The Mandalorian S3E8: Biggest takeaways and what they mean for Star Wars future

It has been a week since the finale of The Mandalorian season 3 aired on Disney+ and wrapped it up quite nicely.

Much to the glee of the fans, the episode did not end in some heartwrenching cliffhanger or introduced some unprecedented twist in the form of a betrayal. We were more than happy to bid farewell to Din Djarin and Grogu (it’s Din Grogu now) for now as they enjoyed a peaceful family time on their personal retreat on Nevarro.

While the episode did tie up most of the loose ends of the season, there were scenes and moments that are likely to have bigger implications for the future of Star Wars and the Mandoverse.

Here are the biggest takeaways from The Mandalorian season 3 episode 8:

The Darksaber is gone. What happens to the Mandalorian leadership?

Even though Mandalore was a democratic government during the Clone Wars era, the ownership of the Darksaber eventually became a critical symbol of leadership. Now that it is gone, does Bo-Katan lose legitimacy as the rightful leader of the clan, given that she had to prove she was wielding it to the Axe Woves-led faction?

Not necessarily.

Bo-Katan had wielded it once before when she was gifted the blade to lead Mandalore. It did not quite work out. She traded it to Moff Gideon in exchange for Mandalorian lives being spared. That didn’t happen either. It is ironic that the only time Bo-Katan may have rightfully owned it is the time it got destroyed but she emerged victorious, not because of the weapon but because her comrades had her back.

In the scene towards the end where the Armorer passes over a torch to Bo-Katan to light up the original Forge, it was quite metaphorical to signify an actual passing of the torch. It does not seem like Bo-Katan’s leadership is going to be questioned despite having lost the Darksaber.

The Darksaber had accrued a long and divisive legacy where too much importance was given to its ownership than the morals and intentions of the wielder. Its destruction could mean a similar thing for Mandalore as getting rid of super weapons often do in verses – the One Ring in Lord of the Rings, the Elder Wand in Harry Potter  – to ensure no one else can access the unbound power and put it to wrong use.

It may just mean peace for Mandalore in the near future. With the clans finally united without any unsavory incident, they do deserve it as well.

If Grogu can create a Force shield, what more can he do?

We all had thought Grogu had spent very little time with Luke Skywalker and did not learn much about the ways of the Force. Show maker Jon Favreau cleared up on the Skytalkers podcast ahead of season 3 that it was as long as 2 years.

Having a Skywalker as your master has its own perks. On top of that, the persistent training demanded by the Mandalorian culture is surely turning Grogu into a fine-enough Jedi who can hold his own in battle.

We have seen him do a lot of tricks this season, but nothing even close to the perfectly-timed protective bubble he created using the Force to protect himself, Din Djarin, and Bo-Katan from the explosion.

Keeping in line with the many Rebels references this season, this scene was also a throwback to an emotional scene. In one of the saddest moments of Rebels, Kanan Jarrus sacrifices himself holding back the flames of an explosion in a similar manner just long enough for others to escape.

Thankfully, Grogu is alive and well. But if we look back at the Rebels arc, this may be a full circle moment for the youngling-turned-apprentice where he embraces his actual identity after struggling for a long time with it, just like Kanan did.

The combat scene with the Praetorian Guards was possibly just a glimpse of how well Din Djarin’s skills and Grogu’s powers work well together in battle. Hopefully, we get to see them go on several adventures fighting side by side in the next season.

Could Star Wars have… zombies?

This one is a bit far-fetched, but fan theories on social media have surfaced the rumor that The Mandalorian finale had a Project Blackwing Easter Egg.

In the scene where Din Djaring asks for the IG assassin’s head to help complete the rebuilding of IG-11, the Stormtrooper helmet next to it looks extremely worn out with three deep gashes across its front.

It is being speculated that this could be a nod to the secret Imperial bio-weapon experiment that Han Solo and Chewbacca discover in the 2009 novel titled Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber. Blackwing was a virus that the Empire used on the Rebels until a platoon of troopers got exposed to it by accident.

While it was written out of canon after Disney’s acquisition, the Star Wars: Commander game revealed in 2014 that Project Blacjwing was a Sith creation by mixing science with magic for immortality.

It would tie in with the rumors that Ahsoka will feature a “resurrected and unstoppable” army owned by Grand Admiral Thrawn. The helmet could be a sign that the New Republic may already have faced them and didn’t live to tell the tale.

Bonus: Taming of the Mythosaur

It is almost inevitable that the Mythosaur will eventually show up to the surface and someone has to tame the mythical beast. We assumed it would be Bo-Katan since she was the one who spotted it. But there is a very high possibility of the one to tame the Mythosaur would be Din Grogu.

In the scene where Din Djarin adopts him as his son and Grogu becomes a true Mandalorian, the little green thing peeks into the waters as the camera pans into the depths of the Living Waters and stops on the Mythosaur.

Was the scene a foreshadowing? Time will tell. It will be interesting to see the smallest Mandalorian take over the largest of the Mandalorian beasts.