After a season of big reveals that everyone saw coming due to various leaks, The Mandalorian managed to pull off one major reveal that no one saw coming in their season 2 finale The Rescue.
The final episode of the second season of the flagship Star Wars Disney Plus series managed to set up for three spin-offs as well as provide an emotionally satisfying end to the two-season arc, while still packing in the same level of action and Star Wars lore building we have all come to expect from the series.
Just a note that from this point on there is a spoiler warning, so if you don't want any of the major reveals of the episode ruined for you, stop reading now.
Spoiler Warning
After capturing the scientist in the first moments of the episode, The Mandalorian and Boba Fett go to reach Bo-Katan to enlist her help in rescuing The Child (Baby Yoda (Grogu?)) from the hands of Moff Gideon. She is initially hesitant, but willing to help in exchange for defeating Gideon to reclaim the Darksaber, and better position herself to reclaim Mandalore.
This scene also features some intense dialogue between her and Boba about his claims as a Mandalorian and if he can truly claim that title, before moving on the mission.
The newly enlarged team now begins to plan on how to best capture the child, with added information about the droid Dark Troopers given by the scientist. He informs them that they are kept in cold storage and take a few minutes to activate, giving the team a limited time window before they become overrun by the overpowered soldiers.
After entering the ship with some help from Boba Fett, the rest of the team separates from Mando to capture the bridge, while he goes to deactivate the Dark Troopers and save Baby Yoda.
Fennec, Cara Dune, Bo-Katan, and crew end up killing off the entire crew rather easily in some inventive fight scenes that show off the skills of each individual member, from physical combat to special tools like jetpacks.
At the same time, Mando (Din Djarin) struggles to defeat even one of the Dark Troopers before managing to send the rest into space.
He then finally reaches Baby Yoda at about the same time the rest of his crew takes the bridge. The Child is being guarded personally by Moff Gideon, wielding the Darksaber. He offers The Child willingly in exchange for leaving without the ship, which Mando accepts, before attacking him with the Darksaber.
As Mando is wearing Bescar he is able to continue fighting, eventually dueling him with his Bescar spear, and disarming him.
This, much to Bo-Katan's dismay, makes him the rightful holder of the Darksaber, and Mandalore itself by extension. This is a position he does not want, but Bo-Katan continues to honor tradition, recognizing it as the true origin of the Darksaber's power.
It is at this point the Dark Troopers return to the ship and begin to make their assault on the bridge, which Moff Gideon comments on as to say that they will be unable to defeat them all. But they suddenly stop fighting upon the arrival of a lone X-Wing.
What happens next transpires almost exclusively on static-filled monitors as we see a hooded Jedi easily defeat the entire squadron of Dark Trooper droids with a green lightsaber.
The shots gradually become closer and more revealing, while still never showing their face, as the Jedi is shown destroying each droid with its lightsaber.
He even destroys the last one using only the force to crush it, before being let into the bridge by Mando. This scene is one of the tensest moments in recent Star Wars history, gradually building anticipation for the reveal. Much speculation has been given for who will come to train Grogu, with names ranging from Mace Windu to Ezra Bridger.
It is there he is revealed as none other than Luke Skywalker himself, still being portrayed (according to the credits at least) by Mark Hamil himself, although with the help of some of Star Wars now well known de-aging CGI.
This is probably the most realistic looking yet use of this technology, and it makes for an impactful scene where we get to spend a precious few additional moments with the Jedi who started it all as we were first introduced to him.
This leads to an emotional farewell between Mando and The Child, with Mando even taking off his helmet in front of everyone and allowing the baby to touch his face before handing him off to Luke Skywalker, knowing he won't be safe without training and care from someone who understands him.
Before he leaves though we get an exchange between Baby Yoda and another iconic Star Wars character R2-D2, who also makes an appearance alongside Master Luke.
Luke then picks up Baby Yoda and prepares to leave them with his iconic line May The Force Be With You as the entire team looks on.
This moment is built perfectly for the impact it knows it has on Star Wars fans. The reintroduction of a young Luke Skywalker is the largest development in a season filled with them, and it knows just how to do it in a way filled with nostalgia, but fitting the tone of the series.
This moment leaves many questions open about what will happen in season 3, but those are for another day. The Mandalorian Season 2 managed to follow up an incredible first season with a lore-building and emotionally satisfactory arc that connected to the larger Star Wars universe without ever being tied to it. It further carved out its place and importance in the larger universe, and defied every expectation with its shocking finale.
There is also a post-credits scene that reveals a Boba Fett spin-off is on the way you can find out more about here.
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