#The Mandalorian Pays Epic Tribute to Darth Vader’s Rebel Slaughter in Rogue One

After weeks of building and amping up our anticipation, The Mandalorian Season 2 finale has delivered what was expected of it and so much more! But chances are that the bombshell revelations in the episode had you so worked up that you failed to notice the more subtle references like a neatly executed Easter Egg that serves as a call back to the formidable Darth Vader. 

[The article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 8, “The Rescue.” Turn away now if you haven’t binged the hell out of the finale yet]
RELATED: The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale Retcons a Major Star Wars Rebels Plot Thread
Hands down, the biggest moment of the finale episode was when a lone X-wing zoomed into focus and die-hard Star Wars fans went all “Whaaat!” If the X-wing didn’t clue you in, then the second hint was the appearance of a green lightsaber which is possessed by a particular Jedi, followed by the black gloved hand as it twirled around, slicing away the Dark Troopers who appeared indestructible mere seconds ago. And then came the finale’s biggest moment- the legendary and surprisingly well-CGI-ied Luke Skywalker walked in, once again saving the day. 

Given the timeline The Mandalorian is set in, i.e., after the events of the Return of the Jedi, it means that Grogu is possibly going to be one of the first students to join Luke’s Jedi Academy in the coming future. But what concerns us is the entry scene of Luke Skywalker though with Mark Hamill reprising the iconic role once again, Baby Grogu leaving with the Jedi master after a teary farewell, and the post-credits dropping yet another massive plot twist, many may have failed to catch that it hid a referrence to a certain infamous Sith Lord.

Luke’s hallway scene hid a Darth Vader Easter Egg

Even after defeating Moff Gideon and successfully saving Grogu, Mando and his team are left bracing themselves for the deadly blasters of the Dark Troopers who are hammering away the lone door that is protecting them. But as mentioned, Luke Skywalker swoops in and dices up the looming droids, even Force-choking one. Seeing Grogu getting all excited over seeing the Jedi in the security monitors, Mando opens the door and Luke shows his face for the first time as he steps through the steam, armed with his green Light Saber. 

This scene is almost an exact replica of the final moments of Rogue One which saw Luke’s father, Darth Vader slaughtering his way through Rebel soldiers who had stolen the Death Star plans and were striving to get them to Leia’s ship.

Much like Luke’s entry in The Mandalorian, Darth Vader too killed with deadly precision and the only major difference is that Luke is slicing up evil droids here unlike his dear daddy. But after Vader cut his way through the soldiers, he emerged from the mist, his face lit up by his saber- a move that Luke mirrors in The Mandalorian finale. 

Many fans have already noticed this sneaky homage paid to the iconic villain and took to Twitter to compare the two classic scenes. 

Darth Vader (Rogue One)
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Luke Skywalker (The Mandalorian)#TheMandalorianpic.twitter.com/wXEtwUe9nj

— Luis Perez (@TyrantLuis) December 18, 2020

Like father, like son.
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#TheMandalorianpic.twitter.com/AcoQ1xIQEB

— TxKzi (@TxKzi) December 18, 2020

cw // mando spoilers#TheMandalorian
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i am a jedi like my father before me pic.twitter.com/AMWhIGsRj8

— the mandalorian survivor andie (@cassiandjarin) December 18, 2020

Hats off to Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau, and Peyton Reed for pulling off yet another wonderful scene that had us both holding our breath and taking a trip down nostalgia lane . In case you missed the scene after getting all caught up in the excitement of seeing the X-Wing, check out the Season 2 finale on Disney+ now.

Topics: The Mandalorian, Star Wars, Disney Plus, Rogue One, Streaming