm quietly confident the reason they announced her being on 'Ahsoka' so early is because she was going to be on another show first anyway. Also I guess to give the fans a chance to get used to the idea and reduce the backlash. Last thing they need is another actress of colour on the receiving end of a massive wave of harassment.

Small point: she's not the head of Clan Wren, that would be her mum. Probably not heir designate either on the off chance anything happened to them in the last decade. Tristan is almost certainly next in line, given she's been away from the clan's holding now for going on twenty years. The last ten of which apparently serving as Marshal/High Protector of Lothal or some such.

Thrawn was a Grand admiral.

That's puts him above a normal moff in military matters.

Congratulations on entirely missing the point I was making. Jolly well done!

Navarro seems to be on the edge of Mandarlorian Space. So using that as a jumping off point to retake the sector and Mandalore is good I suppose. That the New Republic doesn't know much about it stands that it only recently became more than just some Mandarlorian backwater world once Grief started to set it up as a major trade port on a spur of the Hydian Way.

It's nowhere near Mandalorian space. Like literally on the other side of the galaxy, way to the south, about half way between Polis Massa & Hoth. That may change a little given that the map released last year has it nowhere near the Hydian Way, but just off the Corellian Trade Spine.
But still, Mandalorian space is way up north on the border of the mid-rim, just off the Hydian Way.
Though in Star Wars proximity doesn't really mean anything anyway. In this instance all that actually matters is that Navarro is somewhere they can gather in relative safety.

 

[Xerxes82]

I don't remember a single instance in the SW movies or TV shows were we see something akin to a long, long trip. It always seems that they last hours or very few days at best.

Characters routinely use single person fighters to travel between systems. That's all the evidence you really need for hyperspace travel being overall pretty quick. Wouldn't want to spend days at a time strapped into an x-wing or an N-1.

 

[Noname Given]

I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. But I do have to say that The Mandalorian in general has really strained the travel at the speed needed by the plot device/trope.

I mean if travel is that quick, why would the Old Republic/New Republic/Empire have any sort of problems keeping order anywhere in their Galaxy?