Am I still smiling? I'm still smiling.
I repeated a call I saw others make in telling people to STAY OFF THE INTERNET UNTIL THEY'VE SEEN THE FINALE BECAUSE SPOILERS. And I mean it. There's a LOT that happens here, and so many things to get spoiled.
See my take on spoilery stuff after the buffer.
So, the season finale. Does it wrap up stuff? Absolutely. Does it have a cliffhanger? Eh, not really. Does it leave room for questions? You bet your dank ferrik, it does. This was an exceptionally exciting, tense and moving entry into the story. We get awesome moments with great characters, epic team-ups, some tender moments and just a lot of great stuff.
With the location of Moff Gideon's ship, our hero and his comrades go to rescue Baby Yoda, not expecting the surprises that await them on board, nor what happens when things get bleak. That's really about all I can say story-wise without spoiling things.
I can tell you Pedro Pascal just grows on me more and more and more. He's upped his game this season, solidifying his genius at acting a role where we really don't get to see his face but for a couple of exceptions. I can also tell you I've seen some criticisms about a key element in this episode that I consider valid; one bothered me a little as well, the other I can see where it comes from but I'm not bugged by it.
One more thing - the music really stood out to me in this episode. It's a great soundtrack from start to finish, but in some places I felt more of an orchestral sound connected to John Williams' style than I had before, and that really deepened those moments for me. Ludwig Göransson has absolutely owned the sound of the show, and this only made it better.
Okay, spoiler time, crew. Let's do this.
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Once again, WHERE THE KRIFF DO I EVEN START?!?!?!???
- I gotta start with THAT reveal. When the X-wing showed up, I figured "hey, the New Republic is gonna help." Then they said it was just one, and as it docked in the light cruiser, my mind suddenly went "WAIT JUST A FUTZING MINUTE." Sure enough, the pilot had an all black robe and outfit, a black glove and a GREEN LIGHTSABER. THEY ACTUALLY DID IT - THEY BROUGHT BACK LUKE FUTZING SKYWALKER!!!!!!!!
Never mind the somewhat-awkward CGI they did (akin to Tarkin and Leia in "Rogue One" - it was jarring at first, but I got over it REAL quick). This episode was Luke's "Vader in 'Rogue One'" moment. In "Rogue One," fans finally got to see the side of Vader we didn't get to see in the original trilogy - epically kicking a** with the Force and his lightsaber. We got to see Luke do the same thing in Chapter 16 like we a) didn't see in the OT, and b) didn't see in The Last Jedi.
Let me say, here and now, I absolutely love what Rian Johnson did with Luke, writing a disillusioned and "over it" older Luke who's all pacifist. I think it's the best way to do that Luke. What we got in Chapter 16 was the kick-a** Luke, mowing through the Dark Troopers with his saber and the Force, JUST UTTERLY CRUSHING ONE WITH THE FORCE.
And the way Peyton Reed (the director) built the tension: we knew it was Luke, but he didn't reveal his face until he met the heroes, and so it was just minutes of anticipation, mixed with excitement at the action, sprinkled with amazing musical scoring, until we got a massive birthday cake of a reveal. It was VERY satisfying as a lifelong Star Wars fan.
- One criticism I've seen is that Luke felt too obvious a choice for the Jedi that Grogu connected with on Tython. Some wanted Ezra Bridger (from the animated series "Rebels"), some even guessed they'd bring back Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson's Jedi from the prequels) based on a theory he survived getting lightning-blasted and thrown from Palpatine's office. Personally, I kinda hoped for a Force ghost connection, like with regular Yoda or even Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan. Maybe I'll decide Luke was an easy out, but for now, I'm just too excited about the whole thing.
- Going back to Pedro's genius, he just about had me in tears when he took off his helmet while saying goodbye to Grogu. I really didn't expect them to part ways so soon, so I wasn't ready for it. People had been saying since season one there'd be a moment where Din showed his face to Grogu, and this was it, and it was so tender and so sweet and so perfect. My heart melted when Grogu reached out to touch Din's face. Definitely one of my favorite moments of the entire thing. And I absolutely believe his promise that they'll see each other again. I don't know when or how, but it's gotta happen.
WAIT! DIN FORGOT TO GIVE BABY YODA THE SILVER BALL! Yup, they're seeing each other again if only to correct this oversight.
