*WARNING* THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE MANDALORIAN CHAPTER 23.

If you don’t want a mind flayer to be used on you, you should probably watch the episode before reading.

Mandalorian Season 3
(Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.)

So she is working for Moff Gideon! And they mentioned Grand Admiral Thrawn! There’s lots of exposition on the First Order’s beginnings going on here, including the secretive Project Necromancer. Already off the bat, this doesn’t feel like the “story of the week”. It feels huge. The Empire is rebuilding, Mandalorians are converging, and the gears of this third season are already turning.

Who would have guessed that Grogu’s first word would be “no” and come from an IG droid? And then that his second word would be “yes” a million times. In full child fashion, Grogu couldn’t stop hitting that “yes” button.

As many times as we see it in this show, it will always be cool to see a bunch of Mandalorians drop from a ship. Some of the shots in this scene are going to make for great desktop backgrounds. Say what you want about this season of The Mandalorian, but there have been some absolutely amazing visuals.

What a speech from Bo-Katan about the Mandalorians. Moff Gideon turning back on their agreement is no surprise. It shatters the previously held beliefs about Bo-Katan from other Mandalorians. Hit that with another great line from Din about honor and Bo-Katan’s story not yet being written.

Of course, Grogu would be the one to step in and stop the infighting. With an episode title like “The Spies,” there’s a general feeling of unease all over this episode.

They Can Fly Now?! Dark Troopers Plus Beskar

That answers the question about what “Mandalorians” were the ones that freed Moff Gideon. These Beskar-toting Imperials are hardcore. That was a hell of a firefight with Din leading the charge down the hallway into what definitely looks like an Imperial base on Mandalore.

What a way for Paz Vizsla to go out. That was heartbreaking, but goddamn he was given a hero’s death at the hand of the Praetorian Guards. He took an entire battalion of Dark Troopers out by himself.

For all the criticisms that this season has faced in regard to where it’s actually going and what the point of it has been, this was a fantastic episode to bring everything together for the finale next week. Moff Gideon is trying to take over Mandalore, he’s trying to remake a clone army of Dark Troopers, and Din Djarin, Bo-Katan, and everyone else have to stop him. Oh, and the New Republic is completely inept and unaware of the threat at hand.

This was a fantastic return to form, a return to what matters, and infinitely raised the stakes for this third season of The Mandalorian.

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