The Mandalorian The Mandalorian 3.08 - Chapter 24 (SEASON FINALE!!!!) - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

The near utter lack of reaction to Gideon destroying it? Din saying it means nothing to him? Bo saying her strength is in team work, or whatever?

I'm not saying this is good writing. The opposite, in fact. Bo, despite being center stage all season, has been weirdly passive in terms of deciding what she wants, why she wants or deserves it, and where the dark saber lands in all of that. The saber's destruction is a blip in the finale, and Bo is chillin' and vibin' when she reignites the forge and gets the tribes to cheer for her. But that shouldn't have been the case. this moment needed to be addressed here and now, built to over the course of the season, and show the fallout for the tribes. It's not good writing to push this to a spinoff or a later season.

 

The blade that was broken will dark again.

I'm not among the fans of Gideon's armor, and I finally figured out why. It reminds me of Emperor Zurg, Buzz Lightyear's nemesis from Toy Story.

Overall, I liked the action, especially the Armorer going at it hammer and tongs in mid-air, and Din having to run the gauntlet one step at a time. Grogu vs the Praetorians was tense; I actually thought for a moment that the big twist might be that Grogu would get killed. I also thought either Bo or Din or maybe both would die, choosing to stay in the base to keep Gideon there while Axe dropped a cruiser on all of them.

I think my biggest disappointment is that we didn't see any real personal drama. I was looking forward to Din's interrogation, which could have had all kinds of hardcore personal suffering and development. The Believer showed us that TM can pull off that kind of intense face-to-face drama, and I was hoping for more.

As for those wondering how Grogu found Din, I'm sure he sensed his presence in the Force. NBD for a being with huge Force potential and years of Jedi training trying to find the one person in the galaxy who is closest to him.

 

That does seem like an odd theory. People are saying that?

My feeling is that we're supposed to think that ALL the Mando's in this episode have moved past the dark saber but to be honest that is completely based on the fact that not a single Mando threw a hissy fit over the destruction of the dark saber. Neither Axe nor any of the other Mandos told Bo that she was no longer the leader because she lost the saber again to Gideon. Nobody grieved at the loss of the dark saber. Nobody wondered aloud what they would do now that the dark saber was no more. They all accepted Bo as the leader even without the dark saber. I could be wrong but I took that as shorthand for telling us that they've all moved past the dark saber. Not a great way to convey that if that is in fact what we're supposed to believe.

 

Was Gideon’s death anti climatic to anyone else? Would much rather Bo or Din to have killed him.

 

Yeah, beyond all the real or imagined plot holes, most of which can be explained, some which can't, the show's most real, most significant failure this season was lack of personal stakes.

There were some, but not nearly as much as there should have been.

The problems of the writing and execution this season are pretty fascinating. I hope we learn more about them at some point.

 

I feel the exact same way. If you compare S3 of Mando to S1 the quality of so many things is lower (often significantly). The writing, the dialogue, the production values, the cinematography, the costuming, the acting, the action choreography, the music.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a show to maintain a similar quality level from season to season. I'm not expecting it (nor do I want it to be) just like Andor.

 

I'm really not buying that Gideon's dead, and if he is, then it's a real wasted potential of a pretty compelling character, one who should have played a bigger, more active role rather than just showing up at the end of each season.

 

His death was worse than him living for another season. That is if he is really dead. I don’t care that he died in an explosion I care because it wasn’t caused by the Main protagonists

And a huge waste of such a talented actor.

 

How did Grogu find Din? Easy! Every single Mandalorian told him, "this is the way!"

 

I personally hope there's a time jump for season 4.

 

That's all true. But that's par for the course for writing this season. Skipping over important emotional beats, that well...seem important to us. That doesn't mean Grogu, Din and Bo have already moved - past tense - beyond the dark saber. The entire season has been building towards using it, and for Bo to realize her place. Gideon has moved beyond the saber. He used to think it would bring him power. But he sees now that it's just a Mando trinket. That doesn't mean the others do. Not yet. Bo literally just used the saber to destroy half of the troopers lol.

If by next season, the saber is still gone, and Bo is like whatever, then she'll have moved past it. But I don't think we can say that that has already taken place this season. Not when she's finally believing in mythosaurs, and sabers, and the idea of leading a new Mandalorian empire.

 

People seem to forget that Grogu has the Force and can sense where Din is.

The funniest fan confusion this season -- and there have been many -- is thinking there must be more than one spy. Even I thought this for a quick second, but it turns out that the Mando scouts were technically "spies" based on an old Hebrew definition.

Favreau is getting a bit fancy for this audience on that one, but it's worth it watching reaction videos of people trying to guess (wrongly) who the spy will be! lol

 

That’s probably because he’s not dead. Or that was his clone who died. No body in Star Wars leaves the door open for a return.

I did notice Disney released a Season 3 Mando character poster of Gideon where he has a mustache. It’s probably nothing…. Old promotional art put on a new season 3 poster.

