Countdown to ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3: Revisiting Chapter 16 ‘The Rescue’
As we start to gear up for the release of The Mandalorian season 3 on March 1, 2023, we’re taking a look back at each episode of the show so far through the lens of concept art. This will be a weekly series of reviews until the premiere of season 3. You may find our previous entries in this series here.
While we will be revisiting the artwork for the episode, bear in mind that this is not a fully conceptualized review of the episode itself. We still have those from each episode, and we’ll link to them at the end.
Well, dear readers, this is it. We’ve reached the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian. If you’re reading this article, you probably have vivid memories of seeing this episode for the first time and being amazed by all of its incredible action and the stunning character entrance at the end. I know I do.
Before we begin, I want to mention a couple of factors that make this article particularly timely. Firstly, it was directed by Peyton Reed (making this his second episode of Star Wars television after Chapter 10: The Passenger). Reed’s work has been the topic of much online discussion lately given that the recent trailers for his next movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, have set the Internet abuzz as fans speculate about how that film’s events will impact upcoming MCU storylines. As I write this, that movie is due out in theaters less than a month from now.
Also, it was around the time that this episode dropped on Disney Plus that we learned Pedro Pascal would be playing Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation. That show just premiered earlier this month to positive reviews and great ratings. I just thought it was interesting how two of the people who brought us Chapter 16 of The Mandalorian are now involved in major movies and TV shows that are a huge part of our current pop culture. Anyway, enough delaying. Onto the episode!
The episode begins in the middle of a chase sequence as our heroes are pursuing an Imperial shuttle. The shuttle is transporting Dr. Pershing, the scientist who was involved in the sinister Imperial project on Nevarro. Din Djarin and Cara Dune quickly disable and enter the shuttle, but a hostage situation ensues as one of the pilots holds a blaster to Pershing’s head. However, the overzealous pilot makes the mistake of taunting Cara Dune over the destruction of her home planet, Alderaan, and she repays his insult by shooting him dead.
Next, Mando and Boba Fett approach Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves. Mando wants their help, but Fett insists (right in front of the other two Mandalorians) that they can complete their mission alone. Naturally, an argument follows and leads into a short cantina brawl between Fett and Reeves. The fight ends in a stalemate, and Bo-Katan agrees to help them as long as they can keep Gideon’s cruiser as well as the Darksaber weapon that he wields, which is an important relic of the Mandalorian people.
After that, the team lays out their plan to storm Moff Gideon’s light cruiser and rescue Grogu. Dr. Pershing warns them that the ship contains a garrison of Dark Troopers, so the group decides upon a two-pronged strategy. Most of the party will fly in on the stolen shuttle and pretend to be under attack. They’ll then execute a forced crash landing into the cruiser’s launch bay and run out with guns blazing. Meanwhile, Mando will lock down the Dark Troopers’ charging bay before they can power up and save Grogu.
I think it’s interesting how Dr. Pershing volunteers all this information so quickly. Granted, a diehard Imperial pilot did recently threaten to kill him, but perhaps there’s something more going on here. Is Dr. Pershing not as on board with the Empire’s mission as one might assume? Also, Bo-Katan mentions again that she wants to confront Gideon personally and force him to surrender to her. This demand seems trivial on first viewing, but it gains a new meaning later in the episode, when we learn why she was so insistent on this point.
The plan mostly goes as expected at first. Boba Fett and Bo-Katan do a good job pretending they’re in the middle of a life-or-death chase, and the shuttle somewhat haphazardly lands in the cruiser’s launch bay. Gideon’s troops are able to launch a couple of TIE fighters, but Fett destroys them before jumping to hyperspace.
Bo-Katan, Koska, Cara, and Fennec fight their way to the bridge while Mando sneaks aboard and heads for the Dark Troopers’ charging bay. He’s very nearly too late as one of the Dark Troopers is able to force its way out of the bay just as Mando closes the blast doors. Din fights for his life as the Dark Trooper tries to beat him to death.
I love how this fight makes it clear that Mando would be dead at this point if it weren’t for his beskar armor and spear. None of his normal attacks work, and only his armor is able to keep him alive as the Dark Trooper pins him against the wall and slams its metal fist into his head repeatedly. Desperate and running out of options, Mando resorts to his newly-acquired beskar spear (Ahsoka was nice and gave it to him in Chapter 13) and stabs the droid in its neck, which shuts it down. He opens the charging bay doors, which vents the other Dark Troopers into space.
The boarding party makes it to the bridge and kills everyone there, though Gideon isn’t among them. Bo-Katan demands to know where he is, and we soon get our answer. Mando reaches Grogu’s holding cell and enters to find Gideon waiting inside, holding the activated Darksaber almost casually above the child’s head.
Gideon reminds everyone just how intelligent he is as he reveals that he knows everyone else has already reached the bridge and killed the crew. He also knows that Bo-Katan is aboard and that she wants the Darksaber so she can make a claim to the throne of Mandalore. Gideon then claims that he no longer needs Grogu for his current projects. He offers to release Grogu without a fight provided that Mando immediately leaves his ship.
Mando accepts because, even though he already made a deal with Bo-Katan to give her Gideon’s ship and the Darksaber, he doesn’t care about anything except getting Grogu back. Gideon, of course, is lying and attacks Mando the instant he lowers his guard. Another brutal fight ensues, and Mando comes out victorious yet again.
