Here’s The Mandalorian, Chapter 13: The Jedi ending explained.
The latest episode of The Mandalorian — “Chapter 13: The Jedi” — was one of the most epic things Star Wars has put out in the last 20 years.
The long-anticipated debut of Ahsoka Tano (played by Rosario Dawson) in live-action finally happened, and it was better than just about anyone could have ever expected.
Ahsoka doesn’t just make a mere appearance in the show or act as some sort of wise guide for Mando and The Child — she breaks open a huge can of worms which could lead us well beyond just a third season of this particular show.
So how did this episode end? What did the ending mean and where are we going next?
Let’s start with Mando’s main mission — getting The Child to a Jedi.
Din and The Child reach Corvus and meet Ahsoka Tano, but not before also meeting the Magistrate, who offers Din a spear made of Beskar in exchange for killing Ahsoka.
Din accepts the mission but only so he can find Ahsoka to get The Child the help he needs.
Ahsoka communicates with The Child through the Force and learns that his name is Grogu. Grogu, whose age has always been a fascinating piece of this story (he was 50 years old when Mando found him initially), was trained on the Jedi Temple in Coruscant before he was hidden and eventually taken for his blood and high “M-count” (midi-chlorian count).
This means that Grogu, as crazy as it sounds, is even older than Ahsoka but obviously his species develops much slower. He was actually born the same year as Anakin Skywalker, making him all the more intriguing.
After teaming up with Mando to infiltrate the Magistrate’s inner court on Corvus, it’s determined that Mando is going to take Grogu to a planet called Tython instead of leaving him with Ahsoka. On Tython — a planet rich in the force — Grogu will be able to reach out to the Force and choose his own destiny instead of just accept a fate and life of training.
Before Ahsoka gave Din the instructions of where to take Grogu, she confronted the Magistrate of Corvus about where her “master” was. It turns out the Magistrate’s master is none other than Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Thrawn is a character from Star Wars Legends who has made his way into canon through novelizations as well as Star Wars Rebels. He is a species called Chiss, and during the rise of the Empire, Thrawn was the second most trusted person to Emperor Palpatine to only Darth Vader himself.
This piece connected what was going on the last time we saw Ahsoka, which was in Star Wars Rebels not long after a different Jedi — Ezra Bridger — sacrificed himself to take Thrawn out of the picture.
Because Ahsoka decided not to take Grogu at the end of this episode, it’s clear that she got some information about where to actually find Thrawn, which could also ultimately lead her to Ezra Bridger.
I think this was a clear sign that another series involving these characters is forthcoming and in the not-so-distant future.
It will be fascinating to see how all of these storylines weave together, but it’s clear that Ahsoka is not attempting to hide her powers as she was in the Ahsoka novel. She is seeking something — someone — and is using the fullness of her power and strength in the force to find them.
As for Din and The Child, they are being tracked and are now about to lead Moff Gideon to Tython, where all hell could break loose.
Will Din and Grogu ultimately find Luke Skywalker? Mace Windu? Ezra Bridger? What Jedi are they going to find out there now? Who is going to save them from Moff Gideon?
Although there have been plenty of amazing conflicts this season, it’s clear that at some point there is going to be a brutal cliff-hanger with Din being separated from Grogu and we’re going to have to spend a year thinking about how he’s going to get him back.
But he’s been making some very important friends over the past few weeks. Not only has he befriended Bo-Katan Kryze, but he’s also befriended Ahsoka Tano and has come upon perhaps one of the most successful cloning laboratories in the galaxy.
Although he seems to be on a genuine mission to find Grogu, the best possible place for him to be, he’s finding himself in the thick of something far bigger than he could have ever dreamed.