The Mandalorian – Season 2, Episode 8 Recap, “Chapter 16: The Rescue”

Of course it was Luke. It had to be. It wouldn’t make sense if it was anyone else. It wouldn’t be as perfect. The Mandalorian takes place five years after the destruction of the second Death Star, so it makes perfect sense that Luke Skywalker would be out there in the galaxy, looking for any remaining force users, in order to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Sure the deepfake de-aging of Mark Hamill looked a little “uncanny” (The Mandalorian probably doesn’t have the same budget as a Marvel movie) but the emotional impact was so profound that it didn’t matter.

We Star Wars fans have never really seen Luke in action. He was just coming into his powers by the end of Return of the Jedi, and when we meet him again in The Last Jedi, he is a jaded old man. We’ve never seen him at his prime. We may have read about his exploits in books and comics. God knows we’ve acted it out ourselves every time we “played” Star Wars in the schoolyard. But this is the first time we’ve seen Luke Skywalker the Jedi master. And boy it sure was glorious.

If watching Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One had you hollering, the last 10 minutes of “The Rescue” will compel you to rise up from your couch and clap. It was, it is, the best we’ve ever seen Luke Skywalker be.

The way Jon Favreau and Payton Reed pull it off is nothing short of brilliant. They’re not trying to trick you or surprise you. They know that you know what’s coming so they don’t bother hiding it. The X-Wing. The green lightsaber. The one black gloved hand. It’s all there. Every tiny disclosure slowly reinforcing what’s coming. So much so that the final reveal, when he pulls back his hood to show us his face, is completely earned.

What’s more, it is a moment made all the more rewarding by everything else in the episode. The raid on Moff Gideon’s light cruiser. His cunning double cross. And especially those Dark Troopers.

Through a Glass Darkly

It’s the trooper you don’t see that will get you.

Cassian Andor

Stormtroopers are absolutely worthless. There was no way they were going to be any match for the girl power squad that was Cara Dune, Fennec Shand, Bo-Katan Kryze, and Koska Reeves. Instead, it was the threat of Moff Gideon’s Dark Troopers that help keep the suspense throughout the episode. Our heroes were never safe. Not for a second.

At first, it was an implied terror, based entirely on their appearance alone. (Those things are scary looking!) Then, when one of them goes head-to-head with Mando, we get to see just how efficient they are as relentless killing machines. And finally, there was the seemingly no win scenario as hordes of them board the cruiser, retake the ship, and start pummelling the blast doors.

Throughout the season, the Dark Trooper was built up to be both an immovable object as well as an unstoppable force. They were set up to be terrifying. And all hope looked lost when our heroes found themselves trapped on the bridge in the very same situation that would leave Butch and Sundance for dead.

And then, Favreau and Reed lean into a well established Star Wars trope, and dismantle this tension with the wave of a hand. Quite literally. Listen up Empire, you may think you’ve got some planet destroying super weapon, but have you met Luke Skywalker?

It’s clever writing that builds on the foundations of the franchise without ever losing its ability to surprise. It’s fanwank that feels fresh.

Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

Darth Vader

What Is The Book of Boba Fett?

No. Really. What is it?

At first I thought that post-credits tease might be a surprise announcement for a third spin-off that Disney didn’t announce at their investor day last week. But what if “The Book of Boba Fett” is, in fact, the third season of The Mandalorian?

I mean, we did after all just witness the best possible end to “The Book of Lone Wolf and Cub.” There was breathtaking action. Lightsaber battles. Plenty of fan service. A fantastic moment of emotional catharsis between father and son. Mando succeeds in his quest. His story has come to a close. It was poignant. It was perfect.

Maybe moving on might be the best thing for the series. Season 3 is all about Boba Fett and Fennec Shand taking revenge on anyone and everyone who has ever wronged them. Season 4 would centre on Bo-Katan, Koska Reeves, and Axe Woves as they continue to seek out and recruit other Mandalorians to their cause. And everyone comes together in Season 5 to take back Mandalore.

It’s not like they can keep cashing in on Grogu’s cuteness forever.

What’s Next?

As much as I would love to see the continuing adventures of the Mandalorian and Grogu, I am also completely satisfied with the 16 chapters that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni (and their many talented collaborators) have so painstakingly put together. This isn’t just Star Wars at its best, it is the best Star Wars we’ve ever had. Period.

Yes, none of this would have been possible without everything that has come before, but The Mandalorian is a prime example of how to build on an existing franchise and keep it moving forward.

There are many, many spin-offs coming our way over the next few years, so I’m sure we’ll have an answer to “what’s next” very soon. I think the one important lesson from this series is that it is built on the principle of less is more. While every episode had some connection to a much bigger narrative, the series never strayed from its core focus, which was to tell this intimate story of Mando and Grogu. It was their emotional journey that we were most invested in.

I’m still not sure how I feel about all the Star Wars that’s about to invade our popular culture. I’m cautiously optimistic. I’m hoping they’re great, but I’ve also been burned so many times. Here’s hoping Disney is smart enough to take its cues from the only piece of Star Wars content since The Empire Strikes Back that hasn’t divided its fandom down the middle.

Calamari Flans

• I laughed out loud when the co-pilot of the Imperial Shuttle transporting Dr. Pershing mentions the millions of people who lost their lives when the Death Stars were destroyed. Randal, is that you?

• Where is Axe Woves by the way?
• CONTINUITY ERROR? In “Heroes of Mandalore, Part 2,” a Season 4 episode of Star Wars Rebels, Sabine Wren just hands over the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, who willingly accepts it. No fight to the death or anything. What’s up with that? Dave? Jon? Anyone?

It came to me so I could pass it to you.

Sabine Wren

• Who wants to see an Artoo and Grogu spin-off series? Me! This guy! That’s who.
• It was great seeing the snivelling bastard Bib Fortuna again. It makes perfect sense that he would be the one to usurp Jabba’s throne after his demise in Return of the Jedi.
• Bib Fortuna says “Maclunkey!” (Which was a word that Lucas recently added to Greedo’s dialogue in yet another iteration of A New Hope.)

The Mandalorian, Season 2, is now streaming on Disney+.