Welcome back to the blog readers. It is no surprise at this point that this current season of The Mandalorian has been very hit and miss for me. For a Chapter 21, we get a Chapter 19. And for a Chapter 23, we get a Chapter 22. Speaking of Chapter 23, it was the best episode of the season so far, and possibly one of the best of the series. With some surprising twists and turns, it was the most electric episode yet.
But I would be remiss if I forget to mention that this is the finale, and finale time always kills me. I hated having to watch episode 9 of The Last of Us because I knew it was over, and the same can be said about this episode. Even though not every episode of this season was up to Mandalorian standard, it was always a joy getting to watch Din Djarin and Grogu's adventures and their interactions.
Speaking of good episodes, was this finale, titled "Chapter 24: The Return," written by Jon Favreau, and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, a high end to the season, or did we end on a bad note here? Stick around to hear my thoughts.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
I mentioned finale time kills me, especially if the show has been good. It eases the pain somewhat if the finale episode is good. And I can confidently say that this season ends on a high note for me. This episode was everything I wanted it to be. Emotion, action, and some scary shit (I'll yell at Jon Favreau later for that one) lead to an amazing final episode of television, and I cannot wait for season 4.
The general story of this episode is very grounded and doesn't even try to expand the mythos out like season 2's finale. I appreciate what they did here and closed out a season-long plot of the attempt of the Mandalorians to retake their home planet. And it also made me think that Mando definitely did repay his debt to Bo-Katan. If you don't remember, at the end of season 2, Mando recruited Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves to help him rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon. They agreed if Mando agreed to help them retake Mandalore. And I guess they did.
Grogu was the unequivocal MVP of this episode. He is the cutest he has ever been and he literally saves some ass, like at least twice! He saved Mando from those stormtroopers at the beginning of the episode and he saved Mando and Bo-Katan from Gideon and the crashing ship exploding into and destroying the base using the Force. That shit made me jump out of my seat and cheer. Grogu is my baby now and I will accept nothing different. And I can only hope for more awesomeness in season 4.
I do have to say that I am a little mixed on the decision to destroy the Darksaber, but maybe there's something more to it than initially revealed. Maybe a new Darksaber will be forged from the Great Forge that was relit at the end of the episode and Bo-Katan will be the rightful leader of Mandalore. I am secretly hoping so because I loved seeing her this season, and Katee Sackhoff has brought her A-game to the role she loves so dearly. I could not imagine anyone else as Bo-Katan, and I do not want to.
There is another story beat that I want to address. We began this season with Paz Vizsla's son Ragnar becoming a Mandalorian by reciting the creed and he gets cut off by a dragon lizard creature thing. It was a nice bookend of the season to have him officially finish reciting the creed and becoming a Mandalorian, albeit with one detail missing from the original creed at the start of the season. There was no mention of removing his helmet, so maybe Bo-Katan's role in this enclave created a way that these Mandalorians can remove their helmet if need be, and it would be good for Din if Grogu ever wants to see his pop's face.
That wasn't even the story beat I wanted to talk about. After Ragnar accepted his creed, Din volunteered Grogu to be part of the enclave but was rejected because he is too young to recite the creed and has no parents to accept the creed on his behalf. That leads to Din taking on the role of parent and adopting Grogu as his own, and now he is to be known as Din Grogu. I literally almost cried tears of joy when this happened, and it is the perfect culmination of three seasons worth of a character arc. The fact that now Grogu is officially Din Djarin's son is an awesome moment, one of the best in the show and in all of Star Wars.
This season also wraps up some threads that appeared to be left open. The first is from Chapter 17, when Greef Karga offers Mando and Grogu a plot of land to settle down in, which they declined at the time. The final shot of this episode reveals that they did accept the plot of land and have settled down. The final shot of Mando sitting on his "porch" while Grogu levitated a frog with the Force and eventually decided to not eat it highlights the growth of the characters and their bond. Another loose end was also in Chapter 17 when the group (Mando, Grogu and Greef) were looking to repair IG-11 and failed. The head that they got from the Rebel bar allowed them to restore his memory and program him to become the new marshal of Nevarro. That was a solid moment.
And the final thing I want to talk about is that of Mando taking up bounty hunter work again. This time he decides to go to Captain Carson Teva to ask him for under-the-table work. It's a nice touch that Mando does have allies in this galaxy and he can rely on them for whatever he needs. It also tells me that The Mandalorian may be going back to basics next season and I am here for it. That Western touch that season 1 had made it so different from anything prior to it and it would be really nice if we got back to it a little bit. It doesn't have to be the whole season, but bring back those touches.
Now I want to talk to Jon Favreau for a brief second. During the final battle, Grogu is chased by the Praetorian Guards and encounters a scare when he is sent off the light fixture he is running around on and a piece of pipe falls on his chest. When I tell you I got terrified that they were going to actually kill Grogu, I was mortified. Jon, my man, you almost gave me a heart attack, and I just want to tell you, man to man, that you better not do another DAMN thing like that again. I seriously would have reached through the screen and choked out those guards myself. Don't test me man, when you take away things I love, I will take away things you love. Luckily, Mando came in the nick of time with the save and they took down the Praetorian Guards together, giving me a feel-good moment. It's almost like you knoew what you were doing, Jon. Like I said, NEVER AGAIN.
I wanted to do a Theory Time this week but I decided to hold that until the season 3 spoiler review, which will be one of the next posts you will see. Thank you so much for joining me on my look at every episode of this season and I will see you for season 4.
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