Topic: The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 4

Airing in about 24 hours, the midway point for the season is already publicly confirmed to be directed by Carl Weathers and is called "The Foundling," according to a tweet by the director. It's rumored to be 41 minutes long.

Share your spoiler-filled thoughts here after you watch the episode.

UPDATE

* 33 minutes, including recap and long credits. (Rumor was incorrect.)
* Paz Viszla and The Armorer are featured in the show thumbnail.
* Lots at the Mando HQ. Grogu learns to use a wrist gauntlet, in a paintball like game with the child with the big T-visor.
* In a surprise attack by a bird-like creator, later called a raptor, the child with the big T-visor gets taken by a "raptor."
* Grogu flashback to Coruscant, as hinted at in the early teasers for the season. Clone troopers sound like Temuera Morrison did the voiceover.
* The Armorer makes another piece of Grogu's Mandalorian armor, with the Mudhorn sigil; it's a round disc called a rondel. Wikipedia defines it as "Rondel (armour), a circular piece of steel, as part of an armour harness, that normally protects a vulnerable point."
* Group climbing scene to the raptor nest (since "jetpacks will alert their presence"), which of course later turns into a jetpack scene.
* Bo-Katan loses her right shoulder armor in the flying fight with the raptor.
* At the end, Bo-Katan gets a Mythosaur-style signet on her right shoulder from The Armorer, because she "walks the way of the Mandalore." (Boba Fett, Paz Viszla, and a few others happen to have the same kind of symbol.)
* No Boba Fett in the episode.

Yes, he is credited in the credits

I like the updated art for the embossed mythosaur on Bo's shoulder.

Loved this episode, though no Boba (Hey at least Tem voiced the clones!) It was great to see Ahmed Best back as Kelleran Beq from the web series. Loved the training portions with the Mandalorians all training and sparring. The Mythosaur being a symbol of all Mandalorians makes Boba even more of a Mandalorian in my eyes, I hope he has a personal conversion to the way.

Compared to the last episode, and while this one was very short, it is still in my opinion one of the best,

Grogu gets and new piece of armour, Bo-Katan finally reveals her secret (Even though the Armourer doesn't believe her)

And three new Foundlings to help the Mandalorians.

I'm glad they finally addressed the fuel limitations of the jet packs.  That always bugged me on the Clone Wars and later series.  They made it seem like Mandalorians could infinitely fly forever with their jet packs.  In the old lore, the Z-6's fuel tank held enough fuel for one minute of continuous operation (20 three-second blasts). Each three second blast moved the wearer up to 100 meters horizontally or 70 meters vertically. 

Many figured the boy, Ragnar, was part of Clan Vizsla or maybe Paz Vizsla's son because of the general "wide-visor" shape and color of his helmet.  So, that got answered.  Climbing up the cliff with that huge mini-cannon and jetpack seemed rather cumbersome.  I'd have thought he'd lose the cannon for some mobility.  Not very practical.  Kudos to all the stunt teams who had to climb around in all that Mando armor.  That couldn't have been easy, especially with the reduced visibility in those Mando helmets, and the restricted movement caused from all that prop armor.  I guess they kept the baby dragons around to eventually use them to ride around on; enter the "Game of Mandalorians" series. 

The Grogu flashback scene was pretty neat.  I was surprised to actually see the Naboo Security open fire on the Republic Troopers.  That was pretty bold, considering the Chancellor himself is from their planet.  When Master Beq takes him to the Naboo Starship landing pad, I was honestly expecting him to hand Grogu off to Representative Binks before he'd get taken out by the Clone Troopers chasing him.  Having Jar Jar realize he made a very big mistake by suggesting Emergency Powers to Chancellor Palpatine and making amends by rescuing some Jedi.  That actually would have been pretty neat and very surreal, having Ahmed Best play both characters in the episode.  Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

Overall, I really enjoyed the episode.  I still think it's kind of weird how quickly Bo Katan has taken to this cult of Mandalorians.  And let's be honest, they ARE a cult, even to former Deathwatch Mandalorians (which should say alot right there; they're too fanatical for even the Deathwatch).  It was funny and sad seeing her have to sit there eating alone by the fire.  You could almost see in her mannerisms how "un-Mandalorian" this practice felt to her.  Even in the fanatical Deathwatch sect there was more of a sense of camaraderie, especially when it came to eating or feasting together.  Very weird, indeed.  I'm hoping that habit eventually gets broken.  I'm really hoping using Tait Fletcher's voice now for Paz Vizsla, instead of Jon Favreau, is a foreshadowing that they'll eventually remove their helmets by the end of everything.

I'd give it a 4/5 stars.