Remember how I said that Gorian Shard was “The New Gigachad
of the Star Wars Universe”? Well, seeing as how he suffered a terrible
case of getting blown the f*** up in his second appearance, I might have overestimated
his relevance and longevity in that galaxy far, far away.
But my new favorite space-faring swamp monster was just one
of many surprises in The Mandalorian Season 3. Jack Black! Lizzo! Christopher
Lloyd! Zeb! Glowing popsicles! Oh, and the gigantic Mythosaur, Grogu driving IG-11
1G-12 like a mech suit, Moff Gideon’s cloning plot and Bo-Katan’s ascent to the
throne of Mandalore. I suppose those were big deals too.
The season culminated in a grand finale that dropped April 19,
a crowd-pleaser of a climax that saw the Mandalorians defeat Gideon’s and
reclaim their home planet as Din Djarin finally adopted (Din) Grogu as his son.
With a home on Navarro and the promise of new adventures ahead – helping the New
Republic wipe out the Imperial Remnant – the season acts not only as a conclusion
to the current season, but the end of an era for these characters.
Pretty satisfying, right? Well, hold on a minute.
When it comes to nerd properties these days, we’ve been
conditioned to expect a lot of our season finales. Hell, the last episode of The
Mandalorian Season 2 gave us Luke Skywalker in his PRIME with the aid of some cutting-edge
tech. Given the barrage of surprises and cameos, including celebrity
guest spots and Rebels’ Zeb, mentioned earlier, this season – for better and
for worse – leaned heavy on the unexpected. So when the story wrapped up in a
fairly conventional way, I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed. And I’m
honestly not sure what I expected. Grand Admiral Thrawn appearing in live action for the first time? A Mythosaur rampage?
Taylor Swift as a Porg breeder? In any event, a well-made finale left me
feeling hollow for some reason. But it’s not you, Star Wars, it’s me. Hi.
I’m the problem, it’s me.