**Minor Spoilers**
There comes a point where every series should end. Yet the studio continues to produce more of the show to make money, even though the overall story ended seasons ago. Common shows that fit this category are Greys Anatomy, The Simpsons, Psych, Chuck, and Law and Order. We should want The Mandalorian to end here at season 3 and have Disney explore more of the Star Wars universe.
The Mandalorian has been one of the most successful Star Wars series that Disney has made and if they continue it will surely become disappointing. Season 3 has received the lowest score yet with a 50% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the previous seasons scored in the 90’s. It's time to end the series.
As you may have gathered I did not like season 3 of The Mandalorian. I was quite bored with a few of the episodes and at one point I asked myself: “why am I watching the series?”, “do I even like Star Wars anymore?”, “what happened to Star Wars that I used to know?” Some of you may like what Disney has been doing with Star Wars and that is OK. You can have a different opinion than mine. To me I have either A) changed my tastes and I only like the older movies for nostalgic reasons, B) the new series is missing what made the original great, or C) a mixture of both.
Two episodes made me cringe the most and they were episode 3 (chapter 19) where we follow imperials in the New Republic trying to adapt, and episode 6 (chapter 22) “Guns for Hire” where Jack Black, Lizzo, and Christopher Lloyd played themselves ruling over a planet; they hired Djin Djarin to solve a mystery about imperial droid malfunction. Without going into too many details I felt that these two episodes felt out of place and were the worst episodes of the season. I can't even decide which one was worse, they were both so bad. Episode 3 had nothing to do with the plot of the series, but attempted to set up for a potential series that was cancelled before it even began called “Rangers of the New Republic”--- so that episode was a waste. I didn’t like episode 6 for similar reasons; it felt out of place. Having those quest stars made it feel like a cameo ploy more than a plot to the story. It felt forced and I was bored watching it; even though the premise of the episode was interesting, it failed due to the cameos.
After finishing this season, I thought this would be a decent conclusion to this series but then after a quick google search I found out that Jon Favreau, the showrunner, has confirmed that there will be a season 4. At the end of season 3 there are some easter egg mysteries that can be solved, but it finishes with a happy ending. Din Djarin and the other Mandalorians are content, Grogu ends up being adopted, and Moff Gideon has been axed for the 3rd time. Great place to stop with Moff Gideon gone. Since there is another season I bet he will return. . . . again.
When I found out that he was the antagonist again this season I was confused. Moff Gideon isn’t really a threat to Din Djarin because he keeps being defeated by him every season. He reminds me of Palpatine returning in Rise of Skywalker. At that point Palpatine returning was not threatening since he was defeated so easily by Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi. However, in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine was fearsome because we knew he was going to win and take over the galaxy and we wanted to see how he would accomplish it. In this season they alluded to Admiral Thrawn coming back who is a threat because, unlike Moff Gideon, he wins against the protagonists, watch Star Wars Rebels for evidence or read some of the cannon/non-cannon books.
I think this is the most optimal place to end the series. It doesn’t mean that this is the end of us seeing Din Djarin, Grogu, and Bo-Katan. They should show up in other series and play supporting characters. I mentioned earlier how there are some things that haven’t been fully examined and that’s fine. It teases the audience to search for the meaning of those easter eggs. Disney should have those nuggets explained in different series. They aren’t crucial for this series to explore them. It’s important for a certain character to be involved, but that person can show up in different series.
I think I have ranted enough about this. Disney should end The Mandalorian here. I would be happy if it got cancelled but since it brings in money, I don’t see the series ending here. I expect that season 4 antagonist will be Moff Gideon, sadly, but I don’t know what else they can explore with this series. I think that season 4 will be the worst season of The Mandalorian but, on the bright side, it will still be better than the most recent trilogy of Star Wars (episodes 7-9).
I respect your opinion; however, season 3 turned out to be my favorite episode of the show (which is REALLY saying something). The overall arc built naturally not only on the previous 2 seasons but also on Mandalorian history as presented in the on-screen universe to this point, and the themes of unity despite differences in lifestyle/beliefs, reassessing traditions to decide which are worthy to carry forward and enforce, people overcoming immense and repeated trauma to build a home and community, and Din Djarin being a stellar example of an "everyday missionary" (Star Wars version)... Let's just say I could write several essays on each of these topics and more, but I'll limit myself to saying they all hit deep for me.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot more story to tell about our little Clan of Two, and the finale did a great job doing a soft reset for Din/Grogu to bring the focus firmly back to them while also establishing that the two of them are in a significantly better position than they were in Chapter 1 AND bringing back the Mandalorians as allies in the coming galactic conflict.
I don't want the show to overstay its welcome, but I am eagerly looking forward to season 4 and anticipate that I'll still be excited for the show should there be a season 5.