The Mandalorian “Chapter 24: The Return” Review

Season 3 Episode 8 – “The Mandalorian and his allies confront their enemies.”

Please note, our reviews are based on likes and dislikes. These contain significant spoilers. If you haven’t already watched the episode, we recommend that you click off the article and come back once you have watched the episode. Enjoy!

What I Liked

1. While Bo-Katan and the remaining Mandalorians are trying to escape, Axe Woves is flying through the storm to get reinforcements to help. While Din is tied up and being escorted somewhere by two Imperials, he manages to kill one but while the remaining Imperial begins to choke him, Grogu saves him.

2. Axe Woves manages to get to the cruiser and inform the Mandalorians about the ambush, he tells everyone to get to the drop ships while he takes care of the cruiser, while he’s in the cruiser, he begins to take fire by some bombers. It seems to be too much for him to handle, the bombers have him outnumbered and seemingly, out-gunned. Will he survive?

3. Din showcases his ability to fight, with the help of R5, he manages to quickly destroy each duo of Imperial soldiers that are there. Easy as you like for Din. R5 then gets attacked by a bunch of mouse droids, which I thought was funny.

4. We now know why Gideon has wanted Grogu, and the ability to clone. It’s to clone himself. Similar to Palpatine. While I did know about cloning, I thought it was for Snoke or the early beginnings to bring Palpatine back.

5. I can’t lie, seeing all the Mandalorians flying together with Bo-Katan having to darksaber in hand against a squadron of Imperials was badass. I loved that scene. Incredible.

6. Seeing the Mandalorians fight the Imperials using flight was incredible. It reminded me of The Clone Wars Siege of Mandalore arc. Absolutely incredible.

7. Axe Woves has a scene similar to Anakin when he brings in a cruiser from orbit on fire. Axe tells Bo and Koska to clear the base he’s coming in hot. Axe manages to escape the cruiser and the Mandalorians manage to escape the base before it’s encased in flames.

8. Din Djarin officially adopts Grogu as his own kid. Grogu gets a new name “Din Grogu” and becomes a Mandalorian apprentice.

What I Disliked

1. Not sure I like the idea of the darksaber being destroyed.

2. The episode length, it could have been a much longer episode and it had no post-credit scene which was disappointing because of the Zeb cameo, we could have had any of the Pheonix crew or even seen Thrawn.

Favorite Moment

My favorite moment would be seeing Din fight Moff Gideon while Din gets attacked by the Elite Praetorian Guard, Grogu comes in and says no, and they begin to fight him while Din continues to fight Gideon. They manage to destroy the droid’s armor Grogu is using.

Bo-Katan saves Din while she tells him she’ll handle Gideon, go save your kid. We get a sword fight of sorts between Gideon and Bo-Katan while Din fights off Elite Praetorian Guards with the help of Grogu. Moff Gideon destroys the darksaber, Bo tells him Mandalorians are stronger together. Grogu uses force to save Din and Bo-Katan from burning to death, as how Gideon did.

Standout Character

Honestly… I do not have a single clue who to give this to. There were multiple characters that deserved this, Din, Grogu, Gideon, Axe, and Bo-Katan. Ultimately, I’m going to have to give this to Bo-Katan. After all these years, she’s still receiving character development when she learns that Mandalorians are stronger together and not who has the darksaber.

Verdict

What a finale. An absolute classic story focusing on the return of Mandalore, it’s people, and its culture. I feel as though this finale set Mandalore up to be a great planet going forward. Din finally becomes Grogu’s dad and his return to bounty hunting is fantastic. Overall a great finale.

Rating: 10/10