‘The Mandalorian’ Foreshadowed Where Season 3 Might (Finally) Go, Which Is Back To a ‘Dead’ Mandalore
With the holidays mostly done and the dust sort of settled over Season 2 of The Mandalorian, viewers can finally sit down with what the season gave them. Which was a lot, especially with that finale.
And while a special cameo — and heartbreaking yet bittersweet final moments — took the audience’s attention at the end, there were spots in the episode that did foreshadow where the series could head going into Season 3. And it all leads back to Mandalore. [Spoiler alert: Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian Season 2]
Even though Mando had to say goodbye to Grogu, there is a Season 3 coming
The first season started off with a hardened Mando, a bounty hunter who’s just trying to make money while turning in his targets even if it is for ex-Empire clientele. But that all changes when he meets The Child (then known as just that, and to viewers as Baby Yoda). He doesn’t want to turn him over, because he feels a connection to him, and doesn’t trust he’ll be treated properly by the Empire. This then turns into him protecting the child.
And then in Season 2, Din has to find the Jedi to deliver Grogu to (since he finds out that’s his name now, thanks to Ahsoka Tano). The objective is to train him, since Grogu possesses Force powers, which Mando can’t begin to understand, of course. And how could he? Ahsoka refuses to train him, because she doesn’t want to disturb the bond they share, and because she’s not a Jedi.
It all culminates in Luke Skywalker showing up, defeating the Dark troopers, and then taking Grogu away to train. This takes place after Return of the Jedi, of course, and so his next step would be to rebuild the Jedi Order (or at least try to).
While Mando and Grogu’s father/son relationship has been the basis of the series thus far, there is still going to be a third season without the tiny Yoda-like alien. It’s separate from the Boba Fett spinoff according to Forbes, which was a concern for some. It seems like pre-production won’t start until the end of 2021, though, so there’s a lot of time to stew over what’s to come. So, what will happen? The finale gave some hints.
Mando made a promise to Bo-Katan to help take back Mandalore if she helped save the kid
At the beginning of the final episode, Mando, Boba Fett, and Fennec Shand head to find Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves to ask for help in raiding Moff Gideon’s ship to get Grogu back. Bo-Katan isn’t really gung-ho about working with Boba Fett, considering he’s not a Mandalorian nor a foundling and just a clone in her eyes.
However, Mando gets her attention when he finally agrees to help take back Mandalore if she helps with this. He had scoffed at the idea of that mission a few episodes ago when they first met. Apparently, the things he’s heard about the planet made him think it’s cursed — and same with many others who’ve heard of it — because of it’s bloody history. And the fact that Bo-Katan and any Mandalorian keeps losing control of it.
So looking ahead, that seems to be the only real option for Season 3. Boba Fett looks like he’ll be busy on Tatooine, ruling over Jabba the Hutt’s business. Or whatever Boba wants to do with Jabba’s Palace. That means that Mando and Bo-Katan will probably head on their own mission to Mandalore and explore what it finally means to revive that dead planet.
Din Djarin is technically now the ruler of Mandalore now that he wields the Darksaber
Looking back at the sordid history of Mandalore, and it’s no wonder that Mando didn’t want to help Bo-Katan either. Fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars already know that because Duchess Satine Kryze (Bo-Katan’s sister) chose pacifism instead of the ancient warrior ways of the Mandalore, Mandalorians like Bo-Katan went off and created Death Watch. They became a terrorist organization that was pro-warrior, pro-violence, and wanted to take back the planet for themselves and overthrown Satine.
It didn’t end well, and Maul ended up ruling the planet through Prime Minister Almec. After the Clone Wars, Bo-Katan regained control of the planet with the help of Ahsoka, but she lost it again, leading to scattered Mandalorians in Star Wars Rebels and then The Mandalorian. Somewhere along the line, long after Mandalore fell post-Republic, Bo-Katan lost the Darksaber to Moff Gideon.
There’s also a lot more at stake here for Din now that he’s the owner of the Darksaber. Because he’s also the leader of Mandalore, too. By a technicality, of course. If Bo-Katan still refuses to take the saber into Season 3, then Din is the sole possessor of the planet all because he disarmed Moff Gideon of the Darksaber. Whatever that means with the state of the “dead” nation is unknown, since fans haven’t seen it for decades in Star Wars time, but it’ll be very interesting to see how that plays out.
Plus, will this lead to a mutiny of sorts with Bo-Katan desperate to take back what she sees as rightfully hers? When Mando doesn’t want it to begin with? There’s much to look forward to, and it doesn’t have anything to do with Skywalkers or Grogu (although a tearful reunion with the baby would be much-appreciated).
