Now that it is open news with the spoiler ban lifted, it is safe to say it out loud. Holy hell they brought back Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian Season 2. None of us actually saw it coming. Many predicted something like this might happen. But none of us actually believed Disney would go ahead with this. Disney+ wrapped up the second season of The Mandalorian in the best way imaginable. Fans couldn’t have asked for anything better. But the way Luke Skywalker made his entry draws heavy parallels to Darth Vader‘s entry in Rogue One.
And this begs the question – is Luke Skywalker becoming his father? Or are we hallucinating? Let’s put on our thinking caps and find out.
The Mandalorian – Why The Jedi Are A Big Deal?
The Mandalorian is set within the larger Star Wars timeline but it has always relented from using mainstream characters. The Jedi and the Sith are mostly absent. The Star wars universe’s most recognizable characters remain amiss. A lightsaber does not even appear until the final scene in The Mandalorian Season 1. We know that Grogu has Force powers but the Jedi are not explicitly mentioned too much in Season 1. That is on top of the fact that Grogu’s Force Powers were pretty well-known from early phases of The Mandalorian. That is exactly why people like Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker coming into the fold in The Mandalorian Season 2 is a huge deal.
This brings us to our next topic of discussion – the way Luke Skywalker made his entry in the Season 2 finale was not a coincidence. It might indicate some massive foreshadowing we all missed.
Luke Might Be Now Just As Terrifying As His Father
In The Mandalorian Season 2 Chapter 16: The Rescue, Din Djarin and his allies are trapped in the Imperial Ship’s bridge. The Dark Troopers are almost about to break through the sealed doors. In the nick of time, Luke Skywalker arrives in an X-Wing. The Dark Troopers are all but annihilated as Luke makes his way to the Bridge. The way his lightsaber swings with brutal precision and absolute proficiency in the face of the terrifying Dark Troopers reminds us of another iconic scene. In Rogue One’s hallway scene, Darth Vader rips through the enemy just like Luke did. The scenes from Rogue One and The Mandalorian Season 2 are similar to an uncanny level of visual symmetry.
We believe it says something. Luke’s ruthless extermination of the Dark Troopers and the uniformity of the scenes with Darth Vader’s hallway scene in Rogue One is way too big to ignore.
Why Is It So?
Whether a Sith or a Jedi, no Dark Trooper stands a chance against the might of the Force. Everybody knew that. Even Luke. But he went to extreme extents to show just how powerful and mighty an adversary he is. The Rescue scene as well as the Rogue One Hallway scene both evoke terror and awe. In Rogue One, Darth Vader evoked respect through fear. Watching him slice through the enemy would slightly make us bend our knees in terror.
The Luke Skywalker scene scores well in fear-mongering too. The eerie music and the way Luke avoided his face being shown in the cameras was not a co-incidence. The assault on the Dark Troopers was so surgical and frightening that Moff Gideon tried killing Baby Yoda and himself rather than face this new terrifying foe. We knew the hooded figure is a good guy. But for Luke’s enemies, that was not the case. The Hood, for Moff Gideon, was an enemy worse than death. Luke’s very presence stroke fear in the hearts of his enemies, just like his father’s did.
What Does This Mean For Luke Skywalker’s Future?
If you saw the way Luke Skywalker dispatched the last dark trooper, you know what we mean. He used the Force to literally crush the droid into pieces. This act signifies a level of rage and cruelty not acceptable for a Jedi. Case in point, this is the point in the Star Wars timeline where Luke Skywalker is arguably at his strongest. He has just saved the Galaxy and is so proud he thinks he is ready to restart a New Jedi order under his command. That is before his attempts meet a pitiful end at the hands of Kylo Ren. Luke Skywalker’s aggression and rage seem just like Anakin Skywalker’s, when the latter was in his absolute prime. And like Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker is also destined to fall from grace and have a reality check.
We won’t say Luke Skywalker is going to become another Darth Vader. But the parallels between The Mandalorian Season 2 scene and the Rogue One Hallway scene are uncanny. What it ultimately signifies that even in a Galaxy far, far away, where aliens of all kinds and terrifying technological marvels exist, Force Users, be it the Sith or the Jedi, are still the most terrifying entities known to anyone.
