Chapter 20: The Foundling

"Chapter 20: The Foundling" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American television series The Mandalorian. It was written by Dave Filoni and showrunner Jon Favreau and directed by Carl Weathers. It was released on Disney+ on March 22, 2023 and received generally positive reviews.

Plot
At the secret Mandalorian enclave, the Mandalorian introduces Grogu to Mandalorian combat training. Grogu wins a training match, but his opponent, Ragnar Vizsla, is captured by a large raptor. The Mandalorian and Ragnar's father, Paz Vizsla, attempt to go after the creature, but their jetpacks run out of fuel, halting their efforts. However, Bo-Katan Kryze pursues the raptor in her ship and manages to track down the location of its nest, mapping out the terrain for a rescue mission.

Later, the Mandalorian and Vizla reunite with Bo-Katan at the enclave and they begin to devise a plan to rescue the child. Vizsla points out that if they use jetpacks, the raptor will hear them and kill Ragnar, so Bo-Katan suggests travelling to the nest on foot. The Mandalorians gather a hunting party and set off towards the creature's lair.

Meanwhile, the Armorer leads Grogu into her Forge and crafts a new piece of Mandalorian armor for him — a rondel bearing the Mandalorian's mudhorn sigil. As she works, Grogu has visions of the siege of the Jedi Temple during the initial enactment of Order 66 and his rescue from the Temple by Jedi Master Kelleran Beq and sympathetic members of the Naboo Armed Forces.

By the next morning, the hunting party manages to reach the raptor's nest, but they discover that the nest is empty. Vizsla's over-eagerness to save Ragnar disrupts Bo-Katan's plan and alerts the raptor to the Mandalorians' presence, leading to a difficult aerial confrontation in which Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian rescue the boy unharmed, kill the raptor and collect its chicks to be trained, earning the clan's gratitude and respect.

As the Armorer replaces Bo-Katan's pauldron, which was lost in the scuffle with the raptor, Bo-Katan reveals her encounter with the Mythosaur, but the Armorer meets her account with indifferent disbelief.

Development
The episode was directed by Carl Weathers, from a screenplay by Dave Filoni and series creator Jon Favreau.

Casting
The co-starring cast for this episode returned from previous episodes, including Emily Swallow as The Armorer and Tait Fletcher and show creator Jon Favreau as Paz Vizsla. Additional guest starring cast for this episode includes Wesley Kimmel and Temuera Morrison as Ragnar Vizsla, Paz's son, and the voice of clone troopers, respectively.

Ahmed Best reprises his role as Kelleran Beq from the 2020 web game show, Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge. Best had previously portrayed Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy, a character that received such a negative reaction from critics and fans that Best considered suicide. Due to the previous experience and concern to how his character would fit in the story, Best was initially reluctant to appear. However, executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were able to convince him to appear.

Music
Joseph Shirley composed the musical score for the episode, while Ludwig Göransson composed the themes.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has a score of 89% based on reviews from 19 critics, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Brisk and satisfying amid a season that's spent a little too much time dilly-dallying, "The Foundling" is an ideal Mandalorian installment."