The Mandalorian is one of the most popular shows on Disney. However, fans are not happy with how Season 3 has panned out. Critics and audiences have targeted the most recent season as the show’s worst. But why? Let’s take a look.
The Mandalorian Season 3 by the numbers
Most of The Mandalorians’ Season 3 episodes have received ratings of between 7 and 8, except for chapter 22: Guns for Hire which received a measly 6.4, by far the lowest for any episode of the series so far. The previous low was season one’s “The Gunslinger”, a 7.5/10. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, “Guns for Hire” has an 81% from critics, while, for comparison’s sake, “The Gunslinger” has a 74%.
Taking the series as a whole, looking at Rotten Tomatoes, seasons one and two both sit at 93% from critics, while season three of The Mandalorian currently holds 87%–not a serious drop, but noteworthy.
Speaking of audience scores, season one has a 92% audience score, season two holds a 91%, and the current season sits at the show’s first official “rotten” score of just 51%.
The bad storyline is the culprit
So, why is The Mandalorian Season 3 hated so much?
If you had to sum up what is going on this season, it’s a lot harder to do than in the prior seasons when there was a clear objective of Din saving Grogu and then returning him to safety. Now it seems all complicated. There are a lot of different plots happening with no set objective. There is one thing that has become all too apparent with each episode, and that’s the show tapping into the animated world of Rebels and The Clone Wars more than it has ever done. It’s not easy for newcomers to learn the history in between episodes. With a growing reliance on characters and stories from a sector of Star Wars fandom that comprises 11 seasons worth of content, it begins to lose the casual viewers.
Behind the scenes from the Mandalorian season 3 episodes 7 and 8 of Simon Kass and Mercedes Vernado#TheMandalorian #starwars #axewoves #koskareeves pic.twitter.com/fvHfnj4sPW
— Mandoverse Updates (@Mando3Updates) April 28, 2023
Before season 3, there was already a big question mark about how the show would handle the storyline, primarily the latter part of The Book of Boba Fett. Over those few episodes, there were some serious narrative advancements and pivotal moments. Din had two of his best scenes when he first wielded the Darksaber and when he battled with Paz Vizla. He even visited the Jedi Academy, where he interacted with Ahsoka Tano once again. A lot happened when he became the de facto lead of that series, yet only a few fans watched that, as well as The Mandalorian.
There’s certainly a large crossover of fans who watch everything and anything Star Wars, but The Mandalorian was a show that not only appeased the diehards but also brought along casuals and first-time viewers.Fans who haven’t watched The Book of Boba Fett have not only been left in the dark with Season 3, but it’s also unfair of the show to ask its viewers not to miss anything that goes on in this universe, either.
The ask for viewers to have all of this prior knowledge doesn’t stop there, either. It’s one thing to cross journeys among shows that air on the same streaming service where those who watch The Mandalorian can easily see that a new show in the Star Wars universe is releasing new episodes. The problem is that there are just so many television shows going on not just with Disney+ but across other streaming platforms. The Mandalorian grew to be so popular as a result of its ability to transcend the universe. It was a simple show with a premise of one person having to save another for its two first seasons. There wasn’t a need for viewers to know the politics of this world or what Order 66 was. Season 2 made a big swing when it brought in a pair of Jedis to this world in Luke Skywalker and the aforementioned Ahsoka. However, that also opened up this series to far more lore than its audience may want.
This overwhelming content is what brought down ratings for The Mandalorian Season 3. What are your thoughts? Don’t forget to share them with us in the comments. Also, make sure to follow hiptoro for the latest news and gossip.
Source: IMDB
