The Mandalorian

[Ascended]

Will the Dins have any kind of role in the Ahsoka show?

Wouldn't be surprised at all to see them pop in for an episode. I wouldn't want them to take over completely like they did on Boba Fett (those were the best episodes of the season but still) but I'd very much like an appearance.

While I'm always happy to see Din and Grogu show up, I'd actually rather see some other faces. Haven't heard anything about Rex being on the show but I'd like to see him. I'll be legit pissed if we don't get any more Luke, and it'd be nice to see someone else from the OT as well.

And I won't be surprised if Skeleton Crew gets teased/setup on Ahsoka either.

I think it's possible the Mandalorian finale kind of scaled back the sequel connection; revealing that Gideon's clones were probably just his pet project and not related to what Palpatine was up to on Exegol.

Even Bad Batch might be doing it's own thing with it's own clone subplot.

I wonder if the movie getting approved is the reason for this? If they're doing an Heir to the Empire story for the film then clones are gonna be a big part of it, and maybe plans for Gideon had to be changed. Or maybe this was always the plan for Gideon, it all lines up neatly enough. And it was always an assumption on our part that Gideon was part of Palpatine's cloning project.

Personally I like what we got. Seems Gideon's super soldier program wasn't part of any "official" Imperial plans, and given the tensions in the Shadow Council I get the feeling Gideon was creating those clones to use against his allies in a bid for power as much as he planned on using them against the Republic. That could make for some good drama, assuming Gideon's story gets to continue.

[ChrisIII]

The pirates that the Mandalorians chased off will reportedly be in Skeleton Crew. Or at least the Nikto guy.

[Jackalope89]

The pirates that the Mandalorians chased off will reportedly be in Skeleton Crew. Or at least the Nikto guy.

Was about to say, "There's still some left!?" The one guy got away, but the rest got wiped out.

[ChrisIII]

Eh, it's Star Wars, where pretty much all the major villains have come back from the dead or a near death state at some point so I wouldn't rule out the swamp guy making it.

Or even a Clone Gideon that Din missed or was in some other place.

[Ascended]

That'd be my guess; Gideon is dead but one of his Force-sensitive clones survives.

The actor is too good to get rid of, Gideon's a great villain worth keeping around if possible, and a Force-using clone seems a great way to keep both without invalidating the victory on Mandalore.

Of course, they could just say the dark trooper armor kept Gideon alive too. Throw some "burn" makeup on him, have him pursue revenge against Mandalore, all that would be enough to keep "real" Gideon fresh as a character. But a clone with access to the Force would be a way to increase the threat level and mix things up; the clone might not think the same way Gideon does, its goals might not be the same, etc.

I don't really care what the next season does, as long as it does it better than last season. We ended strong in season 3, but it was a rough road getting there and left plenty of things unresolved and unsaid, and I'm still waiting for that deeper look into Mandalorian culture. At this point I don't even need a fully fleshed out exploration of the divide between tribes or the crimes they've committed in the past, I just want a little more depth than "these guys take off the helmet, these other guys don't."

[godisawesome]

That'd be my guess; Gideon is dead but one of his Force-sensitive clones survives.

The actor is too good to get rid of, Gideon's a great villain worth keeping around if possible, and a Force-using clone seems a great way to keep both without invalidating the victory on Mandalore.

Of course, they could just say the dark trooper armor kept Gideon alive too. Throw some "burn" makeup on him, have him pursue revenge against Mandalore, all that would be enough to keep "real" Gideon fresh as a character. But a clone with access to the Force would be a way to increase the threat level and mix things up; the clone might not think the same way Gideon does, its goals might not be the same, etc.

I don't really care what the next season does, as long as it does it better than last season. We ended strong in season 3, but it was a rough road getting there and left plenty of things unresolved and unsaid, and I'm still waiting for that deeper look into Mandalorian culture. At this point I don't even need a fully fleshed out exploration of the divide between tribes or the crimes they've committed in the past, I just want a little more depth than "these guys take off the helmet, these other guys don't."

The biggest issue with Gideon coming back is that the last season sort of regressed the character into a Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain particularly in the awesome but somewhat lazily written final episode, what with the reveal he wanted Din captured for… reasons?… and then demanding his men leave Din alone so Gideon could deal with him personally… which then lets Din destroy his clones, before Gideon actually sics the Praetorian Guard on him instead… and then he gets defeated pretty quickly with minimal losses from the Mandos in spite of his supposed preparations for the battle.

