Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4 Review – The Foundling
Chapter 20 of The Mandalorian finally answers one of Star Wars’ biggest lingering questions!
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4: Chapter 20
With a brisk 32-minute runtime, “The Foundling” is an entertaining but somewhat shallow episode of The Mandalorian that feels inessential when compared to the three entries leading up to it. There’s nothing introduced here, thematically or narratively, that sends the story in new directions, though several scenes do strengthen the roots of the lore.
At the end of “The Convert,” we saw the Tribe welcome Din, Bo-Katan, and Grogu with open arms, and we see the continuation of that here, with Grogu beginning his foundling training. The show can’t lose when it focuses on Din and Grogu, and Bo-Katan is creeping her way into that equation, too. When she assures Grogu that Din is just pushing him into training because he’s “proud,” it establishes that she understands them and is slowly becoming a part of their little chosen family.
When the raptor (as it’s actually called) snatches poor little Ragnar up, an aerial chase ensues that is spectacular to look at as per usual, but is also quite clever in that it kicks off the episode’s main plot line with a practical predicament. The Mandos have encountered this raptor before, but their jetpacks’ limited fuel capacity doesn’t allow for them to follow the monster far enough to find its nest. With the constant barrage of CGI fireworks that dominate shows like this, something as simple as this low-fuel issue can make something that feels floaty and fantastical suddenly feel grounded and relatable.
Grogu spending time with the Armorer was a welcome dynamic change and a good opportunity to further enmesh Grogu with Din and his beliefs on a spiritual level. His rondel looks adorable on his tiny torso, but the significance of it carries serious weight. “Just as we shape the Mandalorian steel, we shape ourselves,” the Armorer preaches.
The flashback of Grogu escaping the Jedi Temple during Order 66 is full of fan service but surprisingly less dramatic than one would think considering the ineffable horrors that are happening elsewhere in the building. Alas, there is no Hayden Christensen cameo to speak of, but it is revealed that Grogu’s savior is Jedi Master Kelleran Beq (Ahmed Best), who makes a daring escape from the temple through the tunnels and airways of Coruscant. Beq originally appeared as the host of game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, but Best is, well, best known for playing Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels. Whatever you may think of his performances as the infamous Gungan back in the early 2000s, it is genuinely lovely to have him back in the Star Wars saga in a new way.
