Review: The Mandalorian Chapter 20 - The Foundling Has Din and Bo-Katan Forging New Bonds With the Children of the Watch

I have to admit, when I saw that Carl Weathers was directing this episode, I assumed we were getting another one-off trip back to Nevarro, like we had in the fourth episode of season 2. It was a pleasant surprise to see that we got to spend some quality time with the Mandalorian covert instead and even some Grogu action.



The Foundling feels like a light episode of The Mandalorian -- a couple of great action sequences aside -- but it could end up being rather important in the grand scheme of things. The covert has grown so large since The Book of Boba Fett that it was necessary to spend some time with it again if it's going to play a bigger role later on in the series. If Din and Bo are going to call on the Children of the Watch for help in defeating whoever this season's big bad is going to be, then it's important to see how they work within the larger group.



This episode works on showing us more of their relationship with these zealots, forming new bonds and strengthening old ones so it will be believable when the covert does come to our heroes' aid later. There are a couple of entertaining action sequences, one of which is particularly unexpected and thrilling.



Unlike The Convert, which mostly took a break from series' standard storytelling style to tell a darker story focused on world-building, The Foundling returned to the norm with an entertaining adventure. Nothing groundbreaking happens in this installment, but what does happen sets the stage for what we'll see later in The Mandalorian.



Spoilers ahead...







We don't often get to see Mandalorians training, so the episode's opening scene was a fun way to glimpse what the Mandalorian covert gets up to on a regular day. This being a warrior culture, everyone spars, including the kids. How else would Mandalorians breed such capable and fierce warriors?



Din decides to throw Grogu into his first sparring session against the new foundling whose initiation ceremony we saw get interrupted by the crocodile-turtle beast in the season premiere. The child -- whom we later discover is Paz Vizsla's son and is named Ragnar -- chooses to spar with training darts filled with paint pellets, so we don't have to worry about Grogu getting hurt.



It seemed unwise to pit Grogu against the older kid when he's still very vulnerable -- to be fair, the young Vizsla also felt the child was too young to face him. However, after seeing how confidently Vizsla won the first two rounds, it was pretty clear that Grogu was going to pull himself together and win in the end. I was expecting some flips going into this battle, and I wasn't disappointed. The practical effects did look ridiculous as Grogu jumped over the child before planting all three darts in the middle of his chest, but the Child's so damn cute that they come off as charming.







The Vizsla kid gets taught a valuable lesson in not underestimating his opponent just before he is abducted by a pterodactyl-looking monster that swoops in and snatches him. Din, Paz, and two other Mandalorians fly after it, but their jetpacks run out of fuel after a while. Thankfully, Bo-Katan had the bright idea of using her ship to tail it, and she returns with the location of its nest.



They hatch a plan and decide to land the ship near the lair and climb the peak quietly to reach the nest and rescue the foundling -- if the beast knows they're coming, then it will just kill the child, which apparently has happened before -- I was surprised that Paz did not volunteer to lead the hunting party immediately, considering it's his son at risk, but Bo gets in there first.



The hunting party heads off with Grogu left behind. I'll get to him soon, but later that night we see the Mandalorians sitting around the fire and preparing food. Bo asks Din a question many fans have been wondering for years: how do they all eat their food if they can't take off their helmets in front of each other? According to Din, the answer is simple: they each eat in private. Paz tells Bo that, as the pack leader, she has the honor of eating by the fire while the others all slink off to eat in the darkness somewhere.







We get a shot of Bo-Katan removing her helmet and eating by herself in front of the fire. While she's following the tribe's rules, I can't help but think this moment is trying to tell us that she doesn't quite fit in here. Even though she's been accepted into this larger family and hasn't received any abuse for her perceived role in Mandalore's decline, she still feels lonely. Din is the closest thing she has to a friend, but she can't even share a meal with him.



At the end of the episode, Bo-Katan gets a new signet of a mythosaur as part of her armor, and it's clear now that she sees it as proof that she deserves to lead the Mandalorian people again. She actually tells The Armorer that she saw a living mythosaur with her own eyes, but it appears she doesn't believe her. Bo's destiny lies outside of this limited covert, it seems.







Before that though, they all climb the peak and make their way to the nest. Paz loses all sense of discipline and awakens the monster's babies, alerting their mother, who arrives ready to feed the little Vizsla to its children. The Mandalorians spring into action and an entertaining chase scene ensues, with Paz, Bo-Katan, and Din all working to free the foundling from the beast's clutches. Din eventually rescues the child as he plummets towards the ground, and Paz thanks him. It seems a new bond has been forged between Paz and Din, something I never really thought would happen before this season.



While Bo-Katan still feels out of place here, Din feels as comfortable as ever. Not only has he earned a new level of respect from one of his greatest rivals, but he also seems happy raising Grogu here. As toxic and extreme as these zealots may be, he considers them family. Presumably, something will happen to make him realize that Grogu is his only true family by the end of the season, but for now, he's in a very happy place.



Surprisingly, the episode's B-storyline had the most interesting action. While Din and the others were away, Grogu spent some time with The Armorer, who lectured him on the Mandalorian culture. The noises of the forge send him into a trance (or PTSD of sorts), and we finally get a full flashback that explains how he survived Order 66 in the Jedi Temple.







With clones closing in, the adult Jedi send him into a turbolift. At his destination, he is met by Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, played by Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best. This was a fantastic choice, taking a character that had so far been canon-adjacent -- he was created for the Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge children's game show on the Star Wars Kids website and YouTube channel -- and seamlessly embedding him into a critical part of Star Wars lore.



You could argue that perhaps the action got a bit too fan-servicey here, as Kelleran came off as an absolute badass, mowing down clone troopers with his twin lightsabers, but really, this is the redemption that Ahmed Best deserves, so I'm okay with it. After all, Kelleran Beq's nickname was 'The Sabered Hand', so it does make sense that he'd be so skilled with a lightsaber. His role in the Jedi Order involved supervising young Padawans as they went through their Jedi trials; it makes sense that he'd prioritize saving Grogu.



They board a speeder bike, and we get an exhilarating chase across the Coruscant skyline as Kelleran tries to shake an LAAT/i clone gunship in pursuit. He fights his way to a landing pad where some members of the Royal Naboo Security Forces help him and Grogu board an H-type Nubian yacht. I have no idea if this is actually the same ship Padmé used in Attack of the Clones or not, but it's a fun choice regardless. The ship takes off, and we see it escape Coruscant via hyperspace.



The flashback was a great way to add some genuine excitement to the episode, which would otherwise have been fun but lacked any real drama. Overall, The Foundling is a great episode of The Mandalorian, and now that we've spent time with the covert, I can't wait to see what comes next.



Click HERE to check out and comment on this topic on our main site