'The Mandalorian' season 3 finale explained (2024)

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian chapter 24: "The Return."

Din Djarin and Grogu finally found their happy ending in the Mandalorian season 3 finale.

All season long, Pedro Pascal's beskar-clad bounty hunter and his tiny green companion have jumped from one threat to another, facing off against bloodthirsty pirates, creepy cyborgs, and even Christopher Lloyd. But after eight episodes of danger, Din Djarin and Grogu ended the season with a rare moment of peace — and hope for the future.

The season 3 finale picks up in the middle of the battle for Mandalore, as Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) leads her people in a fight against Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and his Imperial troopers. It's a brutal, action-packed sequence, as Bo rallies her fellow Mandalorians and Din tries to escape from Gideon's clutches. Ultimately, Grogu helps rescue his mentor, and together, the two set out to find and kill Gideon once and for all.

As they're searching for Gideon, Din and Grogu stumble upon a sinister science lab, where they discover what Gideon's been up to. Thanks to new technology developed by Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi), Gideon has been cloning himself, hoping to create a Force-sensitive army in his own image. Din quickly destroys the lab (and the clones), but it's a reminder that the Empire's cloning experiments didn't end on Kamino — and will eventually lead to Palpatine's resurrection in The Rise of Skywalker.

Eventually, Gideon and his Praetorian guards find Din and Grogu, and a brutal battle ensues. Bo-Katan ultimately arrives to help, but even with the Darksaber, Gideon is too powerful. At one point, Gideon rips the Darksaber out of Bo-Katan's hand, crushing it in his fist and rendering the weapon useless. But ultimately, Gideon is outnumbered, and together, Bo, Din, and Grogu team up to help overpower him. As a Mandalorian ship crashes into the base, Gideon apparently dies in the fiery wreckage. Bo and Din assume that they're done for, too — until Grogu uses the Force to protect them from the flames.

It certainly seems like the end of Gideon — but remember, this is Star Wars, so even if a character dies on screen, that doesn't necessarily mean they're gone forever. (After all, other characters gotten been in a sarlacc pit or exploded in the belly of the Death Star and somehow survived.) It remains to be seen whether Gideon will survive this explosion — or whether there might be Gideon clones running around the galaxy.

Still, Gideon's defeat calls for celebration. Even without the Darksaber, Bo-Katan takes her place as the official ruler of Mandalore, guiding her people and helping to relight the Great Forge. Meanwhile, Din takes Grogu to the Living Waters, where he tells the Armorer (Emily Swallow) that he wants to take Grogu on as his official apprentice. The Armorer explains that Grogu is too young to speak the Creed, and besides, he would need the approval of his parents.

So, Din makes things official, adopting Grogu as his son. From here on out, Grogu will be known as "Din Grogu," and together, father and son will start a new family business, taking odd jobs for the New Republic and helping protect the Outer Rim. They even have a small cabin on the outskirts of Nevarro, where baby Grogu — excuse me, Din Grogu — can levitate all the frogs he wants.

And that's it! Unlike previous seasons of The Mandalorian, there's no mid-credits or post-credits scene to tease Din and Grogu's future adventures. (Can we still call them Din and Grogu? Or are they now technically Din and Din now?) Season 4 of The Mandalorian has yet to be announced, but co-creator Jon Favreau previously said that he and Dave Filoni have already written the scripts. Favreau also told EW that he and Filoni have no plans to wrap up the show, and they'll continue making it as long as they can.

"I don't know what would make me not enjoy doing it, especially as long as the audience is connecting with these characters," Favreau told EW. "This feels like a really enjoyable moment. And I love this format of telling one chapter at a time and keeping the audience guessing, but also fulfilling certain expectations."

For more on The Mandalorian and all things Star Wars, listen to EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast — featuring a full breakdown of every Mandalorian episode and interviews with cast members Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff, and more.

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