This season of The Mandalorian has been widely disappointing so far, to say in the least. While there were some good episodes like Episode 2, 4 and 7, rest were either mediocre or bad. Bad is something we didn’t expect from The Mandalorian but Episode 6 was the absolute worst of the series so far. Anyways, I am happy to inform you that Episode 8 is quite literally among the best Mandalorian episodes ever made! So, read on to catch our in-depth review of The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 8 aka the finale below but beware that some MAJOR SPOILERS follow below! Review Marathon – Episode 1 / Episode 2 / Episode 3 / Episode 4 /Episode 5 / Episode 6 / Episode 7.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 8 – The Battle for Mandalore!
Rating – ★★★★★
The Mandalorian Season 3 finale did what the rest of the season failed to do – strike balance. For the entirety of this season Din Djarin and Grogu felt like side characters with nothing much to do, however, this episode corrects that. It perfectly balances the lead characters of Bo-Katan, Din, Grogu, and the Armorer and all of them get various moments to shine throughout the episode. It managed to connect all the events going on in the season and deliver a pretty satisfactory conclusion to almost every plot point and character arc. That aside, one of the best things about this episode was that it was visually stunning and was massively action packed!
Right from the badass and action packed opening, its understood that this episode isn’t going to be a joke and it is here to leave a mark. As Din and Grogu make their way inside the base with R5’s help, Bo-Katan and her legions carry out the battle for Mandalore outside. The sequence where Armorer and Bo-Katan (holding the Dark Saber) lead the flying Mandalorian army to Gideon’s base is extremely chills inducing and takes us back to the glory days of Star Wars. Also, Din’s action sequences while he fought Beskar wearing Stormtroopers as well as the Praetorian Guards (Red Beskar Armor Troopers) were very well choreographed and finally gave Din moments to shine.
Bo and Din weren’t the only ones who got moments to shine as Grogu and Armorer also had some badass moments. Armorer totally dominated during the mid air battle sequences and I couldn’t take my eyes off her during that battle. And Grogu, he finally got his due as the support he provided to Din and Bo throughout the episode was incredible. In all seriousness, “You did good kid!” and during the battle’s final moments he proved himself to be a master of the Force by saving Din and Bo from the massive explosion. Moff Gideon once again proved himself as a worthy Star Wars antagonist as he defeated both Din and Bo Katan in one on one battles, and also destroyed the Dark Saber. It took two of the greatest Mandalorians, a semi-jedi, and a crashing Star Destroyer to take him down. What an absolute boss!
That said, the ending was pretty jolly and Pixar types as everything worked out perfectly and there were no losses of the heroes’ side. Then there was a bit cheesy re-ignition of the Forge sequence where everyone yelled “For Mandalore” as Bo-Katan stood tall. The purification ceremony where Ragnar was made a Mandalorian and Grogu was officially adopted by Din was pretty great though. Now as per creed, Din has to take Grogu on new adventures and train him as in apprentice, so here’s to wishing that Season 4 is more about the two of them than someone else. That leaves us with one of the most interesting subplots of this season which didn’t live up to it – the Mythosaur. Right after Grogu’s adoption to the creed we see a short sequence where the Mythosaur awakens but that’s all we got this season.
Waking up of Mythosaur was symbolized with this new age of Mandalore and that was pretty much it. We expected a bit more from this legendary creature and we are sure it’ll be a major plot in The Mandalorian Season 4 which is already in production. Moving on to the final few moments, IG-11 is reconstructed which was a bit unrequired and Din decides to help the new republic indirectly. Also, Din is offered a residence at Nevarro which he happily accepts as a rest stop between the forthcoming adventures. Talking about technicalities, the VFX, cinematography, and production design were nothing short of perfection and the opening credits of this episode instantly made up realize “It’s gonna be epic”! And the action, oh my god, the action in this episode was just stunningly well executed giving us some of the best Star Wars battle sequences and hand to hand fight scenes ever!
Final Verdict – The final two episodes of The Mandalorian Season 3 really saved the otherwise mediocre season, which ultimately delivered fans an inconsistent but pretty great season of Star Wars live-action content. It proved to be pretty satisfying in the end and concluded almost all the plot points it established pretty well. However, if it learned how to strike balance a bit earlier, it could have been one of the greatest Star Wars thing ever made. Therefore, it ended up being the weakest season of The Mandalorian but with some of the strongest episodes in the series altogether!
Final Rating for the Season – ★★★★
The first 3 seasons of The Mandalorian are now streaming on Disney Plus. The Mandalorian Season 4 is well under way and is expected to arrive sometime in 2024!
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