It’s hard to believe viewers will ever get tired of Grogu, a.k.a. Baby Yoda. And not just because he’s so cute. (Though that fact is undeniable!) All of the time he’s spent on screen has cultivated an investment in his future but also an interest in his past. Both of these are addressed in The Mandalorian 3×04 with efficiency and momentum.
Though a surprising yet enriching detour with other characters took up much of the screen time of the last episode, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) did achieve his goal. He did redeem himself under the creed of Mandalore and was accepted into the Children of the Watch sect again. Unexpectedly, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) did the same. For now, despite not being devout, she is giving this group a chance.
An important facet of the Mandalorian culture is providing care for foundlings, such as Grogu. Din and Grogu have formed a family of their own, and they have mostly been on their own up until this point. Now, their relationship must continue while surrounded by other people as they have never been before. Grogu did learn about his Force abilities for a while but he chose to return to Din, so now he must begin to train as a Mandalorian and not a Jedi.
This training begins in The Mandalorian 3×04, and, as the next part of the journey of this father-son pair, it is fast-paced and entertaining. It is also more than just filler in the overall story.
“Playtime is over.”
Grogu’s species ages at a much slower rate than humans so by the time Din found him, he had already been alive for 50 years but still looks like a toddler. And it’s not too early for him to begin training in the ways of Mandalore. Adorably, Din is in full dad mode when Grogu faces his first opponent in combat training, Ragnar (Wesley Kimmel; yep, Jimmy Kimmel’s nephew). Din insists it’s time Grogu learns even though others say he is too small. It’s also adorable when Bo encourages the little guy too, telling him, “My dad was the same way. He’s just proud of you.” Of course, Grogu uses the Force and wins.
This is just a light-hearted beginning, though. The action is about to come. A raptor creature attacks the Mandalorian settlement and snatches Ragnar. This moment is a bit jarring after the fun of the previous scene. The raptor has attacked before but the Mandalorian jetpacks don’t have enough fuel to make it all the way to the creature’s lair. However, Bo tracks it in her ship. All this happens before the opening title card if that tells you how brisk the pace is of this episode.
“One does not speak unless one knows.”
While Din and Bo form a rescue party to go save the boy, Grogu is left with the Armorer (Emily Swallow). She shows him the Forge and tells him about the importance it has in Mandalorian culture. Once she begins to shape the metal, however, the loud clanging and burning evoke memories for Grogu. He remembers being a Youngling student at the Jedi Temple in Coruscant when the Jedi were destroyed on the Emperor’s order. The audience got a glimpse of this in an episode of The Book of Boba Fett. Luke helped Grogu recall a bit of that traumatic experience. But here, we see the whole escape. Star Wars fans will be thrilled to see that the character who got our little guy out was Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, and he’s played by Ahmed Best. He also played the infamous Jar Jar Binks in the Prequel Trilogy, and it’s nice to see his face this time!
This sequence is thrilling, with a tense speeder chase before reaching a ship and then a last-second jump to light speed. The emotional impact of these memories on Grogu is what’s important about this moment. I don’t think the expressiveness of the puppet playing Grogu has ever been more brilliantly conveyed. This scene is truly outstanding. And Grogu gets a Beskar rondel to go with his chainmail shirt. Of course, he still has to grow into it!
“This is the Way.”
Meanwhile, Bo leads the rescuers to the raptor’s nest and the action continues. Scaling a cliff is just the start. The startling surprise of raptor babies greets the Mandalorians at the top, then an exciting aerial fight sequence follows. The combination of camerawork and choreography in it is excellent. Another memorable part of this scene is finding out that Ragnar is the son of Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher), as it raises the question: how do Mandalorians procreate if they never remove their helmets? (Admit it, you were wondering about that.) That particular mystery is not solved but Ragnar is saved. And the Mandalorians get three raptor chicks to raise.
This storyline is significant for Bo’s character. She takes the initiative to find the lair and map out the rescue plan. During the fight against the raptor, her armor is damaged, so the Armorer makes her a new piece. Bo chooses the symbol of the Mythosaur and she finally reveals that she saw the mythical creature. The Armorer only responds with the enigmatic Mandalorian motto “This is the Way.” The intriguing progress of Bo’s connection to the Mandalorian creed is something that keeps this episode from just taking up space.
After the longest episode of the series last week, the dynamic momentum of The Mandalorian 3×04 keeps the story advancing quickly. It packs a lot of entertainment value into its shorter running time.
The Mandalorian is streaming on Disney Plus.
