This episode was the best. I was seriously impressed with it, and not only on a micro level but on the macro level as well. Some of the concerns about the series I was keeping close to my chest because I hadn’t seen how it ended were completely assuaged. My evaluation of the show on the whole went from 5/8 on the fifty-cal scale to 7/8. It tied up everything very well.
Funny things:
“Deus ex Baby Yoda” is now officially a term for use in Star Wars by decree of everyone’s favorite sentient fighter plane (me!).
“Our new marshal is a former assassin droid!”
“… …And you don’t see anything wrong with that?”
(That can go wrong in SO many ways. Robocop more like No-bocop.)
Things I didn’t like:
The Baby Yoda/IG-12 thing was a bit … I don’t know, strange. On a technical level, like with the floating Anzellan from last episode, there’s a bit of “this doesn’t actually work but we’ll pretend it does” with the control schemes. Levers/pedals for arms/legs works, but when you throw in additional functions and make it more complicated it doesn’t work all that well. In practice, it was essentially just “let’s give Baby Yoda an adult body.”
Speaking of which, it reminds me of something a pastor said once: “The reason God made babies so cute is so you don’t kill them. And the reason God made babies so small is so they don’t kill you!”
The darksaber worked a bit inconsistently about whether it could pierce beskar, as Bo-Katan thrust it through a commando’s chest at one point.
They were either inconsistent or misleading regarding whether Din was Baby Yoda’s adoptive father or not. Seasons 1 and 2 strongly implied that he was, like with the “you are as its father” and “clan of two” strongly implying a family connection, but then I suppose he was trying to find “its kind,” so maybe I was just flat-out wrong there. It’s confusing, but not exactly “contradictory” and the adoption scene was satisfying. Personally, I would’ve preferred if he had adopted Baby Yoda all along as I thought he had, but it matters little.
Other than that, it was all pretty good.
What I enjoyed:
Combat: The combat was excellent, and I liked especially when it was more nitty-gritty and they put a lot of effort into how the characters actually fought (e.g., the Maul shields) because they emphasized how protective Mandalorian armor is. One of the fun effects of beskar armor is that it makes pistols and knives much more important and relevant and puts a very relevant and reasonable emphasis on close combat. Pistols, as used in the episode, are essentially melee weapons because you have to get so close to use them effectively, while knives give you the flexibility to sneak past armor plate. The chaos of the jetpack melee was also very much appreciated.
Themes:
The underground farm seemed a little bit shoehorned, but thematically was excellent and I very much enjoyed it.
The broken darksaber follows nicely from the previous episode, and is a good emphasis on the interesting Mandalorian concept of “codes” more than “rules.” It’s a symbol, and an important symbol, but just like was demonstrated in Clone Wars season 5, it only carries the weight Mandalorians choose to give it, and that is governed by external principles.
While I was a little concerned about the “technicality” of transferring the darksaber to Bo-Katan, it actually served to reinforce the lack of true importance of the darksaber. Easy come, easy go, and Bo-Katan is the Mand’alor nonetheless.
They tied up the show perfectly with the “riding off into the sunset” and the cabin on Nevarro, and honestly at this point I’d just as soon they leave it there and not make a season 4. I think this was the perfect ending.
That said, one of my concerns was about how the story seemed to be moving entirely away from Din Djarin and Baby Yoda, which was always the foundation of the show, and essentially sidelining the characters. However, if Season 4 really will cut hard back the other way, then this was more just a mid-story detour to accomplish an external agenda relevant to the character, and I strongly approve. Plus, Bo-Katan is easily in my top-3 favorite characters.
Miscellaneous:
I really enjoyed the forge scene at the end of the episode, especially the gauntlet applause and the chanting. Mandalorians would be great fun at a hockey game.
The ship models etc. were wonderful as always.
R5’s shenanigans were excellent.
I’m a sucker for a monologuing villain.
I’m sure there’re some things I’m overlooking, but I was quite satisfied and impressed. This was a very good show, all told.
one: I’ve said since season 1 episode 1 that they are trying to shoot someone full of midichlorian juice, glad to have that confirmed.
Two: before season 4 is done, someone is riding a mythosaur into battle.