…Soooo I’d say that if he comes back, he should be reinvented and progressed to a more leaner and cunning form - like now that he’s lost his warlord holdings and private army, he’s forced from trying to play to “strengths” he doesn’t actually have (military commander) and instead embrace his skills as a subversive manipulator and decentpersonal combatant to take revenge on the Mandos and make himself valuable to the Shadow Council again.

Have him start preying on some Mandalorian cultural fault lines when other Mandos begin returning as well - targeting Death Watch’s dubious history with the survivors, playing into some of Death Watch’s on old fanaticism when civilian Mandos return, working to subvert Din’s idea of the Mandos, etc.

And then… you’d probably have to have him either win to some extent, or get killed by Thrawn for becoming a liability and loose end. Maybe he only succeeds in some minor Mandalorian in-fighting but breaks Din’s faith in the Mandos for a bit so he has to rebuild it.

Give Esposito something to work with, and his time will be well spent. But if they just want Cobra Commander, brand new villains could work just as well.

[BeastieRunner]

Bringing Gideon back either as a Force-sensitive clone (that will most likely be scarred) or burned-potato stuck in the armor seeking revenge ... Reeks of discount Vader to me.

Having him being a step into Snoke would be okay IMHO.

Thrawn, thematically speaking, has to such a big threat it boosts the First Order AND inspires the resistance.

Gideon's story is over but we never saw a body so he's gonna be alive ...

[ChrisIII]

Gideon surviving with a scar would probably create a ton of Breaking Bad jokes.

[Kirby101]

I will say this, without criticizing either type of fans. There are those that are totally immersed in all of Star Wars lore. With everything that is canon and most things not. They know which novel or comic some character first appeared, or when something small or large, happened. These are the people who loved seeing the back story and family drama of Senator Mon Mothma. They seem to think this season of Mandalorian was light on detail and big on action. And it was.
But there are others who don't really care about the intricacies of the Star Wars Universe and just want a fun show.

I am somewhere in between, and liked this season.

[Ascended]

Give Esposito something to work with, and his time will be well spent. But if they just want Cobra Commander, brand new villains could work just as well.

Agreed with everything. And Gideon pulling at the loose strings of Mandalore culture would give us the exploration and conflict we've been looking for. Gideon is down, but he can still be a viable, quality villain even if his goal has shrunk from "take over the Empire with super soliders" to "screw over Mandalore and ruin them like they ruined me." Honestly, a totally selfish, petty revenge plot from Gideon might be fun.

I'm perfectly fine with Gideon being dead, but this is Star Wars, so he's probably not dead. But whatever they do, I hope they kind of reinvent and redefine the character. His arc is finished; his seat of power is gone, his plans and research are ruined, dude is done. Esposito is a gem, the actor is absolutely worth keeping, but if they can't do anything fresh with Gideon then it's not worth it.

And Thrawn is a consideration as well. Nothing has a release date yet, Mando S4 isn't even announced. But assuming season 4 hits before the movie, they could use Thrawn as the villain to help build up to the film.

Bringing Gideon back either as a Force-sensitive clone (that will most likely be scarred) or burned-potato stuck in the armor seeking revenge ... Reeks of discount Vader to me.

We crossed the line of discount Vader already. But I feel like Gideon's entire MO has been stealing ideas from better/smarter people, so it'd weirdly fitting.

[ChrisIII]

If Thrawn does cross paths with Din perhaps they should do an adaptation of the old EU story "Side Trip" (Modified to post ROTJ/Disney continuity) in which Thrawn pretends to be a bounty hunter in Mandalorian armor.

[godisawesome]

I say that a more Vader-like Gideon should only return if he’s got something like the “I am you father” story shattering moment that Vader had, but for Din - put a guy in a Vader costume and have him lose multiple times, and he’s not even a good Vader copy.

Make him the Death Watch Mando who picked up Din, and use that to shatter some of Din’s worldview, or something similarly momentous ? Yeah, that’d be cooler than “I have a cool costume and an overqualified actor, try not to beat me too quickly this time…”

I will say this, without criticizing either type of fans. There are those that are totally immersed in all of Star Wars lore. With everything that is canon and most things not. They know which novel or comic some character first appeared, or when something small or large, happened. These are the people who loved seeing the back story and family drama of Senator Mon Mothma. They seem to think this season of Mandalorian was light on detail and big on action. And it was.
But there are others who don't really care about the intricacies of the Star Wars Universe and just want a fun show.

