by Mack Olmsted
The last two episodes of The Mandalorian season 2 were no disappointment. These episodes did a great job of tying up loose ends and finishing the story that began a year ago. Everything from the characters to the special effects really showed why The Mandalorian was nominated for 15 Emmy’s last year.
The Mandalorian season 2, episode 7 was a more toned down episode when compared to the rest of the season, but it had an amazing story with thrilling fight scenes. The episode first takes us to the Karthon Chop Fields which is a prison for criminals of the New Republic. There we meet prisoner 3-4-6-6-7 who happens to be Migs Mayfeld. The New Republic marshal Cara Dune arrives at the prison and takes Migs into her custody. Cara takes Migs to the Slave-1(Boba Fett’s ship) where Migs sees a familiar face and refuses to do whatever job they have for him. Cara reminds him that he never had a choice, so he goes along with them. The group informs Migs that Grogu has been taken and they need Moff Gideon’s coordinates. He tells the group he can find him, but he needs an imperial terminal that can be found at the mining hub on Morak. So that’s where the team goes.
The plan is to hijack a transport truck disguised as storm troopers and get out with the map where Moff Gideon is. So Mando and Migs take over this transport truck of highly explosive fuel. They almost have the truck stolen by pirates, but then they’re saved by a squad of stormtroopers. They get to the imperial base and go straight for the terminal. Migs is scared he will be recognized, so he thinks they should get out. But Mando, being determined to get Grogu back, goes to the terminal and takes his helmet off breaking his rule. Then Migs and Mando are questioned by an imperial officer who wants to know more information about their assignment. Migs then kills him on the spot and an awesome shoot out begins. While Migs and Mando are trying to escape to the roof, Cara and Fennec are sniping out stormtroopers that try to stop them. Migs and Mando make it to the roof where Boba Fett is waiting and is ready to make a great escape. As they get out of there, Migs shoots one of the fuel tanks they were transporting earlier on which causes a series of explosions destroying the base. After that, Cara and Mando agree to let Migs go as a free man for redeeming himself. The episode ends with Mando giving the exact same message to Moff Gideon as the one Moff Gideon gave him last season.
This was a really cool episode. It had a lot of fight scenes and more character development for both Migs Mayfield and Din Djarin (Mando). Migs Mayfeld went from being a backstabbing criminal to an ally of the New Republic, and Mando went from following the rules of the Mandalore to distancing himself from these rules: Mando, for the first time in the show, showed his face to another living person. I think this means Mando is now looking for a “new way” and is trying to leave his old rules behind – he is trying to create new ones. Overall this episode seemed short but every minute was exciting. This episode was also a great send off to Bill Burr’s character, Migs.
The Mandalorian season 2, episode 8 just might be the best thing Lucasfilm has ever made. The episode begins with the Slave-1 targeting an imperial shuttle and kidnapping the clone scientist that worked on Grogu. After that, Mando tracks down Bo-Katan. Mando takes Boba to where Bo-Katan and her partner, Koska Reeves, are eating at what looks like a galactic pit stop. They are a little hesitant when they see Boba because they know he is a bounty hunter. Boba has a brawl with Koska when Mando tells her the Empire has the child and Bo tells them to stop and they get to work.
On the Slave-1 they devise a plan: Boba will follow them in the Imperial shuttle, so it looks like they have to make an emergency landing on the cruiser. On the cruiser, Mando is going to split from Cara, Fennec, Bo and Koska and move in the shadows to save Grogu. So the plan works and the girls go in guns blazing while Mando moves around the ship secretly. Just when the Dark Troopers are about to attack, Mando opens the door and they are sucked out into space. While the group is having epic shootouts making their way to take down Moff Gideon, Mando opens the door to Grogu’s cell seeing that Gideon has the Dark Saber to Grogu’s throat. Mando tells him that his team is taking over the ship and they will let him go as long as he doesn’t kill Grogu. Moff Gideon agrees and, just as Mando has his back to the enemy, he strikes the Dark Saber to Mando head. Mando’s helmet saves him since it’s made out of the strongest metal in Star Wars: Beskar.
The showdown begins when Mando is fighting with his Beskar spear that Ashoka gave him and proves that he is one of the best fighters in the galaxy. Mando takes down Moff Gideon and retrieves the Dark Saber. As he takes Grogu and a tied up Moff Gideon to the cockpit of the cruiser, Gideon starts laughing telling Bo you can’t have the DarkSaber unless you win a fight against Mando. She turns to Mando with a look of disappointment when the Dark Troopers return. As they make their way to the front of the ship, the group realizes their chances of winning are low, but they are going down fighting. But then reinforcements arrive: a lone X-wing Fighter lands on the ship. A figure in a dark cloak comes out wielding a green lightsaber. He takes down the Dark Troopers one by one making his way to the team. Once he kills the last dark Troopers, Mando feels he has proven himself an ally and lets him in. Once inside the Jedi takes off his hood revealing himself to be the one and only Luke Skywalker. Luke wants to take Grogu and train him to become a Jedi.
Mando has his final goodbye with Grogu, taking his helmet off so he can see him with his own eyes one last time. Grogo leaves willingly with Luke and the show fades to black.
I can now definitively say this is my favorite Mandalorian episode. The fight scenes were some of the best in Star Wars history. The characters were so great to see interact with each other. And hearing Mark Hamill’s voice as Luke Skywalker again was amazing. I think people would have just been fine hearing the voice with the hood down, but we got to see Luke Skywalker’s face who looks like he just jumped out of Episode VI Return of The Jedi. I loved the Dark Troopers, and seeing them fight with their big red glowing eyes was so much fun. This episode also made me appreciate the background music that played when the Dark Troopers arrived and Luke came to save the day. I never appreciated an episode of any show as much as I did for this one. This episode was a great conclusion to the Mando and Grogu storyline, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in season 3.