Much like the original “Star Wars” trilogy, “The Mandalorian” has always been a show of broadly-sketched notions of good and evil. Despite Mando’s gruff bounty hunter background, meeting an innocent baby Yoda marks a shift in his otherwise ruthless demeanor as he’s finally given a reason to care about someone outside himself. The villains haven’t exactly been very subtle or complicated either, symbolized by Moff Gideon’s single-minded desire to exploit Grogu for his nefarious purposes. What you see is, for the most part, pretty much what you get.
At least, that was the case until this latest episode of “The Mandalorian,” which keeps viewers firmly rooted in the struggles of one individual, Dr. Pershing, adjusting to a whole new reality as a rehabilitated Imperial. Under the Amnesty Program, former members of the Empire deemed worthy of redemption have undergone significant retraining so that they may become contributing members of the New Republic. But similar to “Andor” focusing heavily on the loathsome Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), episode 3 uses Dr. Pershing in Coruscant to explore the cogs within the machine of this new galactic government. While both characters have their own very distinct motivations and ambitions, their roles in each respective series closely mirror one another — showing how much their ties to the Empire can’t be easily shaken.
Unexpectedly enough, “The Mandalorian” shows a willingness to tackle nuanced shades of grey like “Andor” did. By posing the question of whether good intentions can make up for past crimes, viewers are challenged to reckon with a point of view that isn’t easily defined. We know that his past actions can’t exactly be seen as justified, but isn’t he right that cloning and other technological advances could have positive results in the right hands? That, however, is only the beginning.
