Din and Bo-Katan help rescue a Foundling from a Giant Flyer, while Grogu remembers his past.
Tropes:
- Always a Bigger Fish: The Raptor ends up getting eaten by a Dinosaur-Turtle when it gets dropped into the water.
- Ambiguous Situation:
- We learn that Kelleran successfully got Grogu off Coruscant and escaped Order 66, but how exactly Grogu ended up where Din found him in season 1 isn't yet clear.
- It's not clear whether or not the Armorer is convinced by Bo-Katan saying she saw a real mythosaur.
- Arm Cannon: Ragnar and Grogu duel with forearm-mounted dart launchers that shoot paint instead of actual darts.
- Bait-and-Switch: Grogu appears to be moving some rocks around with the Force at first, until he inquisitively picks one up and it's shown to be crab with a rock-like shell.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: After more than a day of wearing her helmet in a warm desert and spending all day climbing a mountain, Bo-Katan still has impeccable hair and makeup and is not the least bit sweaty. Unlike Din Djarin, who is noticeably disheveled whenever he’s seen without his helmet in the show.
- Butt-Monkey: After his initiation in "The Apostate" was interrupted by a gigantic alligator monster, here Ragnar gets abducted by a giant Raptor that swallows him whole and tries to feed him to its chicks while he's still alive. He also gets humiliated by Grogu in a practice duel.
- Call-Back: After seeing Grogu's Force jump, Bo-Katan asks Din if he taught the child that trick; Din confirms that he didn't, a reference to Grogu's brief training under Luke Skywalker.
- Call-Forward:
- Grogu seals his pram during the escape from Coruscant when the action gets heavy, just like in the present.
- A rather quick one: during Kelleran's flight from the Jedi Temple, he passes the same commuter train and Monument Park that were heavily featured in "The Convert" one episode earlier.
- Canon Immigrant: Kelleran Beq is the host of Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, a game show on the Star Wars Kids website and YouTube channel. He's played by Ahmed Best.
- Characterisation Click Moment: When the Foundling is taken by the Raptor, the other Mandalorians immediately give chase with their jetpacks, even though later dialogue says they've tried it before and it never works. Only Bo-Katan is level-headed enough to grab her ship first, establishing her development into a stronger, more capable leader.
- Clip Its Wings: The Raptor is defeated by attacking its wings, causing it to swan dive into the river where the Dinosaur-Turtle is waiting for its next meal.
- Continuity Nod:
- Grogu revisits his traumatic memories while the Armorer is forging his armor, the same way Din revisited his own memories while in the forge in the first season.
- Further back, Kelleran's escape ship is an H-type Nubian yacht, first prominently featured as Padme's personal ship in Attack of the Clones.
- During Grogu's flashback, the noise made when the clones breach the Jedi Temple is similar to the one made when the Tantive IV was breached in A New Hope.
- Didn't Think This Through: Zig-zagged. Din is rightfully called out when he volunteers Grogu for training, Grogu being far too small for most of it. Ragnar at least is sensible enough to pick a challenge that Grogu can reasonably participate in. On the other hand, Din is well aware that, should Grogu put his mind to it, he's more than nimble enough to succeed. Grogu just needs some encouragement to get there.
- Double-Meaning Title: "The Foundling" refers to both Grogu, whose backstory is further fleshed out by flashbacks, and to Ragnar, whose predicament and planned rescue drives the rest of the plot.
- Dual Wielding: Kelleran picks up the lightsaber used by the Jedi who fell trying to get Grogu to him and uses it alongside his own to fight off the Clones that attack them.
- Enemy Mine: Downplayed. Paz and Din have almost never gotten along in the past, but put their differences aside to rescue Ragnar. It’s implied that their relationship has improved by the end of the mission.
- Getting Eaten Is Harmless: Ragnar has been trapped the Raptor's gullet for almost an entire day, and yet he's still alive and relatively unharmed when the Raptor coughs him up to feed her babies.
- Harmful to Minors: Long before he met Din, Grogu had to bear witness to Clone Troopers gunning down his Jedi protectors during Order 66, as well as having to see said Jedi kill the Clones in defense of him and themselves.
- Last Stand: While The Armorer forges him a new armor piece, the young force-sensitive Grogu experiences a flashback to Order 66, in which multiple Jedi give their lives to protect Grogu from Vader's 501st Legion clone trooper detachment, and get Grogu to Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. Beq just barely escapes off-planet with the youngling, thanks to a waiting silver Naboo yacht, whose soldiers sacrifice themselves on the platform to hold off an LAAT full of Coruscant Guard so that Master Beq and Grogu can escape.
