After two and a half years, The Mandalorian has returned and wastes no time starting Din Djarin’s next adventure. Chapter 17, titled “The Apostate,” is filled with everything we love about this series. With unique creatures, old friends, and even some space battles, The start of season 3 keeps the momentum going with crazy action scenes and some unexpected appearances that left me stunned.

The episode starts with the Armourer doing what she does best, making armor. We see her forging a baby Mandalorian helmet that I was convinced was for Grogu (spoiler, I was wrong). After a very cult-like ceremony with a group of Mandalorians and a kid, they're attacked by a giant creature that looks like a combination of a crocodile and a turtle (I shall name it the crocoturtle). The crocoturtle makes the Mandalorians look like chumps, brushing off their attacks and maybe eating a few. But when all seems lost, Din Djarin and Grogu fly in and blow a hole in the side of the beast. After showing why he’s the best, Din convinces the Armourer that he’ll be able to be a true Mandalorian again by taking a special bath on Mandalore. Din then leaves to find some help for his new adventure.

Din and Grogu travel to meet with Greef Karga, but that’s not important right now because THE SPACE WHALES ARE BACK! As Din and Grogu travel through hyperspace, Grogu feels a presence, looks out the window, and sees the shadows of multiple space whales (or Purrgil if you want their actual name). I thought we wouldn’t see these guys in live-action because they’re such a bizarre concept. But I guess Dave Filoni really wants people to watch Star Wars: Rebels. Back on track, Din gets to Nevarro, which has had a major facelift since we were last here. Now looking like a fantasy town, even Din is surprised. Din and Grogu catch up with Karga, find a statue of IG-11, and take out some pirates (totally not gonna bite him in the ass later). After failing to get IG-11 up and running again, Din leaves to find the part needed to fix his BDF (best droid friend).

The finale of this episode is an old-fashioned dogfight with some pirates who were buddies with the ones Din killed (told you so). But these overconfident pirates finally give us a look at Din's new starfighter in action. Long story short, Din destroys them, and it’s not even a close fight. He’s eventually lured to the main pirate ship, where a discount Sesame Street character is hanging out. Instead of waiting around, Din surprises everyone and gets out of there real fast. This sequence was one of the better space fights I’ve seen from these Disney+ Star Wars series, even rivaling that one scene from Andor, which you can read about here (shameless plug is shameless). The episode ends with Din reuniting with Bo Katan, who looks like she’s going through some things. Damn, that was a lot to squeeze into 37 minutes.

“The Apostate” is an excellent start to season 3 of The Mandalorian. It had the action, the creatures, and the characters that make this series a must-watch for any Star Wars fan. With the reappearance of the space whales and the exploration of Mandalore all but confirmed, I can’t wait for next week’s episode.

Have you seen the start of season 3? What did you think about it? Did you like Grogu spinning in the chair? Let us know in the comments below where we can start theorizing if Ezra and Thrawn will show up this season with the space whales.