The Mandalorian S2E8 The Rescue

 

Who saved who?

Did Luke save Grogu or vice versa, The title of this episode has multiple meanings just like Return of the Jedi! 

My most heartfelt thanks goes to John Favreau and Dave Filoni, this show has single handedly rescued the franchise and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams were not the right choices for Disney's ST.

The fact that there were so many fans guessing who was going to show up and it turned out to be Luke, it's a miracle that the secret wasn't spoiled! To be honest it was always gonna be Luke. It makes the most sense. Sure seeing Ezra would've been cool, and he is out there somewhere in this point in time but having Luke show up just felt right. 

And seeing him dispatching the Dark Troopers without breaking a sweat was what we were expecting to see in TLJ and never got. What I saw yesterday was not God Tier, Expanded Universe Luke, it was a logical progression of the Luke Skywalker we saw in Return of the Jedi. 

The scene when Din is holding Grogu and he removes his helmet was absolutely poetic and rhymed so well with the scene in Return of the Jedi when Anakin tells Luke to help him remove his mask so he could look at him with his own eyes. 

And with Grogu leaving with Luke to be trained the circle is now complete! Luke was trained by Jedi Master Yoda and now Jedi Master Luke Skywalker will train Grogu. Poetry. 

That was the highlight of the episode for me, but I also really enjoyed the scenes when Din recruits Bo Katan and the confrontation between Boba, Koska and Bo Katan Kryze. Calling Jango his donor was a low blow!

Now to the issue of the Dark Sabre and Din and Bo...

So Din Djarin defeats Moff Gideon in a rather impressive duel and thus unknowingly claims the Dark Sabre, which was Bo's sole reason for helping Din rescue the child. Gideon knows the story and gleefully explains it to Din in front of Bo. Clearly Din has no interest in the Dark Sabre buuuutttt.....

This will be a major point of contention when The Mandalorian Season 3 returns December 2021 or is that the Book of Boba Fett??? I doubt D+ will have 2 shows running simultaneously about two Mandalorians, more likely than not The Book of Boba Fett will be a miniseries that will lead into season 3 of The Mandalorian.  

The Mandalorian S2E7 The Believer

 

You have something that belongs to me......

This week Mando recruits his old friend Migs Mayfeld to infiltrate an Imperial facility on Morag Morak to locate Moff Gideon. 

Mayfeld and Mando infiltrate the facility, Fennec and Cara offer sniper support and Boba is the wheelman....what could possibly go wrong?

Well we will be driving a hijacked truck full of highly explosive Rhydonium and lest not forget the angry pirates/natives! The chase scene in this episode felt alot like a typical side scrolling action game from the 16 bit era with the multiple waves of bad guys, yet it was still was more thrilling than The Last Jedi's chase thru Space!  

Spoiler: they make it to the refinery! It was very interesting when the two TIE's flew in to assist Mayfeld and Din I felt like cheering, and as the two were being cheered on by the troopers and refinery workers it felt like the scene in A New Hope when Luke returns to Yavin IV after destroying the Death Star. The Juxtaposition was subtle and well executed to substantiate Mayfield's point of view when he is discussing the similarities and differences of The Empire and the New Republic with Din. The Dynamic Duo now face off against the boss of the level Valin Hess! Migs gets cold feet when he spots Hess so Din takes the data stick to the terminal and actually removes the helmet to allow for a facial scan....Din get's the coordinates for Gideon's cruiser but Hess approaches Din and asks for his designation. Mig's interjects Hess's inquiry to remind Din that they need to file they're TPS reports! LMAO!!

To celebrate the safe return of Hess's Truck he invites Mayfeld and Din to a drink. And this was, for me, the highlight of the episode when Mayfield suggests a toast to Operation Cinder and he defiantly questions Hess's belief of the validity and cost of Operation Cinder, but Hess apparently doesn't see Mayfeld's utter anger and disgust thru his hubris. I loved seeing Din's expression as he realized Mayfeld's stance on the topic and where the conversation was leading. The breaking point was when Hess explains to the boys that people think they want freedom, but what they really want is order, which reiterates the state of the galaxy. 

Mayfeld snaps and Hess takes a bolt to the chest, seeing the Trooper standing there holding his tray speechless and that brief moment of WTF just happened, was great, JJ could learn a thing or two from actually taking a moment between the action for dramatic effect....

