'The Mandalorian': How Baby Yoda, no longer a 'helpless little child,' grows up in Season 3
“This is the way.”
Pedro Pascal's helmeted warrior Din Djarin frequently utters this mantra about following the Way of the Mandalore. The way of “The Mandalorian,” though, is partnering Mando with Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) and creating a strong father/son relationship over two seasons of the Disney+ “Star Wars” series. That bond is "instantly disarming," Pascal says: "This armored silhouette and this vulnerable, adorable creature that is so familiar to us and yet so new."
“Mandalorian” cast and creators explain what’s in store for the eight-episode third season (streaming Wednesdays) for everybody’s favorite clan of two:
Din Djarin must make amends for an emotional decision
In the second-season finale, Grogu was leaving to train in the Force with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) when Mando removed his helmet to let Grogu see his real face. That reveal “was a selfless act, and an act of kindness,” says executive producer Dave Filoni.
But for some, this was not the way: That moment made him an apostate among his Mandalorian tribe, whose code forbids removing their helmets in front of a living being. To redeem himself, Mando has to bathe in the waters beneath the mines of war-ravaged Mandalore.
While “he’s in denial” about his ouster, Pascal says, Mando’s “in a better place than he was before. He's reunited with Grogu, which is a very healthy thing for him.” And the characters evolved from being “so fixated in the Way being one way, essentially” to “just this wet puppy sponge armored from head to toe, learning and learning and learning.”
Cute as he ever was, Grogu’s grown up
The youngster chose to reunite with his foster dad rather than stay with Luke (see: “The Book of Boba Fett”). As “Mandalorian” Season 3 picks up a short time afterward, that relationship has evolved, and Grogu’s “no longer this helpless little child, but now somebody who's trained under a great Jedi mentor,” says creator and executive producer Jon Favreau. “So now he's leveled up a bit.
“They have to figure out how they fit together now that it's no longer a parent and an infant, but a maturing child that can be useful and an apprentice to him. How does that change the dynamic?”
Bo-Katan Kryze is a ‘conflicted’ warrior queen
This season, Mando meets new Mandalorians and runs into old allies such as Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff). He has the powerful Darksaber she craves – a symbol of leadership for the Mandalorians – and “Mando and Bo-Katan are together in ways that you wouldn't expect,” Pascal teases.
“She’s a little conflicted,” says Sackhoff, who first played the character in the 2010s for the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series. “Bo thinks she needs the Darksaber to rule, and he has it, but she also wouldn't accept it. We find Bo in a really different place than we've ever seen her before, and she may be feeling a little sorry for herself.”
‘The Mandalorian’ continues to explore themes of parenthood
If the first season reflected someone becoming a first-time parent, the second dug into what we do to protect our kids and ultimately, let go, be it putting a child on the school bus for the first time or sending them off to college, as Favreau did when writing it. “It's amazing how devastating it is to you because your life's changing so much. Even when things are going good, there's so much sadness in parenthood, but there's also so much pride and love.”
Favreau expects a continuation of those themes in Season 3, while new executive producer Rick Famuyiwa sees an expansion of the idea that Mando will be in charge of this youngling for good. “These two characters have now chosen each other,” Famuyiwa says, “and they're both in some ways going have to deal with the reality of that permanence.”
But it’s also a ‘Star Wars’ show about identity
Famuyiwa, who directs the premiere and the final two episodes of the season, says themes of identity are baked into the show because that defined Mando “in such a very specific way,” at first with his look, costume and creed, and now by exploring different perspectives on what that identity means. “We’ve seen Mandalorians that don't have this creed and don't see the world in the same way,” he says.
Adds Favreau: “I think it is very much about who am I and how do I fit in? What's my role? Sometimes you define yourself a certain way and then at moments of decision you realize that you're maybe not the person you thought you were.”
Read more on all things 'Star Wars':
'Mandalorian' Season 3: The major plots you missed (and need to know) from 'Boba Fett'
'Andor': The breathtaking season finale is the very best of what 'Star Wars' stories can be
Fun fact, ‘Star Wars’ fans: A stack of dirty dishes inspired the Millennium Falcon
May the Fourth be with you: The definitive ranking of all 11 'Star Wars' movies
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Star Wars': 'The Mandalorian' and Grogu face a new quest in Season 3
