Last week’s episode of Star Wars: The Mandalorian concluded with Din Djarin captured, Paz Vizsla dead, and our hearts broken. This week, we hit the season three finale with several major plotlines and questions looking to be resolved:
- Can Axe Woves reach the Mandalorian fleet in time to warn them before they’re ambushed by Moff Gideon‘s squad of TIE Interceptors and Bombers?
- Will Bo-Katan Kryze lead the united Mandalorian tribes in a successful counterattack to retake Mandalore?
- Is the Mythosaur going to show up and start wreaking havoc?
- Is there time for Boba Fett to make it all the way from Tatooine to help (and can a Rancor fit on Slave-1)?
- Will Thrawn make a cameo?
- After the Armorer proves herself to be a loyal ally, will people still post ridiculous theories on Facebook about why she’s actually working for Moff Gideon?
- Will Grogu using his dead robot nanny as a mech suit ever stop feeling weird?
Let’s see if all this and more can lead to a satisfying conclusion and/or cliffhanger before we start the countdown to Ahsoka in August.
As always, the recap portion of this review will contain plenty of spoilers along with some brief explorations of Star Wars lore. The sequence of events has also been streamlined a bit for the sake of clarity.
Resetting the Board
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
The episode opens with Bo-Katan & Co. retreating through Moff Gideon’s base. She radios Axe and tells him to order everyone in the fleet over Mandalore to evacuate their ships. From there, the plan will be to use their light cruiser as a decoy while they engage the Imperials on the ground.
*Side Note: Better hope none of those TIE Inceptors decide to go on a strafing run.
Meanwhile, Din Djarin is being dragged toward the “interrogation room” by two Imperial armored commandoes. Thankfully, the room is far enough away that he has time to wake up and fight back. Djarin takes out the first one, but is nearly done in by the second before Mech Suit Grogu (who must’ve somehow developed stealth abilities) shows up to save the day.
After giving Grogu a pep talk about needing to kill Gideon, Djarin radios Bo-Katan and tells her what he plans to do. Despite clearly wanting to assist, she has to get her troops to safety to regroup. Luckily, the captain of the Mandalorian survivors knows a great place they can go.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Elsewhere, Moff Gideon is informed by one of his troopers that the TIEs have launched and are about to wipe out the Mandalorian fleet. He’s unable to enjoy the news, however, due to a couple of dots on his system monitor representing the escaped Djarin and Grogu.
*Side Note: Anyone else find it odd that Gideon referred to Din Djarin as “The Mandalorian?” I know that’s not the first time something like this has happened, but it still baffles me — especially in a situation where there are a TON of Mandalorians everywhere.
When the trooper asks if Djarin should be engaged, Gideon declares that he’ll take care of the issue himself before dramatically exiting the room.
*Side Note: Gideon better hope this overblown reaction doesn’t lead to something bad happening like his life’s work getting destroyed.
Feinting to the Finale
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Djarin radios R5 and asks him to help download a schematic of the base. Despite being scared, the little astromech flies over and gets the job done. Djarin looks at the map, checks where the command center is (that Gideon supposedly just left), and begins heading that way.
Meanwhile, Axe makes it onto the light cruiser and tells the fleet commander about the impending attack. The Mandalorians evacuate and use their jetpacks to board the surrounding dropships/fighters, which dive into the clouds. Moments later, the TIE Interceptors and Bombers burst through in the other direction and attack the cruiser.
*Side Note: I get that the planet’s magnetic fields are messed up and radar might not work properly, but it still seems like a stretch that no one from one side noticed anyone from the other while passing this close to each other.
Axe adjusts the light cruiser’s weapons and begins fighting back as best he can.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Back on the ground, Djarin finds his path to the control room blocked by pairs of commando guards, who are separated from each other by a series of shield walls. He radios R5 and tells the astromech to disable the shields one by one on his command.
From there, we’re treated to a cool sequence of Djarin taking out each pair of guards as the others freak out and wait their turn for an ass kicking from behind a shield. While this is happening, R5 is spotted by a mouse droid, who gathers up a bunch of its friends to lightly bump the astromech while sounding an alarm. Thankfully, R5 is able to escape after Djarin takes down the last guard duo.
*Side Note: I’m not sure why Djarin began yelling for R5 to lower the last shield when he was still in the middle of a fight, but whatever.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Djarin and Mecha Grogu enter Gideon’s mad science lab, where it turns out that all those tanks contain clones of the evil moff. After one of them wakes up (and an absurdly telegraphed jump scare), Djarin messes with the room’s controls so that the tanks short out and flood the room.
Elsewhere, the Mandalorian survivors lead Bo-Katan & Co. to one of their many underground hideouts. Despite not being able to stay in one place for long, they still had the time/resources to cultivate a beautiful garden. When Bo-Katan notices some previously extinct indigenous plant life, the captain explains that they simply “needed space to grow.”
*Side Note: Pardon me while my eyes roll out of my head.
This overwrought moment is mercifully interrupted by the Armorer, who radios in to announce that she’s leading a squad of Mandalorians to their location. Once the reinforcements exit the dropships, Bo-Katan’s group uses their jet packs to meet up with them in the sky. She then ignites the Darksaber and leads her combined army into battle. As they approach the base, a giant wave of Imperial commandoes launches to meet them, leading to an incredible midair battle.
