Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers from Season 3 Episode 4 of The Mandalorian.In “Chapter 20: The Foundling,” our attention turns back to Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu. With Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), they grow closer to the Children of the Watch, training and fighting in tandem. It’s the shortest of the third season thus far, but this episode of The Mandalorian still packs in plenty of hidden connections. This is the way.
Foundlings
The titular moniker of the episode, foundlings are the central focus of this episode. Now that Din and Bo-Katan have rejoined the Children of the Watch, where the Mandalorians are currently training their children, Grogu finds himself in the friendly company of other foundlings. “It’s time that you learn with the other foundlings.” Din insists that Grogu begins further training, and Grogu immediately showcases formidable ability. Wesley Kimmel (nephew of talk show host Jimmy Kimmel) returns as Ragnar Vizsla, Grogu’s training opponent and the foundling taken by a pterosaur creature.
Mandalorian Weaponry
As the training ensues, many familiar weapons are wielded. Vibroblades, commonly on hand for Mandalorians, swipe and slash about. There are EE-3 carbine rifles, popularized by the bounty hunter Boba Fett himself, and even Grogu takes up Mandalorian weaponry in the form of training darts.
The Peaks of Kyrimorut
When plotting Ragnar’s rescue, Bo-Katan boasts confidence in the mission thanks to her training. The pterosaur has taken Ragnar to a high mountain peak which they’d have to scale to avoid detection. She refers to her experience climbing the peaks of Kyrimorut, which was a remote stronghold on the planet Mandalore. During the Clone Wars, it even served as a place of refuge for clone troopers that chose to leave the Grand Army of the Republic.
Shriek-hawks
Speaking of pterosaurs, the sigil of the Shriek-hawk can be seen borne by the Mandalorian members of Clan Vizsla, including the kidnapped Ragnar, and his father Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher). A Shriek-hawk was a bird-like predator on Mandalore, and the sigil depicts the creature in a downward position, evoking how the beast would dive for prey.
Order 66
As The Armorer uses the Forge in front of Grogu, she calls it the heart of Mandalorian culture. “The Forge can reveal weaknesses.” As it smashes down upon the beskar, the imagery sends Grogu into a flashback of past trauma. Giving a deeper look into the events of Revenge of the Sith, Grogu remembers his escape from Coruscant. After Palpatine commanded the execution of Order 66, the clone troopers turned on every Jedi, including the younglings.
Temuera Morrison
You’ll always recognize that voice. After starring as Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones, Temuera Morrison returned to the world of Star Wars in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett as the legendary bounty hunter. Because Jango Fett served as the blueprint for the entire clone army, Morrison voiced and visually portrayed each clone trooper in the prequel films. He’s returned here to once again voice the soldiers as they execute Order 66.
Ahmed Best
In a triumphant return to Star Wars, actor Ahmed Best takes on the role of Kelleran Beq, a Jedi Master tasked with supervising young Padawans. Best played Jar Jar Binks in all three prequel films, and has expressed to fans immense gratitude for the warm welcome back into the Star Wars world. During the flashback, this Jedi is revealed to have been the key to Grogu’s escape. Thanks to the aid of the Royal Naboo Security forces, Kelleran and Grogu are able to speed away into hyperspace, surviving the doom of Order 66.
The Peak of Umate
As Grogu and his Jedi savior Kelleran Beq race to evacuate Coruscant, we get all the familiar scenery of the city-covered planet, the iconic backdrop of the Star Wars prequels. We also get a glimpse of the peak of Umate, the highest mountain beneath the city structure and the only part of the planet’s surface that remains uncovered. This visually ties The Mandalorian to the first three Star Wars episodes, as we encountered this peak one episode prior with Dr. Pershing.
H-Type Nubian Yacht, LAATs, & V-Wings
Iconic Star Wars spacecraft are plentiful throughout Grogu’s flashback. An H-type Nubian yacht was first made famous in The Phantom Menace when it brought Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padme Amidala to Tatooine to meet a young Anakin Skywalker. In this episode, it serves as the escape vessel for Grogu and Kelleran Beq. The Low Altitude Assault Transport (LAAT) was the main transport for the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. Fans may recall Jedi Master Yoda’s ride along in a LAAT in Attack of the Clones, and there’s something sinisterly ironic about these gunships now pursuing Grogu. After he and Kelleran leave Coruscant’s surface in the Nubian yacht, a fleet of V-wings joins in pursuit. As seen before in the prequel films and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighters were early precursors to TIE fighters, their silhouette echoed in the latter’s design.
Clan Mudhorn
When Grogu snaps out of his flashback, The Armorer completes the gift she’s made for him. It’s tradition for Mandalorians to donate portions of the beskar that they earn to the foundlings, and Grogu’s first piece of armor from the Forge bears the sigil of Clan Mudhorn, the new Mandalorian clan formed by Din Djarin. Toward the end of the first season, Din is attacked by mudhorn, a large horned beast. He’s saved by Grogu and his ever-increasing Force sensitivity, so the mudhorn makes for a fitting sigil.
Callback to Qui-Gon
After the Mandalorians successfully rescue the foundling from the grips of the pterosaur, the giant beast pursues them back toward their refuge. However, the manner in which they’re saved marks a clever callback to The Phantom Menace, when the crocodile-like creature from earlier this season bursts from the water, consuming the pterosaur predator. “There’s always a bigger fish,” as Qui-Gon Jinn would say.
Visions of The Mythosaur
At the end of the episode, The Armorer brings Bo-Katan to the Forge so that she may repair the beskar pauldron for her shoulder. Their conversation conveys a growing trust between the two, with Bo-Katan opening up more comfortably. After requesting a Mythosaur sigil, which The Armorer assures belongs to all Mandalorians, Bo-Katan confides in her the experience of witnessing the legendary beast. Potentially causing Bo-Katan to question her recollection, The Armorer tells her she’d be very lucky to have such a vision. “When you choose to walk the Way of the Mand’alor, you will see many things.”
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