The Mandalorians work together to take down Moff Gideon and the clones he is working on in the season finale of the Lucasfilm and Disney+ Original Series, “The Mandalorian.” Grogu is able to use IG-11’s frame to help save Mando. Bo-Katan loses the dark saber again but is able to defeat Moff Gideon with the help of Mando, Grogu and the entire collection of Mandalorians. And, despite the fact that he is training in the ways of the Children of the Watch, Grogu still busted out his Force powers to save his friends.

This episode nicely tied up almost all of the loose ends throughout this season. We learn more about the cloning efforts of Dr. Pershing and how they tie to Moff Gideon. We see Bo-Katan become the leader she was always meant to be. We see Mando and Grogu cement their bond as father and son and begin their adventures in Grogu’s training while Mando works with a few of his friends in the New Republic. This episode tied everything up so nicely, that it could easily be a series finale. Jon Favreau has already announced he is writing season four, so it probably won’t be a series finale, but for anyone who doesn’t come back for season four, they get a nice storyline resolution.

I’m a little surprised the Armorer didn’t turn out to be some big cameo. “The Mandalorian” has been known for big cameos over the seasons, but after the episode with Jack Black and Lizzo completely taking me out of the series, I’m glad we didn’t get another distracting one. I know there were theories that she had betrayed Mandalore, but that turned out to be false as she arrived with reinforcements. I had my own theories about what expanded universe character she might be, but that wasn’t revealed either. In the end, it’s probably a good call that she’s still just the Armorer, but it’s a bit surprising.

This episode was a little disappointing compared to episode seven but is still pretty good on its own. I like how everything tied up nicely but still left the door open for future seasons. I like how they set up Mando and Grogu since it’s clear they aren’t writing the Baby Yoda character out of the show. And I liked seeing R5-D4 act a little like R2-D2 from the prequels. It makes sense that Peli would’ve upgraded him from the beat-up droid that’s motivator blew up at the Lars homestead. The IG-11 reveal at the end isn’t surprising given how much of the first episode was dedicated to him, but it wasn’t great. It wasn’t bad either, just felt like an unnecessary side plot.

Still, if this is the last Mandalorian episode we got, I would be happy with how it ended. And, if it’s not, I’m still invested in Mando’s adventures with Grogu. That’s hard to keep going after three seasons, but I’m still engaged.

Rating: 3.5 stars

What did you think of the season finale of “The Mandalorian?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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