- Leeroy Jenkins: When they reach the edge of the raptor nest, Paz Vizla charges in alone to rescue the young Mandalorian, Ragnar. When Bo-Katan counsels him to wait until they reconnoiter the nest, Paz charges ahead anyway, saying, "He's my son!" Immediately thereafter, the three giant chicks rear up, and then the giant pterodactyl-dragon flaps up to confront him. All heck breaks loose, during which Ragnar is coughed up by the dino mother, whereafter it grabs Paz in its mouth, and Ragnar in one claw, and flies off.
- Marquee Alter Ego: Even though Bo-Katan can't publicly unveil herself unless she decides to leave the Children of the Watch, the viewers still get to see Katee Sackhoff's face when Bo-Katan eats alone by the fire.
- Monster Is a Mommy: The Raptor was simply trying to feed its three young. After killing it, Bo-Katan adopts the hatchlings and brings them to the Covert.
- Mythology Gag: Bo-Katan mentions climbing to the peaks of Kyrimorut. This was the location of Kal Skirata's compound in the Republic Commando novels, which heavily delved into and established aspects of Mandalorian culture.
- No OSHA Compliance: During the flight from the Temple, a clone stands next to the edge of the speeder platform which of course has no safety railings and which overlooks a chasm that is likely more than a few kilometers deep. When the clone fires on Kelleran and Grogu, he's quickly Force-pushed off the platform by Kelleran and falls out of sight.
- Papa Wolf: While no-one overtly disagrees with Bo-Katan's suggestions for a more careful, methodical approach, Paz Vizsla has trouble restraining himself from reckless heroics when the moment arrives because it's his kid at stake.Bo-Katan: Wait until we clear the area.
Paz Viszla: He's my son! - Pet the Dog:
- After their rescue gets the mother Raptor killed, Bo-Katan stuffs the babies into her ship to be trained by the Covert instead of leaving them to starve.
- The Armorer takes charge of looking after Grogu and takes the time to teach him about the forge, possibly expecting him to become an armorer someday, and even makes him a chestplate of Beskar for him to wear under his regular clothing. With the Mudhorn insignia on it.
- Plot-Driven Breakdown: We get to see Mandalorian jetpacks run out of fuel for once during the pursuit of the Raptor, meaning only Bo-Katan, who decided to follow in her ship, can keep pace, and a more involved rescue party has to be mustered.
- Put on a Bus: The Raptor chicks that the Children adopted as Foundlings have not appeared since.
- Red Shirt: Four unnamed Mandalorians accompany Bo-Katan, Din, and Paz. Subverted in that they all survive.
- The Reveal: The Jedi who got Grogu off of Coruscant during Order 66 was Kelleran Beq.
- Shout-Out: The Raptor scenes references to parts of the Pteranodon scenes in both One Million Years B.C. and Jurassic World.
- So Much for Stealth: As soon as Din believes he's located Ragnar, Paz Viszla insists on abandoning stealth, rushing into the seemingly empty Raptor nest to retrieve his son. Unfortunately, the heat signature Din detected was the Raptor's own chicks, and not long after they wake up, the Raptor arrives.
- Swallowed Whole: Ragnar is swallowed by the Raptor, then later coughed up to feed to her babies. He survives thanks to his helmet. Paz nearly suffers the same fate when he dives for Ragnar and the Raptor catches him.
- Tempting Fate: Ragnar is dismissive of accepting Grogu's challenge, believing that, since Grogu is too young to speak, he's also too young to fight. The moment Grogu is encouraged to make an effort, he wins the challenge in a matter of seconds, though this is after Ragnar scores two points instead of just firing all three darts at once. Din even gets a good quip in about it before the game begins.Din: "One does not speak unless one knows." Is that not the Creed?
Ragnar: Well I know.
Din: Perhaps this lesson is for you, then. - Trauma Button: Similar to Din, the repetitive hammering of the Armorer's press reminds Grogu of the Clone Troopers breaching his room as the Jedi defend him.
- Troubled Backstory Flashback: This episode shows how Grogu escaped Order 66. Listening to the Armorer forging the beskar acts like a Trauma Button for Grogu, making him remember the fear and the slaughter he had to witness when the Jedi Temple was attacked.
- Uncertain Doom: Kelleran is successful in helping Grogu escape Order 66, but given where Din finds Grogu in season 1, Kelleran's survival beyond that is left ambiguous for now.
- Willfully Weak: Grogu takes two hits in the dart challenge without even moving. Din then encourages him to show off, at which point he Force-jumps over Ragnar's head twice and tags him with three shots at once.
