{"id":177596,"date":"2020-12-19T12:13:08","date_gmt":"2020-12-19T12:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/25yearslatersite.com\/?p=177596"},"modified":"2024-04-25T00:05:47","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T04:05:47","slug":"the-mandalorian-s2e8-chapter-16-the-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvobsessive.com\/2020\/12\/19\/the-mandalorian-s2e8-chapter-16-the-rescue\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mandalorian S2E8 \u201cChapter 16: The Rescue\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greetings from a galaxy far, far away! This week, we continue our journey with Din Djarin (a.k.a., The Mandalorian) and Grogu (a.k.a., The Child), as I review and analyze The Mandalorian<\/em> S2E8, \u201cChapter 16: The Rescue.\u201d This episode, the Season 2 finale, sees the culmination of a two-year story arc, and sets up threads for the future. It also contains some major surprises.<\/p>\n

A Family Story<\/h2>\n

The Mandalorian <\/em>S2E8 effectively wraps up the story of the Mudhorn Clan. The first season tells the story of an orphan, Din Djarin, who grows up to be a bounty hunter, and then breaks all the rules to protect and adopt an orphaned child, Grogu. The second season tells the story of how the two bond, while the bounty hunter\/father tries to secure his child\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

As with all parents, Din knows he will eventually have to let Grogu go, so his child can ascend to greater heights than Din could take him. In S2E6<\/a>, we saw Grogu enter a trance at the Jedi Seeing Stone. We wondered if he made contact with a Jedi. We now know that he did. When a Jedi comes to save the day, Din knows this is the moment when he must let Grogu go. Though Din doesn\u2019t want him to leave and Grogu is scared to go, Din knows Grogu must go with the Jedi. It is the only way he can get the training Din could never provide.<\/p>\n

\"Mando,<\/p>\n

The final scene is heartbreaking, despite the hope for Grogu\u2019s future. Din\u2019s sadness comes through, even with his helmet on. Grogu reaches for his masked face, prompting Din to do something he never thought he would willingly do. Din removes him helmet. We did see him remove his helmet in S2E7<\/a>, but he had no choice. Without removing his helmet, he would never find Grogu\u2019s location. We don\u2019t know whether or not Din will ever be able to go back to his creed, which states that if he takes his helmet off, he can never put it back on. We do know that his devotion to his child has outgrown his devotion to this creed. I think more than anything, he wants to ensure Grogu gets to see his face at least once, so he will recognize him in the future.<\/p>\n

Din promises Grogu that they will see each other again. That meeting may be next year, it may be years down the road, or we may never see it on screen. For now, at least, the story of the Mudhorn Clan has come to an end. Both characters are ready to start down new paths. Din seems destined to focus on restoring Mandalore, while Grogu prepares to learn from the Jedi who rescued him.<\/p>\n

The Jedi Returns<\/h2>\n

That Jedi, of course, is Luke Skywalker. Earlier this season, when Ahsoka suggests Din take Grogu to the Seeing Stone to see if he can make contact with another Jedi, I never suspected Luke would actually be that Jedi. We knew Luke was likely the most powerful Jedi out there, but I thought Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni would opt for someone else. I assumed Ezra Bridger<\/a> was most likely. I thought a Jedi we had never before seen was a possibility. Maybe they would bring some version of Mara Jade into cannon. When the X-Wing first appears, though, I knew I was wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Luke<\/p>\n

It was great to see Luke in action. We got to see the Luke I have wanted to see since the credits rolled on Return of the Jedi<\/em> back in 1983. We finally again got to see a heroic Luke Skywalker, this time at his peak. There is no doubt Luke is stronger than we have ever before seen. He makes easy work of the Darktroopers (and with his green lightsaber!), to save Grogu, Mando and the crew. This is the Luke we should have seen in the sequel trilogy\u2014a true hero, not a bitter old man who ran away with his tail between his legs, leaving the galaxy to its fate. I am not sure how much more we will see of Luke in the future, but if Favreau and Filoni are guiding his story, I hope it\u2019s a lot.<\/p>\n

I do have one worry about bringing Luke in as Grogu\u2019s mentor. Rian Johnson painted Luke as a failure, who seemingly never successfully trained a Jedi. Could this mean Grogu never achieves his potential? Will Grogu end up among the padawans<\/a> Kylo Ren kills when he destroys Luke’s academy? I will just have to trust that Favreau and Filoni will continue to deliver on the stories they tell, and Grogu will find a better life ahead of him.<\/p>\n

Excalibur<\/h2>\n

The Mandalorian<\/em> S2E8 sets a new path for Din, and perhaps for all Mandalorians. We knew from earlier in the season that Bo-Katan was seeking to regain the Darksaber. Doing so would allow her to once again claim the throne of Mandalore. Without it, she felt she would not have the backing of her people. In this episode, she agrees to help Mando rescue Grogu, on the condition that Moff Gideon surrenders to her and she gets the Darksaber. Mando agrees to let her have it.<\/p>\n

\"Mando<\/p>\n

What Mando doesn\u2019t know is that in order for the holder of the Darksaber to gain the backing of the people, the holder must have won it in combat. When Mando fights and defeats Gideon, he becomes the rightful holder of the saber. Bo-Katan will not and cannot accept it if is freely given. Her hopes of gaining the saber are seemingly dashed.<\/p>\n

This unexpected development opens some interesting possibilities for the Mando\u2019s future. Will he become the leader of the Mandalorians, especially if he abandons the Children of the Watch for more mainstream Mandalorian beliefs? Will he surrender it to someone else so that Bo-Katan can again try to claim it? Or, will Mando and Bo-Katan become rivals or even enemies?<\/p>\n

