Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian season 2 had a massive amount of hype, thrills and cuteness overload to deliver after the success of season 1. The week following The Mandalorian’s debut on Disney+ in November 2019, Favreau’s Star Wars spinoff creation surpassed Stranger Things and Game of Thrones in audience demand. It has since become the most sought after show across the globe, and the story has only begun.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The Mandalorian season 2 included more gif-worthy moments between the Mandalorian and The Child (or “Grogu”), background into the mysterious Grogu, appearances of fan favorites throughout the Star Wars universe and more unanswered questions than ever before. The latter half of the season has left fans distraught over the inevitable separation between Grogu and the Mandalorian. Grogu is now left in Moff Gideon’s clutches, and the Mandalorian is left with a determination to get The Child — or, more or less, his Child — back to safety.
This isn’t the first time Grogu has been put in peril, nor will it be the last. However, Favreau is finally steering the show in the direction of Grogu’s Jedi training, and his training with the Force. Where episode 7 left fans stunned by the reveal of the Mandalorian’s true identity (Pedro Pascal), breaking his sacred code to Mandalore, episode 8 was a bigger blow.
Now, we may have slightly forgotten the wildly strong call to Grogu sent out using the Force from the Jedi Shrine. In the wake of the ensuing battle aboard Moff Gideon’s ship, there was a ton of action and suspenseful moments to keep us engaged. There’s a dark saber, an army of undefeatable dark droids, and a potential betrayal by Bo-Katan in the midsts to distract us from this very Jedi-Shaped, important detail.
Just when all hope seems to be lost, where our heroes are backed into a corner, an extremely skilled and powerful Jedi comes flying in upon an X-Wing. The ensuing scenes where he wipes out the droid army and saves the day is nothing short of beautiful, epic and dramatic.
In retrospect, there’s only one person it could have been — it is the Star Wars universe after all — but it was a great shock to fans when the Jedi revealed himself to be Luke Skywalker himself!
The fan-favorite to end all fan-favorites — the darling savior of the Rebel Alliance — Luke Skywalker shows up in the final five minutes of the show to take Grogu with him and ensure that he gets the proper Jedi training under his tutelage. It is an overwhelming scene, to say the least. Watch below!
Mark Hamill, the actor who played Luke, added a cheeky comment on Twitter following the finale: “Seen anything good on TV lately?”
Jon Favreau has since disclosed how Hamill lent himself to the project to help portray the young Luke Skywalker. Like Robert DeNiro in The Irishman, Hamill came in and filmed Luke’s cameo onset and, using VFX technology, The Mandalorian‘s crew was able to digitally de-age him.
However, my personal favorite moment of the episode was the touching goodbye between Grogu and the Mandalorian when he removes his helmet. It is the perfect peak heartfelt moment to conclude their two-year journey with each other. Grogu’s leaving with Luke only makes sense for the future of the show. If Grogu is properly trained to use the Force, maybe he won’t be in constant danger constantly, but that didn’t make it less painful.
With Grogu’s blood in Moff Gideon’s hand, and the potential to create Force-sensitive individuals, season 3 is sure to be just as good as the first and second season!
