It's true that much of The Mandalorian season 3 is unorthodox compared to its first two seasons, but one storyline in particular has always stood out for how far-removed it seemed from the season's overall plot - and it still hasn't been finished. One of the problems going into The Mandalorian season 3 was that one of its original spin-off TV shows, Rangers of the New Republic, never came to be. As a result, this season picked up some of its storylines.

This included some extra time spent with Captain Carson Teva and the Adelphi Rangers, though most prominently featured an episode that focused almost entirely on Doctor Penn Pershing, who was first introduced in The Mandalorian season 1. We learned about the New Republic Amnesty Program, which gave former Imperial officials a second chance. This is something both Pershing and Moff Gideon's double agent, Elia Kane, were a part of - but their story was never finished.

Doctor Pershing's Storyline Is Clearly Crucial To Star Wars' Future

His Research Is Vital To Project Necromancer

If nearly an entire episode of The Mandalorian was dedicated to Pershing's story rather than Din Djarin's, then it has to be crucial to the future of Star Wars. Otherwise, it's likely that the franchise would have folded in the details of the story elsewhere, perhaps even just mentioning it in some dialogue - similarly to how they acknowledge things like Cara Dune's absence in season 3. This, however, wasn't the case; we were meant to see what was happening to Pershing.

This was almost certainly meant to be an episode of Rangers of the New Republic, the show that both The Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka season 1 had to compensate for in their own ways, and I can understand why Star Wars felt that it absolutely had to be shown. Unfortunately, however, we have yet to reap the benefits of this storyline, even after Ahsoka season 1. As the scale of The Mandalorian's story reaches the big screen, it seems even harder for this specific story thread to be completed.

Star Wars Doesn't Have Any Projects Where This Could Easily Pay Off

Ahsoka Season 2 & The Mandalorian Movie Have Too Much To Cover

Pershing's story in The Mandalorian season 3 left off on a cliffhanger of Elia Kane either killing Pershing or wiping his short-term memory, at least to the point where his scientific knowledge remained, but his newfound loyalty to the New Republic didn't. We, however, don't know this for certain, because the last we see of Pershing in The Mandalorian is him in the process of being mind flayed. Moff Gideon simply tells the Imperial Shadow Council that Pershing's research "is lost. For now, at least."

If I had to guess, then the Pershing storyline itself might have had an intended ending in Rangers of the New Republic, but that project is lost for good now.

It's unclear if Gideon is referring to their attempts to subdue Pershing to their cause again, or if he's referring to his own secret clones, which could help them unlock the necessary research again. Either way, this story's completion would clearly be a rather large undertaking for any future Star Wars project, and it's hard to see which one could do it. Ahsoka season 2 has enough to focus on in its own right, with Grand iral Thrawn's return and Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren being trapped on an extragalactic planet.

Even the The Mandalorian season 4, there isn't much wiggle room for anything that isn't directly focused on Din Djarin and Grogu.

When (& How) Could Star Wars Finish This Storyline?

Either Folding It In Or Creating A New Project

Between Ahsoka season 2 and The Mandalorian and Grogu, I think it's more likely that the former will continue this storyline, as jam-packed as its own story is at the moment. There is, of course, the possibility that Star Wars could announce a new TV show in the "Mandoverse" that continues this story as well - especially with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy recently confirming that new projects are in development in this era. These are certainly the best options.

Either way, this is clearly a story that has to be completed, preferably on screen. It will no doubt be Pershing's expertise that ultimately leads to Palpatine's successful cloning endeavor in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and this cloning scientist is a key part of making that happen. This storyline from The Mandalorian will have to one day see its completion, and I'm curious to see how Star Wars brings all the pieces together.