Family Force
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Remember when Moff Gideon stormed out of the command center to “deal with” Djarin and Grogu? Well, he must’ve had to stop and use the bathroom and had an upset stomach. That’s the only reason I can think of for him still being just a few feet away from the room and confronting the pair when they enter. He also starts monologuing (without a hint of self-awareness) about how they ruined his plan to make an army Force-sensitive clones of himself.
Despite the hammy script, Giancarlo Esposito salvages the scene by portraying Gideon as an angry father out to avenge his murdered children. Once he’s said his piece, the moff finally attacks and begins wiping the floor with Djarin. Things become even more dire when Gideon’s three Praetorian Guards show up and begin kicking his ass, as well.
Once again, Mecha Grogu jumps in to save his surrogate father. This time, however, the little guy’s heroics result in him being chased into another room. Grogu is forced to leap out of IG-12 and run/jump across an overhead platform to stay alive. Djarin tries to help, but is stopped by Gideon, who starts wailing on him again. Just when it appears Djarin is about to be executed, Bo-Katan flies in and knocks Gideon out of the way.
She then tells Djarin to “go save your kid” while she settles an overdue score.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
As the longtime adversaries begin their final battle, Djarin rushes in moments before Grogu is about to be killed. The father/son duo then proceed to beat the Praetorian Guards with a combination of Djarin’s exceptional fighting skills and Grogu’s perfectly timed Force pushes.
Meanwhile, Gideon gains the upper hand on Bo-Katan and uses his Dark Trooper armor-enhanced strength to crush the Dark Saber (!). Just when he’s about to execute her, Din Djarin and Grogu show up to lend a hand. They’re finally able to beat Gideon thanks to teamwork and Axe Woves crashing the light cruiser directly into the base. The resulting explosion kills Gideon, but Djarin and Bo-Katan are spared thanks to Grogu creating a Force shield around them.
*Side Note: Considering that we didn’t see a body and there were a bunch of nearly completed clones in the next room, I think it’s safe to say we’ll see Moff Gideon again at some point. Also, I guess all those TIEs just decided to peace out.
Home Sweet Home
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
During a baptism ceremony in the Mines of Mandalore for the foundlings (which is watched with reverence by all the Mandalorians), Din Djarin asks that Grogu be baptized and declared his apprentice. The Armorer responds that since Grogu can’t speak, he can’t take the Mandalorian Creed, thus requiring him to remain a foundling for now. When Djarin asks if this can be bypassed with parental permission, the Armorer says it can, allowing him to finally/officially adopt Grogu as his son.
He also has his name changed to Din Grogu, which is sweet, but also kind of confusing. Grogu then touches the water and wakes up the Mythosaur, which was pretty cool (but also kind of confusing).
Later, we see the Armorer pass a torch to Bo-Katan, who uses it to relight the Great Forge of Mandalore. As Axe Woves leads the combined tribes in a cheer for their culture’s rebirth, it’s clear that Bo-Katan won’t need the Darksaber for her people to follow her.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Later, Din Djarin and Grogu travel to Adelphi Base to meet with Carson Teva. Djarin tells him that since he now must take Grogu on adventures as part of his training (?), he’d like to do some freelance contract work for the New Republic. In exchange, he’d like a small payment upfront along with a discarded IG-11 series droid head sitting above the bar.
The pair then travel to Nevarro, where High Magistrate Greef Karga has set them up with a nice little home in the country to relax in between missions. Djarin gifts Karga with a repaired IG-11 (thanks to the memory circuit from the droid head) that will now act as the planet’s new marshall.
The final shot of the season shows us Djarin taking a well-deserved rest while Grogu (I’m not calling him his new name) uses the Force to levitate a frog from a nearby pond.
The Verdict
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney+)
What a great last shot. Combine that wonderfully sweet ending with the exceptional action sequences, and you should have the best season finale of the series. Unfortunately, “The Return” was also plagued by multiple narrative inconsistencies.
Pointing out things like Moff Gideon leaving to deal with Djarin only to not go anywhere (and giving Djarin time to destroy the clones) might seem pedantic, but those sorts of narrative missteps add up. After enough of them, it starts to take you out of the story in a way that no amount of INCREDIBLE aerial combat can completely overcome.
Also, the script had some of the cheesiest moments we’ve seen in a while — including the cameo-packed episode from a couple of weeks ago. Gideon’s monologue was so absurd that he might as well have spoken directly to the camera. Thank goodness Giancarlo is such a great actor that he salvaged the scene at the end.
And don’t even get me started on that “needed room to grow” nonsense.
Speaking of cameos, I’m totally fine with all the ones we were hoping for not happening, including a post-credit Thrawn appearance. I’m even okay with the Mythosaur being kept underwater to build even more suspense for its inevitable full-on debut. The real letdown was the reveal of Gideon’s plan.
Don’t get me wrong — it makes perfect sense. But Gideon cloning force-sensitive versions of himself is one of those first spoiler guesses that you think “Nah, too obvious” and keep brainstorming. I liked it better when it appeared he had something to do with Snoke‘s eventual creation — and that’s coming from someone who isn’t a fan of the Sequel Trilogy.
Thankfully, the season three finale was still packed with enough great action and beautiful codas to make it worth watching. The ending felt surprisingly final, but we know there’ll be at least one more season of Star Wars: The Mandalorian before the movie tying all of Filoni and Favreau’s universe together is released.
As for what’s next, the most plausible theory I’ve heard thus far is that Din and Grogu’s adventures will pick up the plot threads that were supposed to happen in the canceled Rangers of the New Republic series.
Let’s hope The Mandalorian gets one more crack at ending a season like it did for the second one.
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