The Mandalorian’s third season has come to a close today with Chapter 24 – “The Return”. The finale is fast paced and full of action, but does that mean it was fantastic?
Find out below by checking out our review.
Script
Just like that, The Mandalorian Season 3 has come to an end and we now have to wait until August for the next helping of live action Star Wars via Ahsoka, so lets break this finale down to officially put S3 to bed. SPOILERS BTW.
While taking in this finale I wondered if I was suffering from a case of Star Wars fan expectations let down syndrome in which we all cook up wild theories and speculations based on hearsay, rumors, or in this case, a social media post from one of the main cast members teasing doom and gloom, only to be underwhelmed at what was actually presented by the creators, but even if those elements did slightly suck some of the air out of the finale, they’re not the reason it felt a bit flat and less emotionally draining than the previous two season finales.
Season 3’s finale most definitely suffered from pacing issues due to its sub-40-minute runtime, which didn’t seem to allow for any real character growth or focused reflections to take place. The quick pace made some of the scenarios feel overly convenient, and again, outside of some trolling by Mando actor Brendan Wayne, nothing in this episode ever really felt dire for the heroes, which is wild because at the end of episode 7, all we felt was despair.
The finale didn’t capitalize on what came before it. The stakes just didn’t feel as real as they did last week, because everything was coming out you so fast. One minute, the pace would come to a screeching halt to showcase that Mandalore is coming back to life in some random cave, but then a few seconds later everyone is jet packing away to go fight again. There just didn’t seem like there was breathing room for any legit narrative exposition to take place.
There were no water cooler moments, which has become a staple with Mando season finales. Everything about it just felt too clean and tied up with pretty little bows. Literally. No betrayals, no surprises, just business as usual with the good guys winning Miller Time style.
Listen, it’s a nice little finale, and it did feature some killer visuals and Mando v Empire action moments, but nice isn’t a term I was expecting to use to describe it based on how last week’s episode went, and all the buzz about broken hearts occurring thanks to the finale. I was expecting to shed some tears, joyful or sad, but I was left feeling a bit ho hum.
In the end the season was fun and pushed many plot lines forward, while also closing old ones and opening new ones to be paid off down the road, but the overly perfect ending for the good guys just didn’t stick the landing for the season as a whole.
How about some top moments!
While there weren’t any emotionally charged moments, there were plenty of rad looking visual moments, so I’m starting with Lady Kryze, your reinforcements have arrived. It never gets old seeing Mandos in action, and this time we got to see them coordinating an aerial assault and calvary charge to do combat via jetpack against the empire.
It was a treat for your eyeballs, and you should definitely spend time just watching all of the action that goes down in the attack. Seeing the Armorer and Bo with the Darksaber was the cherry on top, and I’d never want to be on the opposite end of an Armorer hammer strike while going full speed with a jetpack on.
Up next is the Din v Gideon v Guards v Grogu fight. This was a fun battle that showed Gideon to be a very formidable foe for our heroes while in his suit. He definitely felt more powerful thanks to the suits mechanics, and could carry his own against a highly capable mando warrior.
Even if it was a clone of himself, and yes I do think the Gideon we’ve been seeing this season is a clone, so the real deal ain’t dead, he showcased why Gideon felt that he could rule the galaxy with a legion of Jedi Mando clones. Having him in the latest dark trooper suit really was the upgraded they needed!
It was also cool to see Din and Grogu work together as combatants against the guards rather than being saviors of each other. This was a new dynamic for them in which they seemed to fight in tandem, leveraging their skills to best stronger foes. Grogu wasn’t just using the force to save Din, he was using it in conjunction with him to turn the tide. This will be their dynamic moving forward and I’m down for more.
And the last moment of note is the Bo v Gideon with Din and Grogu tag team. Again, this finale shined via its visuals and action set pieces, and this battle was no different. The Bo and Gideon bout was a bit more even thanks to the dark saber, which ended up being the only real serious death featured in the finale, but their duel was still impactful.
Then, to payoff on the season long lesson that Mandos are better together, Din and Grogu show up to turn the tide, reinforcing this trios ties, which have only been bolstered throughout this season. It showcased how they all came full circle from the premiere in which she wanted nothing to do with Din’s quest, yet now she’s standing in battle with them to defeat a major foe.
Oh, and who wants to tell Kanan that you can use the force to save yourself and others from an explosive fireball! Too bad the Jedi weren’t better at sharing their force tricks.
Nick and I will talk more about the Mando finale on next week’s episode of the SWTS, so don’t forget to tune into the Star Wars Time Show on a weekly basis via our podcast platforms or via YouTube if you prefer the livestream angle.
