IN REVIEW: STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN (S2 – E8) CHAPTER 16 – The Rescue

Synopsis: The Mandalorian with help from Boba Fett hatch a bold rescue plan to go and get Grogu.

The Story

Having got the location of Moff Gideon in last week’s show. Din Djarin enlists Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves help for a daring rescue plan. Firstly, before they embark on their mission. Bo-Katan has some conditions as well as a few issues with regards to Boba Fett.

Once they settle all the politics. Din Djarin, Bo-Katan, Koska Reeves, Cara Dune, and Fennec Shand embark on their missions. While Din Djarin rescues Grogu from the brig. Bo-Katan and the others take out all resistance as they go after Moff Gideon.

Unbeknown to them. Moff Gideon knows they are coming and has countermeasures in place. Which includes a battalion of third-generation Dark Troopers. Thankfully someone that Moff Gideon hasn’t planned for is on the way.

The Acting

We get some solid acting in this final episode of the season as well as some surprise. Firstly, Pedro Pascal has been fantastic throughout this series and gets a lot to do in this episode. His scenes with Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon are brilliant. In particular, the moment in which Gideon reveals the Dark Sabar can only be won in battle. Not given or handed over.

Also, really good was Moff Gideon’s reaction to seeing the Jedi take out all of his Dark Troopers. It is quite the comparison to the smug expression he was sporting moments before.

Katee Sackhoff and Sasha Banks also rocked it. The standoff between Bo-Katan, Koska Reeves, and Boba Fett at the start of the episode was brilliantly done. Gina Carano also had some nice moments as well. Particularly the moment where her weapon jams up on her during the attack.

Finally, we get a nice guest appearance from Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

Overall

Luke Skywalker takes The Child Grogu into his care.

This was a brilliant season finale, which blows the possible future plot threads wide open. As we wind up with more unanswered questions to explore in the future.

Firstly, now that Din Djarin has won and now holds the Dark Sabar. Will he go back to Mandalore with Bo-Katan as their new leader? Having handed Grogu into the care of Luke Skywalker he no longer has a set mission. Also, will The Mandalorian ever get to see Grogu again? Or is that chapter of his journey over. What does the future hold for Grogu as he trains under Luke Skywalker? Will we ever see him again?

This episode had some great moments as you’d expect from a season finale. Seeing Din Djarin take on that solo Dark Trooper as he made his way to rescue Grogu was perhaps one of the most epic sequences on the episode. Although, it wasn’t long before that sequence was topped by the arrival of a certain Jedi.

Overall. A fantastic episode. My only criticism is with regards to the CGI used to make Mark Hamill look younger. It didn’t seem like they quite got Luke’s face right. It seemed a bit off at times. It was passable though for the length of time he was in the show. And it didn’t take too much away from my enjoyment of the episode.