The season 2 finale of The Mandalorian proved to be an action-packed episode that exceeded expectations by far. With plenty of big moments (and one absolutely huge moment) and signals of what's to come for several characters in season 3 in 2021, there was a little something for everyone with this week's episode. Lets dive right in and address the biggest moment of the episode by far. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! SERIOUSLY IF YOU DID NOT SEE THE EPISODE YET DO NOT CONTINUE READING!
1) THE BIG MOMENT: A RETURN FIT FOR A JEDI MASTER
"One X-Wing? Great we're saved."
That line was everything Star Wars fans needed to know about what came next. After Mando has subdued Moff Gideon and reunited with his allies at the ship's bridge, the Dark Troopers return after being thrown out of an airlock by Mando earlier. After nearly beaten to death by one Dark Trooper before throwing the rest out the airlock, it was quite clear that Mando and his allies were no match for upwards of at least twenty Dark Troopers. When the X-Wing appears, a Jedi with a green lightsaber tears through the Dark Troopers with ease. After coming face to face with the Jedi, they remove their hood and it is revealed to be none other than Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). He asks Grogu to come along but tells Mando that he is hesitant and Grogu is asking for Mando's permission to go with Skywalker. In what was probably one of the most heartbreaking scenes in all of Star Wars, Mando tells him to go with Luke and removes his helmet for Grogu to see his face for the first time. Then Grogu leaves with Skywalker and R2-D2, in another surprising cameo for the episode, and then we cut to black.
What a sight to behold it was to see Luke in action (albeit through CGI), but it does confirm that he heard Grogu call out through the Force back in Chapter 14. His final battle through the hallway was also very reminiscent to his father's slaughtering of Rebel troops in Rogue One (2016). Mark Hamill recently confirmed that they were able to keep his involvement a secret for a year, although that is no surprise to me since the show kept Grogu a secret when it all began. As a fan I'm still surprised that Luke was involved, thinking that he was nearly untouchable at this point since his story was wrapped up in the Sequel Trilogy, especially after Boba Fett (another legacy character) appearing this season. Pairing Grogu with arguably the most famous Jedi was no easy decision for the show but I think it shows that Disney is committed to telling many stories between Return of the Jedi (1983) and The Force Awakens (2015). With nearly thirty years of storytelling at their disposal, along with all of the other spinoff shows Disney announced a week ago, Disney appears to be going all in on Star Wars on Disney+ that should have fans excited for years to come. So Grogu will be trained by the greatest Jedi of all time. But where does that leave him with his "father" Mando?
2) WHERE THIS LEAVES MANDO AND GROGU FOR SEASON 3
Underneath all of the Luke Skywalker madness of this episode, something else happened that had major ramifications on Mando's future. When Mando defeated Moff Gideon in battle, he became the rightful owner of the Dark Saber. Bo-Katan returned in this episode to obtain the Dark Saber, which Mando promised to give her since he was only concerned about Grogu. When Mando brings Gideon to Bo-Katan, she looks displeased after Gideon explains that Mando is the rightful owner of the Dark Saber and not her. As Gideon points out, the only way to obtain the Dark Saber is to defeat the previous owner in battle, Mando yielding it to her won't do any good for them. He tries to goad Bo-Katan into attacking Mando but this is interrupted by Skywalker's arrival. So now Mando is the rightful owner of the Dark Saber and has claim to the throne of Mandalore, is this something that will be the primary focus of season 3 since Grogu will be off training with Luke Skywalker? I think so, and I am not sold on Bo-Katan eventually battling Mando over the Dark Saber since she really, really wants it back and to obtain the throne on Mandalore. I think viewers will see a lot of Mandalore in season 3, since Mando promised Bo-Katan that he would help her liberate the planet.
In terms of Grogu for next season, things are iffy in my opinion right now. First off, I do not see Luke Skywalker becoming a major character on the show and rightfully so. He shouldn't spend so much time on the screen because one, it's probably very expensive to do so and two, his presence would take away from others on the show. So how often will Grogu appear next season. I'm really not sure. Grogu has taken the world by storm and is by far the most popular character on the show, so I don't see him not appearing next season, although he could appear less frequently or even be a guest star. I know some fans may not like that but if you think about it, Mando completed his mission. He delivered The Child to a Jedi for protection, so maybe the show will take another direction, like liberating the planet of Mandalore as previously mentioned. Maybe Grogu takes a season off and returns as a fully trained Jedi in season 4? Who knows, but Grogu's story has a lot of interesting paths to take at this point and it will be exciting to see what Disney has in store for our young hero. After the cliffhanger ending, the show had another surprise in store for viewers in the form of a post-credits scene not pertaining to Mando or Grogu...
3) POST-CREDITS AND BOBA FETT'S FUTURE
Our post-credits scene takes us back to Tatooine, where we see the familiar location Jabba the Hutt's Palace. Bib Fortuna is sitting on Jabba's throne (probably for the past five years since Jabba's demise in Return of the Jedi) where he is startled by his guards and others being taken out by blaster shots. We see Fennec Shand enter and prepares Bib Fortuna for the arrival of her associate: none other than Boba Fett. Fett quickly kills Bib Fortuna and kicks his body off the throne, effectively taking over Jabba's crime business. The scene ended with a final card reading: "The Book of Boba Fett Coming December 2021".
For me, it was quite a surprise that Boba Fett got his own spinoff series. While it has been heavily rumored for weeks that he would get one, at the Disney shareholders event a few weeks back a Boba Fett series was not announced. This cast doubt on the rumors for me but it's clear that Disney probably held off on announcing it until after season 2 of The Mandalorian finished. It was also cleared up that the series is its own spinoff series set within the timeline of The Mandalorian, not a replacement for season 3 of the show. It is also reassuring that executive producers of The Mandalorian Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni will be heading the series along with Chapter 14 director Robert Rodriguez, showing fans that the show is in good hands. Boba Fett has come a long way in Star Wars and after failed planned spinoff movies and shows previously, it is great to see him finally get his time in the spotlight after returning this season. Expect Boba Fett to play a huge role in the next few years, and quite possibly appearing on various shows across the Star Wars universe in addition to his own.
Well that just about sums up this season of The Mandalorian for me. After a slow start to begin season 2, this season produced some of the best Star Wars content to date and absolutely knocked it out of the park this year. With the return of Boba Fett and Luke Skywalker, the arrival of Ahsoka Tano and other characters from Star Wars media, to revealing Baby Yoda's name and shedding some light on his past, this season was a great one and I am even more excited for not just season 3, but the future of Star Wars on Disney+. With nearly ten plus series announced for the future on the streaming service, it is a great time to be a Star Wars fan! But now unfortunately, we begin the long wait to next December to see what's next for our heroes!
What did you think of the season finale this week? Were you extremely excited to see Luke Skywalker appear on the show? What do you think will happen to Mando and Grogu between seasons? Did you enjoy season 2 of The Mandalorian? Let me know in the comments below and be on the lookout for what's next in my blog!
Happy Holidays everyone!
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