Chapter 3: The Sin

The Mandalorian, now battered, goes back to his client to collect what he is owed.

The Mandalorian pilots the Razor Crest as it emerges from hyperspace above Nevarro. Aboard the starship, Grogu rests in his cradle while the Mandalorian pilots. Greef Karga contacts the Mandalorian using a Holographic projector, confirming receipt of his transmission. He instructs him to hand over his target directly to the Client, stressing the Client's eagerness and indifference to the Asset's fate, while reminding him of their agreed meeting place. The Child removes a spherical knob from a lever, but the Mandalorian intervenes, clarifying it's not a toy, and returns him to his cradle before descending to the planet.

Upon landing at the settlement's spaceport, the Mandalorian exits with the Child in the cradle as another ship arrives. They traverse the streets, passing various humanoids, droids, and aliens, eventually reaching the Imperial Remnant safe house. A TT-8L/Y7 gatekeeper droid greets them, and the Mandalorian presents a disc for identification. The Child shows surprise as the droid moves back.

Soon after, two remnant stormtroopers emerge from the house. The Child reacts by lowering its ears and head. Inside, one stormtrooper roughly handles the Child's cradle. The Mandalorian cautions them, but the stormtrooper dismisses his concern. The stormtroopers then escort the Child and the Mandalorian to the Client and Doctor Penn Pershing, who express their delight. Pershing then scans the Child using a red glowing device, observed by the Mandalorian.

Pershing comments on the Child's good health. The Client acknowledges the Mandalorian's well-deserved reputation. When the Mandalorian inquires about the number of tracking fobs distributed, the Client emphasizes the Asset's paramount importance, necessitating guaranteed delivery, while promising the reward: a container filled with beskar bars. The Client observes that the Asset is "such a small package, for such a large bounty."

As Pershing leads the Child into an adjacent room, the Child cries. When the Mandalorian questions the Client's intentions for the Child, the Client finds it unusual for someone of his reputation to ask, citing the code of the Bounty Hunters' Guild, which dictates that such matters are "forgotten" after delivery. The Client suggests the beskar is sufficient to replace his armor, but procuring a Mandalorian capable of forging it is more challenging than finding the steel itself.

After navigating the marketplace, the Mandalorian returns to the Tribe's underground lair with his earned reward. The other Mandalorians regard him with silent disapproval. He presents the container of beskar to the Armorer, who examines it as the others gather.

The Armorer explains that the beskar can be shaped in many ways. The Mandalorian explains that his armor, damaged during the mission to Arvala-7, has lost its integrity and may require reforging. The Armorer offers to forge a full pair of armor pieces, suitable for his status. He acknowledges the honor, but she cautions that it will attract attention.

Paz Vizsla, a large male Mandalorian, inspects a beskar bar and identifies it as having been forged in an Imperial smelter, indicated by the Imperial symbol. He claims it's spoils from the Great Purge of Mandalore, forcing them to live in hiding, "like sand rats." The Armorer counters that their secrecy ensures survival, and their survival is their strength. Vizsla retorts that their strength once lay in their numbers and laments their current existence, sneaking above ground individually, due to their world's destruction by the Empire, with whom this "coward" associates.

A minor conflict arises between the Mandalorian and Vizsla, with the latter attempting to remove the Mandalorian's helmet, but the Mandalorian defends himself with his vibro-knife, which Vizsla also brandishes. The Armorer intervenes, stating that the beskar has returned, signifying the Empire's fall. She reminds them that choosing the Mandalorian path means being both "hunter and prey." She questions how one can be a coward when choosing this way of life. She asks the Mandalorian if he has ever removed his helmet, and if it has been removed by others, and he says no. The Mandalorians, including Vizsla, chant "this is the way."

The Armorer then inquires about the damage to his armor. He attributes it to a mudhorn, to which the Armorer responds that he has earned the mudhorn as his signet, and that she will craft the new armor. The Mandalorian declines, citing the kill's lack of nobility due to an enemy's assistance. When she asks why an enemy would help him in battle, he explains that it did not know it was his enemy.

