As we wrap up the first half of The Mandalorian Season 3, we’re greeted with a more episodic installment that follows an adventure rather than the main plot. This one feels closer to something we’d get from Season 1 or early in Season 2, although not quite as compelling as those overall.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4 episode opens with the covert of Mandalorians training lakeside. Din (Pedro Pascal) decides it’s time for Grogu to train despite his small size, and the child’s opponent (Ragnar, played by Wesley Kimmel) chooses darts as their weapons. Grogu struggles at first, but finally uses the Force to win the competition. Shortly after, a dragon-like creature attacks, scooping up the other boy in its talons. Some of the Mandalorians break off to follow the creature to its lair. Their jetpacks run out of fuel, but Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) flies ahead in her ship. The Mandalorians consult the Armorer (Emily Swallow); together, they come up with a plan to scale the cliffs to find the lost foundling. While they’re gone, Grogu follows the Armorer into the forge.
Something about the crashing metal and sparks triggers a flashback for Grogu. He remembers the night of Order 66 when the clones attacked the Jedi. In a scene similar to the opening of Obi-Wan Kenobi last year, the Jedis protect Grogu. Then, he arrives. In a surprise appearance, Ahmed Best, known for voicing Jar-Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy, returns to the galaxy far, far away, this time as a heroic, green-saber-wielding Jedi who clears a path for Grogu. His name is Kelleran Beq, who starred previously in a children’s series called Jedi Temple Challenge. After so much fan animosity toward Best because of Binks, it’s great to see him get another chance in the Star Wars universe, this time playing smaller but still-integral role.
After an intense chase scene, Beq and Grogu manage to reach a landing pad, where Grogu is taken to safety with a jump to hyperspace. We don’t see the fate of Best’s character, so it’s possible he survived Order 66. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see him again (and here’s hoping, because Beq is cool).
Back in the forge, the Armorer presents Grogu with another piece: a rondel he’ll grow into.
The search party lands and starts the trek to find the beast. They refine their plan, make camp, and cook dinner. Bo-Katan learns that because Mandalorians have to take off their helmets to eat, they need to find a private spot before they can dine. As the party’s leader, Bo has the honor of staying by the fire to eat.
In the morning, the group continues planning, choosing stealth over a blasters-blazing entrance so that the raptor won’t kill the foundling. After a difficult climb up a cliff, they find the creature’s nest and three huge, hungry babies. Their parent shows up and coughs up the foundling, only to scoop him up again and carry him away once more. The Mandalorians pursue. Din manages to catch the child as the raptor falls. A sea monster rises from the water and clamps down on the raptor with its jaws. Qui-Gon was right: “There’s always a bigger fish.”
The band goes home without bringing the three raptor babies as new foundlings. How the Mandos will manage them is unknown. The Armorer realizes Bo-Katan needs a repair and begins crafting her a new pauldron. She asks for an engraving of a mythosaur, and shares with the Armorer that she has seen a mythosaur in person.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4 is just over a half-hour long, including credits. Still, it tells a small, self-contained story and sheds valuable light on Grogu’s past. This one still doesn’t live up to the quality of most Mandalorian episodes; plus, at this point, it’s still unclear what Season 3 is building up to. We have a whole half-season to go – but that’s only four episodes. Hopefully, The Mandalorian can bring its third season to a satisfying point in that time.
Rating: 6/10
