*Contains spoilers for S3E8 ‘The Return’*

Like Obi Wan said, ‘It’s over, Anakin!’ Season three of The Mandalorian has reached its end after another eight-episode long run. This season has been quite a ride, with a broad range of episode styles. Like most things, it had its highs and lows, but the final episode certainly delivered, with a few unexpected surprises along the way.

Gideon Gone

Can we finally say goodbye to Moff Gideon? Part of me thinks he might have survived, after all, Boba was still alive after being eaten by the Sarlacc, and Gideon was wearing Beskar too. If it is the end for him, then he’s been a great villain, and set up a lot for the Imperials who’ll appear in Ahsoka.

The Gideon clones were a surprise, to be sure, but not a welcome one. It does show him to be quite narcissistic to think that the greatest thing in the galaxy would be clones of himself. Maybe if he’d spent more time trying to clone the Emperor, Palpatine would have returned sooner. At least all his clones were destroyed, weren’t they? Every last one of them?

Were the Dark Trooper suit’s mechanical aids there to compensate for Gideon’s lack of strength and fighting skills?

Darksaber

There’s no more Darksaber now (unless someone rebuilds it), which should help unify Mandalore a little, as no one can possess it and claim to be ruler. With any luck Bo-Katan and the Armorer will be successful in bringing back more Mandalorians to their homeworld and rebuilding their society there. Learning that the planet is not only habitable, but capable of farming again is surely a great sign of hope.

Are there big things ahead for Ragnar Vizsla? The series does seem to have focused on him at times, never for very long, but I wonder if he’ll have a bigger part in season four?

Din Grogu Djarin

The end scene was perfect, really, showing Din and Grogu’s progression throughout the last three seasons, from a bounty hunter with no real home or family, to a father who’s settled down with his son and got a place to stay. Yes, he’ll still be doing bounty hunting work, but as he said, he’s going to be much more selective in his jobs. The fourth season will likely have a different tone, but this is a perfect conclusion to their arc. Star Wars doesn’t always give its characters happy endings for long, though, so maybe their peace will be destroyed next season.

Once again, it was a droid who helped save the day, and not just any droid, but R5-D4, the astromech who blew his motivator so R2 would be sold to Owen. Never underestimate a droid. Star Wars wouldn’t have gotten far without them.

Other business

One unresolved thing is Elia Kane. She’s still around, and probably devoted to Gideon, so whether she’ll be any help to Thrawn is debatable. Maybe she’s working to clone Gideon again!

What about poor Dr. Pershing? The last we saw of him he was strapped to the mind flayer. His knowledge of cloning is probably gone, along with the memory of what he was working on for Gideon, but is he still sane, will he appear again? Is he dead?

It seems that ‘The Spies’ didn’t actually refer to intelligence agents, so it looks like the Armorer isn’t a traitor, and neither is Greef Karga, my own choice. I’m glad neither of them were spies in the end, as it would’ve been a stretch to imagine either of them working for Gideon. Axe Woves, another popular choice, turned out to be a hero, too. At least it kept everyone guessing right to the end.

Ahsoka

I was surprised there was no mid/post-credits scene to set up the Ahsoka series, like there was for The Book of Boba Fett. Maybe it won’t tie-in as directly as that series, but there have been hints, like Zeb’s appearance and the mention of Thrawn. Regardless, Ahsoka is the next big event in the calendar, and if the trailer is anything to go be, it should be epic and particularly satisfying for fans of Rebels.

I’d imagine Thrawn has been watching everything very carefully and building up his strategy to become Heir to the Empire.

So that’s it, then, the end of another season. It’s confirmed that there will be a fourth, though that’s not likely to be around anytime soon, but there will be more Mando action in the future.

I’m surprised Grogu didn’t say his first words. It seemed like it was something they were building up to throughout the series. His Force powers are growing, though, which does lead to the question of the Dark Side tempting him in the future, and not even his cuteness can save him from that.

Overall, it’s been a great season, despite its low points, and the final two episodes definitely lifted it up high. For now, and until we see Din and Grogu again, let’s just say This Is The Way!

Thanks for reading!

The Mandalorian S3E8 Brings an Epic Conclusion to the Season

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