The composer in charge of scoring this third season of The Mandalorian is not Ludwig Göransson, but one of his disciples, Joseph Shirley. Don't be alarmed, because Shirley already worked with Göransson on Season 2 of The Mandalorian, and was in charge of providing the underscore to the Book of Boba Fett, while still retaining all of Göransson's original themes, and from what we hear in this episode, it really feels like an organic continuation of Göransson's style, and I'm sure Shirley will deliver!

Right away, we start with a lengthy sequence that covers the baptism rite of a Mandalorian foundling, which is suddenly interrupted with the attack of a monstrous water creature, before Mando arrives to save the day. Shirley reworks several previously established themes into the fabric of the score, with some recognizable sounds and motifs intermingling with his own material.

The motif plays on high strings, and slowly builds with the rest of the orchestra, and a percussion pattern which is revealed to be played in the scene by the Mandalorian group for the ceremony. This tribal pattern is joined by a short chant, which is cut short by the high strings of the Mandalorian Culture A theme the moment the Armorer starts reciting the vows for the foundling. The motif is greatly developed with some secondary phrases that weave in and out through the scene.

Here, Shirley brings back Mando's Fanfare, joined by his classic, dissonant stinger, that accompanies him in his heroic deeds through the show, here the melody playing on brass. The stinger plays again, leading up to the title card, where we hear his Western motif, joined by the infamous Recorder Riff that signified his very first appearance in the show. All these motifs are part of Mando's signature sound, and the composers have used them liberally, to fit withing what's happening on-screen each time.

Some of these ideas pop up in some other scenes in the rest of the episode. We hear a subdues variation on the Recorder Riff as Mando discusses the Mandalorian inscription with the Armorer, as well as some notable action variants of this riff and Mando's Fanfare all through the pirate space chase through the asteroid field. But before we move on to Nevarro and the pirates, I want to mention a brief moment which might be of great impartance for the rest of the season.

This leads Mando and the Child back to Nevarro. But this isn't the dirty corrupted planet we know from the first seasons, and the music instead of being gritty and unsettling, reflects Nevarro's new colorful appearance with joyful, folksy music, which also serves as source music for a group of players in the street. When they see the statue in honor of IG-11, Shirley brings back a theme we thought we would not hear again, IG-11's theme.

The theme asserts itself again in the following sequence, where Mando tries to bring him back online. Here the theme is gentle and emotional, and is joined by the Rhodes motif that appears at the end of "The Mandalorian" theme suite. This lovely motif plays all over the show in some more gentle sequences with Mando, and it was quite prominent in the "Reprogram" sequence of episode 7 (linked above), where it joined with IG'11's theme, and the music in this sequence quickly makes a connection to that, before things go a bit unexpected, and the droid tries to eliminate Grogu.

Mando asks for help to the Azellans, and their comedic antics is supported with some bouncy material, which leads to an appearance of Mando's Fanfare (and his stinger) as he leaves Nevarro in search of a piece that will help him repair IG-11. I'm sure he will become quite important through the season, and I'm sure Shirley will find new ways to incorporate the amazing theme into the underscore.

Mando escapes to safety, and him and Grogu arrive at Kalevala, a planet of the Mandalorian system. Shirley supports the landing with the B theme for the Mandalorian Culture, a motif sometimes used in unison to the A theme, but often also playing on its own. Here, the motif is joined by a loud, dissonante sound motif that represented the Nite Owls in episode 3 of Season 2.

The theme here is not bold, agressive or heroic, but plays subtly on horns, with some variations and additional hints of other melodies, that support Mando and Bo Katan's conversation about Mandalore and the Dark Sword. The theme slowly builds as Mando leaves the castle, with a hint of the Recorder Riff finishing up this too-short episode, and leading into the end credits piece.