Max Nocerino 
“The season finale of The Mandalorian Season 3 was more than I could have ever hoped for. And it restored my faith in the series,”
I feel like a Kowakian-lizard monkey’s uncle. After trashing the previous episode of The Mandalorian, I am reminded never to underestimate the power of Jon Favreau. Everyone makes mistakes. And I made a HUGE one when I complained about Chapter 23 being unorganized and sloppy with its plot. The season finale of The Mandalorian Season 3 was more than I could have ever hoped for. And it restored my faith in the series. A few of the prior episodes were a little stunted. But I see that everything that happened in the previous episode was just set up for this explosive conclusion.
THE RETURN
What really blew me away with this episode was how incredible the battles and fighting were. Star Wars has always been at the forefront of special effects. And I found the super-fast camera movements of the Mandalorian army with jetpacks vs the Imperial commandos to be invigorating. I also loved the tactics the Mandalorians pulled as they knew their strengths were not in space but on the ground. And…err atmosphere.
While Bo-Katan led the assault, Din and Grogu went for the jugular. They went after Moff Gideon who was decked out in Darth Vader-esque armor that boosted his durability and SUPREMELY boosted his physical strength so that he was almost more than a match for Din Djarin. He also had the Praetorian Guard to back him up as well.
DIN AND GROGU
Din and Grogu have become a well-oiled machine and one of the best (and unusual-looking) tag teams of all time. With Din’s fighting skills and Grogu’s innocent spirit and Force-abilities, they can quickly conquer any situation. They also both love each other deeply and each’s greatest fear is being unable to help one other. I was also shocked at how Din’s temperament towards droids has changed. He’s come a long way from saying “No droids” to the land speeder droid Uber from the very first episode to calling R5-D4 buddy and complimenting him on his hacking skills.
I also LOVED the throwback to The Phantom Menace with the security energy gates forming almost like the layers of an onion with micro-security checkpoints. While it doomed Qui-Gon in his fateful duel with Darth Maul, it proved invaluable to Din, allowing him to take a breather from each pair of commandos as he would have R5 drop each shield one at a time. It was just such a pleasure to watch. And I also loved seeing the duel between Gideon, Mando, and Bo-Katan (who joined the fight later)
A SWIFT CONCLUSION?
The only critique I have for this episode was that the fun ended too quickly. I wanted more! Yet from the looks of the end; there is plenty more to come. And Din and Grogu are now entering a new chapter in their lives. The future looks bright and I can’t even imagine where Jon will go next. I will, however, add that I was a little disappointed that my theory about the second spy appears to be incorrect. However, maybe it’s for the best.
Part of the allure of a great show is being surprised and not being able to guess what is coming. There are a few plot points that need to be wrapped up, particularly with the confirmed spy, but I can easily wait for Season 4 to see that. I am very happy that my beliefs that Jon was slowing down were wrong. And I think this episode hits the quintessential Star Wars vibe every fan is looking for. A+++!
The Mandalorian Season 3 is now streaming on Disney Plus.
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Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
