Countdown to The Mandalorian Season 3: Revisiting Chapter 15 The Believer

As we start to gear up for the release of The Mandalorian season 3 on March 1, 2023, we’re taking a look back at each episode of the show so far through the lens of concept art. This will be a weekly series of reviews until the premiere of season 3. You may find our previous entries in this series here.



While we will be revisiting all of the artwork displayed in the episode’s credits, bear in mind that this is not a fully conceptualized review of the episode. We still have those from each episode, and we’ll link to them at the end.



The Believer is possibly one of the best 'mission of the week' episodes that The Mandalorian has ever done. That's because it directly ties into the main story and gives us some crucial character development. Grogu has been kidnapped, and the only way to find his location is to infiltrate an Imperial base and extract the coordinates for Moff Gideon's ship, which becomes the focus of this episode.



That goal makes it feel like a 'mission of the week' even though it still advances the main story. On top of that, we get plenty of important character beats for Din Djarin while also fleshing out the returning Migs Mayfeld, played wonderfully by Bill Burr. It all comes together to create a fantastic and entertaining episode.



The chapter starts off on Karthon as we are reintroduced to Migs Mayfeld, who has been serving time with the New Republic in a scrapyard ever since his botched rescue mission with Mando in chapter 5. Cara Dune arrives and uses her freshly minted New Republic officer clearance to pull Mayfeld out of the scrapyard so he can come on their mission.







The concept art makes the scrapyard look somehow less messy than what we got in the episode, perhaps because of the large empty spaces in the background. In the show, the rubbish is piled up so high that you can't see past it.



The concept art nails the smokey and polluted atmosphere of Karthon though, with a thick fog and black smoke billowing in the distance. It all feels grim and speaks to Mayfeld's point later on in the episode that, in some parts of the galaxy, it doesn't matter if it's the Empire or the New Republic in charge; some places look exactly the same no matter what.







Mayfeld meets up with Mando and the rest of the crew, who introduce him to the plan. He points out that he'll need access to an Imperial console which can only be found in an Imperial facility. In order to infiltrate the one on Morak, they'll need to commandeer a Juggernaut transport vehicle to get inside.



Din agrees to accompany him, as Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, and Cara are all wanted by the Imperial remnant and would be recognized immediately.







The plan to board the Juggernaut actually seems different to what happens in the episode. In the show, they wait for the vehicle to enter a tunnel and bring it to a stop before boarding so they can change into the drivers' armors. In the concept art, Mando and Mayfeld board it at speed.



While this is certainly more exciting, doing this in the show also robs us of some particularly big moments for Din. With his armor on, he doesn't have to challenge any of his beliefs, and we don't get to see Mayfeld pose those awkward questions to him while driving: namely, what are the rules? Is it that he can't take his helmet off or just that no one is allowed to see his face? Does his creed allow him to break those rules when someone he loves is in danger (pretty sure we already know the answer to that one)?







There's a beautiful piece of concept art here showing two Juggernaut transports travelling along a narrow cliff path. The waterfall is a gorgeous extra detail, though this environment never actually makes it into the episode. It adds depth to the jungle landscape, so we can see it's not just dense forests that the vehicles travel through.



Also, in the episode Mando and Mayfeld never see another transport ahead of or behind them, so it's not clear whether those two transports are the ones ahead of them that explode, or if Din and Mayfeld are in one of them.







An explosion erupts ahead of them, and we realize the locals are striking against the Juggernauts transporting rhydonium to the facility. Again, the concept art portrays the route as a narrow one on a steep hill, whereas in the episode it's a much wider road on flat terrain through the middle of the jungle. The explosion is also a bit different, with some kind of sonic boom added, perhaps hinting that rhydonium explosions were supposed to look more unique than regular ones, but in the final product we're treated to a regular firey one instead.







The next piece of concept art shows off the pirate skiffs that attack Din and Mayfeld's transport. The design is broadly similar to what we got in the final product, with a single engine on the back-left of the vehicle, but it looks longer and sleeker in its initial design.







We then see some art showing Mando fighting scores of locals (or pirates) on top of the Juggernaut. This is a great shot, but there are a couple of differences from the episode. The first is that Din seems to be wearing his Mandalorian armor here instead of the Imperial driver's, suggesting again the decision to have him swap armors was made later on in pre-production. The second is that there are way more enemies for Din to fight at once than there are in the final episode, where the locals board the transport in smaller waves. Presumably, that's much easier to shoot than having 14 people in a small space.



Either way, the concept art still manages to convey that a hectic action scene is taking place, with Din largely outnumbered. It says something that The Mandalorian still manages to put on a tense action scene even with slightly easier odds for Din to overcome.







Eventually, Din manages to defeat the locals, and he and Migs make it to the refinery, where they are hailed by the stormtroopers as heroes for being the only transport to arrive at the facility that day. One key difference between the concept art for Morak and what we got in The Mandalorian is that the planet is much sunnier and vibrant than it looks in the concept art. The art looks grim in comparison, with overcast weather. Perhaps that was the tone they wanted for an Imperial-occupied area before they began shooting.



Unfortunately, we have no concept art for what happens inside the facility, which is where we get the tensest moments of the episode. Mayfeld recognizes his old superior officer in the Mess Hall, right where the console is located. The two of them are incredibly shifty when discussing their next move, and in the end, Din has to take his helmet off in public to allow the console to scan his face. You feel for him every second that he has to keep the helmet off, which then gets extended when General Valin Hess approaches him and asks for his TK number.



Mayfeld steps in and covers for him, but Hess ropes them into having a drink with him. This is when Mayfeld starts to lose his cool, moving the conversation over to Operation Cinder. We learn that his horror at watching the Empire raze cities to the ground is what led him to leave the Empire. When Hess displays no regret at carrying out his orders, Mayfeld boils over and shoots him dead.



Migs and Din have to shoot their way out of the facility, making their way to the rooftop, where Boba Fett waits to pick them up in the Firespray. Once again, the concept art shows Din wearing his Mandalorian armor and not an Imperial one.







Strangely, there's another piece of concept art showing Fennec Shand and Cara Dune with their backs to each other mowing down stormtroopers. In the finished episode, they spend the majority of the mission outside the base providing sniper cover, so it's a bit unclear where (and when) this concept art was supposed to take place.







It's tough to tell whether they're fighting in a tight corridor or that hangar bay the Juggernaut is driven into. This suggests they were supposed to fight their way into the facility with Mando and Mayfeld originally, before writer and director Rick Famuyiwa decided to go in a different direction. It's also possible that this is supposed to be the tunnel where Din and Mayfeld board the Juggernaut, but even that suggests that part of the plan was going to be a lot more hectic than it ended up being in the show.



Clearly, the story changed significantly after the concept art had already been drawn up, as Famuyiwa decided to give Din and Mayfeld more character development by having them stealthily infiltrate the base rather than go in guns blazing. It was the right decision, and we got a far more interesting episode for it.







The final piece of concept art is of the episode's final scene, where Moff Gideon watches a pre-recorded message from Din echoing his speech from the previous episode, gritting his teeth in concern that the Mandalorian has somehow found his coordinates. It does a great job at setting the stage for the season finale.



You can find our original review of Chapter 15 right here.



Our “Countdown to The Mandalorian Season 3” series will continue next week, when we’ll be revisiting Chapter 16!



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