Luke Skywalker was just the setup for The Mandalorian's best scene ever
A heartfelt moment between Mando and Grogu underlined what the plot has been teasing all season.
The Mandalorian has finally grown up. After a handful of genre-hopping one-off adventures, the back-half of Season 2 drilled in on Mando's search of answers regarding his tiny clanmate Grogu. While Din Djarin found the answers on planets like Corvus and Tython, he lost himself along the way. The Mandalorian Season 2 finale brought closure to his story, but not in the way you think. Warning! Major spoilers ahead.
Chapter 16, "The Rescue," was so brilliant because it built on themes established in the previous episode. In Chapter 15, "The Believer," themes like survivor's guilt, shame, and duty echoed throughout, but the most prevalent of the themes was in the title itself — belief. Mando was forced to confront what was more important to him: His Way of the Mandalore or his bond with Grogu? His response was to compromise, removing his Mandalorian helmet in favor of a storm trooper one and later removing that one too. His beliefs were slipping through his fingers.
Din Djarin forced to remove his helmet on the planet Morak in Chapter 15.
In "The Rescue," Mando's opposition is much more fearsome than just a face scanner. The entire episode is full of confrontations between an unstoppable force (the Empire) and an immovable object (Din Djarin). Mando's helmet keeps its shape even when being pounded by a dark trooper fist. The Darksaber can cut through anything — except Mando's pure beskar spear. The entire episode seems punctuated by the power of beskar, beskar that he voluntarily, if temporarily, removed the episode prior.
The introduction of a digitally created Luke Skywalker was a glorious moment in and of itself — there's nothing like watching a lightsaber slice through droids like a hot knife through butter. But it also served as a crossroads for Mando. In saying goodbye to Grogu, he's finally forced to make a choice he won't ever be able to take back.
A teary Din Djarin finally face to face with Grogu.
Unlike "The Believer," Mando is under no obligation to take off his helmet. He's surrounded by people, including a stranger, and the previous 40 minutes of the episode proved how important that beskar is to his survival. But yet again, an unstoppable force meets an immovable object — Mando's love for Grogu and his dedication to his creed. It may sound cheesy, but love was more powerful than beskar, and for once, Mando lets Grogu see him not as a Mandalorian, but as a person and a father.
That small moment of Grogu reaching for Din Djarin's cheek changed the course of The Mandalorian as a series forever. He's broken his vows to keep his helmet on and rejected the Way. This may put him on the outs with The Armorer, but it means he can learn a new way of life, an entirely different "way of the Mandalore" that Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves practice, one that allows him to be a person and nurture the bond between him and Grogu. Now they're separated, they'll need all the bond they can get.
The Mandalorian Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.
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