Credit: Lucasfilm/Mando Mondays YouTube VideoPedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos) had a successful career even before he joined Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s The Mandalorian as the show’s leading man. Now, two seasons and a couple of spinoffs — The Book of Boba Fett and upcoming Ahsoka — later, Pascal has been cemented as a household name, especially in the Star Wars fan community.
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The actor has previously said that “caring” for the Grogu puppet on set is “”the closest I’ve come to being a dad.” Now, Pascal and fellow actor Rahul Kohli — who was at one point rumored to play the live-action version of Rebels character Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka — have hilariously played-up the star’s paternal instincts.
Kohil took to Twitter to post a comical photo of him “nursing” a Grogu toy with the caption:
YOU SAID YOU’D ONLY BE GONE FOR AN HOUR, I DON’T KNOW HOW TO LOOK AFTER THIS THING!?!
Pascal replied with an overprotective, “hold his head right.” The full conversation is below:
hold his head right
— Pedro Pascal he/him (@PedroPascal1) June 24, 2022
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In the Season 2 finale, Luke Skywalker (CGI Mark Hamill) swooped in with his X-wing to rescue bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Grogu, Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) from certain doom onboard Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) Imperial starship.
Then, many Mandalorian stars returned in The Book of Boba Fett, setting up the basis for the third season of the popular Disney+ Original show.
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Dave Filoni’s episode, “Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger,” in particular, orchestrated the returns of Skywalker — who officially interacted with his father’s Padawan, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), for the first time — Grogu himself, and Marshal Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant).
Most Star Wars fans online were thrilled, calling the installment a “fever dream.”
Djarin had previously made his return in Bryce Dallas Howard’s aptly titled, “Chapter 5: The Return of the Mandalorian.”
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Howard’s episode laid the foundation specifically for the continuation of Djarin’s story.
In the aforementioned Season 2 finale episode, Djarin and his tiny foundling were separated for the first time since we met them in the show’s debut on November 12, 2019. The stoic bounty hunter completed his quest to return Grogu to his own kind, giving Skywalker his blessing to become the 50-year-old infant’s Jedi Master.
In doing so, Djarin removed his helmet, officially breaking “the Way of the Mandalore” for the first time. While Djarin previously showed his face in the Imperial outpost with Migs Mayfeld (Bill Burr) in “Chapter 15: The Believer,” it has been argued that he didn’t actually violate “the Way” on this occasion.
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However, there is no doubt that he did not honor his Creed when he allowed Grogu to touch his face before the two parted ways.
Howard reintroduced Djarin wielding the Darksaber to defeat a corrupt employer who was illegally hoarding New Republic credits.
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The bounty hunter is injured in the fray and ultimately seeks aid from The Armorer (Emily Swallow), who dispatches Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher/voiced by Jon Favreau) to tend to Djarin’s wounds. During the scene, The Armorer inquires about what type of weapon caused such an injury, at which point Djarin hands over the Darksaber.
A brief history of the ancient Mandalorian weapon — which was created by the first Mandalorian Jedi Knight, Tarre Viszla — follows. Ultimately, Viszla challenges Mando to a duel, claiming that he is, in fact, the rightful owner of the black-bladed saber since it was forged by House Vizsla thousands of years before, and was, at one point wielded by Sackhoff’s Kryze, who tried to lay claim to Mandalore “by blood” and with the weapon.
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Kryze, however, did not win the Darksaber in battle, as one must to rightfully become Manda’lor. Instead, she was gifted the lightsaber by Sabine Wren (voiced by Tiya Sircar) in Star Wars Rebels Season 4.
Djarin wins the battle, but finds himself in a challenging situation when The Armorer asks, “Have you ever removed your helmet?” He eventually answers honestly and is told “You are a Mandalorian no more.”
When the fan-favorite character asks how he can atone for his actions, he is told that the only option is to seek the “living waters” in the mines under Mandalore. The mines, however, have been destroyed, posing a major problem — the situation is likely to become central to the story when The Mandalorian Season 3 debuts in February 2023.
What do you think about Pascal hilariously leaving Grogu with a babysitter?