After over two years since the climactic ending to season two, March first welcomed “The Mandalorian” back to screens with an impressive new season.  

As with the previous seasons, Jon Favreau, the creator of “The Mandalorian” and director of 2008’s “Iron Man,” returns to writing, and Pedro Pascal, fresh off leading HBO’s “The Last of Us,”  dons the helmet of the Mandalorian once again.  Of course, the puppeteering team from the special effects studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) continues to bring to life Grogu, more commonly referred to as Baby Yoda, as The Mandalorian’s tiny companion. 

The quality of the show in season three continues to hit the mark, with story and special effects living up to and surpassing past seasons and Star Wars films. Right away in episode one, viewers are treated to a climactic ‘space dinosaur’ fighting a group of Mandalorians, and ILM’s creature CGI puts the new Jurassic World films to shame. 

Story-wise, Favreau is able to balance everything one expects from a Star Wars show while also balancing new plot elements. There’s plenty of action, adventure, and Mandalorian jet-pack joyriding for any casual Star Wars fan to enjoy, but mixed in with plenty of worldbuilding and new mysteries for longtime fans. The return to Mandalore, now a ghostly and bombed out ruin, adds some particular excitement to any hardcore Star Wars fan.

Favreau’s use of fan-service, or deliberate callbacks to fan favorite moments or characters, is also highly impressive and flows naturally within the story. Particularly the early, if brief, reintroduction of IG-11, previously seen sacrificing himself at the end of season one, feels justified and connects well with the season premiere’s story. While other writers can make these types of out-of-pocket moments jarring and clunky, Favreau seamlessly fits these moments into the plot and gives them all the joy proper fan service should.

Unfortunately, some plot details go under the radar in Favreau’s storytelling, most significantly how two years have passed since last season, but everything seems to pick up where it left off. It’s a little jarring for viewers to think about and is never fully addressed in the show; however, more casual viewers won’t notice much.

It can easily be said that season three of “The Mandalorian” lives up to the years of anticipation, and viewers can be assured that for the future of the Star Wars franchise, “This is the Way.”