Din and Mayfeld make a daring escape from the mess hall out a window to the roof as Cara and Fennec offer sniper support and Boba heads in for the pick up. As the two leap onto Slave 1 Mayfeld asks Din for a riffle and makes an impressive shot to the Rhydonium in the truck they came in on setting off a crippling explosion at the  facility. Two Ties pursue Slave 1 and Boba gives them a parting gift, a seismic charge! One of the coolest weapons introduced in Attack of the Clones. 

All in all The Believer was an enjoyable episode with a theme that beliefs change over time, this was illustrated with many characters in this episode Mayfeld and the Empire, Din Djarin and the way of the Mandalore, Cara Dune and her opinion of Migs based on his former allegiance to The Empire.

The message Din makes for Gideon was great, I love when heroes uses villain's own words against them. 

Next Friday is sadly the season finale and we will have to wait a whole fricken year for season 3!

 

The Mandalorian S2E6 The Tragedy

 

If  you're a fan of Boba Fett yesterdays episode was a love letter from Filoni and Favreau, this episode was directed by Robert Rodriguez (Alita: Battle Angel, Planet Terror) and it had his signature style. 

So Din and Grogu arrive on Tython and find the ancient Je' daii temple as Ahsoka instructed. The first few mins of this episode really shows the connection Din and Grogu have. The scene where Din is telling Grogu to take the ball, feels so honest, like a father and son playing catch. 

It's funny my wife and kids are legitimately more concerned about the well being of Grogu than any of the characters from the ST,  this just solidifies in my opinion that multiple directors with a clear planned outline for a story can work.....with the right people and a clearly planned story.

So Grogu is placed on the seeing stone and almost immediately Slave One shows up and Din goes into protection mode! I have 2 questions about this scene, Din has never seen Slave One, did he sense danger? And where was Slave One the whole time Boba was in the Sarlacc?

So somehow Boba tracked Din to Tython to reclaim his armor, I loved the line Boba uses when Din asks if he's a Jedi or if he's come for the child,

"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the galaxy."

The stand off between Din and Boba offered more than just a tense scene, it cleared up an item of contention regarding Jango, whether he was Mandalorian or not. Check box checked.

As Luke says in TRoS "No one is ever really gone", Boba tells Din he brought along a sniper whose got her sights on his little companion......Fennec Shand. Yup she's back and now has a life debt to Boba. 

Boba realizes the negotiations are becoming too aggressive so he offers a truce, the armor for child protective services.....so to speak.

But before an agreement can be reached a third party joins, an Imperial drop ship lands and a platoon oh Imps disembark to capture Grogu, unfortunately Din, Boba and Fennec have the high ground...

The Imps bring out the heavy repeater and a grenade launcher but between Fennecs best impersonation of Hawkeye, Din's Beskar and sharp shooting skills and Boba's absolutely ferocious CQC the Imps are absolutely massacred! After seeing Boba in action in this episode I gotta believe Boba could've gone toe to toe with Luke in ESB....but was hung over from Jabba's party the night before.

So when traditional storm troopers fail (as we know they will) Gideon sends out the Dark Troopers to retrieve the package...almost as if it was planned to divert the heroes attention down the hill.....very strategic, wink wink nudge nudge. 

Boba gives chase in Slave One but is told to stand down in order to not harm Grogu. 

When Boba spots the Imperial Cruiser he says "They're back", Fennec says "That can't be, the Outer Rim is under New Republic Jurisdiction" then Boba replies "this isn't a spice dream, I seet he Imperial Cruiser with my own eyes".

This scene totally  reminds me of Zahn's Heir to the Empire novel and is a subtle nod to Frank Herbert's Dune.

All in all another impressive episode, with only two episodes left I don't believe we will see any Jedi but I fully expect to see or hear Grand Admiral Thrawn in the season finale. My only gripe was not seeing more of Tython, like it's two moons Ashla and Bogen and perhaps a pyramid or two off in the distance. For fans such as myself we know the significance of Tython, but normies won't and if those things were seen it would pique there curiosity to possibly dig a bit deeper. 

Next week I suspect Din will begin to round up a pose to go rescue Grogu including Boba, Fennec, Cara and Migs.