The Mandalorian Season Finale Is Everything Wrong With Star Wars

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The Mandalorian is simply fanservice with an astronomically high budget. Starring a guy that looks like Boba Fett if you squint and a puppet that looks like Yoda if he used Neutrogena and set in locations that look like Original Trilogy settings (Mostly deserts), this show exhibits every bad inclination Star Wars has had for the past three years. It has no original ideas and nothing to say. It is simply top tier nostalgia bait.

This is perhaps best exemplified by the focal point of this season’s back half being an attempt to make viewers think Boba Fett is cool. This culminates in the series’ first post-credits scene, in which Fett and Fennec Shand kill some Hutt and everyone working for him before Fett takes a seat on the Hutt’s throne. Then a hard cut to black as ‘The Book of Boba Fett Coming December 2021’ flashes across the screen. The implication being that Boba Fett is now the star of this show.

Turns out, the long-rumored Boba Fett spin-off is just The Mandalorian. The idea that this show is now an anthology series that will occasionally follow various Mandalorians is intriguing. Unfortunately, this very episode quickly undermines the previous three episodes of Boba buildup by having him get his ass beat in the second scene. Once again, Boba is the lame guy in a cool helmet. And he is now the star of a show that exists purely because Boba has a cool helmet. It is like poetry, it rhymes.

It does seem as though Disney is not done with our heroic(?) Din Djarin as he has come into possession of the Darksaber. This puts him in direct conflict with Bo-Katan, as the wielder of the saber has claim to the throne of Mandalore. Of course, that did not stop the Mandalorians from ignoring its wielder for the majority of Clone Wars. In fact, Bo-Katan’s entire character arc comes because she ignores that one rule. So yes, it is interesting that Mando has the saber and that puts him in conflict with Bo-Katan, even though he does not want it. Unfortunately, it serves simply as a way to reference a decade old plot point while undermining that exact plot.

The Darksaber is not the only laser sword in this episode though. At the climax, instead of having our characters create a way out, they are rescued by an almost literal deus ex machina. Two episodes ago, Grogu sent out a message on Jedi Radio for someone that could train him. Well, he is here and he defeats a legion of dark troopers. From the moment his X-Wing pulls up, it is clear who is here to save the day. Luke Skywalker has arrived on The Mandalorian.

There’s so much nostalgia injected into the show at this point that Luke’s entrance is even a reflection of the final Darth Vader scene from Rogue One, which is itself remaking a scene from A New Hope. It is at this point that composer Ludwig Göransson, for the first time in the series, injects John Williams’ themes into the score, which was bound to happen eventually. And yet, every aspect of the scene feels off. Like there is no heart in it. Like it is just what the team knew fans would like.

This lack of heart carries to the final scene, wherein Mando says goodbye to his animatronic son. Grogu tries to touch his face, but the helmet is still on. So Mando removes it in plain view of the entire cast. This should should be the emotional ending of a two-season journey. However, it falls completely flat because this scene is not about a father giving up his son for what he believes to be best for said son, it is about Luke Skywalker and what a Cool Jedi Badass he is.

Not only has Luke arrived--with R2-D2 in tow, of course--to ruin the most important scene in the entire show thus far, he has done it via a de-aged Mark Hamill. There is a big problem with this solution: I thought the role had been recast while watching.  He does not look like Mark Hamill. He looks like a lookalike, but, as the credits assure me, he is not. The special effects this entire episode look worse than the standard the show has set, likely to facilitate this de-aging. So, not only did the show go for the worst, most galling choice of guest character to appear, they did it poorly.

As always, The Mandalorian could be an incredible show. Like The Rise of Skywalker, it has instead chosen to forego even considering how Star Wars can evolve and pander to people who only want to see the exact same thing they saw 40 years ago. More Boba Fett, a baby Yoda, more Luke Skywalker. Of course, the last time this franchise attempted to reach further and dream of a different future, a vocal minority scared Disney and Lucasfilm into thinking there should be as little risk taking as possible. Truly a shame.