When a Yorkshire drug dealer said “This is the way” in the final season of Happy Valley, it was a sign of the impact The Mandalorian has had since it started Disney+’s pivot into Star Wars TV shows back in 2019. Other series have followed, and some – notably the epic Andor – have been good, but none has had the sort of cultural impact that leads to BBC One dramas quoting your lead character’s catchphrase.
If you’re not fully plugged into the Star Wars universe, however, Disney+ has stitched you up by continuing The Mandalorian when you weren’t looking. The show itself has now returned for a third season, but last year’s final three instalments of the otherwise dull spin-off The Book of Boba Fett – which fairweather fans had given up on after the stultifying first episode – formed a crossover story, heavily featuring Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) AKA the Mandalorian, or Mando to his admirers.
