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The flashback prior to the episode beginning basically retells the important parts from chapter 19. We say Din Djarin and Bo-Katan get cleansed in the living waters of the mines […]
The flashback prior to the episode beginning basically retells the important parts from chapter 19. We say Din Djarin and Bo-Katan get cleansed in the living waters of the mines of Mandalore and then be accepted back into the clan of Mandalorians. The two are walking the proper way, and that is most complicated for Bo-Katan seeing how she doesn’t necessarily agree with the strict rules set out by The Armorer and company. The other thing that we see is the Mythosaur. I learned what that was called during Chapter 20. It all comes together.
Off the jump, I saw the run time of less than 40 minutes and I got super fucking excited. Chapter 19 was a very long episode that didn’t hit the same in terms of grabbing one’s attention. The Foundling is back to the roots. In and out. Hit the points and hit them hard and then move on. Looking at who is directing, and we have Carl Weathers returning to the cockpit. This episode is his second directing project for The Mandalorian with his first being The Siege during episode two. That episode had a fantastic chase sequence in the canyons, so what is The Foundling going to bring to the table?
We begin the episode on the beaches of the Mandalorian safe space. It is a training day for the young foundlings. We see wrestling matches. We see people practicing firing blasters and testing their jet packs. I love how you can see the variations in the armor. The newest members have the beat up old shit while the more elder folk had the shiny Beskar armor plating. It shows the different degrees that with everyone in this clan is in.
It is a lot of setting the scene until we get to Grogu sitting by the water moving rocks (or little hermits) with the force. He is having his own bit of training, but Mando walks over and he has something else in mind for his adopted son.
It is time for Grogu to not just go against rocks, but to go against humans. There is this one kid named Ragnar who is beating everyone in duels. Now it is Grogu’s time to go against him. The kid says that the alien is too young to fight. Baby Yoda can’t even talk yet. He isn’t even able to say the creed. That is why he is allowed to walk around in a helmet. Even the judge who has been adjudicating these fights seems worried about Grogu. But Mando is confident. This is like a father throwing his son to the wolves and telling him that he believes in him.
The host of the challenge gets to pick the weapon so Ragnar picks darts. The practice dart guns come out and boy-oh-boy does it look silly. Din putting the wristlet on the puppet was very obvious. The most obvious a puppet has ever been on this show. I don’t necessarily love it. Will they ever graduate to CGI? I don’t think they will. And I do think they are right to stick to the puppet. Just the close ups increases the level of suspension of disbelief.
So is the kid going to humble Grogu, or is he going to be humbled? Ragnar is told to not speak about what he doesn’t know. In my mind I thought that this was going to go bad for Grogu because he does not have a fighters mindset. When the first two paintballs hit Grogu, I felt that my prediction was great.
Din had to do the whole fathering thing. He had to instill confidence in Grogu. That son of a bitch.
Grogu jumps into the air using his force capabilities and pelts Ragnar with three bullets straight to the chest. A win for Grogu, and he impresses everyone.
However, this begs the question. Why didn’t Ragnar just fire three shots at Grogu when the puppet was standing still like a statue? This seems like a major flaw in Ragnar not having the killer instinct.
So Ragnar losses to a baby alien and he is no longer the head honcho. He steps away towards the beach to take some time to think about himself and what he has done, then SWOOP! HERE COMES A GIANT WINGED CREATURE TO SWOOP THIS CHILD AWAY. Poor Ragnar. He is having some REAL bad luck.
So the Mandalorians are hanging out in an environment with a killer winged creature but they still think it is a good idea to practice shooting into the water? Laser guns still make noise in the Star Wars universe, so that has got to attract some very loud natural beasts.
Alright, time for the Mandalorians to come to the rescue. A bunch of warriors take off in their jet packs to follow the beast, however they all end up running out of fuel. It is noted that the winged beast always gets away from them. Bo-Katan didn’t get the memo because she comes soaring over the cavern in her spaceship and she follows the winged beast into the sunset. A classic, absolutely classic, western shot. This is the prelude to the most western thing The Mandalorian has done this season.
Bo-Katan has found the way of the best. She knows where its lair is. The Armorer bestows upon her the duty of leading a rescue mission. Din Djarin is tagging along, as well as Paz Vizsla. We find out later that Ragnar is Paz’s son, which explains his brashness to help out and jump into trouble. So in summary, we have a rescue mission.
Enter the forge. Enter the realm of the The Armorer. She has beckoned Grogu to follow her into the cave where she dwells. Grogu didn’t go along on this mission because he is too young and it is too dangerous. With that being said, no one is ever too young for story time.
The Armorer is telling Grogu that the Forge is the center of Mandalorian culture. She puts on her teaching shoes and telling Grogu some tenants of her people. Grogu is supposed to be paying attention, but he is getting distracted. The Armorer is making a small chest plate for Grogu (which is very grandmotherly to do), but the banging, sparks, and loud noises trigger some PTSD for Grogu.
