The Mandalorian: The New Republic Is Monstrous
There’s a lot in The Mandalorian’s third season that doesn’t pan out—chalk it up to the fact that the show is always willing to conform to a comfortable status quo after gesturing at something fresh and exciting. And yet its examination of the New Republic through the eyes of political refugee Dr. Pershing is a truly rare and fascinating bit of critique, even before taking in the fact it’s a biting critique of the heroes of Star Wars’ original trilogy. Alas, “The Convert” couldn’t quite commit to its exploration of just how little the New Republic’s neoliberal engine differed from the bureaucracy of the Galactic Empire, pinning the true evils of its climactic torture of Dr. Pershing at the hands of Moff Gideon’s remnant agents. But for just a brief moment, The Mandalorian bared teeth as it’s never dared to before.
