WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale
If saving the Star Wars franchise with one episode at a time was not enough, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni knocked the season finale out of the Outer Rim this time with similar faces returning from earlier episodes and a major ally to rescue Grogu Baby Yoda from Moff Gideon. Directed by Peyton Reed (Ant-Man), Chapter 16: The Rescue had very high stakes at play due to multiple reasons. From saving Baby Yoda to getting back the Darksaber from Moff Gideon, The Mandalorian season 2 finale did really put everything in perspective, along with a few unsolved questions remaining for the third season and all the other assorted Star Wars shows announced on Disney’s Investor Day.
As the episode began, the rag-tag Fellowship of Baby Yoda hijacked an Imperial Shuttle to capture Dr. Pershing. Unwilling to give up so easily, an Imperial soldier tried his best to get under Cara Dune’s skin by taunting her about the destruction of Alderaan and how millions perished to serve the Empire’s greater purpose. Unsurprisingly, he met swift death at the hands of the former shock trooper. But interestingly, Dr. Pershing quite easily gave up all the details of Moff Gideon’s light cruiser, including the details about the Dark Troopers, and the place where Baby Yoda is being kept. And that’s where The Rescue reached full throttle as Mando and his team went to gather a few more allies.
The Return of Bo-Katan Kryze
Related: The Mandalorian: Why Boba Fett Made His Armor Even Better Than Empire Strikes Back
Having made her first appearance in The Heiress, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks) once again returned to the show as Mando and Boba Fett reached out for their support in rescuing Baby Yoda. However, the meeting soon took an ugly turn as the palpable tension between Boba Fett and Bo-Katan culminated into a provocation by Koska Reeves for a duel. After a brief skirmish, the fight was stopped by Bo-Katan as she agreed to lend her support, but in return for the Darksaber from Moff Gideon.
The Invasion Begins
Using the captured Imperial Shuttle as bait, Bo-Katan, Koska Reeves, Cara Dune, Fennec Shand, and Mando ask for a landing place in Moff Gideon’s cruiser with Boba Fett tasked to attack them from his Slave I to make the operation look fully legitimate. After gaining access to the cockpit on the cruiser, Bo-Katan and the rest of the fearsome ladies indulge in an unholy amount of massacre which is absolutely criminal. After finishing scores of Stormtroopers and Imperial soldiers, the team creates a diversion while Mando sneaks out alone to disarm the Dark Troopers and rescue Baby Yoda.
Enter, Dark Troopers
Earlier, Dr. Pershing had handed a lock key to prevent the Dark Troopers from activating. However, Mando was a tad bit late as the Troopers were activated just moments before. Nonetheless, Mando was able to lock all but one and send them out of the airlock. The one remaining Dark Trooper was too much for Mando to handle, and if not for his Beskar armor, Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin would have faced a similar fate to his earlier character from Game of Thrones, Oberyn Martell. Impervious to Mando’s flamethrower and whistling birds, the Trooper was on the verge of decimating Mando before getting impaled by the spear made of pure Beskar. Phew!
Beskar vs Darksaber
After destroying the lone Trooper, Mando finally found Moff Gideon with the Darksaber hanging perilously above Baby Yoda’s body. After some initial conversation which seemed too good to be true, Gideon attacked Mando with the Darksaber. After a few seconds of defensive maneuvers, Mando quickly took out his Beskar spear to match Gideon’s prowess with the Darksaber. But like they say, it doesn’t matter how good your weapon is, it depends on how good you are with the weapon. As Mando bested Gideon, a new problem arose: the one who owns the Darksaber sits on the throne of Mandalore.
Tensions Grow Between Bo-Katan and Mando
As Mando decided to spare Gideon’s life, he brought him alive to Bo-Katan (as promised) along with the Darksaber. But the situation soon became quite tense as Gideon explained that Bo-Katan must defeat Mando in a duel to wield the Darksaber, and become the ruler of Mandalore. But before they could reach an agreement, the remaining Dark Troopers who were shot to space returned to the cruiser, pushing everyone to their edge. But soon after, a lone X-Wing arrived on the cruiser to balance the overwhelming odds.
Behold, Luke Skywalker!
The Child had earlier tried to reach out to any surviving Jedi on the planet of Tython in The Tragedy. His prayers were answered as a Jedi Master arrived in a similar fashion to that of Darth Vader in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as he laid waste to dozens of Rebel soldiers. But this time, it was for the good fight as the unknown Jedi moved like a hot knife across the butter as he destroyed all the remaining Dark Troopers effortlessly. Having just finished his training and a newly appointed Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker arrived to answer the Child’s call. Despite a wobbly CGI to de-age Mark Hamill, the scene definitely left most Star Wars fans screaming.
Farewell, Grogu!
Related: Mandalorian Theory: Grogu is Yoda’s Abandoned Child
In The Jedi, the Child was hesitant to be trained by Ahsoka. But surprisingly, this time the Child took an instant liking for Luke. As Luke explained to Mando that the Child is asking for his permission to train under the Jedi, the scene was beautifully laid out which most definitely left us misty-eyed. As Mando bid farewell to Grogu, he also removed his helmet and let the Child touch his face, as a sign of love. And that, is a sign of flawless character development.
The Book of Boba Fett
Following the style of the MCU, The Rescue also had a post-credit scene which showed Boba Fett and Fennec Shand visit Tatooine to kill Bib Fortuna at Jabba the Hutt’s palace and take the throne for themselves. Titled The Book of Boba Fett, the mini-series will be released next December.
What the movies failed to achieve, The Mandalorian triumphed with superior storytelling and re-visiting some fan-favorite characters all in a single season. As Mando and the Child are separated, for now, it will be exciting to see what lies ahead in the third season of The Mandalorian. The fate of the Child now solely lies on his choices, as training under Luke awaits a dark future. But with Favreau and Filoni on board, the sky is the limit for the future of Star Wars.
