WhenWhen Luke Skywalker appeared in the finale of season 2 of The Mandalorian it was a very exciting Star Wars moment. The build-up is amazing - When an X-Wing appeared, we know in the back of our minds that it might be Luke Skywalker but it made sure to keep us guessing. We see the robotic hand, then we see the green lightsaber, through all that he is doing the powerful Jedi moves we always wanted to see Luke do. Sure, a Jedi was promised to appear in season 2, and we can all make theories that it might be Luke, but when did those kinds of theories ever turn out as fact?
Then again, there is a certain point of view that Luke Skywalker in season 2 of The Mandalorian has its downfalls. Let us explain.
The Season 2 Finale Is The Heroes Looking At A Screen While Luke Fixes Their Problem
A Jedi has been set up to appear in the last episode of season 2, so Luke Skywalker is not technically a deus ex machina, but he still serves the same problem in that he appeared out of nowhere to solve an unsolvable conflict the heroes cannot solve themselves. Color us old-fashioned, but when a character has their own series, we want that guy to solve the season-spanning problem as set up that it is his own problem to solve. He is not the audience, we are.
The final battle of season 2 is essentially the heroes of The Mandalorian Season 2 watching the finale of The Mandalorian Season 2 through a screen. They are just standing around, waiting to be saved as some stranger is fixing their problems for them. If The Mandalorian and his crew did not decide to save Grogu, it would not have even mattered.
Luke Skywalker Should Not Be Compared To Darth Vader This Way
In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, there is a perfect little scene of Darth Vader killing a ship hall full of rebels with no effort like he is cutting butter. For lack of a better word, it is badass. If the father can have his moment of badassery, then the son should have his own too. The problem is, the scene in question of Luke being a badass is Luke Skywalker being paralleled to Darth Vader coldly killing a bunch of people like they are nothing. Sure, in Luke's moment in the sun, he is not really killing anyone but droids, but why put up that parallel?
It is a good idea in theory, but Luke Skywalker being compared to Vader is a bad thing - Darth Vader is the representative of the inner dark side Luke Skywalker had in the original trilogy. This kind of scene would not have happened back then because it would be counter to the scene of Luke seeing a vision of Darth Vader in the swamps of Dagobah or Luke slicing Vader's arm off and realizing he is the same as his father. Back then, Luke being compared to Vader is a tragedy, not a comparison to show how cool Luke is.
The CGI Is Not Good Enough Yet
There was a lot of criticism for the CGI of a young Princess Leia and Tarkin back in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - it still looked fake they said. Fast forward to The Mandalorian Season 2 and things have not progressed much. Sure, Marvel has more success in this area, but it is a different story altogether when the actor is no longer with us or looks so drastically different from when he or she was younger.
The result is a Luke Skywalker that is still in the uncanny valley - He looks too clean. When he speaks, the words don't look like it is coming from his mouth. His eyes look dead, and it is blatantly obvious that Luke's face is not sharing the same space as anything in the room. It is distracting to see him talk to Din Djarin when we all know his head is not really into it.
The Mandalorian Handed Grogu Over To A Total Stranger
We know that Luke Skywalker can be trusted with Grogu because we saw multiple movies where he is a hero, but Din Djarin does not know that. He did not even ask his name or ask for any crucial information. All he knows is that he is a mysterious person wearing a cloak and all-dark clothing, with an unemotional face, and the ability to slice through an army if he pleases. If we did not know who Luke Skywalker was before we saw this scene, we would all be suspicious that Din Djarin is handing Grogu over to a possible psychopath regardless of whether Grogu senses something in this stranger or not.
Hanging Plot Threads Gave Way For Luke Skywalker
Just before Luke Skywalker came into the picture, Din Djarin and Bo-Katan are having a conflict on who should wield the darksaber. It is a tense conflict where Bo-Katan might start something violent for it. It is important - after all, the title of the series is The Mandalorian, and the conflict for the darksaber is part of the question of how to deal with the traditions of being a Mandalorian. This should be "the way", but suddenly the Dark Troopers came in knocking, and this conflict is put on hold.
There is an expectation that after the trouble with the Dark Troopers that the Dark Saber topic would be brought up again or have some kind of resolution even if it does not mean fighting over it. Then Luke Skywalker came and he took everything over.
Because ending with Luke is such a powerful note, after he left, it is already the end credits. We did not get to see how the saber conflict is resolved because Luke Skywalker takes center stage. We don't even have any resolution. There is no epilogue for any of the characters, no time to contemplate. We do not know how Bo-Katan and her Mandalorians feel now or what they are going to do next. The season did not end, it stopped.
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