Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Season 3 of The Mandalorian.With a single episode, The Mandalorian was able to deliver on its promise of bringing us everything we could ever want in a singular Star Wars episode. A week removed from a questionable direction that saw cameos from Jack Black and Lizzo, the Disney+ flagship series knocked Chapter 23, “The Spies,” out of the park on the heels of Star Wars Celebration. There were many impactful moments in this 50-minute episode, but the one that drew the most surprise was the one we would never have seen coming in Season 1. That's not because of the result, but because of the emotional impact that was felt for a character whom we have just only begun to turn around on. That person, of course, is Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher), who saw his character arc come to a close in a way that we could never have seen coming. Stoic and cold are two words that could describe this character, but his Season 3 trajectory saw him finally give us hope, only for it to be taken in an emotional, yet perfect arc.
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The Stakes Needed To Be Higher in 'The Mandalorian'
The stakes can sometimes feel minute when it comes to Star Wars, particularly with a show like The Mandalorian. The episodic “mission of the day” premise strings together a bunch of smaller events where our heroes mostly escape unscathed. With Grand Admiral Thrawn set to be the big bad of the upcoming Ahsoka series—and possibly even the main antagonist of the ever-expanding Filoni-verse as a whole—it's about time the shows started adding some more weight to these seasons. The one Star Wars series that did this (and the one that isn’t connected to this universe) was Andor. Of course, that’s a series that’s built on sacrificing for the cause as it leads up to the events seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Naturally, stakes were engrained in Andor’s fibers which made each decision feel important.
Until Chapter 23, The Mandalorian really never felt that weightiness. Then Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) made his return, the Shadow Council’s plans were revealed, and The Mandalorian now feels like something of the utmost importance again. We see this unfold during the climax of this episode as we return to Mandalore and an ambush takes place with Gideon’s forces overrunning Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and the rest of this ragtag collection of remaining Mandalorians. It was evident things were looking grim for the good guys, which made it the perfect opportunity for The Mandalorian to show us what this next chapter will look like moving forward.
'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Showed Us a Different Side of Paz Vizsla
Paz Vizsla is a character who has been around The Mandalorian since the early parts of Season 1. He was even in The Book of Boba Fett, as well. Throughout his journey, he’s been the right-hand man to The Armorer (Emily Swallow) and someone who lives and dies by the Creed. Not much was really made of this character prior to Season 3. We see him challenge Din for the Darksaber in The Book of Boba Fett (and lose) and pretty much play contrarian to Din throughout.
Then came Season 3 when the shift began. Perhaps we could have foreseen his fate because of how much emphasis The Mandalorian suddenly placed on him. Season 3 allowed Paz Vizsla to express vulnerability. We see him take initiative, teaming up with Bo-Katan and Din to rescue his son Ragnar (Wesley Kimmel) after he was taken by a raptor in Chapter 20, “The Foundling.” We also see Ragnar share similarities to his father as he is the one who duels with Grogu, again tapping into that contrarian card. Nonetheless, Paz Vizsla shows us a different side of himself that we have never seen before: that of a father figure. Due to how Bo-Katan and Din helped aid in his rescue, we also see Paz express his gratitude to them when he rallies the troops to back them up and defend Nevarro in Chapter 21, “The Pirate.” All of this character development over the course of Season 3 sets up the powerful moment that we see play out for Paz in Chapter 23.
Paz Vizsla's Tragic Ending Mirrors His Beginning
When we first meet Paz in Season 1, Chapter 3, “The Sin,” we see him and the other Mandalorians protecting Din and Grogu on Nevarro as Greef (Carl Weathers) and his bounty hunters are on the attack. After coming in as backup, he urges Din to go ahead and escape danger: “Get out of here! We’ll hold them off!” This line is particularly poignant in hindsight because we get a similar remark made in Chapter 23, which proves to be his final gesture in The Mandalorian.
Realizing his side was overmatched and seeing Bo-Katan carving out an escape hatch, Paz Vizsla makes the ultimate sacrifice. Similar to the emotional Hodor moment in Game of Thrones, it leans into the sacrifice trope. Just as Game of Thrones expanded on Hodor’s backstory to set that emotional moment up, The Mandalorian did something similar with Paz this season — even giving us his heir was surely part of the plan to make sure that we felt something in his tragic final moments. Bo-Katan does not approve of his decision (“Come on! We’re not leaving you behind!"), but it’s no use as Paz is set in his ways as he urges her, “Go! There are too many. This is the Way.” What unfolds after is something we knew was coming with that line delivery. Paz Vizsla went down with an incredible fight as he held to his word and took down a host of Moff Gideon’s troopers. We get a fleeting moment where all is quiet and possibly safe before three Praetorian Guards enter the frame and deliver a brutal death to Paz Vizsla.
Seeing Paz Vizsla meet his maker was exactly what The Mandalorian needed to show us the strength of the opposition and how the stakes are being raised this season. Add to that that Din Djarin was captured by Moff Gideon, and The Mandalorian feels like it's heading in an unprecedented direction. Season 3 has had its missteps, but ultimately, the writing of this season, particularly with Paz Vizsla, paid off in a big way in this moment.
The Mandalorian Season 3 finale will air next Wednesday on Disney Plus.
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