Summary
Great-looking action sequences, some answers in the past, and some suggestions for the future define an impressive bite-sized episode of The Mandalorian.
This recap of The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4, “Chapter 20: The Foundling”, contains spoilers for the events of the episode, including the debut of Jedi Kelleran Beq.
Mandalorian culture is, historically, about war. So, what do warriors do in their downtime? They train.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4 Recap
That’s how this episode opens, with The Tribe training with blasters, rockets, flamethrowers, jetpacks, and with their hands and feet. They battle each other in little competitions, officiated by judges. There’s a particular focus on the foundlings, the next generation, for whom becoming adults means knowing how to fight, and growing into the Mandalorian warrior Creed.
Grogu, never more obviously a puppet than here, is technically a foundling too, so Mando wants him to stop harassing crab-like creatures by the water’s edge and battle the other youngsters. He challenges a smug young kid who thinks Grogu’s size and lack of a helmet make him ineligible for combat. They duel with darts and Grogu embarrasses him in a manner scientifically designed to make anyone of plushie-buying age swoon. Disney could release a Grogu toy with the undersized dart launcher strapped to its arm and it’d sell like gangbusters. This is the Way.
That kid isn’t having a great day. Immediately after being embarrassed by a tiny frog man, a giant winged creature swoops down from out of nowhere, scoops him up, and carries him off to its lair. Mando and Paz Vizsla give chase, but their jetpacks run out of fuel after a while. According to Paz Vizsla, this isn’t the first time creature has done this, and it always gets away.
Luckily, Bo-Katan, now an honorary member of the covert after Episode 3, has her ship on hand and follows the beast all the way to its lair. She, Mando, and Paz Vizsla plan a rescue operation.
Who is Kelleran Beq?
Meanwhile, Grogu is left behind with the Armorer, and while watching her use the Forge, he has a flashback to Order 66, where he was spirited away from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant by a Jedi named Kelleran Beq, played by Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best. This is a fun, very nice-looking action sequence that also reveals how Grogu was able to survive. Beq is able to spirit him away safely, so I imagine we’ll see more of him throughout the season.
We don’t know much about Kelleran Beq at this stage. However, we do see that he was working with Naboo in order to spirit younglings away from the temple. He seems a relatively skilled Jedi, and since he’s able to escape with Grogu, I expect their story will proceed in parallel with the present-day one as Grogu has cause to remember more of his background.
Does Ragnar survive?
The rest of the episode is devoted to the efforts to rescue Ragnar, the stolen Foundling who turns out to be Paz Vizsla’s son, from the lair of the “raptor”. It requires scaling sheer cliffs without the aid of jetpacks, but Paz Vizsla’s eagerness to rescue Ragnar disturbs a full nest of baby raptors. There’s a clear parallel here between Paz Vizsla trying to defend his own offspring and the raptor trying to do the same, regurgitating Ragnar to feed to its kids.
Needless to say, in another visually striking action sequence, the Mandalorians are able to take down and subdue the creature, rescue Ragnar, and also return the squabbling raptor babies to the covert as new Foundlings. Bo-Katan earns her stripes in the tribe, and the Armorer crafts her a new spaulder decorated with the visage of the Mythosaur. The Armorer lightly dismisses the notion she might have seen one in the flesh, even in the Living Waters beneath Mandalore, but she intones, simply, “This is the Way”. Bo-Katan, staring at the skull of the Mythosaur hanging from the wall, is beginning to believe in that sentiment more than ever.
You can stream The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4, “Chapter 20: The Foundling” exclusively on Disney+.
