Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Mandalorian's season 2 finale.
After eight fantastic weeks, The Mandalorian season 2 has finally drawn to a close – but not before leaving fans with a cavalcade of cliffhangers and hanging questions. At the end of episode 7, “The Believer,” Din Djarin had learned the location of Moff Gideon’s command cruiser and recruited a fearsome crew to help him rescue Grogu from the clutches of the Imperial remnant. After a daring message to the Moff announcing his intentions, the Mandalorian seemed ready to fight through the whole ship to take the Child back.
The season finale starts right in the action, as Din, Boba Fett, Cara Dune, and Fennec Shand commandeer an Imperial shuttle carrying Doctor Pershing. They then meet up with Bo-Katan Kryze and Koska Reeves and recruit them for the rescue mission, promising Gideon and the Darksaber in return for their help. After a brutal battle through the bowels of the old Imperial cruiser, Din confronts Gideon in a fierce Darksaber/beskar spear fight, with Din prevailing and rescuing the child (much to the chagrin of Bo-Katan, who wanted to defeat Gideon herself to assert herself as Mandalore).
Besieged by a platoon of Dark Troopers on the bridge, the heroes seem doomed... until the surprise arrival of Luke Skywalker via his X-wing. Din says goodbye to Grogu – removing his helmet to do so – and lets Luke leave with him to train him as a Jedi. Oh, and Boba Fett basically declares himself the new king of Tatooine.
All in all, “The Rescue” gave fans everything they could have asked for in a finale – great action, fun twists and surprises, major cliffhangers, and a couple truly bittersweet moments. A lot changed in less than an hour of screen time, and it will be fascinating to see how the story handles those changes in season 3. Until then, there are some major questions for fans to speculate over.
The unthinkable has happened – Baby Yoda has seemingly departed The Mandalorian. The Child has become the heart of the show and perhaps the most widely beloved addition to the Star Wars universe since Disney first acquired Lucasfilm. Since the first episode, the series has told the story of Mando and Grogu together; a Lone Wolf and Cub twist on Star Wars’ classic samurai inspirations. Now that he’s left with Luke to train as a Jedi, the nature of the show may change significantly.
But is he really gone forever? Storyline tropes and the character’s immense popularity suggest not. There is no mention of Grogu in the sequels’ discussion of Luke’s Jedi trainees, nor in any of the ancillary texts Disney has published. In fact, some of those texts mention Ben Solo as the first Jedi Luke trained. That would now either need to be retconned, or something would have to happen to Grogu before he began his training.
Either way, it seems certain that the little guy hasn’t made his last appearance on the show. Whether he’ll get captured again or show up to Din’s rescue in some far-off episode is unclear, but there’s still a lot about the Child’s origins and abilities that needs to be explained. For now though, it looks like the show will be taking a break from Baby Yoda.
After fulfilling their pledge to help Din rescue the Child, Boba Fett and Fennec left and returned to Tatooine, where they starred in possibly the greatest post-credits scene in the history of credits. The two infiltrate Jabba the Hutt’s old palace, kill Bib Fortuna (who’s taken his old master’s place), and seemingly assert themselves the new rulers of the Tatooine underworld. The scene closes with the promise of The Book of Boba Fett – an as-yet undefined piece of content coming December 2021.
Whether The Book of Boba Fett is a miniseries, streaming film, or something else entirely, it promises more action-packed Outer Rim adventures for Boba and Shand. Will they become the new lords of the bounty hunting world? Will fans get an explanation for Fett’s escape from the Sarlacc? Whatever the new story ends up being, it’s sure to be fun to watch.
Those he’s given up the Child, Din has acquired something new. By besting Gideon in single combat, he has won the Darksaber by right and is now technically the ruler of Mandalore. He tries to give the sword to Bo-Katan, wanting nothing to do with it, but she refuses to accept to gift as it would not be seen as a valid victory by her people. That opens up a ton of possibilities for plotlines and drama in season 3.
For starters, Bo-Katan may not be so friendly anymore. She wants to rule Mandalore and restore it to its former glory, and the only way she can do that, according to the code, is to defeat Din and take back the Saber. Though she obtained the sword from Sabine Wren in Star Wars: Rebels without having to win a duel, it seems her perspective on that rule has changed. Her apparent inability to bring lasting uniting and strength to the clans of Mandalore might have been due to others disputing her authority, which means that this time she’ll only take the saber back the right way.
The other big questions regard Din himself. He has no interest in lightsabers or leading nations, yet he is now the de factor ruler of his people. And with Grogu gone, he’ll need a new mission and purpose to fight for. Does that mean season 3 will have Din trying to unite the remaining coverts and restore their planet? Maybe. The removal of his helmet suggests he might be shedding the Death Watch code by which he was raised. Ultimately, fans won’t know what Din decides for another year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t theorize.
By the end of “The Rescue,” Moff Gideon is lying on the floor of his cruiser, cuffed and knocked unconscious by Cara Dune’s hand. Presumably, she will return him to New Republic custody – a plotline that could continue in season 3, the spinoff series Rangers of the New Republic, or both. Gideon’s defeat – temporary though it may be – leaves a villain-shaped hole in The Mandalorian’s story. Going forward.
That hole could be filled by the alluded-to return of Grand Admiral Thrawn. The feared Chiss strategist will likely appear soon in the growing universe of The Mandalorian, and Gideon’s current incapacitation is a perfect lead-in to his live-action debut. The Imperial fleet referenced earlier in season 2 has yet to be seen, as Gideon’s cruiser was flying solo when Mando and party boarded it. That means the remnant’s full strength is still out there, and Din may have just gotten their attention.
Luke Skywalker’s cameo in “The Rescue” was a great way to send season 2 off. However, the method of his return – superimposing a CGI de-aged Mark Hamill face onto the body of a different actor – doesn’t necessarily lend itself to extensive reappearances. Luke could show up again briefly in the show’s future, but likely as nothing more than another cool, short-lived cameo. Still, his return opens the door for other past Star Wars characters to come back in The Mandalorian’s future.
Given the New Republic’s growing role in the background of the show’s story, Leia Organa could be one of those faces. Ahsoka’s ongoing quest for Thrawn means the Grand Admiral will likely appear, as could young Jedi Ezra Bridger, or other Rebels characters like Sabine Wren and Hera Syndulla. Those are just a few names that could return in the future, but the options opened up by The Mandalorian’s season 2 finale are sprawling and incredibly exciting. It will be a long wait until the show returns, and fans have a lot to think about before it does.
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