Season finales can be difficult. You need to wrap up storylines that have been building but also leave people wanting more by setting up new stories for the next season. Season One of The Mandalorian culminated with Din and friends making sure the child was safe but also putting Din on a quest to bring the baby to his people (that turned out to be the Jedi and not the race of Yoda, Yaddle, and the kid).
So now Season Two is in the bag and it wraps up a good many storylines that have been swirling around this season while still leaving open stories to explore in the next season. But this conclusion maybe leaves more questions about the future direction of the series than I’d like.
*The finale starts off with Slave 1 chasing down an Imperial shuttle that is holding the creepy doctor that has been doing experiments on our favorite green toddler. His pilot is more than happy to sacrifice him but Cara Dune kills him after a cheeky exchange about the Death Stars.
*In regards to that cheeky exchange, it’s interesting to hear an Imperial perspective that isn’t the Emperor, Vader, or one of their controlling governors. These pilots show varying degrees of allegiance. The one pilot is willing to negotiate so he doesn’t end up dead (he’s obviously not all in with the Empire, it’s just a job) but the other is a zealot, making the argument that the Death Star (a planet destroyer) was justified to quell the insurgent Alliance. It’s nice to see nuance in how politics are perceived (something Rogue One showed a bit as well).
*Anyway, with the doctor in hand, Din and company are able to stage their daring breach of Gideon’s cruiser and it’s a cool looking scene. It’s not quite the level of theatrical Star Wars space battles but it’s solid and the best the series has looked in space to date.
*This episode is a whole lot of action. Basically the ladies are going to storm the bridge like badasses while Din uses the distraction to rescue the kid. The ladies look great, although they could have let Dune die and I’d have been OK with that. And Din wasn’t just rolling behind not being cool because he gets to fight Star Wars version of the Terminator, the Dark Trooper.
*Can we say that Beskar is maybe a bit overpowered at this point? I mean, Din basically gets his head bashed through a wall by the Dark Trooper but his helmet takes zero damage because it’s ridiculously strong. I mean, I guess I see how Mandalorians are super successful bounty hunters as nothing can stop them other than a decapitation.
*Venting the remaining Dark Troopers is smart but… well they are droids now so… we had to realize they were returning.
*The Din vs. Gideon fight is solid but I’m not buying that Gideon is that versed in hand-to-hand combat. I’m not sure why but he strikes me as someone that doesn’t do things straight up, instead using others as pawns to tactically outhink his opponents.
*The baby / Mando reunion is what we wanted. Great emotional weight there.
*Din and Bo Katan are now going to be at odds but I’m not sure why. Sabine Wren gave Bo Katan the Dark Saber once before and it wasn’t via combat, nor did Sabine secure the blade through combat so this seems odd that Bo Katan and Gideon state she needs to win it from Din to claim it (and in turn the throne of Mandalore). I’m sure Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau will explain this seeming contradiction with the blade but right now it leaves some questions to be answered.
*The Dark Troopers are back and it seems like all hope is lost as they pound their way through the door when we see an X-Wing make its way onto the cruiser. Who could it be?
*C’mon, you thought it right away right? I mean, who could it be? Someone that flies an X-Wing and has a green lightsaber and a cybernetic hand?
*Yes, Luke Skywalker is here and it is really cool. I have no issue with Luke answering Greg’s call, I mean, who else would it be? Yes, there are other Jedi/ex-Jedi out there in the wild but Luke would currently be exploring the galaxy looking for Jedi artifacts/teachings as he gets ready to set up his new Jedi academy.
*Luke’s dismantling of the Dark Troopers shows him with powers far exceeding where he was at the time of The Battle of Endor. It’s also very haunting to watch as it mimics his father’s rampage towards the Tantive IV in Rogue One. The Dark Troopers aren’t humans so its easy to look past but this is a confident, maybe even an arrogant Luke that feels he knows what is best. Again it’s cool, especially if we’ll get some stories that show Luke during this time period and give context to his failures and how he ends up a broken hermit shut off from the force.
*Still I do have a problem with Luke here and its because once again, this shrinks the universe. In fact, this entire season has done nothing but shrink the universe back to the Skywalkers. Season one showed that the concept was strong enough to work without the ties to the Skywalkers but this season has spent so much of it bringing in characters related to them and now it’s put the baby in Luke’s care. It’s just a tad bit disappointing when looking at the franchise overall.
*I don’t want to misrepresent here though, I loved the scene. I also don’t think that Greg is hanging out with Luke for very long. The Mandalorian’s core strength is the bond between Din and the baby, removing the baby removes the heart of the show and as such, I think he’ll be back with Din sooner rather than later.
*But it does leave us with questions on where the series goes for at least the start of next season. I’m sure there is a contingent of fans that want to see the Mandalore story play out. I… kind of don’t care about that and hope its not what the focus of next season will be.
*Of course the separation of Din and the baby and the politics of Mandalore isn’t the only thing the show left us with. After the credits we get another scene this time at Jabba’s old palace with Bib Fortuna seemingly running the place. Fennec Shand clears the way of the guards and Boba Fett appears in the throne room, killing Fortuna and taking his throne. The scene then reveals The Book of Boba Fett coming next year. I haven’t looked too far into it but from what I’ve heard this isn’t The Mandalorian Season Three, this is its own thing (likely a mini-series/Disney+ movie). As such, it does lead to the question of what took Boba so long to do this? He could have gone and got his armor at any point in time and taken Jabba’s syndicate as his own. I guess we’ll see next year.
Anyway, I’m happy with The Mandalorian Season Two. I don’t love it as much as Season One but they are doing different things. It has helped prop up Star Wars and give confidence that Disney has a plan on where the series is going, which honestly was needed after the mismanagement of the sequel trilogy. Look, I like the sequel trilogy but The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker have issues that could have been avoided if there had been a plan at the start. The Mandalorian and the other Star Wars projects are allowing Disney to iron out some of those lingering issues and re-instill confidence in the series. I’m just happy there is more Star Wars coming (and Oh my, there is sooooo much coming).
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