There’s a surprising shortage of happy endings in Star Wars, but Star Wars: The Bad Batch manages to do it in the way I’ve always wanted for another surprisingly similar project, The Mandalorian. It seems there’s something about Star Wars found families that always gets me, as Din Djarin and Grogu’s story in The Mandalorian almost instantly earned its place as my favorite Star Wars project of all time. Clone Force 99’s story in The Bad Batch quickly hit second place two years later. These two stories are heavily intertwined, both for me and their share of Star Wars lore.

From the focus on a father, or fathers, and a Force-sensitive child who’s technically older than their guardian to the episodic adventures surrounded by an overall high-stakes narrative of Project Necromancer, The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch share enough similarities for me to understand why it’s these two projects specifically that have endeared me. Seeing The Bad Batch come to an end, then, has been an emotional time, but mostly because of its spectacular ending. It’s what I’ve always wanted for Din Djarin and Grogu, and one that season 3 has actually set up already.

The Bad Batch Earned Themselves A Lifetime Of Peace With Omega

Clone Force 99’s Happy Ending Still Came At A High Cost

A peaceful ending for the Batch is the last thing viewers were expecting, due to two commonly known facts: one, that Star Wars animation has no fear of killing off its most beloved characters, and two, that the odds stacked against Clone Force 99 were insanely high. Prior to their infiltration of Mount Tantiss, Echo was alone inside the base, Wrecker was badly injured by a dryax, and there was absolutely no backup on the way to assist the four of them. Even Crosshair was convinced something bad would happen, as he had insisted “we’re not all making it out.”

Star Wars, however, decided to give both the Batch and their audience a happy ending, as wonderfully bittersweet as it is. The series finale alone proves that Clone Force 99 earned this ending, if all those moments that had my heart racing so fast it physically hurt are any indication. Even then, the ups and downs of their story over the course of the series also prove this, too. The loss of Tech was a major blow for everyone in The Bad Batch season 2 finale, and the constant capture-and-rescue of Omega also took a heavy toll.

That’s the major reason why The Bad Batch‘s ending is so wonderfully satisfying. This peaceful ending wasn’t just handed to Clone Force 99; their hardest moments, and biggest losses, all proved to be crucial steps towards their happily ever after. Tech’s sacrifice paid off in the best way, even if he couldn’t be there to see it. Crosshair’s redemption didn’t need to be bookended by a sacrifice of his own, as he was finally freed from the trauma of his torture on Tantiss instead. This ending is more than well-deserved – just as it is for The Mandalorian‘s duo, too.

Din Djarin Has Earned The Same For Both Himself & Grogu

The Mandalorian’s Father-Son Duo Have Been Through Enough Already

Though it’s clear that the story of The Mandalorian is not yet ready to end the same way The Bad Batch was, given both its massive success and the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, Din Djarin has already earned the same peaceful ending for himself and his son. There’s a way in which The Mandalorian season 3’s ending very closely mirrors The Bad Batch‘s, in that it does finish with Din and Grogu relaxing in a home of their own after many well-fought battles. Knowing it’s not truly the end, however, makes it much less satisfying for me.

Make no mistake, I’m likely one of the most eager to get as much new Din Djarin content as possible, and the idea of seeing him and Grogu on the big screen in The Mandalorian & Grogu is indescribably thrilling. Still, there’s a part of me that deeply wishes they could have ended this chapter of their story in the same way Clone Force 99 did. Din Djarin himself has weathered many battles throughout The Mandalorian and has lost so much in favor of caring for his son, and it proves that he’s more than earned that same happy ending.

Din has had enough brushes with death to stress me out on a regular basis, and he’s done everything a good parent would do for Grogu. From sacrificing quite literally everything he had, including his religious Creed, for Grogu to letting go of Grogu when the time came, Din has certainly proven that he and Grogu deserve to have a lifetime’s worth of rest on the planet of their choice – in this case, Nevarro. Season 3 does this to a degree, but the knowledge of future adventures doesn’t complete it, though The Mandalorian still has a chance to.

The Bad Batch’s Epilogue Is What I’m Still Wanting For Din Djarin & Grogu

Din Djarin Deserves To Grow Old With Grogu Before He Goes On His Own Adventures

No doubt the biggest tearjerker of The Bad Batch finale, at least for me, is the moment when Hunter lets go of Omega and sees her off to her fight for the Rebellion. Every single moment of it is pure perfection, from Hunter reminding her that she will always be their kid to Omega keeping Tech’s goggles with her as an eternal reminder of who bought her the freedom to both fly and carve her own path. What’s most special is seeing how Hunter, and Wrecker and Crosshair, got to grow old with Omega.

This is what I’ve always wanted for Din Djarin and Grogu. The Mandalorian‘s very first episode proves that Din Djarin’s life has been anything but easy, starting with the tragic loss of his parents at the hands of the Separatist battle droids. Grogu’s life has been the same way, thanks to the utterly tragic events of Order 66—and the Empire’s insatiable desire to use his blood for their own gain. The Mandalorian‘s three seasons have shown what Din and Grogu have gone through to be free together, and that’s how their story ought to end.

Many Star Wars viewers, myself included, often expect that these kinds of stories must end in tragedy, with the caretaker laying down their life so that their child may live. The Bad Batch, however, has proven this doesn’t always have to be the case. While Tech did give his life early on to save his squad, no other deaths had to be dealt out at the end of it all. The Mandalorian‘s beloved Star Wars duo has certainly earned the same, and I hope more than anything that I’ll get to see their long life of peace together.