Wait, Did the Latest Episode of 'The Mandalorian' Have Us Feeling Bad for Dr. Pershing?
Published March 15 2023, 2:21 p.m. ET
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 3 on Disney Plus.
All Dr. Pershing wanted to do as a scientist was save innocent people from preventable medical problems, like his mother with her weakened heart. He never felt a sense of undying loyalty to his former bosses, and has no problem attempting to abide by the rules of the New Republic as part of their amnesty program.
How did he end up in the New Republic's rehabilitation (pardon us... amnesty) program to begin with? It might have had something to do with the fact that Dr. Pershing's former bosses were, well, the Galactic Empire and Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito.)
The name of the game in The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 3 was all about redemption. Was Dr. Pershing able to redeem himself as a scientist to the New Republic after his past actions? Let's find out.
Does a change of uniform transform a man's loyalties?
Who is Dr. Pershing? He was involved with Moff Gideon's scheme in 'The Mandalorian.'
Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) was understandably horrified back in The Mandalorian Season 2 when he discovered a hologram of Dr. Pershing relaying a report regarding his experiments with blood from a test subject he referred to as "the donor."
According to Dr. Pershing, the bodies injected with the donor's blood rejected it, thus rendering the process a catastrophic failure.
Dr. Pershing was hesitant to collect more blood from the tiny, cute, green donor (it's Grogu by the way, hence Din's quiet rage when he realized what Pershing had done) due to Grogu's size. He didn't want to kill him. However, he knew they were highly unlikely to find a donor with a higher M-count (that's midichlorians. The higher the M-count, the more powerful the Jedi.)
So, Dr. Pershing was involved with Moff Gideon's nefarious cloning experiments.
Maybe Pershing should've just stayed in his amnesty suite on Coruscant.
'Fear the Walking Dead' star Omid Abtahi steals the show as Dr. Pershing in 'The Mandalorian' Season 3.
Despite Dr. Pershing's past misdeeds, Fear the Walking Dead star Omid Abtahi does a fine job in The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 3 of portraying a man desperate for redemption and purpose.
The 43-year-old Iranian-American actor, who also played the role of Homes in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II, had a tough job carrying the latest episode of The Mandalorian on his shoulders, but he did well making the viewer feel sorry for the fallen scientist eager to continue his work.
Desperate to feel a sense of purpose in his life, Dr. Pershing falls for Elia Kane's (Katy O'Brian) trap to recover old Imperial science equipment so he can attempt to convince the New Republic that his experiments can be used for good.
It's nearly impossible not to feel pity for Pershing as he's subjected to a mind flare against his will, particularly when Elia turns up the intensity of the flare when nobody is watching.
Let's just say the New Republic sucks at spa treatments.
Dr. Pershing's fate was left unknown at the end of The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 3, but there's clearly something sinister afoot. Could Dr. Pershing end up becoming an ally of Din's in the future?
We'll just have to wait and see when new episodes of The Mandalorian Season 3 debut on Disney Plus every Wednesday.
