“The Mandalorian” – Season 2, Episode 8: “The Rescue” Review

Audio/Story posted December 22, 2020 in Arts & Entertainment by Cade Miller, Colton Pleslusky.

WARNING: Both this article and podcast feature heavy spoilers for "The Mandalorian." Read at your own discretion.

In the final episode of the This Is the Way Weekly podcast, Colton Pleslusky, Sam Roberts and Cade Miller discuss "The Rescue," the final episode of season two of "The Mandalorian."

For the season finale of “The Mandalorian,” both Cade Miller and Colton Pleslusky take one final look at the state of the show in this joint review.

With “The Rescue” being the finale of season two, the creator of “The Mandalorian,” Jon Favreau, did not let his viewers down. This thrilling, action-packed episode gives all who has watched this show from start to finish a great ending.

Still on the mission of rescuing Grogu from Moff Gideon, the group of Mando, Cara Dune, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand chase down an imperial ship in Slave 1 to start the episode.

Boba Fett hits the ship with an ion cannon, stopping it. The group boards the ship and captures Dr. Pershing. They use him to get the inside layout of Moff Gideon’s ship.

Their next stop is to a bar to find Bo-Katan Kryze and Koska Reeves to gain their help in rescuing Grogu. Mando knows Bo-Katan is looking for Moff. He can gain her help easily by promising Bo-Katan she can fight Moff for the darksaber.

After adding these two members to the gang, the group comes up with the plan to take the imperial ship and act like it is being attacked by Slave 1. They request to land on Moff Gideon’s ship for help.

The plan works, and the ship full of Bo-Katan, Koska, Cara Dune and Fennec land and start a shootout. This power woman squad makes its way up to the command room, taking down stormtroopers with ease.

While they stall and look for Moff, Mando sneaks out to shut down their biggest problem, the dark trooper. When he finally reaches the storage room of the dark troopers, they have been fired up and begin to leave the room. Mando shuts the door with a key but one is able to escape.

Mando struggles to take down this single droid-like trooper. After taking many hits, Mando takes his beskar staff and sticks it right through the trooper. He manages to shoot the other dark troopers out of the ship.

He then takes off to find Grogu’s cell. When he reaches it, he finds Moff Gideon standing over Grogu with the darksaber. Mando and Moff Gideon break out into a fight with the darksaber and the beskar staff.

Mando manages to disarm Moff Gideon and takes him to the command room to the rest of his group.

When they walk in, Bo-Katan notices that Mando now has the darksaber and freaks out. Moff Gideon tells Mando that whoever has possession of the saber has rule of Mandalore, the planet of the Mandalorian.

Mando tries to yield it to Bo-Kata, but he is told it’s not the saber itself that decides the power but rather the story of the fight to get the saber.

As this happens, the alarms begin to go off, indicating something is coming close to the ship. The dark troopers have returned. They begin to try to break into the command room, and all hope seems to be lost.

Then, a single X-xing ship flies in. Someone with a lightsaber begins taking out every dark trooper. When they reach the command room, Mando opens the door. The Jedi takes down his hood to reveal none other than Luke Skywalker.

He has come to retain Grogu and train him as a Jedi. Mando and Grogu share a last goodbye, and Mando takes his helmet off to reveal his face to Grogu. Luke and Grogu leave, ending the show.

With this ending, there are so many questions that viewers have. Will Grogu be in the next season? Will Mando become the ruler of Mandalore? Will Mando and Bo-Katan fight for the darksaber? There are definitely questions that Star Wars fans are dying to have answered.

Just like every other episode, the season two finale is a grand example of expert production.
The camerawork is great, providing a cinematic progression to the story of this episode. It is absolutely worthy to repeat the fact that this episode is filled with stunning shots that make for an epic phone lock screen. Every camera angle is seemingly significant as the story of the Mandalorian unfolds.

The scene of Mando trying to give Bo-Katan the darksaber is shot with Bo-Katan standing a few steps taller than Mando, making for an intimidating camera angle that represents the sudden tension that the “rightful ruler of Mandalore” feels as she realizes what transpired.

Additionally, the viewer can see that same tension in her eyes as she stares down Mando for unknowingly complicating her plans to rule Mandalore.

The acting is also just as brilliant as it has ever been. Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon is in the fray for the first time this series, and watching the actor play this mastermind villain is stunning. His portrayal truly sells that Gideon “knows everything” and that for his mind and manipulation alone, he should be feared.

Pedro Pascal also offers another standup performance for his ability to bring Din Djarin (Mando) to life. One of the final scenes portrays him saying goodbye to Grogu. The helmet comes off in front of everyone, and it’s an intense scene with lots of emotional impact. Pascal does it all perfectly, representing a character who learned to care for another thing other than his hunt and creed.

The score for the episode is equally fantastic, using different versions of the typical Mando theme used throughout the show. A theme that truly stands out is the one that accompanies the sinister dark troopers, giving off a cybernetic dubstep-remix feel that actually adds to the intimidation of the robotic soldiers.

The only thing that comes off is strange is the appearance of one Luke Skywalker. His face, obviously made younger through CGI effects, comes off a tad strange to the eye. However, that doesn’t take away from the effect of having such a beloved character make a cameo appearance in a beloved show.

Season Rating: 5/5

 

Cade Miller is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email cam7095@psu.edu.

Colton Pleslusky is a junior majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email csp5289@psu.edu.