The finale of The Mandalorian Season 3 has finally been released, with Din Djarin, Grogu, and Bo-Katan Kryze making their return to Mandalore in Chapter 24. The latest episode, titled “The Return” follows up after Mando was captured by Moff Gideon’s commando ambush.
Moff Gideon came back with a vengeance in Chapter 23, ambushing the Mandalorians upon their arrival. We learned that he had set up a secret Imperial base on their home planet, which was full of advanced cloning projects and weapons technology, such as the new Dark Trooper battle armor he was donning.
We also saw the heroic sacrifice of Paz Vizsla and the capture of Din Djarin, with the penultimate episode ending on a major cliffhanger that left everyone anxious for the finale. The new episode opens with the Mandalorian fleet vulnerable and unaware of Gideon’s incoming forces, as well as Bo-Katan in full retreat after being outwitted.
What happened in the Season 3 finale?
The Mandalorian cavalry
We pick up with Axe Woves right at the beginning of Chapter 24, who is receiving orders from Bo-Katan Kryze after escaping the ambush. Knowing the incoming TIE fighter threat, they plan to use their fleet’s cruiser as a decoy. Woves sends all of the Mandalorian troops to the surface to confront the new Imperial Supercommandos in a direct assault, while he stays behind.
After reuniting with the team below, the Mandalorians rally around Bo-Katan, who flies through the sky with the Darksaber, slicing through waves of Imperial troops in an attack on Gideon’s base. The jetpack fight between the two armies is one of the best action sequences we have seen all season, as it looked like something straight out of the Clone Wars series.
Bo-Katan and the Armorer’s combat skills were on full display in this sequence. After turning the tide of the battle in their favor, with relative ease, it gave Bo-Katan the chance to help Din Djarin and Grogu in their battle against Gideon and the Praetorian Guards.
Moff Gideon fight
The episode started with Din Djarin as a prisoner of Gideon’s but he managed to defeat and escape the armored troops in transit to his cell with the surprise assist from Grogu, who had stayed behind piloting the IG-12 droid. They track down Moff Gideon in the Mandalore base but find a batch of cloning tanks, filled with force-sensitive versions of himself that he had been creating for his army. They take this opportunity to access the control panel and drown them all, putting a swift end to the threat. This was one of many writing choices Favreau made in Chapter 24 which drew criticism, just for how easily things panned out for the heroes.
After confronting Gideon moments later, Din Djarin realizes that he has his work cut out for him in hand-to-hand combat. He struggles to overcome the fortitude of his new battle armor, with no real opportunities presenting themselves to defeat him. Meanwhile, Grogu takes it upon himself to distract the Praetorians, pulling them into a separate room where he stalls for as long as possible.
After some brief struggles in both battles, things turn around once Bo-Katan arrives, and it buys Din Djarin the time to rescue Grogu and unite against Gideon. Despite losing the Darksaber in the process, they start to get the better of the Imperial leader. But just before they can finish him, Axe Woves, who had been fending off the TIEs, pilots the damaged cruiser directly into the base. The explosion instantly wipes out Gideon but, before it reaches Bo-Katan Kry and Din Djarin, Grogu creates a force field of protection that keeps them safe.
What is season 4 about?
Following the return to Mandalore, Bo Katan is now sitting as the rightful ruler. Even though the Darksaber was destroyed, she seems to have won over both sides with her display of leadership and decision-making during the battle with Gideon. The destruction of the legendary weapon sets up the possibility of Grogu forging a smaller one for himself with the Darksaber crystal in Season 4, if they choose to bring it back.
The Armorer and Bo-Katan shared a moment in lighting the great forge, and it seems their main focus now is to rebuild their capital city and restore the planet to its former glory. They will also be preparing new generations of Mandalorians and perhaps scouring for any lost clans that could have survived the purge.
We got to see both Ragnar Vizsla and Grogu taking the creed in the mines of Mandalore. In order to do so Din Djarin had to adopt Grogu as his own and he is now officially a Mandalorian apprentice, so we will likely see him learning more about their traditions and combat techniques in the following season.
It is still a good while away, but the majority of the fourth season will probably be focused on Djarin and Grogu’s adventures. Grogu’s new role will require a lot of fieldwork training in the form of New Republic bounties and missions, as we learned from Djarin’s proposal to Captain Teva. It would also be interesting to see what happens to Kelleran Beq after he saved Grogu, in the next Mandalorian season.
What could Season 3 finale have done better?
Chapter 24 Rating: 7.5/10
Aside from having a Jedi or Thrawn show up, there are some ways the finale could have been improved and hit the mark we were hoping for. Gideon’s force-sensitive clones were one of the most intriguing elements of the penultimate episode. For them to be killed off from a control panel without too much explanation or resistance from the Moff seems like a major oversight, and a failure to execute a great idea.
Even if one clone had survived the tanks in a weakened state, the moment would have had much more impact and it would’ve given Grogu the chance for real character development, in facing off against another force user. It also would have done much more justice to the focus on Gideon’s obsession with Grogu and the cloning in previous seasons as well.
Another reason for rating this episode slightly lower was that there was very little tension throughout the episode despite the action. It never felt like any character was truly in danger, with the likes of Grogu vs the Praetorians, which made the moments they were saved feel less impactful.
While some fans are quick to blame directors and higher-ups at Lucasfilm, it feels like the writing this season lacked the bold risks we saw from Favreau before. It was much too safe and predictable but also lacked the depth needed to pull off this resolution. After such a long wait, losing the traction they worked so hard to build in the first 2 seasons is unfortunate for the strength of the franchise.
Was The Mandalorian Season 3 good?
Mandalorian Season 3 Rating: 7/10
Off the back of an incredible Season 2, it’s safe to say that Season 3 has taken a hit in quality overall, which is disappointing given the two years it took to make. The expectations, for the final episodes in particular, were sky-high, as we overlooked flaws in previous episodes in anticipation of a final arc that would redeem the meandering storyline.
Overall the resolution simply felt too easy for the Mandalorians, leaving the audience with plenty of questions and even some plot holes. From Din Djarin’s escape to the TIE fighters going missing, the Praetorians chasing Grogu around, and the swift end for Moff Gideon’s clones, there were many moments that left us wanting for just a little more, especially with such a short runtime on the episode.
The Season’s overall arc was fairly drawn out because all that was really accomplished is their return to Mandalore and reuniting the clans. As for Gideon’s defeat, we had already seen that in Season 2. Even with the fancy suit upgrades and grand plans, it just didn’t feel as impactful this time around. We started this season with Gideon out of the picture, so for him to come back, they probably needed to introduce him before episode 7 and show more of the force-sensitive clones, which were quite fascinating.
This season finale also leaves us in an awkward place. Din and Grogu are free from commitments once again but the finale did not leave us with much hype for the next season, other than the idea that the Mythosaur still lurks in Mandalore. The show perhaps struggled by looking too far ahead and making it so Grogu and Din’s arc culminates with Dave Filoni’s movie. But Favreau seems to have played it very safe this season with little advancement of the overall narrative or much character development.