The Mandalorian: Season 2 Finale Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out This review contains spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 2, episode 8, aka the season finale, "Chapter 16 - The Rescue." Check out where we left off with The Mandalorian Season 2, episode 7 review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Can we all agree that this episode is an 11 out of 10? Our scoring system doesn't technically allow it, but I feel confident saying that "The Rescue" is the most momentous episode of The Mandalorian yet - both for how it connects to the larger Star Wars universe and for the seismic shift it creates in Din Djarin and Grogu's stories. What will The Mandalorian even look like as a series from this point on? Are we really going to be bereft of Baby Yoda, who is now training to be a Jedi with Luke Skywalker himself? (Here's hoping he graduates long before that grumpy Ben Solo shows up!) [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=8910267b-7dfd-4616-9d35-77a28398015a"] In many ways, the events of the Season 2 finale open up the scope of the series, allowing for storytelling possibilities we might never have anticipated, since the show has certainly had to contort itself narratively to explain why Mando would leave Grogu with a stranger or hide him somewhere during his most dangerous missions, and now he won't have to. On the other hand... what is the show if not a "Lone Wolf and Cub" story of Mando and Grogu and their adorable dynamic? To me, the best season finales are always those that propel a show in unexpected directions and don't have a predictable path laid out, so it's honestly thrilling to be faced with the prospect that The Mandalorian Season 3 could be entirely different from the two seasons that have come before, perhaps filling in the blank spots about Mandalore that the franchise has only hinted at until now. Once again directed by Peyton Reed (who's had plenty of practice using de-aging technology on franchise icons thanks to his work on Ant-Man), "The Rescue" is pure fan-service from beginning to end, but that's not a criticism so much as a testament to the love and reverence The Mandalorian's creative team has for this franchise. From the way the episode opens with the delicious role-reversal of Boba Fett's Slave I passing over the top of an Imperial shuttle, to Luke Skywalker's chill-inducing stride through the Imperial cruiser to take out the dark troopers (reminiscent of Vader's showstopping cameo in Rogue One), to the delightful post-credits scene of Boba taking revenge on Bib Fortuna and seemingly establishing himself as the new ruler of Jabba the Hutt's crime syndicate on Tatooine (and apparently setting up a Book of Boba Fett spinoff series in the process), the episode is an unabashed love letter to Star Wars. Bib Fortuna even says "maclunkey," for goodness' sake! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] Despite the callbacks, it also never loses sight of the unlikely relationship at its heart, giving Din and Grogu a poignant and deeply affecting farewell that's played to perfection by Pedro Pascal, as our stoic hero takes off his helmet in front of a room full of allies and strangers to look his child in the eye and say goodbye - for now. Seeing Grogu tenderly touch Mando's face is enough to melt the coldest heart, and there's something so quintessentially Star Wars about how great storytelling and sublime puppeteering can create such a magical moment between a human performer and a mechanical creature, to the point that your brain never registers that Grogu isn't a living, breathing person. As with episode 2 of Season 2, Reed masterfully directs the action this episode; all the setpieces are cleanly choreographed and well-paced, making use of our heroes' diverse fighting styles and skillsets - Bo-Katan and Koska jumping off the walkway just so the Mandalorians can launch a sneak attack on the stormtroopers surrounding Fennec and Cara is a particularly nice touch, and the Koska vs Boba smackdown earlier in the episode is a brief but effective reminder of the different agendas at play among this group of reluctant allies (and a chance for Sasha Banks to show off her wrestling moves). While it's a little disappointing to see the dark troopers dispatched so quickly after so much build-up, Reed does an admirable job of establishing how deadly they are in a short amount of time - Mando's showdown with just a single dark trooper is bone-rattling, and seeing him get his ass handed to him is a neat visual shorthand for Reed to later emphasize just how powerful Luke is when he's able to so easily cut them all down. Ludwig Göransson's music has been an underrated MVP throughout this season, but particularly in this episode - the metallic, industrial theme of the dark troopers is an unexpected and evocative departure that immediately ratchets up the tension and gives them an ominous sense of menace right up front, especially juxtaposed with Mando's more stripped-down theme. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/10/star-wars-andor-official-first-look-trailer-disney"] As usual with The Mandalorian, there's also plenty of subtle world-building buried in the episode that adds context to things we already know or have long suspected, from the awesome TIE fighter launch sequence to a little more intel about Cara Dune's Rebel Alliance face tattoo - which an Imperial pilot refers to as her "tear," apparently signifying that she's from Alderaan - to the confirmation that Doctor Pershing is a "clone engineer," adding more credence to the theory that Grogu's blood will be used to clone Palpatine and create Snoke. (It's also telling that Moff Gideon, like the Imperial officer Mayfeld killed in Chapter 15, referenced the need to bring "order" back to the galaxy, and that he intended to use Grogu's abilities to do so, subtly signaling the rise of the First Order.) My only real nitpick with the episode comes courtesy of the mythology surrounding the darksaber - Moff Gideon and Bo-Katan both act like Bo-Katan must win it from Mando in order to rule Mandalore, but Star Wars Rebels has already established that the rules surrounding the blade's ownership are pretty malleable, since Sabine Wren simply handed it over to Bo-Katan (albeit after a bit of resistance) to cement her leadership. (Go watch episodes 1 and 2 of Season 4, "Heroes of Mandalore," to get a refresher.) I can understand Bo-Katan's pride being stung at the thought of just being given the blade again rather than earning it, and for the show not to want to waste valuable narrative real estate explaining its convoluted backstory, but it does seem a little like the script is tying itself into unnecessary knots just for the sake of setting up conflict between Din and Bo-Katan over who should be the true leader of Mandalore. Reclaiming their lost planet and reuniting the disparate Mandalorian factions does seem like the clearest path for the show to take in Season 3 now that Grogu has a new babysitter, but clearly there are still some political tensions that need to be ironed out before Bo-Katan will accept Mando's help. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/12/star-wars-the-bad-batch-trailer-breakdown"] It also remains to be seen how Moff Gideon will play into the series moving forward - he and Pershing will both have valuable information to provide to the New Republic, which is obviously why Gideon attempts to kill himself when he's captured, but will he continue to be a primary antagonist, or will The Mandalorian and the upcoming Ahsoka and New Republic spinoff shows all build towards a confrontation with Thrawn? That seems likely, considering Kathleen Kennedy teased a "climactic story event" that will tie these series together in an MCU-style crossover. As for the Luke Skywalker of it all, the visual effects of the de-aging are admittedly a little distracting for me (it seems impossible to get the mouth movements quite right), but much like with Leia and Tarkin in Rogue One, I'm willing to forgive the uncanny valley moment in favor of the emotional impact of seeing that glove and green lightsaber mowing down dark troopers, and the moment the hood comes down accompanied by that iconic theme, especially when R2 rolls in. While a part of me does want the franchise to get away from the Skywalkers and the gravitational pull of the main saga's mythology - since Mando is a compelling character in his own right - it does make sense for Luke to be the Jedi to answer Grogu's call, just given the timeline of the show, and in hindsight it's a little hilarious how quick some of us (myself included) were to jump to wild theories about Ezra Bridger and Cal Kestis, when the most obvious answer was right in front of us. Even more hilarious is the fact that Mando doesn't even get Luke's name, let alone where he plans to take the kid - A+ dad instincts, as usual, Din. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=9955203a-40df-4c81-b5bb-282287dbea6e"]

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