Spoilers ahead for the Season 3 finale of The Mandalorian, called “The Return.”
Another season of The Mandalorian has come to an end, and the finale this time didn’t end on a huge cliffhanger or even post-credits scene. Din Djarin and Bo-Katan did have a brush with death in a sequence that seemingly (and finally) killed Moff Gideon for good, and they too would have surely perished if not for Grogu unleashing a powerful Force move never before seen in this series. This wasn’t the first time that a character with Jedi training pulled off the move in Star Wars, however! Read on for what Grogu did and how some Star Wars fans had already seen it years before “The Return” arrived for Disney+ subscribers.
How Grogu Saved The Day In The Season 3 Finale
All hell was basically breaking loose in “The Return” after the penultimate episode’s reveal that Moff Gideon had a base on Mandalore, as well as troopers with Beskar armor. Gideon himself was decked out in enough black Beskar that he could have given Darth Vader a run for his money for looking evil and inhuman. It was Gideon vs. Din and Bo-Katan, and the odds weren’t looking great for the good guys, especially after Gideon destroyed the Darksaber. Throw in Axe Woves crashing the capital ship into the base, and it looked like the end could be nigh for all of them… if not for Grogu, anyway!
While Gideon was seemingly killed in the inferno, the child used the Force to create a little dome of safety from the flames for Din, Bo-Katan, and himself. He successfully held back the flames in a powerful Force move, and the only ones to perish in the fire seem to be Gideon and however many of his men were still alive when the ship hit the base.
It was a very cool move from Grogu, especially after he hadn’t shown off a whole lot of his Force tricks in Season 3. This also wasn’t the first time that somebody in the Star Wars universe had thought to use their Jedi skills to hold back flames to save lives, although several years have passed since it happened. So, let’s look back at when a very different character did a version of the same thing! As it turns out, you won’t find it by going back to the beginning of the Star Wars movies in order, but by turning to another TV show.
Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead for the four seasons of Star Wars Rebels. If you plan to watch Rebels and don’t want to know about one of the show’s most epic moments ahead of time, turn back now.
How Star Wars Rebels Did It First
Star Wars Rebels may have just been an animated series that aired on Disney XD back in its day, but it beat The Mandalorian to the punch by delivering a powerful scene with a Force-user holding back flames back in a Season 4 episode in 2018. Sadly, it also didn’t come to quite as happy of an ending as Grogu using his powers to save himself as well as his adoptive dad and Bo-Katan.
The Jedi who used the Force to hold back flames was none other than Kanan Jarrus, a.k.a. the padawan Caleb Dume before Order 66. After staging a desperate rescue mission with Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren to save Hera Syndulla, the heroes were all on the verge of escape… when an Imperial fired on the fuel pod their ship had landed on. Kanan realized what was about to happen with just enough time to turn around and rush toward the building explosion, using the Force to hold the flames at bay before they could kill his loved ones.
And unfortunately, there would be no escape for Kanan. While Grogu just had to hold a literal Force field above Din and Bo-Katan for long enough that the flames would subside, Kanan was on top of a fuel pod with pressure building, surrounded by other fuel pods that would blow as soon as the first one ignited them. He was losing his footing more and more by the second, and had to split his concentration to also make sure that Hera didn’t run back to him.
The end result was that while Grogu ended his powerful Force move by toppling over like the toddler that he is by this point, Kanan’s last act was to use his powers to push the ship carrying his loved ones to safety while he was consumed by the flames… which why the Ahsoka trailer could reveal live-action versions of Sabine, Hera, and Ezra are on the way while Kanan is presumably not.
Grogu and Kanan both used the Force to hold back flames, and both were successful, even though only one of them survived it. Kanan’s death was arguably the most tragic moment of Star Wars Rebels' whole run (which I’ve been in the mood to rewatch ever since the Ahsoka trailer released), but also one of the most epic, and a worthy way for any Star Wars hero to die. Take a look, if you’re ready!
Unfortunately, the end of The Mandalorian Season 3 means a shortage of live-action Star Wars movies and TV series for the foreseeable future, although new episodes of Star Wars Visions and Young Jedi Adventures will release on Disney+ on May 4. The next live-action entry will be Ahsoka, starring Rosario Dawson and arriving on the Disney streamer in August. If you need some viewing options set elsewhere than the galaxy far, far away during the wait for the next Star Wars show, check out our 2023 TV premiere schedule!
