The Mandalorian season 2 finale gave Star Wars fans much to love, but one small moment involving a reaction from Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) was quietly important. The internet is buzzing about the reveals, resolutions, and setups the season finale provided: A young Luke Skywalker returned, played by a digitally de-aged Mark Hamill; the Mandalorian, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), handed Grogu/Baby Yoda off to Luke in order to complete Grogu's training as a Jedi; and it is now, apparently, Mando who is the possessor of the legendary Darksaber, and not Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff), making him the de facto ruler of Mandalore.
Season 2, episode 8, "The Rescue," was a satisfying conclusion after the second season finally found a narrative groove and embraced character development, expanding greatly upon a first season that often felt more like a proof-of-concept than a fully-realized series. Pedro Pascal was phenomenal, evoking a deep emotional response from the audience in the final scenes. And though Moff Gideon ended the episode in handcuffs as the latest prisoner of the New Republic, it would be unwise to count out such a schemer and long-term strategist as Gideon for season 3.
The element of the finale getting the most buzz, however, is Luke Skywalker returning. How could it not? He's arguably the most famous Jedi character in a universe full of them, and his appearance in The Mandalorian's season finale comes at a time in Luke's life that really hasn't been explored in detail. Series creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have done a fine job of filling in some of the Sequel Trilogy's plot holes while also incorporating a few Expanded Universe storylines into Star Wars canon.
Still, there was one moment from the finale that has been largely overlooked but has potentially enormous meaning for the Star Wars universe moving forward. As Team Mando watch the mysterious hooded X-Wing pilot battling their way toward the bridge, it's Bo-Katan who realizes who - or what - the person is: "A Jedi." The moment cuts to Din wheeling around in surprise: a Jedi is exactly what he's looking for. The camera then cuts to Moff Gideon's face and he has an entirely different reaction to the news, and the expression on his face is distinct and overt: fear. The man who was always in control and had yet to fear anything in two seasons is visibly panicked by Bo-Katan's comment. Gideon's reaction shot only lasted a few seconds, but it spoke volumes about the Star Wars universe, the Jedi, and what Lucasfilm should keep in mind moving forward.
Moff Gideon Revealed How Normal People See The Jedi
The rest of the team has varying reactions to the revelation there's a Jedi aboard the ship. The Mandalorian doesn't care beyond knowing he can hand off Grogu. Bo-Katan says "A Jedi" with some reverence, having fought alongside several during the Clone Wars but she clearly doesn't know which Jedi it is. The rest are busy trying to subdue Moff Gideon, whose reaction to a Jedi appearing is sudden and extreme: After the first few moments of panic, he immediately steals a blaster, tries to kill Grogu, then tries to kill himself. Such a powerful and cunning man as Gideon attempting such drastic and final measures at the mere mention of a Jedi is a much-needed reminder of how the rest of the universe views the Jedi.
It's true that Moff Gideon, being the information broker he is, may have immediately put the pieces together and realized it was none other than Luke Skywalker. But Gideon was on the ground at the time and it was unlikely he could have seen the monitors from his position to recognize Luke's trademark black cloak, black glove, and green lightsaber. More likely, as a high-ranking member of the Empire, Gideon was certainly active during the Clone Wars and Order 66 just 28 years prior – and he would have known that any Jedi who survived the Great Purge would have been a powerful Jedi Master. And Moff Gideon knows better than anyone on the ship just how powerful and awe-inspiring Jedi Masters are. While most "normal" people in the galaxy see the Jedi as myths (if they've even heard of them), Gideon not only remembers but is actively trying to clone one. He knows the Jedi can be terrifying.
Luke's Fight Was A Parallel To Darth Vader's Hallway Scene In Rogue One
Luke's hallway fight scene against the dark troopers is eerily reminiscent of one his father, Darth Vader, had in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story during the Battle of Scarif just nine years prior. During Vader's hallway fight scene, he mows down an entire hallway of hapless Rebel soldiers with ease. The parallels to his son's fight scene in The Mandalorian are clear and purposeful. Their black-clad silhouettes and movements as they use one hand to direct the Force and the other to easily knock away incoming projectiles with their lightsabers are two sides of the same visual coin. Luke Skywalker – yes, noble Jedi Master Luke Skywalker – even uses more violent Force techniques to crush a dark trooper at the end of his hallway fight in the same way Vader does during his fight.
Likewise, there are parallels between Moff Gideon's panicked reaction in The Mandalorian to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and the reaction on a Rebel soldier's face in Rogue One to Sith Lord Darth Vader. Both Gideon and the Rebel soldier suddenly found themselves in a path of destruction being wrought by arguably the most powerful person in the galaxy. Luke's entrance in The Mandalorian deliberately frames the young Skywalker in a way Jedi have virtually never been portrayed in the movies: as a morally ambiguous terror.
To Normal People, There's No Difference Between The Republic And The Empire
In season 2, episode 7, "The Believer," the mercenary Migs Mayfeld (Bill Burr) teams up with Mando on a mission. As they drive through a decimated town still wasted and impoverished by the war, Mayfeld gives Mando a quick reality check: "Empire, New Republic. It's all the same to these people. Invaders on their land is all we are," he says. He's right. Empire, New Republic, Sith, Jedi, none of it matters to the lost people of the galaxy, those who have nothing. They've been crushed by one side and forgotten by the other and in the end, both sides amount to the same.
To most normal civilians in the galaxy, the Jedi are just myths. Even those few Jedi who still existed during the war and the Battle of Yavin were too busy fighting the Sith and on high-priority missions to have time to help the little people being caught up in the crossfire on the ground – or, upon occasion, to even realize there were little people to help at all.
Star Wars Needs To Embrace The Perspective Of Civilians
For better or worse, the Star Wars movies have all trod the same general narrative paths, choosing to focus mainly on the Jedi, and the most powerful Jedi of each era, at that. These Jedi have only ever been presented through the lens of how they are seen by other Jedi Masters, or in relation to squaring off against equally masterful Sith Lords.
The movies have always depicted the Jedi as noble warrior-monks on the side of good, but The Mandalorian shows a more ambiguous disposition toward the Jedi. "Good" and "bad" somewhat lose their meaning when a normal character without awe-inspiring powers is faced with the prospect of a strange Jedi Master's controlled wrath. No one on the ship wanted to open the door for Luke, and why would they? "Jedi" is meaningless to them; all they know is they just saw one lone man singlehandedly mow down a platoon of near-indestructible dark troopers that had nearly killed them all. Luke Skywalker cut through in seconds multiples of what took Mando minutes to disarm. Potential ally or not, that sort of power is to be respected and, for the normal civilians of the world, perhaps a little feared.
Lucasfilm should embrace the perspective of normal people more often in the Star Wars universe. The perspective of civilians, like Mando, who are largely indifferent to the Jedi or believe them to be myths, or people, like Moff Gideon, who view the Jedi with resentment or fear, offers something fresh. It would be wise for Star Wars to continue to tell non-Jedi-centric stories for a while as it has with The Mandalorian. With the movies' focus always on Jedi Masters and Sith Lords, it's been exceptionally easy to forget as the audience just how legendarily skilled and feared the Jedi are. When everyone is powerful, no one appears powerful. As The Mandalorian shows, when the focus is off the Jedi for a period of time, it only makes that much more of an impact when they finally step back into the picture.