In my article for S2E1<\/a>, I talked about how everything is canon\u2026until it isn\u2019t. This episode seems to show another case of changing cannon. In Star Wars Rebels<\/em>, when Bo-Katan takes the Darksaber and becomes the ruler of Mandalore, she doesn\u2019t win it in battle. Sabine Wren freely give her the saber, as Clan Wren thinks Bo-Katan is the best possible leader for Mandalore. If the saber could be handed to her then, why couldn\u2019t Mando just give the saber to her now? Again, Lucasfilm may eventually find a way to explain this, but it seems like a significant contradiction.<\/p>\n

\"Mando<\/p>\n

Rise of the Empire<\/h2>\n

In The Mandalorian<\/em> S2E8, Moff Gideon makes clear he believes he is fully positioned to restore the Empire. He has his Darktroopers, he has the Darksaber, and most importantly, he has enough of Grogu\u2019s blood to accomplish what he has been working toward. In S2E4<\/a>, we saw cloning tanks, while “Snoke\u2019s Theme” played in the background. It seems clear Gideon is working on trying to either bring back the Emperor or create a suitable replacement. Perhaps Gideon will eventually create Snoke and give life to the First Order, or perhaps his research will lead to the eventual cloning and return of Palpatine in time for The Rise of Skywalker<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Another possibility is that Din Djarin has derailed Gideon’s plans enough to delay the return of dark days. At the end of The Mandalorian <\/em>S2E8, Gideon is in Marshal Cara Dune\u2019s custody. The Darktroopers are destroyed. Bo-Katan has taken Gideon\u2019s command ship for use in her plan to retake Mandalore. Dr. Pershing, Gideon\u2019s cloner, is presumably also in custody. Are Grogu\u2019s blood samples on board his ship? If so, are they lost to the Imperial Remnant? It is possible that Gideon was on the verge of returning the Emperor, but Din and his crew have pushed that timeline back 25 years.<\/p>\n

The Original Bounty Hunter<\/h2>\n

Even with Boba Fett taking a somewhat auxiliary role in The Mandalorian<\/em> S2E8, we still learned more about him. Earlier this season, we learned that Jango Fett was indeed a Mandalorian, as he was a foundling just like Din. In this episode, we learn that Fett is well known by Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves. They know he is a clone, and they call Jango his donor. They also adamantly say he is not a Mandalorian. Boba responds, \u201cI never said I was.\u201d There is clearly bad blood between Boba Fett and Bo-Katan\u2019s Mandalorians. It will be interesting to see if this is fleshed out further in the future.<\/p>\n

\"Boba<\/p>\n

Hopefully, you watched The Mandalorian <\/em>S2E8 all the way to the end. For the first time in the series, the show included a stinger (post-credit scene). My first clue was when there was no concept art during the end credits (also a first). Then, I noticed that the credits included one for Matthew Wood as Bib Fortuna<\/a>, Jabba the Hutt\u2019s majordomo from Return of the Jedi<\/em> and The Phantom Menace.<\/em> I wondered when Bib Fortuna had been in the episode. I then wondered how he even survived the destruction of Jabba\u2019s sail barge. Finally, I realized there must be another scene.<\/p>\n

In a riff on Luke\u2019s entrance to Jabba\u2019s palace, we see Boba Fett and Fennec Shand enter the same palace and take it over. Bib, who has obviously given into excess, becomes immediately nervous when he sees Boba Fett, pleading that he thought Fett had died. Boba kills Bib and takes his throne, with Fennec at his right hand. The scene then fades, and we see \u201cThe Book of Boba Fett\u201d\u2026\u201dComing December 2021\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Boba<\/p>\n

Last week, I questioned why there was no announcement about a Boba Fett show, given that it was one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood. We now know that there is indeed a Boba Fett show on the way, but we don\u2019t yet know the form. Will it be an on-going spinoff, an event series (mini-series), or something else? At last week\u2019s Disney investor meeting, Kathleen Kennedy implied, although I\u2019ll admit it wasn\u2019t totally clear, that The Mandalorian<\/em> story would continue next Christmas. That is when this show is coming. Does that mean Season 3 of The Mandalorian<\/em> morphs the series into \u201cThe Book of Boba Fett\u201d? Does that mean the first two seasons are \u201cThe Book of Din Djarin\u201d?<\/p>\n

Rest in Peace, Boba Fett<\/h2>\n

This week, Jeremy Bulloch passed away. For those who don\u2019t know, he was the original Boba Fett. Mr. Bulloch played Fett in both The Empire Strikes Back<\/em> and Return of the Jedi<\/em>. In The Empire Strikes Back<\/em>, he had a second role, playing an Imperial office named Lt Sheckil. His third Star Wars<\/em> role was as Captain Jeremoch Colton, the pilot of the Bail Organa\u2019s ship in Revenge of the Sith<\/em>. Although Boba Fett was voiced by a different actor (originally Jason Wingreen, but later replaced by Temuera Morrison), his physical performance lives on.<\/p>\n

Mandalorian Lore<\/h2>\n

In The Mandalorian<\/em> S2E8, Boba Fett says that the Empire reduced Mandalore to glass. While we knew that Mandalore was said to be destroyed, Bo-Katan previously told Din not to believe everything he hears. The question of whether or not Mandalore is truly uninhabitable seems to still not be answered.<\/p>\n

Thoughts and Theories<\/h2>\n