Mandalorian season 3 finale review: buckling under the weight of Star Wars

In the business world, there is a concept called scope creep. Unlike most corporate jargon, scope creep means more or less: That is, the scope of any given project slowly expands as you work, eventually causing problems for everyone involved trying to solve too many problems. Once the original goals of the project begin to be undermined. It’s a failure of planning — not articulating your goals well enough can inherently lead to sprawl. It’s a collection of unsatisfactory answers to many vague questions rather than a clear solution to what needs to be resolved.

mandalorian I have a scope creep problem. Which is ironic given how the series seems so perfectly formed at first glance. lone wolf and childfollowing The Mandalorian Din Djarin and his young Yoda-like ward Grogg through the scrap side of the galaxy. mandalorian It became a vehicle for uncovering Star Wars lore, ultimately leading to a frustrating third season, placing its characters second in favor of unraveling the spotty, fictional history of Mandalore and its people. I put clone war and traitor.

This in itself is not a problem.call of the show mandalorian Rather than a promise to be nearly the same Mandalorian, it actually invites questions about the other Mandalorians and what happened to them. Wars lore expert Dave Filoni decided to do so.

Season 3 explains the difference between the Mandalorian lair, like Din Djarin’s cult, and the less religious sect that hails from Bokatan (Katie Sackhoff), as well as the myths and history surrounding their final days. Considerable effort was expended to do so. The former great home of Mandalore. Most of this isn’t mined for drama – the goal here is clarity and integration, bringing all the Mandalorians together under one roof.

This is already a pretty big task, and arguably too much for a limited amount of time. mandalorian The season is too short.Things only get worse if the same logic applies mandalorian.

mandalorian is the only major, ongoing work set in the so-called New Republic era, the roughly 30-year gap between the Rebels’ victory over the Empire. Return of the Jedi The rise of the First Order and force awakensLucasfilm’s new Star Wars canon was cautious about this time gap. of rise of kylo renand books like Claudia Gray pedigreeis set in this era, but nothing really explores the depth of the Legends books and comics that came after Timothy Zahn. heir to the empire.

Image: Lucasfilm

this may have been a boon mandalorian, gives us a blank slate to show off the familiar but different Star Wars. fair enough! The sequel trilogy was far from over when the series premiered in 2019. rise of skywalkerand Mando‘s gritty, old-school approach contrasted with the bombastic sequel trilogy. But now mandalorian Virtually the foundation of modern Star Wars, by bringing back villain Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), mandalorian have again You are tasked with showing the origins of the First Order and how this epic New Republic that saw Han, Luke, Leia and Chewbacca battle was effectively ruined from the start.

On paper, these aren’t bad ideas, but mandalorian It was a poor means of providing them. What was supposed to be a nimble ship has dragged a ton of continuity baggage behind it, even telling you the political destinies of Mandalore, the Mandalorians, and the New Republic for what they are. I’m forced to explain in 8 meager episodes that I don’t like… until 10 minutes have passed in the first place. The characters in the show are small and thin, and the storytelling vectors are priceless. The fun is mostly in his Grogu slapstick and Wookieepedia updates. There’s no time to give some character arcs the weight they deserve, like Bokatan’s elevation to Mandalore’s leader.

Image: Lucasfilm

Ultimately, this becomes a show that leaves viewers adrift. What is the content? Who should I root for? What do you want to see next? mandalorian Gestures in half a dozen directions, but its heart belongs to none of them.Especially since Grog’s massive decision to leave the Jedi path and stay with Ding boba fett booka completely different show.

Here’s what Scope Creep looks like: a cool armored dude and his adorable little ward hovering beside him. Someone is constantly forced to pause their galactic journey because someone uses the bathroom and keeps pulling over to edit his wiki every half hour.