But this is LucasFilm - the company that could have said Darth Vader and Stormtrooper were robots to save the toy company money on action figure import tariffs.

We were tipped off to this old way of speaking when Mando said he is Grogu’s ward.

60’s Batman taught us Dick Grayson is Bruce Wayne’s ward. A ward of the state is a person the state takes responsibility for. But in older times the ward the caretaker.

I had no idea.

 

It's interesting - I am seeing and hearing a fair number of mixed-to-negative reactions, but...I loved it.

Season 3 was....Season 3. I still have my misgivings over pacing, story focus, and efficient use of time. I still feel like the season was being forced to cram in story elements that were maybe meant to go elsewhere (speculative, granted) or maybe "story elements that needed to happen because of bigger plans". I wasn't keen on the side-lining of Din. I have no doubt that when I go back and rewatch at some point there will be plot holes and unresolved issues. All by way of saying that Season 3, to me, wasn't nearly up to the standards of Seasons 1 and 2.

That being said, I loved the last two episodes, I love where things were "left off" and the possibilities for the future, and I felt pretty happy by the conclusion of this last episode.

A few specifics -
> Din was finally front and center. I have explained that my feelings about this aren't a dig at Bo-Katan as a character; I'd doubtless watch a show centered on her and "the Mandalorians". But I felt Din was eclipsed "in his own show". Not so here. Wow. He was every bit the focused, driven, skilled, dangerous bad-@ss we saw in Seasons 1 and 2. His escape, him fighting his way through the guards, his fight with Gideon, all of it. DAMN. I did, for a moment, eye-roll when it looked like Bo was going to save him again but I loved how that played out, the message that working TOGETHER was what made the Mandalorians powerful. Awesome. (Loved when Gideon said "the Mandalorian has escaped"...a little thing but considering all the discussion about the show's title...)
> Liked how Grogu used the Force at various points... just enough to not make it "overpowered". Also loved the adoption thing. He needs his own helmet that leaves his face and ears (illogically) exposed, like I;ve seen online.
> Have seen some ticked at the destruction of the Dark Saber..and I get it, I think, but the symbolism of its destruction and the irrelevance of it, at this point, made sense, at least to me.
> So much speculation and angst over "who was the spy" (and I was drawn into that too!), and ... all for naught. I think they should weigh their titles more carefully. ;-)
> Am 100% into Din bounty hunting for the New Republic as an "independent contractor", bringing the story scope down some. I enjoyed those elements in Seasons 1 and 2 and BOBF, and see no reason a larger arc can;t be worked in if desired, in that format.
> Loved seeing Din's new homestead, him putting his feet up, Grogu hanging in the front yard. Well earned. And IG-11 as town marshal!
> Giancarlo Esposito is great. Fantastic.

So yeah, from me a 9/10...maybe a 10/10. Definitely rewatching tonight!

> Wouldn't have minded Paz's son being adopted. Just saying.
> Still want Din to get a Razor Crest back.
>

 

I wonder if the Moff Clone that opened the eyes survived with lots of scars and ends up being Snoke

 

no it's good

 

I agree with you it was good. But was it as good as the previous 2? No.

 

for me, good is good enough

 

I'm looking forward to the last episode of Picard than this one. I rated this season a low 5 out of 10. I felt that this season was not really impactful. Picard on the other hand felt like a proper send off. I've got to admit, I did not think that the Mandalorian Season 3 would be this boring and uneventful. Some of you guys of course will swear its superior star wars and all that but man it just wasn't there for me. I'm beginning to wonder if it was worth doing the Book of Boba Fett and not just keep going straight to season 3.

 

um, he is can probably sense his presence through the force, obviously

 

Oh I wasn't really looking for a real explanation for how he found him. I don't really care. I was just making a joke! He found Din because the Mandos told him the way! No? I guess I'll take my dad jokes elsewhere.

 

The one big positive I would say about this season is that I do think it now makes re-watching the journeys from S1E1 to S3E8 really interesting. As others have said S3E8 could almost function as a series finale if they needed it to be. Even though Mandalorian S4 seems likely at this point. Even little things like Kuill’s adjustments to turning a lethal assassin droid into a protector of others and the desire for a Nevarro sherif all end up coming together in the end. Din with the S1E5 cabin episode and the ending. Bo Katan being spoken of and then retaking Mandalore. Carson Teva going from wondering who this strange Mandalorian figure is to explaining that the New Republic needs to make exceptions to those two now working together. Stuff like Din being a loner to realizing he wants to be a father. Stuff like Grogu at first feeling like someone meant to be delivered to Jedi to rejecting them in order to live a life of attachment. Carga going from ruthless mercenary to respected leader.

It’s been a wild ride so far. I think I might rewatch it all during the wait.

 

Snoke is 9 feet tall. Does the clone grow 5 feet?

 

For many people here, not as good as other things = bad, even terrible. Yes, that's bad, too.

 

Wait, Gideon is only 4 ft????