Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4 Easter Eggs Explained
The Mandalorian Chapter 20, “The Foundling,” features plenty of easter eggs and references to other corners of the Star Wars galaxy!
The Mandalorian kicks the doors open on Grogu’s past in “The Foundling” as well as sends Din and Bo-Katan on a dangerous rescue mission into the heart of monster territory. Both storylines lead to plenty of lore as well as callbacks to other parts of the Star Wars saga. Most importantly, we get a massive surprise guest character that will have fans of the Prequel Trilogy spitting out their morning caf.
Here are all the Star Wars easter eggs and references we found in “The Foundling”:
Kelleran Beq and Ahmed Best
For years, ever since we learned Grogu was a youngling at the Jedi Temple of Coruscant, we’ve wondered how he escaped Order 66 and who helped him along the way. In “The Foundling,” we finally learn in a flashback that it was none other than Jedi Master Kelleran Beq who got him off Coruscant, just as the clone troopers led by Anakin Skywalker were closing in.
This Jedi Master was first introduced as the host of the kids game show Jedi Temple Challenge. Known by the nickname “Sabered Hand,” Beq was well known as an expert in lightsaber dueling, particularly in the Jar’Kai style (basically, dual-wielding blades). In Star Wars lore, Beq was in charge of helping guide Padawans through the Jedi Trials on their way to Knighthood.
Beq is of course played by Ahmed Best, who you likely know best from The Phantom Menace and the rest of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. He played the divisive Jar Jar Binks in those films as well as voiced the character in The Clone Wars animated series. “The Foundling” is Best’s first appearance in scripted Star Wars since 2014.
One last fun fact: Master Beq apparently has a relative we’ve met before in the Prequels. According to Best, his secret second character in Attack of the Clones, Achk Med-Beq, a patron at the Outlander Club where Obi-Wan and Anakin are searching for Zam Wesell, is somehow related to Master Beq, although there’s no official lore supporting that except that both Beq characters obviously look exactly alike and share similar last names.
You can read much more about Kelleran Beq here.
Order 66 and the Jedi Temple
We’ve revisited Order 66 and the Siege at the Jedi Temple a few times in recent years, but here’s a brief refresher: In Revenge of the Sith, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (also known as Sith Lord Darth Sidious) instructs the Clone Army to “execute Order 66,” a secret plan to exterminate all the Jedi Knights in the galaxy. A very grim montage shows us as clone troopers turn on their Jedi commanders, shooting them down, firing squad style, across the galaxy.
Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker, who’s just been baptized as Palpatine’s new Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, leads a clone battalion into the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to kill all who are inside, including the younglings. Fortunately, Grogu makes it out alive before Anakin can find him. If you want to see this siege from yet another perspective, check out Reva’s story in Obi-Wan