Three: I did not believe The Armorer was going to betray the Mandalorians but I am 100% down with her having a villainous past that she is trying to redeem herself from.
In the third episode of season one Warner Herzog points out how remarkable beskar forged armor is when forged by native masters of the craft. Anyone can forge beskar, its a metal - but only the techniques and tools developed over millennia by the Mandalorians and the specialized Mandalorian forge gets the incredible results Mandalorians get. The imp armor is good, some of the best in the universe, but its not mando armor.
True, but then later she doesn’t break through Gideon’s armor. Otherwise I wouldn’t have mentioned it.
Sure, the Imps could’ve just had lower-grade armor for the grunts, but it bothered me a little bit. Key word being little bit.
(Speaking as a mod) Please watch your language. We try to keep this site clean.
(Speaking as a sentient fighter plane) Yeah, I agree. That’s why I said “they could’ve just had lower-grade armor for the grunts.” “Anyone can forge… [but not] …incredible results Mandalorians get” is what I was responding to.
So I’d say Gideon would get the best the Empire could get, but it wouldn’t be as good as Mandalorian-forged armor. Perhaps it could simply be thicker/heavier than the other armors, and the thinner “commando” could be of the same grade, but more easily penetrated.
Well. Force may matter too, not The Force, but physical force. This appears obvious throughout all the media (Qui-Gon in episode I comes to mind at least). Beskar is highly resistant, but not necessarily impervious, also jetpack assisted stabby-stabby means higher force, and with a smaller point this may allow piercing; also impy beskar armor may also be of lesser quality (less pure); also, it seemed to me that shots penetrated their armour more often than the mandos’ beskar… so aiming, skill, and armour quality.
My main issue, or what I found a bit surprising was Din Djarin’s ability to dispatch of the Praetorians … certainly he received invaluable help from Din Grogu, and it was a good scene, but in the end it felt like there was little cost to the win in the end - except the destruction of the Darksaber, and we may think of that in many ways.
That said though, it was a great [expletive] episode. Very excited about season 4 (which I believe is confirmed to be written or being written), and loved the ending. The series could end there, because the next season, I hope, is going to be a real new chapter, and perhaps a more cohesive story.
My partner exclaimed during the battle that she wants to play a Mandalorian in the next SWRPG campaign. That could be fun, as we’re playing during the first few years of the Empire.
My wife played one in one of our campaigns and had a blast. Over the course of the campaign she soloed a Krayt Dragon (that was just meant to be scenery…as we flew over it, she said, “I wanna kill it,” and jumped out of our airspeeder), took out a cantina full of bounty hunters who double-crossed our group single-handedly, and rode a Zillo Beast into battle against a Mythosaur, among other things.
The campaign’s over, and she misses the character.
I’ll probably remember more later, but the “huh?” moments I had were them not having Heavy’s (I can’t remember the large mandalorian’s name ever) son be informed of his brave death or letting him hold a funeral or something felt like the character was robbed a bit. Another was Gideon, where did his body go? The platform was still there, so he didn’t get crushed by the ship, and the fire wouldn’t incinerate beskar…
I am wondering if there will even be a Season 4. The final moments of the last episode were kind of a wrapping-up of the story, where other seasons had closure, but also some cliffhangers.
Gideon could be boiled inside the armour. But certainly, no body means he could return in some capacity, perhaps there were more clones?
As far as I know, there is a fourth season already written, or being written - although I cannot provide a source, as I cannot recall. So, I may be wrong.
The end, setting up Mando to work with the NR dude, could be part of a new season. Also, that Mandalore has been retaken … and the “imminent” return of Thrawn… I suspect it’ll be tied to whatever goes down in Ahsoka, and perhaps even Skeleton Crew, which looked cool at the panel at Celebration.
Not really any different than the season 2 finale.
They’ve said that season 4 is already written. Alex Damon from Star Wars Explained has theorized that this may be a case of, given the setup at the end of this season’s finale, repurposing the Rangers of the New Republic scripts for The Mandalorian season 4 since the former won’t be happening.
Sounds reasonable. I assume some time will have passed, and it starts similarly to season 1, with Djarin and Grogu finishing a mission or two for the NR, before being pulled into some bigger stuff involving either something new, or seemingly new, that will possibly connect to Thrawn, and more hints about the FO.
