This article turned out unintentionally long, so I split it into two parts.

Part 1 is available here.

In part 1, I discussed the problems that The Mandalorian has had since season 2 ended. I also had a few suggestions about what should have happened in season 3 or in a Mandalorians (plural) successor show.

But, increasingly, I think they should have ended with two seasons.

I have two reasons for this. First, seasons 1 and 2 told a complete story. Second, that story was the perfect Star Wars epilogue.

Din Djarin and Grogu

The first two seasons of The Mandalorian were about the relationship between the titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin, and Baby Yoda/Grogu.

Din Drjarin evolved from a reluctant protector who had been tasked with returning Grogu to his people – the Jedi – to a father figure who was unable to part with Grogu.

It was fantastic and perfectly executed. It made the final completion of his mission, when he delivered Grogu to Luke Skywalker, into a deeply emotional and poignant moment.

And that was it. The story was over. It was a fantastic ending that would surely be remembered as one of the greatest Star Wars moments. They immediately undid it.

In the Book of Boba Fett, Grogu returns, and in season 3, it’s like nothing happened. I touched briefly on this in part 1, but it deserves more attention.

Jon Favreau has compared it to the ending of Paper Moon. A fantastic film in which a conman reluctantly helps a kid reach their last living family members during the Great Depression. Over the course of the film, as they travel across America, a parent-child connection develops and, in the end, the kid chooses to stay with them.

I don’t think the comparison works. On the surface, the Mandalorian did follow a similar trajectory. But it’s not the same.

Most obviously, in Paper Moon, there isn’t a Warlord determined to capture and experiment on the kid. It’s made clear during The Mandalorian that only the Jedi, and the training they offer (which it’s stated would take decades), can ensure Grogu’s safety.

Moreover, a big part of Grogu’s story involves embracing his Jedi nature and past. At the start, he’s traumatised and afraid. He can use the force, but he’s not eager to embrace it. It’s only through his growing connection to Din Djarin that he begins to feel safe again and embraces his abilities. That’s why, in the end, he feels safe going with Luke.

I’m convinced this was the original intention. If they wanted to go the Paper Moon route, they wouldn’t have had Grogu make the decision to rejoin Din Djarin in an entirely different show that was released a year later. It’s pretty obvious that studio interference forced them to bring back Baby Yoda for marketing reasons.

Nevertheless, they shouldn’t have kept going. The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 told a complete story.

There is a certain novelty in seeing what happens after a story ends, but it’s never a good idea. There’s nothing left to see. Sure enough, Din Djarin and Grogu hardly do anything in season 3.

Granted, there were a lot of plot points set up during season 2. Din Djarin winning the Darksaber from Moff Gideon was clearly meant to sow the seeds for season 3 (not that they did anything with it). They also spent a lot of time setting up the spin-offs.

In a hypothetical alternative timeline, they either shouldn’t include those set-ups or should try to resolve them during season 2.

The Star Wars Story is Over

I do have another reason for thinking The Mandalorian should have ended after season 2. This one is less about the Mandalorian itself and more about the overall story of Star Wars.

It’s not just the story of the Mandalorian that’s over. I’m generally of the opinion, and I may write more about this in the future, that a big problem Star Wars has is that the overall story has finished.

Right from the start of the current Star Wars era, with The Force Awakens in 2015, they’ve had problems.

There have been good moments: Rogue One was alright. But there have been more problems than successes. The sequel trilogy turned into a disaster, and whilst the TV shows were initially successful (and Andor continues to be amazing), they’ve generally declined.

There are several reasons you could cite for this: they did too much too quickly, they didn’t have a plan, they kept hiring inexperienced creators. And so on.

But the root cause of their problems is simple: the story ended.

Return of the Jedi had a broadly definitive conclusion. The overarching main character, Anakin, was redeemed; Luke becomes a Jedi and commits to restarting the Order; the Empire is defeated, and the overarching villain, Palpatine, is dead.

A lot can be said about what constitutes the ‘story’ of Star Wars and where, if anywhere, it should have gone, but I won’t go into that.