I am somewhere in between, and liked this season.

Eh, I think there’s other factors at play as well, as long as we all understand the reception has been largely positive - just somewhat disappointed on some audience members’ parts.

I’ve seen plenty of “hardcore nerds” who loved the season just as much as hardcore nerds who disliked it, and some of the “filthy casuals” have been disappointed as much as others have been delighted. Pretty much everyone agrees the action is great, that The Mines of Mandalore was probably the best epsiode outside of the finale, and the finale itself tends to mostly lose any points for plot reasons that aren’t lore dependent (i.e., Gideon’s Dr. Evil moments.) ScreenCrush had a lore expert and a casual fan comment on it, and the lore expert was more satisfied and had fewer complaints than the casual fan, who was more annoyed at the narrative arc of the show and the stuff from TBOBF.

For instance, I think “Do you like Bo Katan as much as Din Djarin?” was a fairly big dividing point for where people split on the season - and some, like me, would answer “No, at least not that way” on the season when she takes over the story, since a casual fan might be just as quick to ask “…Why am I supposed to care about this character that much?” as I might be to ask “Why are we pretending this character is an unimpeachable good person?”

I even think that the Jack Black, Christopher Lloyd, and Lizzo episode seems to be the most disliked episode by a fairly even split of lore-hounds and live action only fanboys depending on whether one likes the cameos - and there, I’m actually a bit of an exception, since I liked the guest stars and found the main story decent enough, and mostly just have disgust at the pathetic Darksaber hand-off to Bo after an incredibly underwhelming and meaningless fight with Axe.

I think this season is best seen as a far more muted and amicable reflection of the usual divisions the fanbase has over narratively-lax stories that remain largely inoffensive - we’re not talking about The Last Jedi here, though like that movie, there’s no single pattern for enjoyment or criticism outside of some narrative-focused ones.

My contempt for “Bo Katan as the True Leader” is probably a bit of an extreme take - and even I don’t hate the character or the story, I just think it’s a thoroughly mediocre one with obviously superior alternatives they should have pursued.

[BeastieRunner]

I was expecting Gideon to cling to the toilet lid like the cockroach he is and later get to a MAD situation with Bo ... Only to have Thrawn swoop in, steal his cloning tech/research, and decimate the remaining Mandos further while whipping the floor clean withe Gideon. Finally, he'd retreat to the Sith Fleet and Hux Sr. and co would just go with the FO idea.

I mean they still could do that...

[Captain Craig]

Mandalorian S3
Grade: A-

With the show now concluded I binged the show over the last two days. Luckily I was not spoiled by anything. Stayed out of this thread and am skipping a ton of pages so forgive my rehashed observations. I did keep zipping past Jack Black images in some entertainment feeds but didn't read anything. Was his character really hated? I found it minor. Very cool cameo by Christopher Lloyd.
This was a really great season keeping pace with the others. The expanding lore of Mandalore and the Mandalorians is finally coming to a realization that is long overdue!

• Is there a Gideon clone still out there? Is that a role Kane will have or if not what becomes of her?
• What will become of the Empire's Shadow Council and their plans? Thrawn?
• Can the Dark Saber be repaired? Was it salvaged from that final fight?
• How many more clans of Mandalorians are in exile? What amount of time is needed to clear and rebuild ONE good Safe Zone near/at/above the Great Forge?
• Din is going to have case by case work in secret for the New Republic. Secret for how long?

Looking forward to S4 already!!

[kidfresh512]

The Jack Black/Lizzo cameo characters in general thing has been pretty hashed out. But, in general I didn't mind them at all. They were not terrible, but that particular story was wholly un necessary and the definition of filler. In a short episode run like this where we they were already pushing it by not having a tight overall narrative for the season cooking. Throwing in a random 1 episode droids gone wild episode was just a waste and added to some people's acceptance of the cameos perhaps.

If they wanted the cameos, maybe integrate them more into a larger narrative. One thing off about the whole season is they could have done better with the varying Mandalorian clans. The differences, what they are all currently up too integration into the larger Return to Mandalore with Bo. Use the Droid episode to address more of that. Extend the recruitment scene make it more weighty and still have the cameos and forging a relationship that we can see revisited with their kingdom and a renewed Mandalore. Make them trading partners and allies in the future that way its way less filler and more substantive.

Same with episode 3 and the whole Coruscant/DR. story. That was so filler. I did not hate it but it was crystal clear that we had a double agent thing going on. That whole caper was just not necessary here.