The Mandalorian has given us a great many joys over its years on Disney+. But none have been quite as cute as Grogu and his big ears. Affectionately known as Baby Yoda to fans of the series, some of our favorite moments come when Grogu is in the background, just kind of minding his own business in the midst of whatever Din Djarin is working on. While we’ve done “Baby Yoda Watch” for the other seasons, it has been a lot of fun this time around because so much of Grogu’s personality is starting to shine through in season 3.
In Chapter 18, “The Mines of Mandalore,” we get to see what happens when Grogu needs to be the hero and save Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), who is determined to go to the living waters of Mandalore in the mines that were destroyed by the Empire. He needs to bathe in the waters to redeem himself as a Mandalorian because he removed his helmet for Grogu back in season 2. But what he learned is that getting to the mines isn’t exactly easy.
Throughout the episode, Grogu shows just how much he’s grown over the years, and it’s a big deal to see how he can and will fight for Din. So let’s talk about what Grogu goes through in this episode!
Grogu hits Tatooine
Din is still searching for a part to get IG-11 up and running, so he heads to Tatooine to see Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) about the part—because if anyone can find it, she can. Peli is talking with someone when they show up, and the minute she’s talked to Din for too long, she asks where her little guy is. And he pops up to smile at her!
Not only is he playing games, but he’s so excited that he uses the Force to flip himself out of the ship and into Peli’s arms.
Din and Peli’s conversation is more about parts and her trying to sell him a droid instead. Then, as they go to leave Tatooine, fireworks are happening and Grogu is watching them explode in the sky above them as he flies off with Din in his seat.
But all of this is before they even get to Mandalore …
Grogu is also afraid of Mandalore
The episode starts with Grogu happy and thriving, but then as they get closer to Mandalore, he’s clearly worried. First, he’s learning how to fly from Din and is very excitedly paying attention to everything his Dadalorian is teaching him.
Then when they get there, Din sends down his new droid to test the atmosphere so he doesn’t have to. And he makes sure to stay with Grogu to keep him calm.
But eventually Grogu has to be left in the ship on his own. He watches as Din goes to find the droid and make sure its safe for him out there on Mandalore.
And he just sits, casually waiting, as Din goes to fight the Alamites and eventually realizes that the air is fine! So he goes back to the ship, gets Grogu, and the two go on an adventure to explore the mines of Mandalore as the father and son duo we know and love.
The mines are scary!
There is a lot of walking around in this episode. Once the two go into the mines together, they’re floating from layer to layer and just exploring what used to be there for Mandalore and its people. It’s great because Grogu is in his little egg, floating around, and he will suddenly just make a face as he’s trying to figure out what is happening around him.
But when Din gets captured by a terrifying organic-droid hybrid, Grogu sneaks up on them and tries to free Din using the Force.
It doesn’t work and Grogu makes a noise that alerts the creature he’s there, so Din tells him to go find Bo-Katan and get her help. Grogu knows exactly what to do. He gets back into his little ship and starts flying fast to get back to the big ship so that he can go and get help.
Finding Bo-Katan
Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) told Din and Grogu at the end of the first episode that she doesn’t want any part of this, so when Grogu gets to her home, she definitely thinks that Din has come back to talk with her and she’s ready to end their back and forth. That is, until Grogu pops up and Din is nowhere to be found.
Bo-Katan tells her droid to figure out where the ship was and goes with Grogu to try and save Din, even though she doesn’t know what he’s saying to her. The two have a fun back-and-forth throughout the episode, walking and talking to one another about the way of the Mandalorian and what she believes versus what Din believes.
Their relationship clearly grows during their time together and it is surprisingly nice to see Grogu just hanging out with Bo-Katan.
But Grogu warms up to her to the point that, after they save Din, he’s chilling with her by the fire and Din is just hanging out in the background–which feels oddly domestic and I love it?
But it all leads to the living waters …
Grogu doesn’t swim
The point of all of this is that Din needs to go to the waters for his redemption. Bo-Katan doesn’t fight him on it and takes him there, and Grogu follows. They’re met with something that drags Din down into the water and Bo-Katan has to dive in after him. Grogu says, okay, you can save my dad. I’ll stay here, though.
And that’s his journey in “The Mines of Mandalore.”
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Each week, we will talk about what Grogu is up to because who doesn’t love our beautiful green guy? So check back here next episode to see what he’s up to.
(featured image: Lucasfilm)
Published: Mar 8, 2023 02:56 pm