For now, I’ll just say the Star Wars sequels struggled because there wasn’t any more story to tell, and they couldn’t think of a reason for picking the story back up again (besides helping Disney make its money back).

As with The Mandalorian, there is, again, some novelty to continuing; what happened to your favourite characters? But again, it’s not a good idea. The novelty will wear off, and then you’re stuck meandering and losing goodwill (the MCU after Endgame is another example).

All that said, Return of the Jedi did leave a small bit of story untold.

There wasn’t enough for a trilogy of films set thirty years later. But there’s an argument to be made that the original Star Wars trilogy (especially after its scope was expanded by the prequels) needed an epilogue.

The Perfect Epilogue

The Galaxy is in a slightly uncertain state after Return of the Jedi.

Luke might be a Jedi, but he definitely has more to learn. How is he going to rebuild the Jedi Order?

Moreover, the Imperial government’s collapse will surely plunge the Galaxy into lawless chaos, which will allow the imperial military to regroup and retaliate.

We can guess what would happen: the rebellion forms the New Republic, fills the power vacuum and restores democracy. But we’ve never actually seen that (except in the comics and books).

I think that’s part of why the Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 were so fantastic. Not only did they tell a complete story about Din Djarin and Grogu, they also acted as the epilogue that Star Wars kind of needed.

At the start of season 1, the galaxy is in the exact condition you would expect. It’s chaos with no governmental authority. Greef Karga, the independent ruler of Nevarro, effectively rules as a mob boss. He depends on bounty hunters and syndicates.

Crime, piracy and raiding are rampant. The show opens with threats of organ harvesting. Meanwhile, Imperial Warlords and officers are taking advantage of the situation to reassert their authority.

Over the course of seasons 1 and 2, the Galaxy’s problems are gradually resolved. This is sometimes due to Din Djarin’s involvement, and sometimes in the background. But there is an obvious progression throughout the first two seasons that shows the return of democratic authority.

Din Djarin spends most of his time fighting raiders and bounty hunters; towns and villages are organising to defend themselves from gangs and syndicates; and, halfway through season 1, the New Republic Rangers arrive to fight the criminal syndicates.

The Empire gets driven off Nevarro, which then embraces New Republic law (with Cara Dune becoming a New Republic Marshal). And at the end of season 2, the main imperial villain just straight up gets arrested by the New Republic government.

Democratic rule has returned and is actively suppressing the crime syndicates and Imperial warlords.

On top of all of that, season 2 ended with the formation of the New Jedi Order. Luke Skywalker arrives as a fully realised Jedi, effortlessly carving his way through the Empire’s droids (this is why a TV show focused on Luke probably wouldn’t work; he’s too powerful. A glimpse is enough).

Luke then takes on Grogu on as his first apprentice, passing on what he’s learnt and demonstrating that the Jedi are back for real.

And they’re not the overwhelmed and compromised Jedi Order of the prequel era either. They’re the unstoppable Jedi of legend, who the Imperial Warlords don’t stand a chance against. Luke has made good on his promise to Yoda.

(I also like that each part of the main Star Wars story has a different character focus: the Prequel Trilogy focuses on Anakin, the Original Trilogy on Luke, the Epilogue on Din and Grogu and so on.)

It was the perfect epilogue.

Then season 3 came out and undid all that.

Final Thought

At the time, I wanted a third season, and there are things that could have been done to make it better (discussed in part 1).

But the more I think about it, the more I realise the Mandalorian should have ended after its first two seasons. It told a concise story and acted as the perfect epilogue to George Lucas’ Star Wars.

I’m not entirely opposed to the idea that it could have a follow-up show. But for the most part, you should leave people wanting more, not keep going until they get bored (Disney’s financial need for streaming subscriptions probably disagrees with me).

Seasons 1 and 2, moreover, make a good epilogue in part because they told a complete story. Fiction, to my mind, shouldn’t needlessly drag out any story or ending. It definitely shouldn’t drag out the epilogue.

That said, I will probably try to outline a Mandalorians (plural) show at some point.

-Dexter