by Last weeks Chapter 18 slowed down The Mandalorian after a shaky return that juggled many different pieces of the larger puzzle, and the third episode of season three is arguably the quietest of the entire show by far. And it’s anything but filler, as it’s a distraction that’s the polar opposite of the external abduction we saw in The Book of Boba Fett, though it feels similar at first.
“The Convert” resumes the storylines of New Republic and Imperial Remnant without fully breaking away from Din and Bo-Katan’s ongoing adventure, and continues to tease that much of the series’ narrative moves towards a continuation of the trilogy . It’s also an excellent response from Jon Favreau (along with co-writer Noah Kloor) to viewers who have claimed he’s unable to step out of the “kenner toy sandbox” with this show. In fact, the episode lands closer Andor than The Mandalorian, although the galaxy here is much more colorful and full of aliens.
Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian Chapter 19: “The Convert”
Chapter 19 picks up right where the previous episode went black, with Bo-Katan reeling from her unexpected encounter with the legendary mythosaur. Din wakes up and doesn’t look very wet, so we have to assume she’s been sitting there for a while trying to process what just happened.
As stated in Chapter 18, she reevaluates her beliefs after being left with only one castle after failing to find the Darksaber. Orthodox traditions still weigh on even the most progressive of Mandalorians, and her encounters with mythosaurs only make things worse… or even better, as she could use that to her advantage. Regardless, she appears to be returning (at least in part) to tradition to achieve her goals. We’ll come back to that later.
A pit stop on Kalevala is mandatory for the titular Mandalorian to recover his N-1, but once they return to the planet things spiral out of control as a squadron of TIE interceptors fire on Bo’s starfighters in an attempt to kill him . What follows is another reminder of Disney and Lucasfilm’s commitment to The Mandalorian as their flagship Disney Plus series; The budget shines once again and the ILM folks get to flex their muscles, as does Oscar-nominated director Lee Isaac Chung (Minari).
As Bo tries to dodge the Imperials’ furious attacks, Din jumps out of the ship and into his parked N-1 to even the odds. Once again we see how capable he is as a pilot and the Kryze heir gets to show off some sick dogfighting moves too. It’s all cool until a group of TIE bombers reduces their castle to rubble and a small Imperial army shows up to finish the job. “That’s a lot of ships for an Imperial Warlord.” Indeed, and we’ll soon find out that Moff Gideon’s Imperial Remnant is still very active.
As Din and Bo jump into hyperspace, Chapter 19 changes viewpoint and we fly to Coruscant. More importantly, we return to the opera house we first saw in Revenge of the Sith. This time, however, no one recites the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise. Instead, we witness an “Amnesty Program” conference where our old pal Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) talks about getting a second chance after being forced to work for the Empire. He focuses on the cloning-related research he did for Moff Gideon and how important the work of the Kaminoans was. Apparently he still hasn’t put his experiments behind him, as they are related to the death of his mother, who could have been saved from heart failure by “simple organ cloning”.
The Imperial Officer, played by Katy O’Brian, who also worked for Gideon, is here and a reunion is sure to follow. Before that, though, let’s take a good look at ex-imperials trying to move on thanks to the New Republic’s reincorporation program. This “modern age” of Star Wars has spent a lot of time humanizing the working classes of the Empire and First Order, and it’s great to see The Mandalorian also attempt to portray their foot soldiers and lower-ranking officers as more than nameless, disposable -Idiots.
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Much like Pershing, these guys seem genuinely sorry, although one has to wonder if, unlike him, they volunteered in the glory days of the Empire. Joining the conversation, Katy O’Brian’s character is harder to read, and we can’t help but suspect that she’s not done with Gideon’s long-term plans.
The episode then spends about 20 minutes walking around Pershing, who has a new boring desk job similar (if not identical) to Syril Karn’s in Andor. He is also required to participate in the obligatory exams with a New Republic droid that tracks his progress. It’s all pretty cold and shows us that despite the positive ideological shift, the day-to-day life of the system hasn’t changed much.
Individualism seems almost as repressed as before, and the machine of the New Republic marches on without benefiting from some of the Empire’s technological innovations. This greatly frustrates Pershing, who only cares about old files when he could save lives by putting his knowledge and past work to good use.
We’d also like to take a little moment to freak out about the “infinity stone popsicle” he and the shady officer enjoy during a carnival in Coruscanti. Chapter 19 is full of delicious universe building, and it’s great to explore more of Coruscant in these shows.
Returning to the plot, the officer convinces Pershing to continue his research, but the equipment needed can only be found in an abandoned Imperial Star Destroyer that is scheduled for scrap. The following scene aboard a flying train might be the most boring and embarrassing of the episode, as two droid ticket inspectors pursue the duo until they have to jump off the train, which slows down near their forbidden destination. It’s not tense or fun to watch, and it feels out of place in an otherwise very competent TV.
Things get interesting again when the ex-Imperials board the Star Destroyer and find the gear they’ve been looking for. Finally, we learn the officer’s name: Elia Kane. And the full name of our favorite doctor is Penn Pershing.
If all the prequel love in this episode wasn’t enough to piss off Star Wars extremists, here’s a riff on Supreme Leader Snoke’s musical theme – already used in Chapter 12 – returning even more transparently. All of this cloning subplot clearly leads to the unexplained “Palpatine has returned” deal, something that was already pretty obvious with all the focus on Grogu and his M-count (Midi-chlorians aren’t going anywhere).
There’s nothing more natural for Star Wars than retrospectively fixing uncooked bits and pieces of lore and key narrative beats. Dave Filoni excels at it, and Jon Favreau is swimming in the same direction with his new favorite creative partner.
The logical assumption at this point was that Elia had baited Pershing into picking up the material in order to kidnap him and bring him back to Gideon, who was rumored to have escaped captivity. But there’s a twist: she had baited him on orders from the New Republic, who were putting him under surveillance for his dangerous knowledge. If he’s willing to break the law to get back to his former job (regardless of his intentions), he’s a threat.
Now the doctors of the New Republic will seek to quell “imperial indoctrination” with a mind flayer that looks anything but pleasant and ethical. But wait, there’s a twist in the twist! Elijah, quickly gaining the confidence of the new government, increases the intensity of the process; this could either completely erase his knowledge of everything that happened and his previous research, or… bring him back to the Empire. She ends the episode by biting down on an Imperial cookie ration, confirming that she is indeed still loyal to Gideon and his vision. No matter what happens to Pershing next, she has now found much of the material needed to resume his disturbing experiments.
With the Imperial Remnant now back in the picture and responsible for the total destruction of Bo-Katan’s castle, the stakes up a notch and the two main narrative fronts move forward at full speed. This isn’t the last we’ve seen of the New Republic this season, either, as the Season 3 trailers included footage of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Carson Teva missing from Chapter 19.
Unsurprisingly, the episode is accompanied by a return to Din and Bo-Katan taking shelter with the tribe. Paz Vizsla continues to be an idiot and wonders if Din has actually redeemed himself, but a sample of the Living Waters quickly proves he’s telling the truth – its unique mineral properties seem to take on a one-of-a-kind glow almost immediately.
The side effect of Din’s atonement for his sins and saving Bo-Katan from drowning is that the Kryze heiress was accepted into the clan as well, despite her rather unorthodox views. This is the perfect opportunity to reclaim lost power and seek the Mythosaur that could restore her to high position. But will she return to the old ways in the process? Recent posters didn’t lie: Katee Sackhoff is now The Mandalorian co-star, and that’s what we’re here for.
