Throughout most of The Mandalorian season 3, Grogu has had a lot to deal with. He has his new knighthood, he’s been running around with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) all over space, he had to try and save his father from multiple deaths, and he escaped a dinosaur infested island that the Mandalorians had made camp on. There was a lot that Grogu had to navigate in order to be free of Luke Skywalker and his Jedi school and be back with his dad and the clan of Mandalorians (who sort of hate him).
But throughout the season, he’s been that adorable, green 55-year-old baby we know and love. And through each Baby Yoda Watch, we’ve seen him having fun, flinging himself in the air, and just generally trying his best to be a brave, strong boy and make his father proud. It all resulted in a season that really asked Grogu to be strong, use his power, and protect his loved ones. And Grogu stepped up to the challenge.
In the season 3 finale, titled “The Return,” Grogu found himself busy. He had to save Din Djarin, run around to keep himself safe, and use the Force like never before. And so, for one last ride (for this season), let’s talk about Grogu on this week’s Baby Yoda Watch.
Hiding out on an Imperial base
At the end of “The Spies,” Grogu found himself separated from Din Djarin and running with Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and her clan. When Din starts fighting back against the Imperial Mandalorians that have him captive, he’s about to lose the battle until Grogu comes to his aid.
Grogu frees Din of his ties and the two are ready to embark on an adventure on the Imperial base together. Which includes Din telling Grogu to hide a lot, but still, it starts with Grogu saving Din Djarin and making sure that he’s okay.
Din is trying to be stealthy on the base, running around and hiding in the shadows, and then Grogu comes lumbering behind him in plain sight—until Din tells him to hide, which Grogu does and then just doesn’t move from that spot.
But still, they’re like a little heist team and it’s cute to see Grogu following behind Din Djarin while they’re trying to be sneaky about it.
Like, Din is bent down, sneaking around corners, and then there’s Grogu. Just standing behind him, looking around.
It all leads to Din Djarin telling Grogu that he needs to be brave on this adventure they have in front of them. And it is one of the few times we get to really see just how young Grogu is—for his species. He’s a baby and he does still get scared of things. It’s why he stopped using the Force and why it’s been such a journey for him to return to the ways of the Jedi.
Din telling him to be brave was seemingly what Grogu needed to get through this battle.
Which did include Din Djarin killing, like, 10 men as R5 opened each of the laser-closed doorways (and Din started this journey without weapons). But hey, as long as Grogu was brave during it, right?
Not more Moff Gideon(s)?
Their fight was leading them to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito)’s communications room. But the journey there isn’t exactly a fun one. After getting past the guards, Grogu finds himself face to face with his worst nightmare: A room filled with Moff Gideons.
As they’re trying to find Moff Gideon, Din Djarin walks them through what appears to be Moff Gideon’s clone room. They’re filled with clones of Gideon, and even when Din tells Grogu that they’re not really Moff Gideon, that doesn’t stop Grogu from being terrified of them.
Especially when, as Grogu is looking at the clones, one opens his eyes to stare at him and Grogu goes into fight-or-flight, and it’s not the best move.
It is the only time in this episode that Grogu’s fear takes over, because when his father is in danger? He knows exactly what to do.
The Force is strong with this one
Din Djarin destroys all of the clones and that’s what gets Moff Gideon to reveal himself. He’s furious that Din destroyed the clones—they were going to be the “better” version of Gideon because they were Force sensitive. You know who is Force sensitive and doesn’t like when you hurt his daddy? Grogu.
Moff Gideon is fighting Din Djarin when he brings out the Red Guard again. As they’re attacking Din and on the verge of killing him (as they did Paz Vizsla), Grogu gets his angry face on.
Which instantly has Din Djarin screaming “NO!” because the Red Guard leaves Din to Moff Gideon and starts coming for Grogu in the process.
And Grogu instantly realizes his own mistake … for a brief moment.
In the midst of the Red Guard thinking they “got” Grogu by destroying his IG-11 unit and using their purple taser swords to taunt him, we get to see that Grogu really never was afraid of the guards at all. In fact he’s laughing at them as he’s running around.
Don’t worry, though: He does just fling himself in the air as these guards are trying to grab him, but it doesn’t really work out for them.
