By George Bate & Josh Bate
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian – Season 3, Chapter 24: The Return
The Mandalorian’s third season came to an end with an episode full of action, suspense, twists, turns, and plenty of easter eggs for eagle-eyed Star Wars fans to feast on. Below are easter eggs, references, and trivia facts in The Mandalorian – Season 3, Chapter 24: The Return.
The doors that R5 opens for Din are reminiscent of the red shields at the end of The Phantom Menace that Darth Maul uses to hold Obi-Wan at bay as he fights Qui-Gon.
Gideon’s plan to clone himself is similar to a plot from Legends involving Grand Admiral Thrawn. In the Expanded Universe, Thrawn developed a clone of himself to rule the Empire in case the real Thrawn were to die. Similar to Din Djarin flooding the cloning chamber to get rid of Gideon’s clones, Luke Skywalker does the same to kill Thrawn’s clone.
Grogu saves Bo-Katan and Din Djarin by creating a shield around them and using the Force to keep flames away. Grogu does something similar in the finale of Season 1.
Grogu taking the name of his father figure Din Djarin is similar to Rey adopting the Skywalker name in The Rise of Skywalker.
Several Star Wars directors make cameo appearances at the New Republic bar at the end of the episode. Sporting the characteristic cowboy hat is Dave Filoni, while next to him is Peter Ramsay, who co-directed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Chapter 21 of The Mandalorian.
Check our review of The Mandalorian – Season 3, Chapter 24 below!