The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4 Review
The Mandalorian‘s™ latest episode, “Chapter 20: The Foundling,” sheds much-needed light on Grogu’s™ backstory while deepening Bo-Katan Kryze’s™ character development. We also see Din Djarin™ and his adorable frog-eating, Force-sensitive son acclimating to their new surroundings. Carl Weathers returns to helm this episode. He was last in the director’s chair for season 2 episode 4, “Chapter 12: The Siege,” and he knocks this one out of the park.
“Chapter 20: The Foundling” is a solid outing in The Mandalorian canon, deftly balancing thrilling, action-packed sequences with character-driven beats. The flashback scene on Coruscant™ is easily the highlight for me. We finally get to see who saved Grogu from the Jedi Temple Siege™. Kudos to the team for making Grogu appear even more lifelike in this episode. We don’t need him to communicate verbally — we can see the pain on his face as he relives his past. The last time we honed in on Grogu sans Mando was during his time training with Luke Skywalker™ in The Book of Boba Fett™.
Bo-Katan’s complete 180 regarding her belief in The Way of the Mand’alor™ is intriguing. She went from shunning who she deemed to be “religious zealots” to embracing the Creed. Perhaps she merely wanted to find community and a place to belong after spending so much time alone. Regardless, that ending certainly sets up an exciting storyline for the character.
Training Day
We open with the Mandalorians™ killing time on the covert by training. Din finds his son playing with rocks by the waters and encourages him to train like the other foundlings. But, dad, the rocks move! Din successfully makes a case for Grogu honing his skills despite his size and stature. Ragnar™, the foundling we saw recite the Mandalorian Creed™ in the season premiere, prepares to fight Grogu with darts.
Bo-Katan reassures a nervous Grogu that all will be well. His dad’s proud of him. I love that Bo-Katan blatantly acknowledges Din and Grogu’s father/son dynamic, even if Din doesn’t outright address it. “Ward” is merely a special way of saying “son,” right? Grogu and Ragnar square off, with the former rising victorious when he utilizes his Jedi™ skills to overpower the latter. Judge him by his size, you must not.
An Aerial Intruder
Suddenly, a shriek-hawk™ scoops up Ragnar and flies away. Din, Paz Vizsla™, and others from the Children of the Watch™ pursue it in the air, but the beast outflies them. Thankfully, Bo-Katan gives chase in her ship, which is the sensible thing to do. Afterward, she meets with Din, Paz, and The Armorer™ to brainstorm a rescue plan. They can’t use their blasters or anything that makes too much noise; otherwise, they’ll put the captured foundling in peril. Once Din and the other Mandalorians fly away on their mission, The Armorer encourages Grogu to join her for a lesson.
During the lesson, The Armorer explains how the forge works. However, the sound she makes while forging armor sends Grogu back to a traumatic time. We can see the grief scrawled on his little face.
A Deadly Siege
It’s flashback time! We see various Jedi shielding Grogu during the Jedi Temple Siege, or Order 66™, on Coruscant. Clone troopers™ kill Jedi left and right while Grogu finds sanctuary in an elevator. After his latest protector dies in combat, Grogu’s greeted by Kelleran Beq™, who, fun fact, is played by the same actor who portrays Jar Jar Binks™ in the prequel trilogy: Ahmed Best. Kelleran, a Jedi Master, fights with two lightsabers™ à la Ahsoka Tano™. He successfully whisks Grogu away from the Temple, but the clone troopers pursue them both. It’s a breathtaking high-speed chase through Coruscant.
Finally, Kelleran and Grogu flee the planet on the same H-type Nubian yacht, as seen in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones™. The ship was initially assigned to the Naboo™ royal family in the film. Another fun fact: Kelleran originally appeared in the 2020 kids’ game show, Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge™, but this is the character’s first in-universe appearance.
Forged Protection
After that trip down memory lane, Grogu mentally returns to the present. The Armorer is still explaining the beskar™ armor process. She forges a rondel for Grogu to don as protection while he grows into his station. He is training to be like his papa, after all.
Meanwhile, we check in on the rescue mission. The team arrives at their destination, right outside the shriek-hawk’s nest. Bo-Katan, who steps into the shoes of leader, devises a game plan for saving Ragnar. The group parts ways briefly to eat dinner. Paz informs Bo-Katan that since she’s the leader, she gets the honor to eat by the fire. Once she’s alone, she removes her helmet.
Into the Shriek-Hawk’s Nest
The following day, the rescue team scales a cliffside to survey the shriek-hawk’s nest. Paz, who we learn is Ragnar’s father, dives headfirst into the nest to frantically search for his son. Suddenly, three shriek-hawk babies appear in all their cute glory. Mama shriek-hawk swoops down to defend her babies while simultaneously spitting up Ragnar to feed to them. Paz’s overzealous spirit costs him his safety as the shriek-hawk flies away with him and his son. Din and Bo-Katan immediately pursue them.
After a sky skirmish, Bo-Katan and Din save Paz and Ragnar from the creature. The shriek-hawk falls into the gaping jaws of a giant crocodile, identical to the one seen in the season premiere. Aw, those shriek-hawk babies are orphans now.
Returning to Home Base
Din, Bo-Katan, Paz, and Ragnar return to the covert victorious. Everyone celebrates their triumph. Bo-Katan informs The Armorer that she has three new foundlings to train in The Way of the Mand’alor. Din and the others help the three baby shriek-hawks climb out of Bo-Katan’s ship. How they could fit through that narrow entryway is anyone’s guess. That said, at least they’re going to a loving home.
Forging for Bo-Katan
The Armorer notices Bo-Katan is missing a pauldron from her armor. Thus, she forges a new one for the covert’s latest addition. Bo-Katan discloses the Mythosaur™ incident to The Armorer, asking if it’s possible to see one in real life. The Armorer reveals it’s a gift to “see” one, as in a vision, but claims it’s impossible to find them existing in this galaxy far, far away.
Still, Bo-Katan insists the Mythosaur she saw on Mandalore™ was real. The Armorer asks Bo-Katan if she would like the Nite Owl™ sigil on her new pauldron to match the one on her other shoulder. Bo-Katan asks if she can have a Mythosaur instead. The Armorer reminds her that the Mythosaur represents all Mandalorians. Now, Bo-Katan has a Mythosaur on one pauldron and the Nite Owl on another. Symbolism!
Mythosaurs are venerated beings to Mandalorians, to be sure, as evidenced by The Armorer’s responses to Bo-Katan, but it’s more than that. Mythosaurs went extinct long before the events of the show. However, according to legend, a Mythosaur sighting could result in a new age for Mandalore. I think Bo-Katan concealing what she saw in the Living Waters™ from Din will come back to bite her in the bum and might cause a rift between her and Din. Only time will tell, though.
What do you think the Mythosaur means for the future of Mandalore? Will Bo-Katan deepen her faith in The Way? Will Grogu follow in his father’s footsteps and continue training as a foundling?
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