Movies - TV
The Mandalorian Season 3 Brings Back IG-11, and It Feels Like A Mistake
By JEREMY MATHAI
Spoiler Warning!
This article contains spoilers for
the Season 3 premiere of
"The Mandalorian."
Observant fans may find echoes of previous franchise installments hidden within nearly any modern "Star Wars" movie or show, but some parallels are not as welcome as others. Season 3 of "The Mandalorian" may bring IG-11 back from death, echoing the double cop-out involving Chewbacca's near-death experience and C-3PO's memory wipe, which feels like a mistake.
In the Season 3 premiere, Mando discovers the droid's parts during one of his quests and decides to revive his old friend. It's still early in the story arc, but all the warning signs are there for a misguided subplot that completely undercuts one of the show's most touching scenes — IG-11's grand self-sacrifice on the river of lava to save his friends in Season 1.
Fake-out deaths have been attempted before, but eventually, they stop being believable and raise questions about how invested fans should be in the fates of any character. This could be just a small misstep for "The Mandalorian," but combined with some of its other choices, such as bringing Mando and Grogu back together, it suggests the show no longer commits to real consequences.