Ok so Luke Skywalker showing up at the end of Season 2 of The Mandalorian was completely
mindblowing. For me it's the best scene in a Star Wars property since the original trilogy
and there's a number of reasons why it works so well.
Up until this point, Disney's handling of Star Wars had been mixed to say the least
and the last jedi has had more back and forth over it than whether Han shot first or not.
The sequel trilogy was a bit macklunkey and the constant changing of direction left a
lot of the most beloved characters feeling like they didn't get the send off that they
deserved. Luke Skywalker was definitely one of these and to see him tossing lightsabers
away, drinking Blue Milk and looking like Nick Nolte made many fans feel like our last
memories of the hero wouldn't be pleasant ones.
Now I actually did quite enjoy the force projection that we saw for the finale of the Last Jedi
but even then I did feel a bit short changed as it's not really him going out in a blaze
of glory like Obi Wan and Anakin.
The Rise Of Skywalker did bring him back through the use of force ghosts but for many it seemed
like the last memory of Luke would be him going out on his back as a shell of his former
self.
That is until The Mandalorian came along and brought back the character in a big way that
felt like not only a redemption for him but also the studio itself. Now up top I'll say
that I absolutely love both seasons of the show. I think the first one did a really great
job of recapturing the Star Wars universe and it did so without relying too heavily
on fan service. We thought that we were getting a wholly original story and thus when season
2 came along it made the inclusion of the expanded lore characters seem even more mind
blowing.
There was of course Cobb Vanth, Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano and lastly Luke Skywalker who
showed up in the final episode to take Grogu with him. Now throughout the season we watched
as Mando attempted to locate the Jedi in order for Grogu to begin his training. At the time
there was tonnes of theories flying around that he'd be hooking up with Kanan Jarrus,
Ezra Bridger or any number of Jedi that was left out in the Galaxy.
Very few people believed that it was Luke and whenever the fan theory got suggested
to me I quickly shut it down because I truly believed that 1) it would cost too much to
bring Mark Hammill back and De-age him 2) that he was done with the franchise and 3)
that it would've leaked.
Disney did an outstanding job of keeping a secret and as Luke's X-wing slowly rolled
into frame I have to admit that I couldn't have been happier to be wrong. At this point
in the show the heroes seemed like they were at their lowest points and completely surrounded
by Moff Gideon's forces it seemed like all hope had been lost.
However hope is a theme that is laced throughout the Star Wars saga and seeing Luke's X-wing
fly into the hanger made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end.
I remember it like it was yesterday and rewatching the clip brought everything flooding back.
(play a minor clip from it please)
Now what the creative team did brilliantly is that they teased out the reveal of Luke's
face and still kept us sitting up throughout the entire scene desperate to see the reveal.
Even though the black cloak gave it away, showing his arrival through security cameras
was a super smart way to keep us glued to the scene. It also allowed the moment to build
up and hearing motifs from Luke's theme laced throughout helped to create anticipating for
what would be one of the biggest Star Wars moments ever.
Finally we got a look up close and personal and the black cloaked figure cut through all
of the Dark Troopers with ease as he moved towards the bridge. You have to remember that
the Dark Troopers were by far the most fearsome foes in The Mandalorian at this point and
seeing these Terminator esque enemies getting cut down like they were battle droids showed
how powerful that Luke was.
(use https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pND8-KLGHM4 for reference)
Now on a meta level, Lukes arrival and the way that he travels through the corridors
is purposely shot to resemble his father's attack in Rogue One. One of the best Darth
Vader scenes of all time had him cutting up the rebel forces like they were nothing and
it's easily the high point of that movie that feels like the perfect ending for the film.
Playing those scenes side by side we see how Luke and his dad share a lot in common as
several of their moves mirror one another. It's sort of like poetry they rhyme and just
in the same way that his father crushed someone using his hand, Luke does the same thing with
a machine. Now just in the same way that this scene brings us the action...it also brings
us the satisfaction of balling like a baby.
Everyone took the mick out of Star Wars theory for crying when Luke showed up but don't lie...you
did it too didn't you.
Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
Luke brought with him not only a thrilling fight but watching Mando hand over his surrogate
son too packed a punch that's hard to forget. Over the two seasons the pair had bonded and
though Mando didn't want to give him away, he knew that he'd have a better life with
the Jedi than he could provide.
Well...as long as he doesn't attend school at the same time as Kylo...but...
Their goodbye is a heartbreaking one and The Mandalorian creed that Djinjarrin was a part
of were instructed not to remove their helmets at all. It's something that Din wrestled with
throughout both seasons and it was only when it was absolutely necessary that he decided
to take it off.
However, here he broke the rules and removed it to say farewell to Grogu face to face for
what may be the final time. Though he said he'd see him again we don't know if that's
gonna be true or not and if this was to be the last ever Mandalorian season, it would
be the perfect way to say goodbye.
Seeing the little guy reach out and touch it for the first time was a heartbreaking
one and his dear old dad Din told him not to be afraid. Though the pair didn't want
to go they knew they had to and R2D2 roamed in to give Grogu someone else to bond with.
Luke picked up Grogu and placed him on his shoulder as he walked down the hole. This
over the shoulder shot is something that we've see echoed throughout the season, namely when
Din was carrying Grogu over his and it perfectly mirrored those moments to show that he had
a new guardian.
Lukes parting words were may the force be with you and not only was this the character
saying it to Din but it was also him very much saying it to the audience who had been
desperate to see this side of Luke once more.
Though the de-aging wasn't perfect and there were a lot of flaws in it, as an audience
it's easy to look past these parts because of the magic within the scene that brings
back exactly why we all fell in love with Star Wars.
This is a franchise that has had it's ups and downs over the years but scenes like this
served as a reminder of why it's still so popular and it's a series that people stick
with throughout their entire lives.
Sure Star Wars will have bad movies, bad characters and head scratching twists and turns sometimes
but it's the moments like this that we as a fanbase hold out for and it makes all the
disappointments well worth it.
This was a perfect moment and not only was it a joyful one but it was also bitter sweet
in many regards.
We know that Mando has just lost the one person that turned him from a hired gun into an actual
human but beyond that it leads to an uncertain future.
As we touched upon earlier, Luke's Jedi Academy has somewhat of a tragic future ahead of it
and just in the same way that Grogu survived order 66 he's also likely going to have to
deal with the rise of Kylo Ren.
There's an incredible mix of emotions that comes from the moment but even with all that
it's difficult not to get caught up in the moment.
The music is perfect, the build up to the scene is perfect, the way that Luke mirrors
his father's actions is incredible and at the heart of it is an emotional farewell between
a father and son.
It really is one of the best moments that Star Wars has to offer and it's a scene that
I absolutely love.
Now obviously I'd love to hear your thoughts on it so make sure you comment below and let
me know.
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of perfect
scene in Spider-Man Homecoming. We break down the entire thing so it's definitely worth
checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video, I’ve been Paul and I’ll
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