Things have changed significantly for Din Djarin and Grogu at the beginning of The Mandalorian season 3 when compared to the finale of season 2.
Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1The Mandalorian season 3 effectively rewrites nearly everything that happened in the season 2 finale. While this isn’t inherently a bad thing, it likely comes as quite a surprise to those expecting a certain status quo based upon what had been set up, such as Luke Skywalker taking Grogu for Jedi training. Now, Din Djarin and Grogu are back together, they have a different mission, and their allies are facing new challenges as well.
In The Mandalorian season 2 finale, Grogu and Din said their goodbyes, and not much was known about what Djarin planned to do next in the galaxy. While it was implied he might have been considering joining Bo-Katan Kryze and her Mandalorian warriors, things were very much up in the air after Djarin inadvertently won the Darksaber and the right to rule Mandalore while defeating Moff Gideon claiming the blade Kryze had sought to retrieve in the process. Now, The Mandalorian season 3 features brand-new status quos, with virtually everything having been rewritten beyond what the season 2 finale had established.
Why Grogu Is Back With Din Djarin In The Mandalorian Season 3
The biggest change between The Mandalorian season 2 and season 3 is that Djarin and Grogu are back together. In the season 2 finale, the duo had an incredibly emotional goodbye, with Djarin breaking his creed by removing his helmet. However, The Mandalorian season 3 begins as if the pair had never split up and at some point gained a new N1-starfighter to replace Djarin’s destroyed Razor Crest.
Although Djarin and Grogu’s reunion occurred in The Book of Boba Fett spin-off show with Grogu choosing to leave his Jedi training with Luke, The Mandalorian season 3 premiere is understandably confusing for those who didn’t watch the series that took place in the interim. While the circumstances of the reunion are touched upon and referenced in the premiere, it’s naturally quite a surprise for those who’ve only ever watched The Mandalorian.
Bo-Katan Has Lost Her Army After The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale
Although Bo-Katan Kryze had her Nite Owls and a stolen fleet she intended to use to retake the world of Mandalore, the former regent is very much broken and alone in The Mandalorian season 3 premiere. With Djarin having claimed the Darksaber instead of Bo-Katan herself, it’s revealed that her followers left her, as they only recognized the power of the blade, and the right to rule that comes with it. Sitting in an empty castle, Bo-Katan confirms that her fellow Mandalorians also took the fleet, becoming mercenaries rather than remaining unified and prepared to reclaim the homeworld as had been set up in season 2.
Din Djarin Is Searching For Mandalore Now
Although his mission to bring Grogu to a Jedi was completed by the end of The Mandalorian season 2 finale, there was no clear indication as to what Djarin would do next. However, The Mandalorian season 3 opens with Djarin telling his clan’s Armorer his intentions to find and bathe in the living waters of Mandalore, confirmed to be the only way he can seek atonement for removing his helmet. With Grogu by his side, Djarin suddenly has a new goal and mission.
Again, Djarin’s quest makes a lot more sense for those who watched The Book of Boba Fett. Not only did the show reveal Djarin’s return to working as a bounty hunter and training with the Darksaber, but he also confessed to the crime of removing his helmet to the Armorer. This officially made Djarin an apostate to his clan, which in turn helps his new mission in The Mandalorian season 3 make a lot more sense.
Why The Mandalorian Season 3 Discards So Much Of The Season 2 Finale
It’s reasonable to assume the pivots are a sign of Lucasfilm deciding on an overarching direction for the story being told in The Mandalorian and its associated spinoffs. The Mandalorian season 2 served as something of a launchpad for future Disney+ TV shows, but plans do not appear to have been particularly well-developed at that stage. This has forced Lucasfilm to make course-corrections – quite overt ones. The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1 attempts to signpost this for viewers who didn’t watch The Book of Boba Fett, mostly successfully, and it sets Din Djarin and Grogu off in a very different direction to the one audiences expected after season 2.
New episodes of The Mandalorian release every Wednesday on Disney+.
