Mike86

Yeah, thinking about it more this almost could have been the series finale. Everything is wrapped up at the end.

The only real loose end is with Bo Katan and the Dark Saber. Thing is though up until now Mando hasn’t cared about the Dark Saber or being the ruler of Mandalore. Curious what direction the third season will go.

Crocker Jarmen

And I liked that he was holding the staff that came with the original 1983 action figure lol





And Dr. Pershing really reminds me of Mr. Mike from Saturday Night Live.

Mike86

Bib got chunky in a few years. I guess he was probably just sitting around the palace not doing much.

Nice touch with the staff from the Kenner figure.

kefrank

One thing that's kind of been bugging me - was there any indication of why the scientist was willing to give so much information at the beginning of the episode? They didn't even have to threaten him at that point. Was he just scared after having his ear grazed?

jpcamb

that was amazing. Missed the recap as I had family come in the door as the credits started to roll so now I have my excuse to rewatch the episode. I have to say this is what I wanted from the last trilogy series and it makes me hate Rian's movie even more than I did.

very glad I got to watch it last night and did not have it spoiled before seeing the big reveal as I went through the same disbelief as the rest of you with the slow reveal.

Mike86

He seemed to have not been on board with what Moff Gideon and the Imperials were doing to Grogu. My impression is that he was probably working with them against his will. Pretty sure that’s why he was willing to help Mando and company.

Geddlo

Loved that Luke showed up with his laser sword and faced down the army of droids to save the day.

I do like that no one, besides the audience and maybe Cara Dune, have any idea who he actually is. Bo Katan just sees a Jedi...

Cellar Door

That was a really well done scene, IMO. Gideon attacks so aggressively and without warning that Mando is back on his heels and playing defense at first. Then he gets his footing and brings his staff into play, and you can see that Gideon's advantage only comes from having the darksaber, but Mando's got the moves. I loved that move he makes where he plants his staff to block a swipe from the darksaber, then kicks the bottom end of the staff to swing it around and attack Gideon.

devilshalo

It's the end of his quest with Grogu, but he still has a story that will take him and Bo-Katan back to Mandalore. His other Mandalorian brethren were killed or scattered at the end of season 1.

funkyryno

My children were distressed when they realized that Mando sent Baby Yoda away to be slaughtered at Luke's Jedi school.​​

GoldenJCJ

I can freely admit that I was somewhat critical of Season 1. It was fun but just didn’t pull me in like I was hoping. I also have to admit I was completely in love with Season 2 from the premiere. It was absolutely fantastic from beginning to end!

I had mixed feelings about bringing the Skywalkers back into the fold but as soon as Ahsoka talked about other Jedi out there, the 10 year old in me really hoped it would be Luke. Seeing him show back up in this episode was incredible. I was afraid the CGI would be Rogue One Leia bad but I think it looked pretty good. Much better than Leia and Tarkin. It wasn’t perfect but it was believable enough not to take me out of the show.

The only thing that I didn’t care for was a laser gun getting jammed but I can overlook that part

I’ve been watching this series with my 6 year old son and it’s been great to be able to re-experience the feeling of Star Wars of my youth with him.

mcnabb

If this were the series finale of The Mandalorian, than I am totally fine with that ending. The problem with bringing back Luke Skywalker (as JJ Abrams said back in 2015 after Luke was in Episode 7 for 30 seconds) is that he's so powerful, he overshadows everything else. And that's not belittling Luke, that's almost saying he's a God at this point (that scene was like watching Superman motor through everything in site). How can the show top that season finale after what we saw from Luke? If there is ever a large threat to the galaxy again, how can he not come to the rescue in Season 3,4,5?

Ironically, this may get some fans to re-think how Luke was portrayed in TLJ. He shut himself off from the Force, and that is when the whole galaxy went to a Civil War. That's the only way you can have Luke not overshadow any situation in a Galaxy Far Far Away.

Goldberg74

To be fair, Cara’s weapon does shoot “blaster bolts” so it could get jammed. 😉

dex14

The show shouldn't be about galaxy large threats, at least not in the sense that our main characters need to do anything about. It is smaller stories, and overall, that is what it has been.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, I hope Bib isn't completely dead, and they saved his brain...

Spoilers for the old EU:

Abob Teff

I had to tell myself “Quit being a nerd and just let it go.” Same with a “laser rifle” “jamming.”

It is these stupid details that bug me ... Quit being a nerd, Abob.

Giantrobo

Yall looove the series so the not great Skywalker cgi gets a pass. i had a fanboy pretty much get jizz on my shoe as he gushed over this finale. I mean it was good, but not get jizz in someone's shoe good.

