THE MANDALORIAN Season 3 “The Return” was a wonderfully badass season finale

The third season finale of The Mandalorian it’s out and we’ve made it through another great season Star Wars series! The season finale is titled ‘The Return’ and it was a beautifully told story that was completely badass!

This season focuses on telling a story about the redemption of the Mandalorian people and their attempt to unite their divided tribes and reclaim their home planet of Mandalore. Bo-Katan was at the forefront of this story and we saw the character grow back into a strong position of leadership and help unite the Nite Owls and the Children of the Watch.

Once they were all back together, they discovered that Moff Gideon, on behalf of an Imperial Shadow Council, had been using Mandalore as a base of operations to resurrect the Empire through Project Necromancer.

The season finale sees the Mandalorian warriors continue fighting as they attempt to take back their home planet. This fight takes place on two fronts with Bo-Katan and another surviving Mandalorian squad having escaped Moff Gideon’s ambush by attempting to evacuate the Mandalorian fleet before the Imperial remnants destroy it. Then there are Din Djarin, Grogu and R5-D4 who try to enter Moff Gideon’s control center and put a stop to his sinister plans to clone him.

You see, Gideon was cloning a perfect version of himself who would also wield Force powers. As you can imagine, cloning Force-sensitive beings is very difficult, and I believe that was the whole point of the Necromancer Project, which also involved the clone of Emperor Palpatine. Djarin put a stop to that, though, and destroyed them! As you might expect, Gideon was pissed and when the two come face to face, they fight!

Force-sensitive clones feature prominently in the history of Grand Admiral Thrawn and in the original Star Wars Legends books starting with Heir to the Empire. That story introduced an insane Jedi clone named Joruus C’Baoth, who Thawn uses against those who cross his path.

While this is happening, Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian army wait on the planet’s surface until The Armorer arrives with reinforcements. When they do, there’s an incredibly epic battle that sees the Mandalorian plummet from the upper atmosphere, Bo-Katan joins and leads the charge, Darksaber in hand, and they go head-to-head with Moff Gideon’s Beskar-clad Dark Troopers.

In this sequence there’s incredibly cool effects-packed dogfights in the air, but the hand-to-hand combat involving Din Djarin and Grugu is also great! Even before he reaches Gideon, he has to fight his way through a group of Dark Troopers. All the action sequences in this episode were done very well and it was great to watch!

As Mando faces Gideon, the Praetorian Guards charge into the fight, and when it looks like they are about to take Djarin down, Grogu distracts them and is chased into another room where he runs and jumps trying to avoid being killed. While this is happening, Ax Woves is leading the Mandalorian cruiser which crashes right at the base they are fighting at.

Bo-Katan ends up jumping in to help Djarin and then proceeds to fight Gideon with the Darksaber as Djarin goes to help Grogu, and together they take down the Praetorian Guards. Grogu gets to display his Force powers here as he throws them around while Djarin blasts them to death.

The fight between Bo-Katan and Moff Gideon is intense and meanwhile Gideon destroys the Darksaber which was an unexpected big surprise! I didn’t see this coming! But he doesn’t need it to lead the Mandalorian people! Djarin and Grogu rush to Bo-Katan’s aid and as the facility they are fighting erupts in fire and explodes Grogu uses his Force powers to save Djarin and Bo-Katan and Moff Gideon is engulfed in flames.

With Mandalore retaken, the Armorer bathes Ragnar (Paz Vizsla’s son) in the Living Waters and he is officially transitioned from foundling to apprentice. Djarin wants the same for Grogu, but since he isn’t old enough to speak, however, he cannot speak the Creed, making him ineligible unless his parents accept that he is a true Mandalorian apprentice. .

It is at this time that Djarin adopts him and he is called Din Grogu, Mandalorian apprentice. Djarin is then instructed to leave Mandalore to take him on journeys and adventures and continue to teach him as his apprentice. Before that happens though, after Grugu has been adopted, he looks down into the Living Waters, to communicate with the Mythosaur residing below with The Force, who open their eyes when he can feel the presence of the Force. It’s a fantastic preview of what’s to come!

As Bo-Katan assumes the position of command of Mandalore, he ignites the Great Forge, which is an exciting moment for the story and for Bo-Katan. It was great to see her back where she belongs. As for Darksaber, his destruction fits the theme of the season and ushers in a new way of conducting. Bo-Katan is now taking a more pluralistic approach, and as she says, Mandalorians are stronger together. The destruction of the Darksaber will most likely end the infighting and duels over leadership that have plagued Mandalore for generations.

The finale ends with Mando meeting Carson Teva, where he offers to work for the New Republic as an independent contractor on a case-by-case basis. He explains that since Grogu is his apprentice and under his care, he will be more selective in his assignments than he is. All he wants in return is a “small advance,” which is IG-11’s saved head.

Mando has rebuilt IG-11 and is taking it to Greef Karga on Navarro, where he will serve as planet marshal. Karga ends up giving Mando a cabin where he can be comfortable between adventures, and the final show shows Mando relaxing outside his new cabin while Din Grogu plays with the frogs with his Force powers.

For me, this was a satisfying ending to a great season! I was very pleased with how this chapter of the story unfolded and ended. Can’t wait to see the story continue!

What do you think of the season 3 finale!?