As season three of Disney+’s The Mandalorian nears its finale, those that watched “Guns for Hire”–and, arguably the entire season–have had no problem unholstering their own, as critics and audiences alike have targeted the most recent season as the show’s worst.
Let’s look at some digestible numbers for the episode in question. The IMDb rating for “Guns for Hire”, The Mandalorian season three episode which aired on April 5th, currently sits at a 6.4/10, by far the lowest for any episode of the series so far. The previous low was season one’s “The Gunslinger”, a 7.5/10. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, “Guns for Hire” has an 81% from critics, while, for comparison’s sake, “The Gunslinger” has a 74%.
Taking the series as a whole, looking at Rotten Tomatoes, seasons one and two both sit at a 93% from critics, while season three of The Mandlorian currently holds an 87%–not a serious drop, but noteworthy. On the audience score front, season one has a 92% audience score, season two holds a 91% and the current season sits at the show’s first official “rotten” score of just 51%. Of course, a certain group of Star Wars hopefuls could try to argue that a number of factors are at play here, skewing the numbers, such as the third season is still in progress…albeit there is only one episode left to air. User reviews would have to land in another galaxy for The Mandalorian to get back into a respectable “fresh” zone.
The Hollywood Reporter cites a number of factors that could have led to these numbers for season three of The Mandalorian, like lackluster special effects and distracting cameos from stars clamoring to somehow be part of the Star Wars universe. Can’t they just have some humility and stay under a helmet like Daniel Craig did in The Force Awakens?
Realistically, the reception of season three of The Mandalorian isn’t likely to truly threaten the future of the Star Wars universe. The Book of Boba Fett’s finale saw massive numbers compared to The Mandalorian‘s second season send-off, while upcoming spinoff series Ahsoka could prove to be another spin-off hit.
What are your thoughts on season three of The Mandalorian? Does your opinion line up with critics and other viewers? Where, if at all, has it gone wrong? Let us know your take in the comments section below!