GoldenJCJ

^ Can it at least trickle down my leg, even if I don’t fill a shoe?


I also thought the Luke CGI was surprisingly good. I was worried when he removed his hood because I thought it would be terrible. It wasn’t.

TGM

what can be said that hasn't been already.

much like I said after Rogue One that I never thought I'd see Darth Vader kicking ass like that...
much like I said after seeing the trailer for The Force Awakens, I never thought I'd see Harrison Ford as Han Solo again...

I never thought I'd see Luke fucking Skywalker young at full power ever. Seeing Luke and R2 together again in their prime... my goodness.

This show is such a gem and they really need to give the keys to the kingdom to Mikey from Swingers and Filoni. They are fans first... and it shows... no attention to detail is spared.

kefrank

I think there's a pretty wide range of sensitivity to CGI realism or lacktherof. I thought the CGI was pretty bad and looked very unnatural when Luke was talking. Several articles I've read online also commented on the CGI being bad. Here are a couple:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-mandalor...-im-1845912360
https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/18/...skywalker-saga

TGM

they have trouble with mouths still.

but that's OK.

VinVega

I watched the season 2 finale. I want to have Jon Favreau's baby.

This 40 min episode blew away the last SIX Star Wars trilogy movies that were made.

VinVega

Grogu is going to make it. Hell, he may even show up to help train Rey in some episode far in the future.

Abob Teff

Going to parse lots of responses into one post ...

kefrank and colin ... you aren’t alone. There is plenty of good in both the PT and the ST and there is plenty of bad in both the PT and the ST. I can get past some of the amateurish filmmaking in both, but what I find to be the worst decision made in both sets is the decision to retcon and make the whole thing about a single bloodline. That said ...

We saw the X-Wing and I thought it was the pilot we’ve been seeing this season. Then I thought, “No, he would have identified himself, wouldn’t be alone, and what the heck is he going to do anyway?” We saw the cloak and my housemate said “Ahsoka!” My first reaction was “Hell yes! But why did they have to ruin this by forcing her into Luke’s X-Wing?” Then we saw ONE lightsaber in the security feed, not two. I knew. I tried to deny it.

My housemate looked at me and said, “You are hating this right now, aren’t you?” I had to think about it. I think I am OK with it though. It served the story and did not make it about Luke. It was a logical step. Nobody proclaimed, “Oh, thank heavens, Luke is here!” Grogu needs a Jedi to train him, who was doing that at this point in the timeline? Luke was pretty much it. I’m OK.

OTHER RANDOM THINGS

While I love most of what Favreau and Filoni have done, there is plenty coming the Filoni-verse that I don’t care for. I never watched Clone Wars. I tried a few times and couldn’t get past “It’s juvenile Star Wars.” I did push myself through Rebels, though it evoked that same reaction from me at times. Bringing those things here ... yeah, still feels like mixing toys in the sandbox.

The Dark Saber ... adamantium, vibranium, unobtainmium ... I like the Mandalorian lore around the Darksaber, but it is just lazy kids-in-the-sandbox escalation. Lightsabers can cut through anything! Nuh-uh, they can’t cut through my Darksaber! Oh yeah, well I have Darksaber-proof armor, so your Darksaber can’t cut through my beskar! Dummy, how come your beskar can be melted with a blowtorch and made into armor then?!

Moff Gideon ... has felt generic to me the whole time, from his design to his portrayal. Even using Giancarlo Esposito has not given the character any life.

Dark Troopers ... did not feel very Star Wars-y to me, I know they are from ... something. They felt too robotic though. We’ve had plenty of mechanical characters and these felt very out of place by their movement. Which also reminds me ... punching the door down? That’s what they have? Oh dear.

Season 3 without Grogu would be a mistake. I know the show isn’t about him, per se, however they will lose a notable chunk of the audience without him being in the show regularly.

THE GOOD ... trying to touch on just the things I haven’t heard here already ...

I know we’ve said it before but ... OMG the score is great every week!

The Dark Troopers. Like I said, not a fan of the character execution, but I love the concept. We’ve come full circle again. “Imperial” troops were robots, then clones, then people, and now robots again. The human in the armor was the weak point. When they were blown out of the airlock, I said to my housemate, “They aren’t dead though. They are robots. They’ll be back shortly.”

The Battlestar Galactica nods ... the Tie Fighters launching down the tube and Starbucks, er, Bo-Katan crashing back into the tube.

Slave 1 ... why does just seeing that ship excite me?

Boba Fett saying he never said he was a Mandalorian ... but still the connection to the armor persists. I was iffy at first, but I am digging the armor over a black cloak look.

The Cow

They were very Cybermen-ish (Doctor Who) to me.