As the Mandalorian has forgone a signet, the Armorer decides to use the beskar to forge whistling birds. The Mandalorian agrees and suggests reserving some for the foundlings. The Armorer agrees, stating that it should always be so, as the foundlings represent the future, "for this is the way." The other Mandalorians echo, "for this is the way." She then places the beskar bars into the smelter for melting.

The Armorer explains that whistling birds are a powerful defense against multiple enemies. She tells the Mandalorian to use them sparingly, for they are rare. As she forges a replacement chest piece, the Mandalorian experiences a flashback of Separatist forces including a HMP droid gunship and battle droids bombarding his hometown as a child. His parents reach a bunker and lower him inside before sealing it. The Mandalorian finds himself staring into the face of a B2-series super battle droid. The flashback concludes as the chest piece is completed.

At the Nevarro cantina, Karga scolds a bounty hunter, presumably unsuccessful in their mission, and dismisses them. Shortly after, the Mandalorian's arrival silences the cantina's patrons, who stare at him. Karga greets him, remarking that everyone envies him, as he is a legend.

When the Mandalorian asks how many of them have tracking fobs, Karga says all of them, but that none of them closed the deal. Karga congratulates him for winning the richest reward in this parsec and invites him to sit down. The Mandalorian takes off his blaster and sits down. Karga tells him that the others are weighing the beskar but that he celebrates the Mandalorian's success because it is his success as well. He boasts that he is rich and asks how he can show his gratitude to his most valuable partner.

The Mandalorian requests his next job. This surprises Karga, who suggests that the Mandalorian taking some time off to enjoy himself and offers to taking him to the Twi'lek healing baths. However, the Mandalorian insists on his next job. Karga grants his request, since Mandalorian hunters "like to keep busy." Karga tells him that the targets are all far away, and tells him he can choose, since he has earned his pick. The Mandalorian opts for a faraway job, which turns out to be an Mon Calamari nobleman's son who skipped bail. Karga remarks that the Mandalorian is headed to the ocean dunes of Karnac.

Before leaving, the Mandalorian asks what they are going to do with the Child. Karga says he did not ask because it is against the Guild code. The Mandalorian tells him that the men worked for the Empire and asks what are they doing at Nevarro. Karga says that the Empire is gone, and that all that are left are mercenaries and warlords; should it bother him, Karga tells the Mandalorian to go back to the Core Worlds and report the matter to the New Republic. However, the Mandalorian shrugs it off, saying that is a "joke." Karga tells the Mandalorian to enjoy his rewards, and buy a camtono of spice. He quips that he would have forgotten all about it by the time he has come out of hyperspace.

The Mandalorian boards the Razor's Crest and prepares the ship for takeoff. However, as reaches for a lever, he notices it is missing its spherical handle, the one The Child unscrewed. This causes him to reconsider his decision to hand the Child to the Imperial remnant and switch off the ship's engines. He walks back to the Imperial outpost and approaches the green gate.

The Mandalorian walks to a nearby alley where he sees the Child's floating cradle dumped into a skip bin. The Mandalorian takes up position on a nearby roof. Using his trident to listen to his targets, he hears the Client telling Pershing that he does not care and to extract the necessary material hastily. Pershing protests that he was ordered to bring the asset back alive. The Client tells him to hurry up, for he can no longer guarantee his safety.

The Mandalorian bangs on the green door and is greeted by the gatekeeper droid. However, the Mandalorian violently rips off the droid's head, causing a short circuit. Two stormtroopers come out to investigate. One of them tells the other to check out the perimeter. The Mandalorian plants a grav charge on a nearby wall, which blows a hole in the Imperial compound.

Two stormtroopers come out to investigate, but the Mandalorian shoots them from behind. Another stormtrooper enters the corridor and finds his fallen comrades, one of whom has a smoking hole in his chest. The Mandalorian knocks him down with his blaster and shoots him as well. He ventures deeper into the compound where he traps a fourth stormtrooper with his grappling cable and stabs him.

He shoots a door open and shoots the two stormtroopers inside the laboratory. He also finds Dr Pershing. The Mandalorian is about to shoot him but Dr Pershing pleads for his life. The Mandalorian shoots an IT-O Interrogation Unit instead. The Child is being scanned in a machine. Pershing pleads for the Mandalorian not to hurt the Child. The Mandalorian instead throws him to the ground. The Mandalorian asks what he did to the Child. Pershing responds that if it wasn't for him, the Child would be dead. Pershing pleads for his life, only to find that the Mandalorian has left the laboratory with the Child.

