From Esquire
The end of the second season of The Mandalorian it may be one of the greatest Star Wars moments of all time. When all hope seems lost for our heroes trying to rescue the child previously known as Baby Yoda, a lonely X-Wing arrives on Moff Gideon’s ship. From there emerges a hooded figure with a green lightsaber, who cuts his way through dozens of elite android soldiers. The warrior fights for the ship’s deck, and it is revealed that it is Luke Skywalker, who is there to take the young Grogu to train as a Jedi.
Before the end, there were rumors that Luke Skywalker could make an appearance, but the idea of seeing the central Star Wars hero in a TV series in 2020 seemed very unlikely. Still, creator Jon Favreau achieved the impossible, with a very satisfying and unanimous moment of Star Wars. In the weeks since the second season of The Mandalorian came to an end, fans have been discussing what it means for the show and the Star Wars universe as a whole going forward.
But a fan on Reddit noticed an incredible parallel between Luke Skywalker’s appearance and another crucial scene in the prequel series. Reddit user skywalkinondeezhatrz posted a series of photos side by side showing how the end of The Mandalorian mirrors the Anakin Skywalker massacre of the Jedi Temple in Revenge of the Sith. The visual and emotional beats of the scene offer a powerful contrast between father and son. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin reveals himself to be a Sith Lord while killing the Jedi children in the Temple, destroying the future of the Jedi Order. Inside The Mandalorian, Luke reveals himself to be the new leader of the Jedi Order, promising a future for young Force users like Grogu in the galaxy.
Of course, father and son are not entirely different. Both were capable of great failure as well. Anakin, of course, failed the Jedi by turning to the dark side. But Luke’s own failure – which is yet to come in the Star Wars timeline after the events of The Mandalorian– is more subtle. Ben Solo’s failure leads to the destruction of his new Jedi Temple, and once again throws the galaxy into chaos. It’s not that different from the end of Episode III.
And, one of the remaining questions after The Mandalorian The end of the second season is how Mando and Grogu participate in events that we know are yet to come.
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