FOLKS! IT IS TIME FOR ORDER 66 AGAIN. RUN IT BACK!
Grogu is in the Jedi Temple and is being protected by various Jedi. We here the voice of Temuera Morrison as the clones are invading the space. Grogu us looking around like a lost puppy, following a smattering of directions without much hope of escape.
Who comes to the rescue of Grogu? A duel wielding Jedi by the name of Kelleran Beq. This is the first time we have seen this character in The Mandalorian universe, but he did appear in another bit of Star Wars storytelling in Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge which was a star wars themed game that came out in 2020. The actor playing Beq in this episode is Ahmed Best, the same guy who played Jar Jar Binks in the prequels and in Star Wars: The Clone Wars . The same guy. So Jar Jar Binks got to become a Jedi. That is pretty cool!
Beq escorting Grogu out of Coruscant brings about memories from the episode prior. You remember the peak of Coruscant that Dr. Penn Pershing got in trouble for touching? Yup. Beq and Grogu crash (or nearly) into that. This whole escape sequence is the opposite of The Convert. We are seeing Coruscant before the New Republic. We are literally seeing the death of the old Coruscant and old Republic.
Beq gets Grogu to a ship that looks a lot like the Naboo ships that Padmé Amidala rode on in The Phantom Menace. We see security guards getting gunned down, but Grogu is able to escape. We see Grogu go into space for the first time, and we see his first experience with hyperspace. All of it is innocence loss.
Here I am. I am going to say it. I was let down by this Order 66 moment. I wanted more ruthlessness. I want to see a real massacre. I want a Game Of Thrones type of takeover. If this event literally wiped out the majority of the Jedi and reshaped an entire galactic government, then i want to see how brutal it really was. This sequence felt the most PG to me of this whole entire episode.
Alright, we are back with Mando and Bo-Katan. We are back with the Mandalorians and their western adventure. There is a camping scene with some banter and food prep, ending with a moment of character development. Bo-Katan is the leader of this war party and Paz Vizsla lets her know that she has the honor at staying by the fire to eat with her helmet off while the rest have to go and find a spot. It is a bit of loneliness for Bo-Katan, but also one of self reflection. She is going to have to do a lot of soul searching.
But before Bo-Katan can think more about her life journey, she needs to rescue a kid who has been kidnapped by a ginormous winged beast. Easy work. The Mandalorians on this hunting party begin climbing up a fairly dangerous rock face. They are not exactly free soloing it, but still treacherous to say the least. I thought for sure that one of the random Mandalorians on this episode would die, but no, they all lived to reach the nest.
Is Ragnar alive? Oh, he is. And he is in the throat of the beast. The creature wants to feed him to her little baby dragons! Yea, this best is a mom! That means she is going to be more aggressive! She has the maternal instinct to protect her children while Paz wants to save his son.
So a battle ensues. Shots are fired. Jet packs are whirred. In the end, the Mandalorians damage the wings of the beast and wound it so much so that it can not fly. The day is saved.
The winged creature is collapsing down to the water. The raptor flops down and begins to flail for half a second, until it is swallowed hole by some other massive animal living in the water. This reminded me a bit of Jurassic World (2015) with the dinosaur in the water getting the final big moment. These water creatures always seem to be educating the audience that there is always something bigger out there.
Or as Qui-Gon Jinn would say.
Now there is a happy reunion on the beaches of the Mandalorain training beach. The kids are giving a grand time welcoming Ragnar back to their ranks and Paz Vizsla is relieved to have his son back and safe. Bo-Katan is hailed as a hero, but she makes her way to The Armorer rather than talking to anyone. The Armorer lets Bo-Katan know that she has done the most honorable things a Mandalorian can do; saving a foundling. She tries to install this sense of pride onto the blue armor Mandalorian, but she is still a bit hesitant of the accolades.
Bo-Katan’s confusion is brought to light a bit when she begins asking The Armorer about Mythosaur. She is asking The Armorer if she can make the new shoulder plate with that insignia on it. The wish is granted, and the Mythosaur is framed as like the giant turtle from Stephen King’s It.. It seems like a the creature is more mythical, but still literal. The Armorer is very cryptic in what seeing one in the real world means, only that is is incredibly special. Come on oh holy leader of the Mandalorians. Give us a bit of an answer!
Overall, really good episode. I loved that it was short and concise. Seeing the foundlings train was cool and a nice touch. Seeing giant winged creatures that remind me of The Witcher universe is cool, and having Bo-Katan get into more of a mental pretzel is going to lead to great foil later in the season. Really enjoyed this. Probably my second favorite of the season thus far. I could argue it for favorite.
The Mandalorian streams on Wednesdays on Disney+.
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