“The Mandalorian” - Season 3, Episode 4: “The Foundling” Review
“The Mandalorian” brought us back to the Mandalorian clan this week, with a very intriguing clip on Grogu’s backstory.
The episode kicks off with Mandalorian foundlings fighting each other in some sort of training, but Din brings Grogu to challenge one of them. Grogu is hesitant at first but uses the Force to win.
After Grogu defeats the child, a Krayt dragon takes the child, and Din, Bo-Katan and Paz Vizsla follow it while Grogu stays behind with The Armorer.
The Armorer explains some Mandalorian culture to Grogu, who gets really disturbing flashbacks from Order 66 in the midst of it (because what would be a Filoni/Favreau production without Order 66?).
Viewers start to get answers from major plot holes left from the previous seasons about Grogu’s escape. He was rescued by an unnamed Jedi, shot at by clone troopers, brought onboard a Naboo-type ship and escaped off Coruscant.
Meanwhile, Din, Bo-Katan and Vizsla rescue Vizsla's son from the Krayt dragon and end up bringing three baby dragons back to the cave to train as Mandalorian foundlings, which feels a little wrong, actually.
Bo-Katan doesn’t leave unscathed, and while The Armorer is repairing her gear, she asks if it’s acceptable to wear her family’s Night Owl alongside the Mandalorian Mythosaur on her armor, to which The Armorer says yes.
This was a great episode overall.
First, any flashback to the Republic in live-action is awesome, even if it is Order 66. Plus, one of the wrongly over-hated actors, Ahmed Best, got to redeem himself among fans for his performance of the Jedi that rescued Grogu.
Meesa doesn't remember him as Jar-Jar Binks anymore.
The series did a great job expressing the distress of Order 66 and the hustle of Coruscant nightlife.
Bo-Katan has also gone under some major character development from last season to this one, and every episode, she understands more about Mandalorian culture.
She’s always been an interesting character, starting from her time in “The Clone Wars” and then “Rebels,” where she’s always been a steadfast ruler out for revenge. However, in “The Mandalorian,” she seriously takes time to understand subsects of the culture that had been ripped from her.
Accepting Din’s clan was already a big step for her, but leading the search party for Vizsla’s son was the highest honor by the Creed and therefore grants her higher status in the eyes of the clan.
It’s also about time viewers get Grogu development. The sheer look of horror and remembrance on his face as The Armorer was welding the Beskar was harrowing to watch, and the cinematography of that whole scene alone deserves its place among the “Star Wars” greats.
After a below-average episode last week, “The Mandalorian” made the most of thirty minutes this week and made this episode seem like it never ended in the best way.
Rating: 4.5/5
Adrianna Gallucci is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.