… until they do manage to knock over one of the pillars and trap Grogu, who is just laying on the ground, looking up at the ceiling, and really wondering how in the world he got to this place in his life. And for a moment it looks dire as Grogu’s use of the Force isn’t moving the pillar that had fallen on him.
But just when he’s trapped, afraid to move, and seemingly at his end, Din Djarin breaks free from his fight with Moff Gideon with the help of Bo-Katan and busts through the door to save his son.
If ever there was a relatable moment for Grogu, it was this face where he’s very clearly just happy that he finally has re-enforcements.
In the midst of Din Djarin’s fight against the Red Guards, Grogu pretty much stays put. But his power isn’t in his strength, it’s in his use of the Force. And so he literally stands in the background and is just throwing the guards around every time they try to even touch his dad.
The fight eventually leads to Din Djarin and Grogu defeating the Red Guard and going to help Bo-Katan, who is losing the fight against Moff Gideon. The Darksaber is gone, destroyed by Moff Gideon, and now the freighter that was holding the Mandalorians is crashing down onto Mandalore because of Moff Gideon’s own attack.
Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) warns Bo-Katan and Din that the ship is coming down and he’s targeting the base to wipe it out but that they need to leave. The problem is that Moff Gideon is still fighting them, and as much as Din and Bo-Katan are fighting back with Grogu using the Force, it might not be enough.
So they’re still at the base when the freighter crashes, and as the fire consumes Moff Gideon, Din and Bo-Katan are protected by Grogu using a Force-field to keep them safe from the flames.
He’s controlling how the flames move around them, keeping his family safe, and making sure that he uses his powers for good. And seeing just how powerful Grogu has gotten throughout these last three seasons is incredible. He used to instantly fall asleep if he used the Force, but now he’s throwing people around and protecting those he loves. It’s great!
The future is bright for Din Djarin and Sir Din Grogu
Once Moff Gideon is gone and the Mandalorians have claimed Mandalore as their own once more, the Armorer (Emily Swallow) can now bring the Children of the Watch back into the waters of Mandalore. And she’s having Ragnar Vizsla re-say his oath in the waters. As it’s happening, Din brings Grogu to the steps and asks if he can be an apprentice.
This does seem to be what Grogu wants, but since he cannot speak, he cannot say the oath. And the Armorer says that if he cannot say the oath, he cannot do it. Which makes our boy sad.
But then Din Djarin says what he should have said seasons ago. He tells the Armorer that a parent can say that their child is an apprentice and the Armorer says to him that Grogu’s parents are far away, if they’re alive. Which is just mean, but it is the truth. And again, it makes Grogu said.
That is until Din Djarin says to her that he is adopting Grogu as his own, and I swear that you can see Grogu crying in the background.
He’s just big eyes, excited, and happy that he is finally not only Din Djarin’s apprentice for his clan, but also his son. And he has a new name: Din Grogu. He’s also technically a knight, so it’d be Sir Din Grogu.
Which leads them onto a new adventure entirely. While the rest of the Mandalorians are staying on Mandalore to rebuild their home planet, Grogu and Din Djarin go back to see Captain Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) after defeating Moff Gideon.
While there, Din Djarin is trying to tell Captain Teva that he’d like some work for the New Republic on a case-by-case basis while Grogu is a bit more concerned with the decapitated head of his “friend.” The reality is that there’s an IG droid head hanging above the bar and Grogu is concerned that it belongs to the unit he just lost in battle.
Din tells him that it’s not his friend, but that doesn’t seem to matter ’cause Grogu keeps staring at it even after Din tells him the truth. But they do need that head because Din wants to bring it back to Nevarro with them.
Din’s plan is to bring the IG droid to the Anzellans to fix and then make IG-11 the new Marshall of Nevarro. But through this journey, Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) offers Din and Grogu a home of their own on Nevarro where the two are prepared to have their happy ending as father and son.
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For now, Din Djarin and Sir Din Grogu are living their lives on Nevarro together, waiting for their next job to come through, and we’ll have to tune in when The Mandalorian comes back to see what Grogu’s next adventure is.
(featured image: Disney+)
Published: Apr 19, 2023 04:31 pm