‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian’ S3: “The Return” – Everything We Noticed
The season three finale of The Mandalorian may have changed everything for the remaining Mandalorians while setting up future shows.
We finally have the season three finale of The Mandalorian. There have been ups, there have been downs, and there were a whole lot of Mandalorians. But what did the final episode of season three have in store for us and what hints did we notice for the future of Star Wars?
In order to break down this week’s episode, we will have to spoil large portions of what happened in episode 8 of ‘The Mandalorian’. If you haven’t watched yet, proceed at your own risk.
Gideon Clones
Moff Gideon reveals just about all of his evil machinations throughout the course of this episode in a way that falls just short of ‘classic movie villain monologuing.’ We see that the clones he’s been working on are his own and Din Djarin manages to destroy them right before the first can wake up.
A little later we learn from an annoyed Gideon that these clones were meant to elevate him in the only way he sees possible; by giving him the force. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to many fans. They’ve been hinting since season one at experimenting with force-sensitive clones. I had assumed that this was going to tie more directly to the future Palpatine/Snoke plot line, but it turns out that Gideon wanted an army of himself who could shoot Force lightning.
Darksaber Destroyed
Bo-Katan and Moff Gideon have another show-down, and once again Bo-Katan looks like she’s going to be bested by Gideon. After a bit of struggling he managed to crush and destroy the Darksaber, but it turned out the real Mandalorian power was the friends they made along the way and she gets the assistance she needs from Din and Grogu to take out Gideon.
It’s a strange scene because we want to see Bo-Katan finally beat Gideon with her own power. But at the same time accepting help and the strength of united Mandalorians is a huge step in character growth. Unfortunately, the Darksaber is also destroyed, and this has been a symbol of Mandalore and the Mandalorians for generations. The show ends on a positive note, but I’m not sure what the future will look like going forward and if its destruction will cause any Mandalorians to leave Bo-Katan once more.
Grogu Coming Into His Power
We’ve been watching Grogu get more powerful throughout the season. Between Jedi flips and force pulls and pushes, he’s definitely learning to use his powers. Plus the last two episodes have given him a power suit complete with a yes/no button.
And if anybody’s wondering, the repeated “No. No. No. No.” is very accurate to the toddler raising experience.
But in this episode, he managed to use the force to create a protective dome around himself, Bo-Katan, and Din when a massive explosion took out the hidden Imperial base and Moff Gideon. Little Grogu is getting powerful and using that power to protect the people he loves most.
The Ending
Look! It’s Dave Filoni! And his hat!
This season had an ending that could honestly have been a series finale. Most of the loose ends are tied up and everyone we care about seems to be in a better place than when we started. Bo-Katan and the Armorer got the giant forge of Mandalore restarted and seem to be well on their way to rebuilding their homeworld. Din officially adopts Grogu and takes him on as his apprentice. And the New Republic seems to be rid of Moff Gideon once and for all.
Sure, there’s till the rest of the Shadow Council and Grand Admiral Thrawn. And we don’t know for sure that none of Gideon’s Force-wielding clones won’t show up. But that’s a problem for future us. For now, things seem okay.
The episode also ends with Din and Grogu offering their services to the New Republic as outer-rim-Imperial-bounty-hunters and presenting Karga and Nevarro with a newly re-re-re-built IG-11 droid to act as their new Marshall. In return, Din is given the deed to a small house on the outskirts to settle down in with Grogu for “between adventures” and we see the two of them relaxing in their new home. We even get a cameo from Dave Filoni himself in the New Republic pilot bar while Din is talking to Teva.
We know that the adventure will turn to Ahsoka Tano from here. But for the moment Din’s life is quiet and peaceful and Mandalore is finally on its way to being rebuilt.
What did you notice in this week’s episode of The Mandalorian? Where do you think these characters will go from here? Do you think this is the last we’ve seen of Moff Gideon? Let us know in the comments!
May the Force be with you, adventurers!
