‘The Mandalorian’ Recap – ‘Chapter 20: The Foundling’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(L-R): Grogu and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 304 of ‘The Mandalorian’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It is definitely safe to say that the Star Wars Universe has mastered the wonder of the mystery. For the entire franchise is rife with mysteries revolving around the rich characters that populate this galaxy, far, far away, the kind that simmer in the background and the back of our minds before grand reveals arrive at the right moment. Such as the mystery surrounding Darth Sidious, one that eventually revealed that he was the future Emperor in disguise at the proper moment, or that Supreme Leader Snoke was nothing more than a genetically engineered pawn designed to pave the way for the return of Palpatine. And sometimes those mysteries extend into the character’s journeys as well. Since Luke Skywalker hadn’t a clue why Darth Vader was so obsessed with finding him, only to learn it was because Vader was in fact… his father. 
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In fact, the franchise is so good at this, that it has even extended to the television shows that currently make up our Star Wars fix, such as The Mandalorian. For young Grogu has been mired in nothing but mystery. After all, we knew nothing about him when he was first introduced, just that he needed to be protected, and it took a season and a half to reveal his name and even then… mystery continued to surround this cute little Jedi-in-waiting. Because we still knew nothing regarding how the little fella escaped the horrors of Order 66. But since this grand and sweeping universe knows how to drop truth at just the right time, a singular moment in this week’s story… served as the right time to peel back the mysterious veil surrounding little Grogu.

A moment that was set up in ‘Chapter 20: The Foundling’ by bringing trouble to the Mandalorian hideout. For while the Mandalorians trained and trained hard to be ready in combat, as was the way, a Foundling was snatched away by a mighty flying beast. Which prompted a search party to be assembled to bring him home, which left little Grogu in the care of the Armorer and others. And while he was simply taking in the moment and preparing to receive wondrous armor from this skilled Beskar-smith… the sounds and the tension of the day revealed unto us that Grogu had a little bit of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from Order 66, and rightfully so. Because we came to learn in this tale, that he was in fact, in the Jedi Temple on that dark day and was of course, surrounded by danger and at one point, nearly lost his life. 

For his Jedi escort fell to the might of the burgeoning Empire, but not all hope was lost for Grogu. For a kind Jedi (played by Ahmed Best, more on that in a moment) risked everything to fend off the Clone Troopers and get little Grogu to safety. Making it clear that this was a scary day, one that he would not have survived without the help of that Jedi, and that really was the perfect way to introduce this backstory and it served as a fascinating bookend to the harrowing story taking place across the sands. Wherein Bo-Katan and Din Djarin and the rest of the search party, had to fight and fight hard to bring that Foundling home. Which they did, with minimal trouble and wounds, in fact, a lost piece of armor on Bo-Katan’s uniform was really the only damage done during this daring rescue. 

Giving rise to a happy ending, hints about the mysticism to come… since Bo-Katan did bring up the Mythosaur to the Armorer, and most important of all… the answers we’ve sought regarding Grogu. For this episode masterfully solved another long-standing Star Wars mystery, in classy fashion no less. Because let’s be honest… it was just incredible to see Ahmed Best return to the franchise triumphantly, (especially after the hell the toxic response to Jar Jar Binks put him through) and play the amazing Jedi hero that he did in this particular tale. And well, now that we have answers in hand regarding Grogu, and the stage is now set for the future, it will be interesting to see what the next chapter holds for this story. Until next time.

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