Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3 finale
Poor Giancarlo Esposito can’t catch a break, it seems. The talented actor, widely known for his work with Spike Lee and for playing the innocuous-seeming psychopathic drug lord Gus Fring in Breaking Bad, has been wowing audiences as the evil warlord Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, but it appears that his character met a fiery death in an explosive end to the season.
A few fans of the Star Wars show were keen to point out that this wasn’t the first time a villain played by Esposito ended up in a situation like this.
The epic season finale began with Bo-Katan leading her forces away from Gideon’s troopers, with the good guys seemingly on the ropes. At the same time, Grogu was saving Din from those who’d captured him, and the pair decided it was now or never to take out Gideon, leading to a final showdown — but not before Din killed a bunch of Gideon’s clones.
Grogu and Din ultimately engage Gideon in a fight that’s one of the tensest in the series. After sweeping Din aside with ease, the evil warlord then faces a resurgent Bo-Katan, but manages to overpower her too. Just as he’s about to deliver a killing blow, Din arrives, and Axe crashes his ship into the Imperial Base to destroy it. While Gideon is caught up in the ensuing massive explosion and seemingly incinerated, Grogu uses the Force to save Din, Bo-Katan, and himself.
Gus’s death in Breaking Bad was one of the most shocking scenes throughout a series that constantly pushed the boundaries. And while there are certain similarities between the deaths of the two characters played by Esposito, there’s no doubt that his end in the AMC series was a lot more gruesomely depicted.
With that all said, many viewers have pointed out that, unlike with Gus, we didn’t see Gideon’s body actually burn up in the big explosion. And, when it comes down to it, when there’s no body, viewers will have to assume that the death is unconfirmed, which means we might just be seeing Esposito return in the near future.