So The Madalorian finale really delivered on action, and it was fun and exciting, and I loved the big reveal/cameo in the episode: it’s something I’ve wanted to see for decades.

But after digesting the episode, I found it a little disappointing as far as a finale goes.

Avoiding spoilers since the discourse is still fresh and I don’t know how these tweets will show up on people’s timelines, but it was disappointing as a finale because there aren’t really any questions or conflicts moving forward that are really compelling.

At the end of S1, there was a driving force behind finding out what would happen with Mando and LBY, plus the added tension of Moff Gideon surviving, with the Darksaber reveal thrown in for Star Wars die-hards. Compelling stuff, because there were a lot of questions to ask.

But after this finale, there really isn’t anything driving my curiosity other than, “What happens next?” There are a few questions to ask, but none that could drive conflict for a whole season: certainly not any kind of compelling conflict.

If this was a series finale, I’d actually be more ok with that - it actually feels like it’s told a full story. But right now I’m a little let down because the only thing compelling me to come back is that I’m a Star Wars fan, and this is a well made Star Wars show.

The rest of the season has been top-notch: tension was ratcheted up throughout each episode, we had genuinely fun moments, and it took steps into the larger Star Wars universe. There were well-written and well-shot episodes that kept me invested with great stakes and pacing.

The finale fell a little flat for me because the things that really drove that compelling storytelling throughout the season were pulled out from under it, and the show was left to stand on a cameo. A really great, badass cameo; but a cameo doesn’t make a great story.

I’m not maligning the show for doing what it did - I really enjoyed it. But Star Wars more so than anything else can fall into the trap of referencing itself and believing that reference itself is payoff.

I think the big mistake was with the post-credit stinger; it could have been used, like the previous season’s, to set up or tease a conflict for next season, and I’d be much more invested. But we’re left without anything driving our characters forward, and then we get an ad.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me and that’s fine, but I just get concerned when tie-ins and meta references start to be used as replacements for genuine growth or conflict. That’s how we ended up with The Rise of Skywalker.

Again: I loved the finale. It was so much fun to watch. I just fear that when we abandon good storytelling for cool moments, we get hollow shows and movies.