Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers from Season 3 Episode 8 of The Mandalorian.It’s finally here. The third season ofThe Mandalorianhas come to a close, with no shortage of hidden gems for allStar Warsfans. On their home planet Mandalore, the surviving clans have joined forces toward a greater purpose. Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff),the now rightful wielder of the Darksaber, leads the joint force against Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and his fleet of beskar-enhanced troopers. With Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu separated from their comrades, the odds are stacked against the thinly stretched Mandalorian strength. This finale has a lot of loose ends to tie up, and there are plenty of nods and connections to the wider franchise along the way. Let’s dive in.
R5-D4 & Mouse Droids
“Arfive” has come a long way. Though the droid had a brief cameo inAttack of the Clones, R5-D4’s famous introduction came in the very firstStar Warsfilm,A New Hope, when a group of Jawas sold him to Owen Lars on Tatooine. When the droid malfunctions, Owen opts to purchase R2-D2 instead. Thanks to the greater canon, we later learned that this malfunctioning was an intentional act of self-sacrifice on R5’s part, as the droid had befriended R2-D2 on the Jawa’s sandcrawler. After learning of R2’s mission,R5-D4 did whatever he could to aid his kin, and the little red astromech droid played his first small, yet pivotal role in the Rebel fight.
R5-D4 would live on, and after the fall of the Galactic Empire, he’d end up in the hands of Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) at Tatooine’s Mos Eisley spaceport. Then purchased by Din Djarin to aid in his mission to the Living Waters of Mandalore, R5-D4 would once again join the fight against Imperial evil. In this finale episode, R5 plays a key role in aiding Din Djarin against Moff Gideon. By hacking into the mainframe of Moff Gideon’s base and taking over its controls, R5’s actions call back to scenes from the prequel trilogy with R2-D2 performing similar tasks. While he does this, R5 is spotted by a patrol of mouse droids (or MSE-6-series repair droids). These small, unintimidating units have been featured all acrossStar Warsmedia, most notably on Star Destroyers and both Death Stars.
Bacta Spray
Operating his new IG-12 mech-suit, Grogu rescues Din Djarin, reaches out with a droid arm, and mists him with bacta spray. At the end of the first season, IG-11 did the same thing to mend Din Djarin’s wound when he first removed his helmet. Bacta is a gelatinous substance used to heal and regrow tissue with impressive results, and it’s been used by characters across all ofStar Warscanon. Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and even the sequel trilogy’s Finn have all bathed in bacta to heal their wounds.
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Darktrooper Weaponry
Moff Gideon’s forces are equipped with all the tech they need to stand against Mandalorian strength. Clad in beskar, the forces are evenly matched when it comes to armor, and they’ve got all the other essentials too – jet packs, flame throwers, beskar blades, and more. The most formidable weapon they bear, the electrostaff, calls back to the prequel movies. General Grievous' MagnaGuards held their own against the Jedi’s lightsabers, and Moff Gideon, armed with his own electrostaff, is able to do the same against Bo-Katan’s Darksaber.
Laser Gate Standoff
After a quick glimpse in the previous episode, the iconic laser gates play a prominent role in the finale. Sometimes called electron walls, these security devices served as a vital set piece inThe Phantom Menaceduring Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn’s battle against Darth Maul. When Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) attempted to aid his Jedi Master, he was blocked by the intermittently activated laser gates, only able to move forward a short distance at a time. Din Djarin has R5-D4 use them to his advantage, opening one gate at a time so that he can successfully take down a couple of Moff Gideon’s troopers at a time.
Callback toThe Last Jedi
The Praetorian Guardsthat serve Moff Gideon are able to separate Grogu from Din Djarin during the climactic final battle, and the showdown that ensues heavily evokes the image of the iconic throne room scene inThe Last Jedi. They’re a greater threat than your average trooper, and as we’ve seen before, they’re not likely to be bested alone. Rey and Kylo Ren, two formidable fighters, needed their combined might to take out Supreme Leader Snoke’s Praetorian Guards. The same goes for Grogu and Din Djarin here, conquering the scarlet opponents only by working together.
Moff Gideon’s Plan
In typical villainy fashion, Moff Gideon precedes the final fight against Din Djarin by revealing the plan he’s been scheming all along. Working outside the oversight of the Shadow Council andBrendol Hux’s Project Necromancer, Moff Gideon has been creating clones of himself. It seems that it’s not just the technology of the Mandalorians, clones, and stormtroopers that he hoped to combine; Moff Gideon has been seeking Grogu since the first season in the hopes that he could somehow harness the Force-sensitivity of the Jedi.
Mandalorian Dogfighting
Dogfighting, an iconic type of space combat between starfighters, has been featured throughoutStar Warstime and time again. X-wings, TIE-fighters, Naboo N-1 starfighters – just about any spacecraft you can imagine has seen a dogfight at some point, butThe Mandalorianhas now reinvented this form of combat for the first time. Armed only with their jetpacks, the Mandalorians face off against Moff Gideon’s forces in an epic display of hand-to-hand air-bound combat as we’ve never before seen.
Grogu’s Power
Throughout this season,Grogu’s role has been extraneous at best, but he’s really able to showcase his power in this finale. During his battle against the Praetorian Guards, Grogu flips and leaps about, evading the enemy just as Master Yoda did against Palpatine inRevenge of the Sith. After the final battle, Grogu uses the Force to shield Bo-Katan, Din Djarin, and himself from the inferno that wipes out Moff Gideon and his fleet. Although he’s beginning to (somewhat) form words, Grogu is still a young foundling for his species, so this showcase of ability is only a preview of what’s to come.
Life on Mandalore
Earlier in the episode, we saw the plant life of Mandalore flourishing. Thanks to the few surviving Mandalorians that remained after the Great Purge, the planet once thought to be inhospitable is beginning to see its native fauna flourish. By farming the dormant seeds that managed to sprout, it’s clear that life on Mandalore can grow again. However, this isn’t the only indication we received. In a brief moment toward the end of the episode, we return to the depths of the Living Waters and seethe great Mythosauropen its eyes, confirming that its earlier appearance was not just a vision. Now that the Great Forge is finally lit again, life has truly returned to Mandalore.
The Marshal of Nevarro
The desert planet of Nevarro has been without a Marshal for some time, and although Din Djarin could not accept the position offered by High Magistrate Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), he returns to him with a special gift. After acquiring the scrap head of an assassin droid, it seems Din Djarin enlisted the help ofthe handy Anzellansto turn IG-12 back into IG-11 once again. Still sporting the familiar voice ofTaika Waititi, Nevarro now has its Marshal. Hopefully, IG-11 can now bemore than merely a mech-suit.
Now that the Mandalorians have returned to the Living Waters, Ragnar Vizsla’s induction into the Children of the Watch is finally completed, but he’s not the only one to become a Mandalorian apprentice.What “The Way” actually entails is sometimes unclear, but apparently, even though Grogu cannot yet speak the words of the vow, he can become an apprentice with his parent’s permission. Officially adopting Grogu as his son, Din Djarin grants this permission, and The Armorer (Emily Swallow) gives Grogu his new title: Din Grogu. It seems that “Din” is not a first name after all.
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