“The Rescue,” the eighth and final episode of the second season of The Mandalorian, is now streaming on Disney+. Despite how badly Lucasfilm screwed the pooch with the sequel trilogy, this is not an episode that any legitimate Star Wars fan should miss, as it not only paves the way for an exciting new series but brings back one of the franchise’s most beloved characters.
Those of you who haven’t seen the episode yet will definitely want to turn back because we’re hyperspacing directly into spoiler territory, but for everyone else, we’ll get right into what’s making fanboys’ heads spin.
Black robe. Black jumpsuit. Black glove. Lightsaber with green kyber crystal.
In a shocking surprise, showrunner Jon Favreau and director Peyton Reed actually dared to bring the most powerful Jedi who ever lived into The Mandalorian. After series protagonist Din Djarin and other heroes get trapped behind a literal army of Dark Troopers aboard Moff Gideon’s light cruiser, Luke Skywalker swoops in on an X-Wing and saves the day in a spectacular action sequence.
This isn’t the mopey, depressed Luke that we saw in the sequel trilogy. This is Return of the Jedi Luke. The real Luke. Skywalker crushes Gideon’s advanced battle droids like tin cans with the Force as he eloquently slices his way toward baby Grogu, who is destined to be trained by the legendary Jedi Master. The two Force sensitives ultimately meet, say their goodbyes, and depart on their journey, but not before audiences are treated to a heartfelt reunion with the franchise’s definitive astromech droid, R2-D2.
Is Kathleen Kennedy taking notes? Because this is how you do Star Wars.
While we’ll admit that the season finale isn’t perfect (younger Luke’s CG could have looked a lot better…), it’s relieving to know that there are still people left at Lucasfilm who get the franchise. The introduction of a character as iconic as Luke Skywalker also suggests that there isn’t a limit as to where future seasons of The Mandalorian can take audiences.
Speaking of iconic characters and future seasons, The Mandalorian’s finale ends with a post-credits sequence that suggests we are nowhere near done with fan-favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett, who finally got his durasteel armor back after a short scuffle with Din Djarin on Tython.
In the sequence, assassin Fennec Shand and Boba Fett travel to Jabba’s Palace on Tatooine, where they indiscriminately light up Gamorreans and other aliens in servitude of its new ruler, Twi’lek Bib Fortuna.
“I thought you were dead,” Fortuna remarks before Boba Fett kills him with a blast to the chest. We’re then treated to two title cards as he takes the throne: “The Book of Boba Fett. Coming December 2021.”
There’s an ongoing debate as to whether this is the name of a new Boba Fett spin-off series or merely a teaser for what’s to come in the third season of The Mandalorian, but assuming that Lucasfilm gives us a definitive reason as to how Boba managed to crawl his way out of the Sarlaac pit, either scenario is fine by us.
Let us know what you thought of The Mandalorian’s season two finale and whether you think Luke will show up again. Could Disney be thinking about recasting the role already?