- What's next for Baby Yoda? Well, it just occurred to me that by going with Luke to train, maybe he'll get to meet Leia, and that makes my heart warm. The big question I've seen is does this mean Grogu was at Luke's academy when Ben Solo/Kylo Ren destroyed it? The answer is I don't know. I expect we'll get some answer to that at some point, like we'll get an answer for how Grogu didn't die in the Order 66 purge (Ahsoka told Din/us Grogu was at the Jedi Temple at the time). Since we don't see Grogu in the sequel trilogy, I expect he either dies (which if that's the case I'm unleashing the murder bears on someone) or opts not to continue as a Jedi. One theory I saw is that Luke helps Grogu unlock his past trauma and open up more, and that he chooses to go back with Din, and I love that.
- Baby Yoda meeting R2-D2 is better/sweeter/more awesome than R2-D2 meeting C-3PO in "The Phantom Menace" and this is a hill I will die on.
- I figured Mando would enlist Bo-Katan's help for the rescue mission, since he and she both have a vested interest in finding Moff Gideon. What I did NOT expect was the tension we'd be left with at the end of the episode. I know the big thing in the episode was NOT tension over Mandalore culture and leadership, but I think that sets up the next season.
See, while the Darksaber needs to be claimed in combat, we don't know that it has to be mortal combat. We don't know how Gideon got the blade from Bo-Katan; it's likely he stole it somehow, but if it was combat, clearly she survived. My prediction is that Mando and Bo-Katan will find a way to transfer the blade to her rightfully with both surviving. I don't think Din is one who wants to lead or take power.
- THAT SAID: there was a moment where he was holding the Darksaber, and his stance seemed to maybe say he was considering holding onto that power. Think what he could do with it: he could bring his own covert of Mandalorians out of hiding and give them a legitimate home forever. He may now have visions of reuniting the Mandalorian people. Power is a heady tonic, so maybe that will be a temptation he faces now.
I predict the next season, since Baby Yoda's no longer the adorable MacGuffin of the show, will focus more on Mandalorian culture and history and all that. We've got to reconcile the different sects of Mandalorians (we have Din's and Bo-Katan's groups, at least), we've got to reconcile the succession issue, we've got to reconcile Din's choices that went against his creed (mask removal) and what that means for him going forward. Will it mean a kind of crisis of faith? There's a lot to explore regarding the Mandalorian part of Din's identity.
- Alright, THAT POST-CREDITS SCENE. When the episode ended I saw there were, like 7 minutes left, and I thought "weird they'd have extra credits but whatever." I started skipping through, wanting to get to the concept art they always show, WHEN SUDDENLY THERE'S JABBA'S PALACE!!
Cut to Bib Fortuna (the late Jabba's gross majordomo) sitting on his former master's throne being gross (how did he survive the sail barge explosion? Don't matter now, he dead!) until Fennec Shand blasts her way in, followed closely by Boba Fett. Once Fett dispatches the Twi'lek, he takes the throne, with Fennec at his side. WAIT, WHAT?!?!
And then the words: "The Book of Boba Fett...Coming in 2021." HOLY KRIFF! ANOTHER SERIES!!
Last week Disney was all "here's 10 things to drool over coming to Disney+" and today they're like "oops we forgot to tell you about this one." I cannot wait to see where this takes us.
- The "Dark Forces" fan in me loved to see Dark Troopers in action. They were just as bad-a** as I wanted them to be.
- Moff Gideon is just pure gold. Giancarlo Esposito plays him with such charisma, he's easily one of the best Star Wars villains ever. He's like Director Krennic in "Rogue One," he just chews through every scene he's in. And DANG did he hold his own against Din Djarin! Their battle was epic, Darksaber against beskar spear. I miss Din's rifle (RIP along with the Razor Crest) but I'm loving this spear.
- We also get precious little about what exactly Moff Gideon wanted with Grogu's blood. He says he only wanted the blood, and hinted it would help bring order. I'm guessing (as I suspected all along) this is tied to Palpatine's efforts to live forever/reincarnate, but that hasn't been explicitly confirmed.
I think that's it, crew. This was a solid season, easily as good as the first and a lot better in some ways. I can't wait to see what's next, and hopefully we get to see all our heroes more in some fashion, be it Disney+ show or otherwise.
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Well now what the heck am I going to write about?
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