Baby Yoda Gets Another New Name In The Mandalorian Season 3 Finale
This article contains spoilers for the season 3 finale of "The Mandalorian."
Talk about a glow-up. Season 3 of "The Mandalorian" has primarily concerned itself with exploring the eponymous group of castaways and their myriad cultural beliefs, from the significance of mythosaurs to earning the right to wield the Darksaber to the importance of reclaiming their lost home world of Mandalore. But despite being pushed to the background for several stretches of the season, our favorite Force-sensitive little miscreant has somehow managed to save one of the most surprising reveals of the finale for himself. (Check out /Film's recap by Bryan Young here.)
In the midst of the epic clash between Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon, itself taking place amid the larger engagement of Imperial remnant forces against Bo-Katan's (Katee Sackhoff) united Mandalorian front, Grogu stole the show with some heroics of his own. First saving Mando from his Stormtrooper captors, our little green friend then took on three of the Praetorian Guards. As if that weren't enough, he then saved the day with his Force-sensitive abilities, warding off certain fiery death after Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) crashed their starship into Moff Gideon's headquarters. All that led to his much-deserved reward: a new name, symbolizing just how far he and Din Djarin have come over the last few years together.
Goodbye The Child, see ya later Baby Yoda, and farewell Grogu. It's time to meet Din Grogu, former Foundling of the Mandalorian clan, current knight of the Ancient Order of Independent Regencies, and now a full-on apprentice to Din Djarin. With season 3 in the rearview mirror, let's untangle exactly what this latest name change truly means.
What's in a name?
For most viewers, watching the Armorer (Emily Swallow) bestow a new name upon Grogu that tightens the family connections between himself and Din Djarin would be heartwarming and satisfying enough. But fans more invested in Mandalorian customs might notice a little inconsistency. Typically, the naming conventions of this race resembles that of most Western cultures in our own world: the second name is treated as the family name. Hence Bo-Kotan and her sister Satine from "The Clone Wars," both of whom are of House Kryze, or Paz Viszla (may he rest in peace!) and his son Ragnar Vizsla, or the most obvious example of Jango and Boba Fett.
But by having Din Djarin officially adopt Grogu and thus rename him Din Grogu, that puts a bit of an unprecedented twist on established lore and tradition. Conventional wisdom would suggest the name of Grogu Djarin instead, a moniker that many fans (especially on Tumblr) have already been using to refer to Mando's young ward.
Of course, there are a few reasonable explanations for this, both in-universe and out. Firstly, it's fair to assume that this simply abides by Din Djarin's original home world. Remember, before he became a Mandalorian himself, he came from a completely different culture that likely operated by its own different customs. While many of us have referred to him as Din for short throughout the course of the series, perhaps it would've been more accurate to use Djarin. That's what we get for assuming, folks! In terms of real-world influences, this approach would further link "Star Wars" with its Japanese roots, which traditionally places the surname preceding an individual's given name.
It's eminently possible that this — or some combination thereof — was the logic behind breaking from canon. Mystery solved!
Welcome to the family
Intriguingly, this seemingly minor development in the season finale could provide a hint of what we can expect in the upcoming (and already-written) season 4 of "The Mandalorian." Over the last 3 seasons, we've watched the main duo progress from a simple mercenary and his bounty to a grizzled ol' softie protecting a helpless innocent to an actual father/son dynamic. This name change, as much as it might depart from canon, simply makes literal what fans have already known for some time.
Din Djarin and Din Grogu are now family. It'd be easy to define their relationship by what previous seasons have done, such as essentially a plot device in the first season that the villainous Moff Gideon sought to destroy, or a Jedi-in-training that Luke Skywalker (a creepily deepfaked, er, de-aged Mark Hamill) wanted to mold in his own image after the season 2 finale, or even a young Mandalorian Foundling that Din Djarin tried to teach the ways of the Creed to throughout season 3. Instead, tying the heart and soul of the show together as a father and son helps transcend all those other (relatively) meaningless labels and gives them a fresh start. The final image of season 3 sees the pair finally at peace, enjoying a moment of respite from Imperial conspiracies and the threat of war. That downtime can't continue forever if we want to see them return for another adventure, obviously, but there's something to be said for delivering an ending that could easily have served as the conclusive series finale.
After seeing Mandalorians of wildly different stripes unite to retake their fallen world, perhaps Din Djarin and Din Grogu can take the next step and provide hope of a new way forward for this isolationist clan.