So far, the episode has stuck fairly close to its concept art. Here, however, we can see a fairly significant difference between the art and the final product. The artwork has Mando and Gideon dueling on the cruiser’s bridge, while the episode sees their fight occur in the hall outside Grogu’s cell. Either location works fine, but there’s something more dramatic about the main hero and villain dueling on a starship’s bridge as opposed to deep within its interior. Perhaps it was the initial intent to have them dueling on the bridge, but Peyton Reed and Jon Favreau realized that wouldn’t make sense if the initial boarding party had already secured it.
Mando takes the Darksaber from Gideon and hauls him onto the bridge in handcuffs. On rewatch, you can tell right away that Bo-Katan is distraught at the sight of the now-defeated Moff Gideon. Noticing Bo-Katan’s distress, Gideon gleefully informs Mando that the Darksaber must be won in combat. If it is freely given, it’s worthless, and Bo-Katan can’t claim to be the true heiress of Mandalore.
Everyone is seemingly at an impasse until an alarm sounds, indicating that the Dark Troopers have flown back to the cruiser and have begun boarding it. Gideon is pleased by this turn of events, and we see him conceal a blaster. Clearly, he’s already plotting to kill Mando and his friends and to free himself.
Mando and company close the blast doors and prepare themselves as best they can. The Dark Troopers reach the bridge doors and start pounding on them. Given that Mando barely beat just one of them, the team’s chances of beating dozens are practically zero. The situation seems hopeless. Until… an X-Wing jumps out of hyperspace next to the cruiser and lands. After that… well, you know what happens.
At this point, I have a slightly embarrassing confession to make. The first time I saw this episode, I thought the pilot in that X-Wing was Captain Carson Teva, the character played by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee in two earlier episodes of this season. In my defense, I thought there was no way that Luke Skywalker would ever appear in this show, and Captain Teva had already appeared twice in this season. Obviously, I was very wrong on that point.
I love how the atmosphere on the bridge seems to change the instant Luke arrives on the ship. Grogu perks up, the Dark Troopers stop trying to break through to the bridge and focus on fighting Luke, and even Gideon looks scared. We see a black-cloaked figure stride through the ship’s corridors, and the second that green lightsaber ignites, there’s no more doubt as to who just showed up.
You’ll notice the concept art for this part of the episode differs from the finished result in one major way: it shows a different Jedi! That’s because the creative team was so committed to keeping Luke’s appearance a secret that they had fake concept art depicting Jedi Master Plo Koon saving the day in the season finale. Even the cast wasn’t in on the secret. On the day they shot this scene, they thought Plo Koon was the Jedi they were talking to.
For more information on how the team behind this season finale kept Luke’s appearance a secret, you can check out the Disney Gallery special about this episode. It’s truly amazing that Jon Favreau, Peyton Reed, and company managed to keep such an airtight hold on this plot point right up until the episode dropped.
Luke works his way through Gideon’s cruiser, cutting down the Dark Troopers with ease. Gideon, now desperate, snatches the blaster hidden under his cape and tries to kill Bo-Katan and Grogu before Cara disarms him. As Luke draws nearer to the bridge, Grogu watches him on the security cameras and touches the screen. It’s like the Force is telling him that Luke can be trusted.
Luke finishes off the remaining Dark Troopers, and Mando decides to open the blast doors over Fennec’s objection. I like how Luke waited to be let into the bridge instead of forcing his way in by cutting a hole in the doors with his lightsaber or tearing them down with the Force. It’s a subtle way of showing that he remembers Yoda’s words that “a Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.”
Mando and Luke finally meet face-to-face, and Luke confirms that he is, in fact, a Jedi. Luke says that Grogu must be trained in the Force or he will never be safe. However, Grogu doesn’t want to leave his adopted father. Mando has to tell him it’s okay for him to go with Luke.
Mando holds Grogu in his arms and tells him he belongs with Luke. He promises his adoptive son that they’ll see each other again, which prompts Grogu to reach out. Din takes off his helmet (not for the first time in this show, but it’s still impactful given the emotional context) and lets Grogu touch his face. Finally, tears welling up in his eyes, he tells Grogu it’s time for him to leave, and he reassures him that he shouldn’t be afraid.
R2-D2 also shows up and says hello to Grogu — if the image above has you wondering… yes, they made fake concept art to cover up R2 as well. Luke and Mando share an understanding glance, and Grogu finally decides to go with the Jedi. Luke, R2, and Grogu depart, leaving Din, his friends, and Moff Gideon behind. Pedro Pascal really sells the weight of this moment for Din thanks to his phenomenal acting. He doesn’t show his face much in this show, but he sure makes good use of it when he gets the rare opportunity to take his helmet off for a scene.
And that’s that. The only remaining part of the episode is a surprising mid-credits scene that shows Boba and Fennec returning to Tatooine to kill Bib Fortuna and take Jabba the Hutt’s old throne. This scene sets up The Book of Boba Fett, a series which followed up on a surprising amount of plot threads left hanging in this finale.
If you want to read our original review of Chapter 16 of The Mandalorian, you can find it here.
Eric has been a fan of Star Wars ever since the age of five (or so) when his parents sat him down in front of a TV with pizza and a Sprite and showed him the original trilogy. He keeps trying to convince more fans to read the amazing 1980s Star Wars newspaper comics by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. When he's not reading, watching or playing Star Wars media, he's often enjoying other great fantasy and science fiction sagas or playing roleplaying games with his friends.
