The Mandalorian season 3 finale feels like the end of an era

There has always been some fairytale DNA from the very beginning Star Wars. Not just because George Lucas’ first film followed the story of the archetypal hero’s journey, alone, with his farmer growing moisture instead of cattle on a desert planet, and his wise old man displaying Force powers and a lightsaber, but in those simple blue words that begin every film in the Skywalker saga: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” And while the Mandalorian is a show that has dabbled in various genres over time, channeling westerns, samurai stories, heist stories, spy thrillers, and more. his: “And they all lived happily ever after.”

Probably the biggest surprise of “Chapter 24: The Return” (is it a coincidence that the final act of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey framework is “The Return”?) is how well the ending turned out to be final. Not just at the end of Din Djarin and Grogu’s latest story (sorry, Sir Din Grogu), but everything Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau’s show has established so far. If it weren’t for _Star War_s, with its dynamic “nobody’s ever really gone” narrative, you’d be forgiven for thinking the story was over. Moff Gideon appears to have been defeated (but with plenty of leeway if they wish to bring him back). Din was officially called Grogu’s father, adopting him and giving him a pre-surname (indicating a lot of confusion about how Mandalorian surnames work). They even have a cute little house together, choosing to live on the outskirts of Nevarro instead of Mandalore, as Bo-Katan Kryze recently said. The story that began many years ago, with Din Djarin who took on a simple job to track down a mysterious fifty-year-old, actually ended here.

As the finales went, it was great — tying together the admittedly disparate threads of season 3 while paying for the bigger picture. Though the latter series has occasionally felt the need for clearer direction, largely centering Bo-Katan on Din Djarin and Grogu, spending a (fascinating) episode exploring the New Republic state, and deviating from the week’s oversimplified mission of the first seasons for a deeper dive into Mando lore: all finally tied together. The quest to take back Mandalore was directly tied to Moff Gideon’s return; Gideon’s master plan to create an army of his own Beskar- and Force-wielding clones started the entire story, revealed as why he offered a bounty to acquire Grogu in the first place; Grogu’s acceptance into Mandalorian culture required that the child be officially named Din Djarin’s adopted son, cementing their familial bond; The newfound peace of Din Djarin and the home settlement of Din-Grogu coincided with the reconquest of their homeland by the Mandalorians, both achieved by the final (or not?) destruction of Moff Gideon. Everything has come full circle.

If anything, it was a circle that hammered home that sense of finality, or more accurately, a montage of the iris in the final shot. There was already something warm about Din Djarin sitting nonchalantly on their porch, literally with his feet up, while Din Grogu played with a wriggling frog a few feet away, the pair exuding a sense of calm and stability that let it escape. arrived. Together. But the setting surrounding our father and son duo elevated that image of harmony, providing a moment of closeness and, yes, purpose. It was the equivalent of editing “The End,” closing a storybook. ‘Everything was fine.’ Perhaps, in true George Lucas style, we could have gotten a american graffiti-abstract text style. “Din Djarin enjoyed his regular freelance work with Carson Teva for many happy years, soon adopting a handful of Anzellans. Din Grogu ate many one-eyed frogs and was very happy for several centuries before retiring to Dagobah.

However, this is certainly not the end. On the one hand, Jon Favreau has talked about writing the Mandalorian Season 4 already, which, barring a few sneaky misdirections, means there’s more Mando-Grogu adventures to come. There are still loose ends, not just Din’s new deal with Carson Teva to take unofficial jobs for the New Republic, but the constant taunts that Grogu can’t utter…yet. And with the recent announcement at Star Wars Celebration 2023 that Dave Filoni will direct an upcoming Star Wars movie, linking the characters across the Mandalorian, Ahsokaand also, that the return of the duo seems inevitable. Why would you make a film set in this era and not include the two most popular and instantly recognizable characters?

If this isn’t the end, at least it feels like the end of an era. Assuming Moff Gideon is truly dead, with the caveat that his Beskar armor may have protected him from the fireball that engulfed him on Mandalore, and that his cloning project means that for a while “Somehow, Gideon is back” is not out of place. question: so the stage is set for something new to begin, passing the villain baton to Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn, waiting in the wings to make his live-action debut in Ahsoka this august. Filoni spoke of Thrawn as the big bad of this era of the New Republic: the imminent arrival of him could open a whole new chapter. Or perhaps Season 4 will be a homecoming that skips this season’s story, clearing the slate for a series of simpler adventures next time around. Perhaps the next time we see Din Grogu it won’t be Baby Yoda: The Child Must Grow (-gu) at some point, and while it’s at the expense of some of that carefree sweetness, a slightly older child would indeed offer development of the character.

For now though, the Mandalorian The season three finale feels like an expiration point: a chance to stop and smell the freshly cut space grass in Grogu and Mando’s backyard. (And my goodness, what a beautiful final hit, so open and breezy and relaxing, beautifully scored too.) they’ve finally won some hard-earned peace for themselves. It may not be “Happily Ever After,” but that ending still felt like a definitive statement. For now, his song is written.