The Mandalorian season 4 has a shot at a bold new direction

It lacked structure, it lacked the ambition of the first two seasons, it lacked accessibility for the more casual viewers, and it even lacked likeable characters beyond Grogu babbling away and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) being a bit of a badass. I'm sorry, I can't and won't care about Paz Viszla or his son. Let the dinosaur bird have him for all I care.

But by the time we got to episode 7 and 8, just before I lost all hope, things started to pick up and it felt like a major return to form. And, although many have branded the finale disappointing and too safe, at least it has the potential to set up a bold new future for the show.

Hear me out. I love watching Grogu's escapades and adventures with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). It's what made me fall in love with the show and what made the series so accessible to die-hard Star Wars fans and casual viewers alike.

Season 3 was where we lost that a little, but it didn't have to be the end of the world for the show. In fact, episode 3, which took the focus fully away from Grogu and Djarin to instead tell the story of Dr Pershing and Elia Kane, was widely praised for being a refreshing new direction. It caught up with interesting characters and progressed the story in a sinister new way.

The problem was, that didn't really happen again. When the focus was taken away from Din and Grogu again, it was for tales that just weren't that interesting, exciting or, in some cases, even relevant to the plot (do I need to mention Ragnar and the bird dinosaur again?).

While some were expecting the season 3 finale to kill off Din or Bo-Katan, or to bring in some arbitrary fan service in an attempt to replicate the shock ending to season 2, the only death we got was (presumably) Moff Gideon's. And the only shock we had was the happy ending. Really, the final scenes felt like they were closing out Din and Grogu's main story.

So what if they were? Would that be such a terrible thing?

We know that season 4 has already been written, so there's no chance the story is actually ending there. But it does leave the opportunity for a new story to be told, with Din and Grogu popping in and out during their adventures for the New Republic. What that new story could be remains to be seen. The obvious way forward would be to focus more on Bo-Katan's mission to re-build Mandalore, and her uniting of the two clans – but do enough people care? The reactions to season 3 would suggest not.

Another option would be to bring in an entirely new character or pair of characters to focus on. That seems unlikely, given Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni's recent desire to use The Mandalorian season 3 to set up Ahsoka, and to bring in characters from and references to Clone Wars and Rebels that would fly over many a casual viewer's head. But using Din and Grogu's adventures to tell a new story could be a way to level the playing field again between the casual viewer and the die-hard fan.

Because wasn't The Mandalorian at its best when it was its most accessible to everyone? Before Favreau and co decided major plot points should happen in another show and advised those who didn't catch it to watch YouTube recaps.

Most of all though, it would allow the show the evolution it so badly needs. After three seasons and 24 episodes, with no end in sight, it's easy to understand why some people are just a little bit bored of the premise. It could very well have been why episode 3 was so well-received – it might not have been anything too groundbreaking, but at least it was new.

Favreau hasn't really given us any clues about season 4, aside from the fact it's been written because he needs to know where the series as a whole is going (even if he doesn't have an end in mind just yet). My instinct is that it'll be much of the same, and that, sadly, interest in the show will continue to die out, especially come the release of Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew.

But maybe we'll be surprised with something new – Favreau and co have definitely surprised us in the past. As long as they keep Paz Viszla's son out of it. We've seen enough of him to last us a lifetime.

The Mandalorian seasons 1 to 3 are available to stream on Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus now for £7.99 per month or £79.90 for a full year.

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