I’m late, but here’s a proper review of The Rescue:
I loved it on a first watch and still think it’s a great, but I have become more mixed since. It needs a rewatch.
The opening scene is a great: it is well worth seeing how different Imperials are coping with them being out of power in the galaxy. It was an interesting choice to have an opening dedicated to further development and conflict for Cara Dune, and the anger she showed made the scene feel like it was setting up an event involving Cara later in the episode. Unfortunately this scene - although necessary to the plot - felt like a bit of an outlier, because that was never followed up on. Also, I’d like to give credit to Thomas E. Sullivan for playing the most punchable Imperial ever.
I liked the planet they landed on to find Bo Katan. It felt like a Star Wars version of Northern England. The tension shown between protagonists - Bo and Koska Reeves against Boba, and later, Bo Katan against Mando (a conflict necessarily reserved for a future season) - is even more engaging than protagonists vs evil antagonists, and it was handled brilliantly.
I think the biggest thing to praise about this episode was the depiction of the Dark Troopers; I already loved their design, but this episode made them scary and they raised the stakes no end. They reminded me of The Terminator quite a bit. They have suitably robotic animations, like stop-motion in some places, which I liked. Din struggles so much with one, when dozens start punching their way in to the bridge I was the most tense I’ve ever been in any Star Wars content. There have been instances where other Star Wars characters face impossible odds, like over Endor or Exegol, but you know REALLY that they’ll pull through in the end; nothing beats effective film-making on a smaller scale, as in this instance I really thought: there’s no way out.
For me, Luke’s interaction with Mando would have been perfect if it went something like this:
“Are you a Jedi?”
"̶I̶’̶m̶ ̶L̶u̶k̶e̶ ̶S̶k̶y̶w̶a̶l̶k̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶I̶’̶m̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶c̶u̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶!̶"̶
“I am. My name is Luke Skywalker.”
A shot of Cara, as she realises this is the man who avenged her homeworld, tying back a little to the opening scene.
“I’m building a new Jedi Order…” etc. etc. As it is, Mando knows nothing about Luke or where he’s taking Grogu, and the scene feels somewhat unbelievable. But I think the dialogue Luke DID have fit well. “He will not be safe until he masters his abilities,” seems like an intentional contrast to Ahsoka’s “Better to let his abilities fade,” where she’s acting out of concern more than Luke. I’m sure Luke would also change his mind after teaching one Ben Solo everything he knows.
Ehm, sorry about the big wall of text. I’m still trying to comprehend all that happened. It was a shame that Gideon, who’d been used effectively sparingly up until this point, was dealt with fairly easily. He’s probably imprisoned now or something. The Rescue felt like a penultimate episode in some ways, because of Cara and the to-be-continued conflict between Din and Bo Katan, and at the same time like a finale to the entire show. I still feel like Din and Grogu’s relationship, even at this point, was still just beginning. I’ve NO idea what’ll happen in the next season regarding that.