My Predictions for The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale
This post contains spoilers
for The Mandalorian - everything up to and
including Chapter 14 (Episode 6 of Season 2). Incidentally, I
love the numbering of episodes across seasons to make the whole
thing feel like one coherent story broken up into production
batches rather than a whole new story every year. It's neat.
Oh, and on the subject of episode names, the last episode of
the show is obviously going to be called The Way, right?
I'm loving Season 2 so far. It's such a fun trip to the galaxy
far, far away every week. The way it's drawing from all sorts of
media - Cobb Vanth from the novels, Ahsoka Tano from the
animated shows, Tython from the novels and games, etc. - makes
it feel like a big central hub for all of Star Wars
storytelling. I think this big crossover feeling is what makes
the promise of a Jedi arriving in the next few episodes so
exciting. In Season 1, I never would've guessed Cal Kestis or
Ezra Bridger or Luke Skywalker could show up for a cameo but now
it wouldn't even be that surprising. It's so cool to have broken
through that barrier of expectations. Now, anyone could turn up
and anything could happen.
So here are my predictions for
the last two episodes of Season 2. I think next episode, Chapter
15, is mainly going to be about assembling the Avengers to go
get Grogu back (excellent name by the way, perfectly cute and
alien and different from 'Yoda'). It's the same structure as
Season 1 - meeting a new character each week before bringing
them all together to help save the child at the end. They
probably couldn't repeat this structure for Season 3 but for
Season 2 it works and there's more than enough going on in the
specifics to make it not just a copy of last year. It's a solid
formula for an Adventure of the Week show to reuse.
The
team currently consists of Din Djarin, Fennec Shand, and Boba
Fett. Cara Dune was seen at the end of Chapter 14 but I'm not
sure if she'll be coming along now that she's part of the New
Republic. I'm sure she'll help though even if she's not actually
present they all storm the Empire's ship. I'd expect Greef Karga
to tag along though, and this might be an opportunity to develop
him separately from Cara so the two don't play identical roles
in the show going forward. We also know Din is going to get Migs
Mayfeld out of prison - I'd expect a cameo from the rest of the
Chapter 6 squad but it'd be too dangerous to have them all along
for the ride.
I'm also expecting the Space Avengers to
run into Bo-Katan and her Mando team from Chapter 11, because we
know she's also hunting Moff Gideon. I think Season 2 will end
with her getting the darksaber back and leaving to go retake
Mandalore, which will probably be the big galaxy-changing arc of
the entire Mandalorian show. Before she gets the darksaber back
though, obviously Din has to wield it briefly, and Moff Gideon
has to use it in a lightsaber duel with the mysterious Jedi.
Oh yeah, so this Jedi. Right now, I think it's Luke. If it's
Ezra, how is this not just the Star Wars Rebels sequel show? I
mean, it COULD be the Star Wars Rebels sequel show and I
wouldn't have a problem with that, but why cram two shows
together when you could give them both room to breathe? Will it
be Cal Kestis? Anything is possible after Cobb Vanth, but they'd
have to age up Cameron Monaghan quite a bit, and like with Ezra
I want to see Cal's story continue in a place where it can be
the main focus. I adore Jedi Fallen Order and I can't wait for
the sequel. To me, The Mandalorian doesn't seem like the place
for his next big quest.
There is a tiny chance they could
introduce a new Jedi character. There's also a tiny chance they
could confirm a previously dead Jedi is actually alive. Maybe
old man Mace Windu will show up with a robot hand. I might love
that actually. But no, personally, I think Luke is who we're
getting. What the show needs is a character to fill the role of
'mysterious Jedi teacher', and during this time period that's
Luke Skywalker. I'm expecting a limited cameo with Rogue One
de-aging technology rather than a recast - we all know what Luke
is supposed to look like. Sometimes digital faces can look off,
but I'd rather have a poor quality image of an accurate face
than a crystal clear 4k image of an inaccurate face. Or to put
it another way, I'd prefer a badly done CGI Mark Hamill to
Sebastian Stan. Sebastian Stan has his own Disney+ show coming
out though so he shouldn't be too offended. I'd also would
prefer a CGI Sebastian Stan to play the Winter Soldier over
casting Mark Hamill.
While I'm on the subject of Jedi,
Chapter 15 might have a short scene where the Mando goes back to
Corvus to get Ahsoka, only for the new friendly magistrate to
say she's moved on. Maybe Ahsoka will show up at the end, but
I'm not expecting her to. It'd be weird for her to tell Grogu to
call out to another Jedi to come help him, then go to help him
herself.
I think the mysterious Jedi showing up will be
the cliffhanger of Chapter 15, then Chapter 16 is going to be
Everyone Versus Everyone. Obviously they have to do Din Djarin,
Boba Fett, and Bo-Katan fighting together. They also have to do
the Jedi and Moff Gideon duelling. In the end, Grogu will likely
stay with Din and Din will accept that he has to take on a more
active fatherly role, rather than just being a taxi service to
get Grogu home. Then I think the focus of the show will then
shift to finding a home not just for Grogu but for Din too,
which means retaking Mandalore so they can settle down as a
family.
Whatever happens, the journey getting there is so
much fun. I love The Mandalorian and I'm so thankful they went
with a weekly release schedule rather than just dumping it all
on Disney+ at once. The suspense of not knowing what's going to
happen is absolutely part of the show. It's what makes Star Wars
on TV different from Star Wars on film. It's great having
something to look forward to every week, and I trust the writers
of this show to deliver a decent finale.
Next: ???