Star Wars: The Mandalorian - The Rescue Review

MND "The Rescue"

The season 2 finale of The Mandalorian has an outsize connection to the larger Star Wars canon, to an awe-inspiring extent, in fact. Crucial developments shed light on the rightful rule of Mandalore (Bo-Katan is back, gunning for the darksaber that Gideon took as a spoil of genocide), the state of a new Luke Skywalker-shaped (!) Jedi order, and even the power vacuum left by Jabba the Hutt's death (Boba Fett and Fennec Shand move right in with an efficient power play).

None of that matters to Din Djarin.

That's how all these planet-shaking story points are held back from overshadowing the heart of this show. Din is here not as a Mandalorian, not as a child of Death Watch, not as a bounty hunter, not as a "Ranger of the New Republic" come to arrest remnant Imperials, but only as a father.

Even his precious Creed matters not, if it keeps him from showing his face to his son, and making that last humanoid connection, before sending Grogu with Luke. There stands Luke: the man who destroyed the first Death Star, founded Rogue Squadron in honor of Jyn Erso and company's sacrifice, and turned the monolithically evil Darth Vader back to the light side of the Force. But all Din needs to know is that Luke can help his son. And so, like Leia later will with her son Ben, Din places Grogu in Luke's care, to train as a Jedi padawan.

From a filmmaking perspective, the Luke reveal is firmly in "the Legend of Luke" territory. Almost angelic in his implacable power and serene facade, there's no interest in humanizing details. Appropriate for the context of this episode, his status as Jedi is almost unknowable.

Taking a step back from the luminous beings stuff, Din attacks Gideon's cruiser with an all-female strike team, including the returning Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves. (Amusingly, Bo-Katan taunts Boba Fett for being a clone, like the Republic clones she once fought alongside.) While Boba Fett creates a plausible cover story for boarding, the three Mandalorians plus Fennec and Cara Dune run up against Gideon's elite Dark Trooper droids. Like something out of The Black Hole, or akin to original Battlestar Galactica Cylons (fitting given Katee Sackhoff's presence), the Dark Troopers are a potentially overwhelming threat that Luke eventually extinguishes.

Throughout the episode, composer Ludwig Göransson simply goes for broke. When the title of the show is thrown up, a pumped-up version of the main theme plays. The Dark Troopers are given an ostentatious metallic techno riff. And even the reveal of a TIE Fighter makes the little unshielded fighter seem like the stuff of nightmares. During Luke's scenes, a redressed version of the main Star Wars theme airs, plus a fairly straight quotation of the Force theme.

Din finds Gideon guarding Grogu, and the two duel, beskar spear against darksaber, until Din is victorious. But like the Elder Wand in Harry Potter, the darksaber can only be claimed by besting the owner in combat, foreshadowing a future conflict between Bo-Katan and a disinterested Din.

There are a lot of elements to this episode that after all is predominantly a propulsive piece of action. And while darksaber lore and especially a visit from Luke and R2-D2 are huge deals to fans, the episode's trick is that in Din's headspace, he has a singular parental goal. He has made safe Grogu and delivered him to a willing Jedi. Doesn't make Din's tears sting less. 8/10.

Stray observations:

- Boba Fett doesn't strike me as the type to sit on a throne, but there he and Fennec are, fresh from a spot of Bib Fortuna-murdering, taking up residence at Jabba's Palace.

- One of the Imperial shuttle pilots canonizes the old Clerks joke about "the contractors on the Death Star". He's played by Thomas E. Sullivan, who also played the villainous Nathaniel Malick in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., featuring Fennec Shand actor Ming-Na Wen.