Grogu and bounty hunter Din Djarin (portrayed by the great Pedro Pascal) are back on March 1 when Season 3 of The Mandalorian debuts on Disney+.
If you didn’t watch The Book of Boba Fett (yes, he’s alive), then it’s been a while since you’ve seen Mando and his cute little green buddy. The final episode of Season 2 of the Disney+ Star Wars show was released on Dec. 18, 2020. And that episode – directed by Ant-Man’s Peyton Reed – was a banger (even if it was a bit predictable) featuring one of our favorite original lightsaber-wielding heroes.
But a lot has happened since then. The latter part of The Book of Boba Fett essentially turned into Season 2.5 of The Mandalorian. While Boba was busy hanging out with Tusken Raiders and taking over Tatooine, Din and Grogu went through some significant things too.
To catch you up, here’s everything that has happened to Din, Grogu and their friends since the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian.
If you haven’t watched The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett, spoilers are ahead.
The Mandalorian, Chapter 16: The Rescue
In the final episode of the second season, Din Djarin rounds up a group of friends – Boba Fett, Cara Dune, Bo-Katan, Koska Reeves and Fennec Shand – to seize Moff Gideon’s cruiser. Two episodes before this one – The Tragedy – Moff Gideon had kidnapped Grogu on the planet Tython shortly after our pint-sized force-sensitive friend reached out to other Jedi at an ancient temple.
Din’s friends easily make their way onto to Gideon’s ship and past several dozen inadequate and inaccurate Stormtroopers, but their quest to find Grogu and capture Gideon was made a bit more difficult when Dark Trooper droids show up. While the foursome of gun-toting ladies take command of the ship, Din has a duel with Gideon and – with a Beskar spear – wins over the safety of Grogu and the legendary Darksaber.
In handcuffs, Din takes Gideon to the bridge and hands the prisoner over to Bo-Katan. As Gideon is attempting to goad Bo-Katan into attacking Din – over possession of the Darksaber (and, essentially, the right to the Mandalore throne) – more Dark Troopers arrive and begin to make their way towards the bridge, posing a real threat to the rescue mission.
But wait! Is that an X-Wing? Is that R2-D2? Is that a green lightsaber? Indeed – Luke Skywalker (albeit digitally de-aged) shows up and easily destroys a fleet of Dark Troopers. Luke heard Grogu’s call from Tython and wants to train him as his padawan. Din removes his helmet in a heartfelt moment, taking one last look at Grogu with his own eyes before he departs with Luke.
What immediately happens with Bo-Katan, Koska Reeves and Moff Gideon is unclear. Presumably, they go to Mandalore as Bo-Katan attempts to reclaim its throne. Fennec Shand and Boba Fett go to Tatooine to take a different throne.
And uh, we might never know what happened to Cara Dune. The actress who portrayed her – Gina Carrano – was fired by Lucasfilm in 2021 after a series of social media posts that the company called “abhorrent and unacceptable.” Simply put, Carrano’s posts were antisemitic, transphobic and promoted election fraud conspiracies, and Disney and Lucasfilm had enough.
The Book of Boba Fett, Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian
We see Din Djarin again in the fifth episode of The Book of Boba Fett. He’s back to bounty hunting, this time looking for a target at a butcher’s shop of sorts. In the midst of securing said target, we see that Din has retained possession of the Darksaber and didn’t give it to Bo-Katan after all.
Injured during the scuffle to secure his bounty, Din pays a visit to the Armorer for medical attention. She is flanked by Paz Vizsla, a descendant of one of the largest Mandalorian clans (if you’re into Clone Wars and Rebels, you’re familiar with his relative Pre Vizsla, who ran around with Bo-Katan in the Death Watch gang).
Din reveals that he has acquired the Darksaber and Vizsla soon challenges him for it – in part because his ancestor Tarre Vizsla (the first Mandalorian to be inducted into the Jedi Order) created it some thousand years ago. Din wins the duel, but then reveals to Vizsla and the Armorer that he broke the tribe’s code by removing his helmet willingly, revealing his identity before Grogu went with Luke Skywalker. He is then expelled from the tribe by the Armorer.
If you remember, Din’s ship was destroyed in Season 2. So, after being rejected by the Armorer, he goes to Tatooine in search of a cheap replacement and Peli Motto hooks him up with a refurbished Naboo N-1 Starfighter – you know, that yellow thing Anakin flew in The Phantom Menace to blow up the Trade Federation’s blockade.
Near the end of the episode, Din agrees to provide Boba Fett with some muscle ahead of a potential war with the Pyke Syndicate, but not before he takes a trip to see an old friend.
The Book of Boba Fett, Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger
Din arrives on the planet Ossus where he’s greeted by R2-D2 and droids who seem to be building Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy (there’s good reason to believe that this is the same academy Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren, will later destroy). Grogu is training with Luke, but he’s easily distracted and doesn’t seem to be totally committed to becoming Jedi.
Luke tells Grogu a story about Yoda, Grogu has flashbacks of Order 66, and Din has a chat with Ahsoka Tano. Din grapples with wanting to be part of Grogu’s life while also wanting what’s best for him. Instead of seeing Grogu face-to-face, he decides to leave a gift for the Child with Ahsoka and then goes back to Tatooine to assist Boba Fett.
At the end of the episode, Luke presents Gogu with a choice: he can choose Yoda’s lightsaber and continue training with Luke, or he can accept the Beskar armor that Din had made for him and rejoin his friend.
Off-screen, Grogu chooses the latter and leaves Luke.
The Book of Boba Fett, Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor
Grogu dons the tiny Mandalorian armor and gets a lift to Tatooine from R2-D2, where he helps Din and Boba and the gang fight off the Pyke Syndicate and Cad Bane. When Boba Fett’s prized Rancor escapes from control and begins to destroy Mos Espa, Grogu uses the force to put it to sleep.
With Tatooine seemingly at peace, Din and Grogu blast off in his N-1 Starfighter, ready for the next adventure, which seems to be on Mandalore.
Destination: Mandalore.
The new season of #TheMandalorian starts streaming March 1 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/qCRHallZ1R
— The Mandalorian (@themandalorian) February 20, 2023
