‘The Mandalorian’ Just Went Full ‘Dark Souls’ In Season 3, Episode 2

I think Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni must have been playing some Dark Souls or maybe some Elden Ring when they came up with Chapter 18 of The Mandalorian, “The Mines Of Mandalore.” Not only does that sound like a location in a FromSoftware game, the whole episode plays out like an adventure through the decaying lands of Lordran. The subterranean ruins of this dead planet may as well be Blighttown or Boletaria.

Japanese game developer FromSoftware’s games deal with the husks of ancient civilizations and the dying embers left behind after the toppling of gods and man. We arrive, undead wanderers, hollowed or ashen, cursed yet destined for greatness, to a world brought low by some calamity or another. Strange creatures lurk in the long, dark corridors of Latria and in the toppled towers of Limgrave. Terrifying monsters and ancient dragons plumb the depths of deep caverns and poisonous lakes. At any moment, snarling beasts might leap from the shadows and you—armored knight—must fight for your life, sword and board, tooth and nail.

When Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Baby Yoda arrive on the Mandalore, its surface has been blasted beyond recognition. “It used to be green,” Din tells his son. (Hey, if Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) can refer to Mando as Grogu’s dad, then we may as well refer to him as Mando’s son). This is the premise of basically every Souls game. A once-great kingdom has fallen and we must explore what’s left behind. The shattered palaces of Anor Londo, the fetid sewers of Yharnam, the sweeping vistas of The Lands Between…apocalyptic and forlorn.

So Mando and Grogu journey into the depths of this ruined city. Mando follows the droid they purchased from the irascible mechanic Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) on Tatooine when its signal goes out. The droid is R5-D4, the same droid that Luke’s uncle tried to purchase in A New Hope before it short-circuited and he took R2-D2 instead.

When he gets to the edge of the cavernous city, Mando is ambushed by beastlike creatures straight out of Bloodborne. He manages to fend them off thanks to his Darksaber (which he has not learned to use very well, I might add) and Beskar steel armor, but these are only mooks, easily dispatched by a relatively seasoned warrior like Din Djarin. The real boss fight comes later, past the fog gate, when Mando examines a discarded Mandalorian helmet he finds—not realizing that this treasure chest is actually a Mimic crossed with a Fingercreeper.

A huge spider-like droid erupts from the ground, engulfing Mando and rushing off with him down the dark tunnels. Grogu follows in his hover-stroller, clearly terrified. The massive droid stops in a chamber of sorts and then transforms. A smaller droid emerges from the giant droid and we realize that both are being powered by a small alien in this second droid’s helmet. Later, the helmet will detach from the medium droid for the creature’s third form.

The creature has Mando locked in what appears to be almost a roasting spit / net-cage. It’s very alien. When Grogu tries to free him, the alien is alerted and Mando tells Baby Yoda to go get Bo-Katan at her castle on a nearby planet. Grogu flees, barely escaping some winged enemies in the Mandalorian Burg, and shows R5-D4 the planet he needs to get to on the navigation screen Mando was showing him earlier. The droid gets them to Bo-Katan who immediately realizes something is wrong.

Bo-Katan, Grogu and R5-D4 return to Mandalore and Grogu guides her to the cyborg-alien boss’s lair and the Mandalorian princess shows off her fighting prowess with a laser shield and a Darksaber—classic Dark Souls fighting style, replete with barrel rolls and tense combat. Just when she thinks she’s finished the boss fight, it morphs back into its giant form, because why not add some Sekiro to the mix!

Of course, we’re not done with our video game parallels just yet. Bo-Katan agrees to take Mando deeper into the catacombs to the Living Waters beneath the Mines of Mandalore. Here, Din Djarin can bathe in the Living Waters and receive the Absolution he so badly craves. Bo-Katan thinks it’s all a bunch of nonsense, and finds the Living Waters dirty and unimpressive. She reads the placard they find there—about Mandalore and his taming of the gargantuan Mythosaur—with sarcastic glee.

And then Mando is pulled under the water and Bo-Katan leaps in after him. Down she goes, deep into the dark waters until she finally finds him at the bottom of the pool. She grabs him and begins to make her ascent when she sees it: Something huge and terrifying in the water.

As the creature moves we can see its tusks, and instantly recognize it as the symbol of the Mandalorians that Grogu wears:

Perhaps Bo-Katan’s skepticism about all these myths and legends is ill-founded, and her belief that Mando’s brethren in the Watch are zealous nutjobs will be shaken. Perhaps, while Mando needs to lighten up and realize that the way isn’t the only way, Bo-Katan also must realize that some of her peoples’ old, strange traditions are there for a reason.

In any case, this was an awesome episode of The Mandalorian. Much better than last week. More action, some horror vibes with the cyborg-alien that captures Mando, the awesome Mythosaur—and Baby Yoda getting some stuff done on his own, all make for one of the better Mandalorian episodes we’ve seen so far. Bo-Katan showing off her badass moves and the whole Dark Souls vibe make me love it even more.

P.S. Sorry for all the Dark Souls references but these are my favorite video games and I just couldn’t help but feel like we were in a crazy cool Star Wars x Dark Souls crossover this episode. So cool!

P.P.S. The wonderful Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order takes many cues from the Souls games as well, from combat to level design. I’d love it if the sequel, Jedi Survivor, had Mandalore as one of the planets you can explore!

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