Munna Tripathi returns in Mirzapur 3 bonus episode, brings never-seen-before scenes in his wake

The bonus episode is essentially a pastiche of scenes that were removed from Season 3 in the final edit, with commentary from Munna. There are 11 scenes in all; some notable, others skippable. Here's a quick look at a few key ones:

1. What Munna has to say about Sharad and his ex-wife Madhuri hooking up

It's a short scene: Sharad Shukla (Anjumm Sharma) and CM Madhuri Yadav (Isha Talwar) are having a drink on the balcony of her house. They are talking about Guddu having overstepped - again. Sharad and Madhuri's chemistry is difficult to ignore. Cut to Munna: he can't believe his friend would make a move on his wife after his death. It's a very Munna moment. It's also a throwback to a previous episode, where Munna and Madhuri shared a smoke on the same balcony.

2. When traces of Munna's former influence resurface in Gajjumal College

Here's the context: Golu Gupta (Shweta Tripathi) has returned to her alma mater, where the enmity between the Pandit brothers and Munna Tripathi began in Season 1 of Mirzapur. She's there to recruit new members for her illegal guns' factory/gang. She picks five of the smartest guys in a classroom and asks everyone else to clear out. Boy 2 of 5, Ravikant (Akash Pramanik), pulls a gun on her. The gun is inscribed "Courtesy of Munna Bhaiya". There's more to the scene, but it's this expunged remembrance that makes the biggest impression.

3. When Guddu gives his blessing to Dimpy and Robin

If you've seen Mirzapur 3, you'll remember that Robin (Priyanshu Painyuli) becomes a victim of Guddu's (Ali Fazal) cocaine-fuelled rage. In this early scene, however, Guddu seems to look upon the couple with approval. The domesticity of the scene and the contrast of how Guddu looks in this early scene to how he will behave once he becomes addicted, might have been interesting to see in the show instead of on the editing room floor - if the scene weren't so boring and slow.

4. 'It's hard to kill someone you love'

Yes, the scenes in the bonus episode are all extra bits that were edited out eventually - possibly because they seemed superfluous or because they slowed the pace of the show - but Munna Bhaiya's commentary on them is fresh and delivered in his characteristic style.

In one segment, he tears up as he talks about Shatrughan Tyagi's (Vijay Verma) desire to kill Golu - the girl he loves. "Apne love ko apne haath se maarna, bahot takleef hoti hai," he says. He seems to be talking about Golu's sister and Guddu's wife Sweety Gupta (Shriya Pilagaonkar) here - the girl he had a crush on in college, and whom he killed at the end of Season 1.

5. Golu's comical exit

A lot of the scenes are strange, and seem almost comical. For example, there's a short scene where Golu has offered to cut the legs off a man if he refuses to sign a land deal she wants, but the goon she's talking to seems to be swooning over her. She waves goodbye as she leaves the room. The scene is uncharacteristically light - both for Golu and for the series.

Mirzapur Season 3 bonus episode takeaways

Watch the bonus episode if you are a fan of the series, but don't expect too much by way of explainers on where this scene might have fit into the original (some scenes mention the episode, but not the context) or why it was cut. Watch it also if you thought Munna Bhaiyya was a key part of Mirzapur, and the show lost some its destructive energy when it lost him.

Divyendu Sharma is an excellent actor, and in Munna Tripathi he gave us the very picture of an entitled, rogue northerner in the lawless hinterlands. His irreverence and impatience to be king of Mirzapur were the driving force of so much that happens in the show. The bonus episode seems too small a tribute.

Akhandanand Tripathi (Pankaj Tripathi), who was largely missing from Season 3 of Mirzapur, is missing from the bonus episode, too. At least this signals that his absence from the show this season was a planned feature, not a late bug. Also missing from the bonus episode is Rajesh Tailing, who plays the sanskari Ramakant Pandit in the series. But unlike Pankaj Tripathi, he has a large and crucial role in Season 3. Perhaps he's missing from Munna's reminiscences for an entirely different reason!