Chapter 20: The Foundling

It feels like there's a lot waiting for this season. We're already four episodes in, but it doesn't feel like it has set up anything real meaningful yet. The first episode did a great job of providing the season with many ways to go, but the main conflicts still seem to be missing. With this episode, the entirety of the short runtime was spent with the title character as he goes on another adventure, but we also finally see what happened to Grogu on Coruscant. While the answers this episode provided to Grogu's storyline were very satisfying, it lacked entertainment in some other areas.

A lot of the episode is dedicated to a mission to save a young foundling from being eaten by a big bird creature, and that was the least interesting part of the episode. The adventure-of-the-week structure still works, but there are certainly some adventures that are less interesting than others. A lot of the writing didn't quite match up and while the action was cathartic and interesting, a lot of the visuals were incredibly wonky, especially in the environments. However, the episode also provides some answers to Grogu and what happened to him during Order 66, and that part was incredible. Grogu's role in this show is really solidifying itself, and it makes sense why Favreau and crew wanted him brought back as quickly as possible, and his reintroduction in "The Book of Boba Fett" actually had some purpose behind it. At this point, a lot of different angles of Order 66 have been shown, and it's always interesting to see the path that different Jedi take and seeing who survived and who didn't. The Mandalorians are clearly individuals who are not defined by their paths, and by showing snippets of Grogu's path, it's clear that all of it is still very much on his mind, so whether he will ever become a good enough Mandalorian is a question that lingers on everyone's lips. It's great how they're showcasing this divide in someone who cannot use words, and everything with Grogu seems to slowly become the strongest aspect that this show has to offer still.

A lot of "Chapter 20: The Foundling" isn't worth really mentioning, but everything with Grogu is so good that it really elevates the episode's potential. There's a lot still to be discovered in Grogu and a lot of the questions that we all have are sure to be huge drives for the creatives. At least, we hope...

To be fair, Carl Weathers did a decent enough job directing this episode. Although i feel the writing to be somewhat vague in areas. The beginning was a bit of a downslope for me, it felt like the series had finally reached it's limit and was just spitballing ideas onto screen.

The Mandalorians just don't seem as badass as they used to, now it's looking more like a Power Ranger club with "This is the way" losing it's unique touch, now more of a "Nothing else to say so i'll say the famous words" but maybe that's just me.

The main story of this episode was miniscule to say the least, some would say a filler but inbetween we suddenly got a flashback segment from Grogu (Possibly PTSD based from the execution of Order 66) and i have to tell you i never wanted the flashback to end. I felt intrigued again, i actually smiled. Maybe this could be part of a story we will see more of, who knows.

After two seasons of bringing back some of the old magic from Star Wars, the writers really seem to have no idea what to do next with the mandalorian. It seems they are making it up as they go along. There is no storyline, there are no higher stakes, and everything that happens seems... filler content. Other than an interesting flash back we get some generic mando action scenes, that really add nothing to progress the story. What a complete change of pace for a show that was very entertaining in it's previous seasons. Of course it never had any grand storylines, but at least there was something there to tie all the events together. Now we're just muddling through events and episodes, and halfway the season there's still not much happening. After this episode I have completely lost interest. No storyline is bad enough, but when even logic is tossed out the window, I give up. That ending... really?

You would think they had learned from Andor. Now that was a great show with some amazing writing. Tense, gripping and gritty, with drama, action and fleshed out characters. Unfortunately, this doesn't have any of that. For it's third season this show has been reduced to yet another conveyor belt churning out content. Such a shame.

The Foundling attempts to give some more background on Grogu. He is old but somehow his development has been held back. Maybe Grogu should had matured more than he has.

There are flashbacks as to how he was in danger during the siege of the Jedi temple. Grogu was rescued to safety by Jedi Master Kelleran Beq and sent to safety.

These memories come through as Grogu starts his Mandalorian combat training. Something Grogu is nervous about but the Mandalorian encourages him to go through with.

Grogu wins his training match. His young opponent is then carried away by a large raptor. The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan and others give chase to recover the boy.

Both the rescue story and Grogu's own backstory was effective in this episode.

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian brought my love for Star Wars back. Season 2 felt like a fireworks show, with each chapter getting better and better with a grand finale. I don't know what happened after, but from the start of The Book of Boba Fett to Kenobi to Season 3 of The Mandalorian, the quality, the writing, and the greatness of the first 2 Seasons of The Mandalorian have gone away. I was so hyped for the Mandalorian lore in this season, but it's been portrayed terribly. These cosplay Mandalorian extras with spray painted Boba Fett helmets and armor make the Mandalorians look like imbeciles. I was hoping that the Mandalorians would be similar to Jango Fett, Jaster Mereel, the True Mandalorians from the Open Seasons comic books, Gar Saxon, Pre Vizsla, etc. Real Mandalorian warriors who were smart, intimidating, leaders, and actually knew how to use their gear and surroundings. These Mandalorians are like a bunch of inept and incompetent Power Rangers. They remind me of that terrible biker gang from The Book of Boba Fett. So far, Season 3 has felt like something off of the Disney Channel. Grogu does something cute, the Mandalorians fight another creature, Din Djarin plays sidekick to Bo Katan, rinse and repeat. Halfway through, and there's no direction at all. It's just making the decision to bring Grogu back right away look worse and worse. It's getting to the point where they should've finished the series with the Season 2 finale. It was perfection, and now it's being stained. I'm really hoping that it gets better with these last 4 episodes.