The Mandalorian takes the Child into a storeroom. Several stormtroopers enter the storeroom with flashlights attached to their armor, intending to flush him out. The Mandalorian hides behind the crates and knocks out a stormtrooper, who had told him to give up, because there is nowhere to hide. He knocks down a second stormtrooper before stunning a third.

The Mandalorian and Child exit the storeroom only to run into a stormtrooper. The Mandalorian and the stormtrooper exchange gunfire. The Mandalorian shoots him down and then unleashes his flamethrower on a second stormtrooper, scorching him. The Child looks away as this happens. The charred stormtrooper falls to the ground.

The Mandalorian enters the meeting room with the Child, but is cornered by four more stormtroopers, who order him to surrender. The Mandalorian tells them that what he is holding is very valuable, and gently lowers his gun and the Child. They order the Mandalorian to kneel, but he unleashes whistling birds which take out all of the stormtroopers. He walks out of the Imperial remnant compound.

Later at the cantina, several tracking fobs are activated, including Greef Karga's. The Mandalorian walks through the streets with the Child. He is soon surrounded by several armed bounty hunters. Karga welcomes the Mandalorian back and orders him to put the "package" down. The Mandalorian tells him to step aside, because he is going back to his ship. Karga reiterates his order to put the bounty down, and perhaps he will let him walk.

The Mandalorian says the Child is coming with him. Karga says that if he truly cares about the Child, he would put in on the speeder, and will discuss terms. An R6 astromech droid, on the speeder, turns its head. When the Mandalorian asks how he knows if he can trust him, Karga replies that he is his "only hope."

The Mandalorian looks at the sleeping Child, then shoots at the other bounty hunters, jumping onto a repulsorlift vehicle carrying luggage. A gunfight breaks out, and the Mandalorian forces the astromech droid to drive the repulsorlift vehicle. The Mandalorian exchanges fire with his fellow Guild members and takes down several. The droid is soon hit and the speeder comes to a grinding halt.

The bounty hunters converge on the Mandalorian, but he uses his trident to incinerate two hunters, including a Rodian. Karga remarks that the Mandalorian has an "impressive weapon." The Mandalorian issues Karga an ultimatum: he is going to let him walk with the Child, back to his ship. Karga issues a counter-ultimatum: the Guild takes the Child, and if he tries to stop them, they kill him and strip his body for parts. The Mandalorian refuses, and take out several hostiles with his trident and blaster. The Mandalorian manages to drive back the bounty hunters for a while with his flamethrower but it soon runs out. The Mandalorian looks at the Child before preparing for his last stand.

Fortunately, several fellow members of the Tribe, donning jetpacks, come to his aid, taking out several bounty hunters. Karga realizes that the battle has turned against him, and flees. Paz Vizsla tells him to escape while they provide covering fire. The Mandalorian says that they will have to relocate the community, but Vizsla says that "this is the way." The Mandalorians echo in unison.

The Mandalorian boards the Razor Crest, but is soon cornered by Greef Karga, who tells him that he broke the Bounty Hunter's Code. The Mandalorian unleashes some tibanna gas in an attempt to blind him. The Mandalorian shoots Karga with his blaster and removes him from his ship before taking off. As the Razor Crest takes off, the other Mandalorians provide covering fire.

Karga survives the blaster wound, since a beskar bar caught the blaster bolt. The Mandalorian flies his ship into the skies of Nevarro. Paz Vizsla flies beside his ship and salutes him before flying off. The Mandalorian remarks that he has to get a jetpack. The Child is seated beside his lap. The Mandalorian gives him a ball to play with - the ball he had unscrewed earlier - before taking the Razor Crest into space.

By early February 2018, Jon Favreau had already written the first version of the script, with the final shooting version ready by September 28 of the same year. Production of this episode occurred simultaneously with that of Chapter 1: The Mandalorian, spanning from October 1 to October 26, 2018, due to shared actors and set locations.