One of the staple characters of The Mandalorian was killed in "Chapter 23," which could bring major implications for the future of the series.
The Mandalorian has introduced many new characters into the world of Star Wars since its premiere in 2019, such as the Armorer, Paz Vizsla, and Greef Karga.
Throughout nearly all of the first three seasons, there have really only been two major character deaths to leave fans heartbroken at the end of an episode - Nick Nolte's Kuiil and Taika Waititi's IG-11.
However, "Chapter 23" proved that the stakes are now higher than ever in the Disney+ series, and not even major characters are safe at this point in the story.
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for "Chapter 23" of The Mandalorian.
The Death of Paz Vizsla
In the final moments of "Chapter 23" of The Mandalorian, Din Djarin, Bo-Katan Kryze, and Paz Vizsla led a group of Mandalorians as they chased down Imperial troopers in Beskar armor.
However, the Imperials were actually trapping the Mandalorians for Moff Gideon, who made his appearance a few seconds later sporting Beskar armor and a Mandalorian-style black and red helmet.
Gideon ultimately touched down as Din was cut off from the rest of the group and overwhelmed by the Imperials. He was taken away by Gideon, leaving Bo-Katan, Paz, and the rest of the group to fend for themselves.
Seeing no other way out, Bo-Katan used the Darksaber to cut a hole through one of the doors that had trapped them. All of the Mandalorians escaped but only because Paz Vizsla made the ultimate sacrifice of sealing the door shut behind him and fighting the Imperials single-handedly as his comrades ran for their lives.
Paz was actually able to fend off all of the Imperial troops, utilizing his heavy artillery and Beskar armor.
Just when it looked like Paz was going to escape, Joseph Shirley's musical score thunderously boomed and marked the arrival of three Praetorian Guards.
The guards, which sported red armor just as they did in The Last Jedi, effortlessly killed Paz with their energy weapons, bringing an end to the character's tenure in The Mandalorian.
How Will Paz Vizsla's Death Affect The Mandalorian's Future?
First of all, the Vizsla name holds quite a bit of importance not only in Mandalorian culture but in Jedi culture as well.
As Paz Vizsla mentioned earlier in Season 3, his ancestor, Tarre Vizsla, was the first Mandalorian Jedi and actually created the Darksaber.
On the surface, it may seem as though one of the most important Mandalorian families is no more. However, Season 3 of The Mandalorian has spent a decent amount of time with Wesley Kimmel's Ragnar, the child that was revealed to be Paz's son.
Paz revealed that he was a foundling, meaning that he was adopted by Paz, so he technically isn't a Vizsla by blood but still carries the Vizsla clan name, which means more to Mandalorians than a blood relationship does.
As Ragnar gets older, he will undoubtedly want to carry on the legacy of both Paz and the Vizsla clan. Since the character has been featured multiple times throughout the season, he has already been set up to become a major character moving forward.
However, he is still only a child, but that doesn't mean that he can't play an important role at a later date.
As Jon Favreau stated in the past, there is still a decent amount of time between Season 3 of The Mandalorian and The Force Awakens (roughly 23-25 years), so Ragnar could definitely be included in future stories about the Mandalorians.
The rest of the current Mandalorians will also be affected by Paz's death in a major way moving forward, as he proved in multiple episodes of the show to be a more than formidable soldier and ally.
At the end of the day, Paz Vizsla went out in the most honorable way possible in the eyes of the Mandalorians. If they make it out of Moff Gideon's grasp, they will almost definitely honor him in a major way.
"Chapter 23" of The Mandalorian is available to stream on Disney+.
