'The Mandalorian' recap: ‘The Rescue’
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Ant-Man director Peyton Reed helmed the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, and it’s bound to be a controversial episode. Your heart will pound with excitement, then it’ll surely break. And you’ll be left with a laundry list of questions, including: Where does the show go from here? It feels, in many ways, like the end of the story—the one between Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Baby Yoda, that is. In a post-credits scene, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand arrive at Jabba’s palace from Return of the Jedi. They slay Bib Fortuna, who’s occupied the throne for the better part of a decade, and Boba takes a seat, Fennec at his side.
A title card reads, “The Book of Boba Fett.” Fans can’t decide whether this is an announcement for a spinoff series or Season 3 of The Mandalorian itself, but it’s coming in December 2021. No doubt Lucasfilm will clarify things soon.
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What happens in this week’s episode?
“Chapter 16: The Rescue” begins with Din (Mando), Fett, Fennec and Dune pursuing a small Lambda-class shuttle. Doctor Pershing’s on board, and the spacecraft is their best ticket to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who’s still got Grogu imprisoned on his command cruiser. Fett fires an ion blast that incapacitates the shuttle, and tells the Imperials to prepare for boarding.
After killing the pilots and taking their craft, Din and Boba drop by a cantina on a quiet agricultural world (one we’ve probably never seen before) to ask Bo-Katan and Koska for help. Fett and the two women don’t get along well at first blush, so there’s a bit of barroom brawling and an exchange of flamethrower blasts. Boba dismisses the planet Mandalore as nothing but glass; Bo-Katan refers to Boba’s father, Jango, as his “donor.” But eventually they see the value in working together.
“Mandalorians have been in exile from our homeworld for far too long,” says Bo-Katan. She tells Mando her only condition is that she wants Gideon’s Darksaber and the Imperial cruiser for herself—invaluable tools for retaking Mandalore when the time is right.
The plan here is pretty straightforward: Bo-Katan, Koska, Fennec and Dune will enter the warship’s hangar bay, guns blazing, to take out as many stormtroopers as possible (which doesn’t account for the garrison of “dark troopers,” unfortunately). “Once you draw a crowd,” Bo-Katan says, “you slip through the shadows, get the kid.” Boba will stay aboard the Slave I to take out TIE fighters and draw attention away from the stolen Imp shuttle.
Moff Gideon deploys a couple TIEs before Bo-Katan brings the shuttle into the hangar for a rough landing and Fett jumps to hyperspace. “Activate the dark troopers,” Gideon says.
The killing machines, gleaming black with glowing red eyes, aren’t quite the threat they appear. But there are dozens. Mando has a lengthy fight with one of them, and it’s like a scene out of The Terminator, right down to the musical score. The remaining dark troopers get pulled out an airlock, into the void of space. They’ll be back.
When Din reaches Grogu, the child appears weak; Gideon’s been harvesting his blood. The Moff holds his Darksaber above Grogu’s head like a guillotine. Mando says he’s just here to get the kid; there’s no need for further bloodshed.
“Very well,” Gideon tells him. “I’ve already got what I want from him.” But, when Din’s back is turned to pick Grogu up, the Moff strikes—Darksaber against beskar. Thankfully, Mando’s armor can take it. Din draws the beskar staff he took from the planet Corvus, and the two do battle in the corridor outside the brig. Pascal and Esposito are clearly enjoying themselves. When the Darksaber skitters across the floor, Din shows mercy.
“You’re sparing my life?” Gideon says. “This should be interesting.”
Aboard the cruiser’s bridge, Moff Gideon explains that Mando has bested him in combat; the Darksaber and the throne of Mandalore belong to Din Djarin. To rightfully claim them, Bo-Katan must win the saber in combat. “I yield. It’s yours,” Din says.
At this point, a couple dozen dark troopers return and board the ship. The ragtag crew of rebels don’t stand a chance; there are simply too many, and Grogu’s strength is seemingly at an all-time low. They seal the blast door to the bridge and wait, guns drawn.
Turns out the episode’s titular “rescue” refers to the lone X-wing fighter that arrives here to save Mando and friends from Gideon’s forces. Having sensed Grogu atop the seeing stone on Tython, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker has come to take custody of him. Cloaked in a black hood, Skywalker moves like his father (equal parts Rogue One and Revenge of the Sith) as, one by one, he rids the ship of its dark-trooper problem.
“Are you a Jedi?” Mando asks.
“I am,” says Luke. Then, “Come, little one.”
“He doesn’t want to go with you.”
“He wants your permission,” Skywalker says. “I will give my life to protect the child.”
“I’ll see you again,” Din tells Grogu. “I promise.”
This seems to be goodbye for Clan Mudhorn. Din removes his helmet, tears in his eyes, and implores young Grogu not to be afraid. The kid touches Djarin’s face, bidding him a silent farewell, and then befriends Skywalker’s blue astromech droid. “May the Force be with you,” the Jedi says, taking Grogu and leaving for parts unknown.
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This article originally appeared on Reviewed: 'The Mandalorian' Season 2 finale recap: ‘The Rescue’
