What adventures lie ahead for Din and Grogu? (Picture: Lucasfilm Ltd/Disney Plus)
It might not feel like it, but it’s been more than two years since Star Wars fans last watched The Mandalorian, when season 2 aired in 2020.
Now that season 3 is finally being released on Disney Plus, viewers across the globe might need a little bit of a refresher of what went down last time with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Baby Yoda (who we now know is called Grogu).
The timeline of their story has developed since the second outing of the TV show, as the characters both returned in The Book of Boba Fett alongside the titular character (Temuera Morrison) and assassin Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen).
But if we cast our minds back to season two, Din and Grogu embarked on all sorts of new adventures, including meeting new cast members such as Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff).
Let’s take a trip back down memory lane, shall we?
What happened in The Mandalorian season 2?
Having been told that Grogu should be with Jedi to train in the ways of the Force, Din embarks on a journey to find one who can take on the task, searching for other Mandalorians for guidance.
Din’s search for other Mandalorians takes him to Mos Pelgo where he meets Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant)… who is not a member of his creed, but does wear the old armour of an iconic Star Wars character – Boba Fett.
Cobb, the marshal of the region, enlists the help of Mando to kill a krayt dragon that’s been terrorising his people, as well as the Tusken Raiders, who join in the fight.
Din’s journey to find other Mandalorians takes him in an unexpected direction, when he’s instructed to transport a Frog Lady and her eggs from Tatooine to Trask, to reunite with her husband.
They run into some trouble – including the Child eating some of her eggs, and Mando’s ship, the Razor Crest, running aground on a land infested with terrifying snow spider creatures.
Of course, they eventually manage to escape after repairs are made to the vehicle.
Mando’s mission with the Frog Lady leads him to a group of other Mandalorians, led by Bo-Katan, who previously appeared in the animated Star Wars series The Clone Wars and Rebels.
Much to Din’s surprise, Bo-Katan and her companions don’t abide by his rule never to remove their helmets, and in order to receive their help, he must do something for them in return – aid them in capturing an Imperial ship.
Bo-Katan is after an ancient weapon called the Darksaber, which is in the possession of the villainous Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito).
Bo-Katan gives Mando some vital information – the whereabouts of a Jedi who could take the Child under their wing.
They arrive at the city of Calodan on the planet Corvus, where Jedi Ahsoka Tano is at war with the dictatorial magistrate, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto).
Not only do Ahsoka and Mando team up, but she reveals the Child’s real name: Grogu.
They defeat the magistrate and Din comes into ownership of a beskar spear to add to his impressive armour and weapons collection.
Mando takes Grogu to an ancient temple in the hope that he can use the stone at its centre to connect with other Jedi.
While the Child is deep in meditation, surrounded by an impenetrable column, they are attacked by stormtroopers under Moff Gideon’s orders.
Luckily, Din has Boba Fett and Fennec Shand on his side, with Boba revealing that Cobb was wearing his armour, and Fennec brougth back from near-death after the assassin was left for dead by Mando in season one.
Despite proving a strong team against the stormtroopers, Grogu is kidnapped by the Darktrooper battle droids.
With the help of familiar faces Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and Migs Mayfeld (Bill Burr), as well as Boba and Fennec, Din manages to infiltrate an Imperial mining hub in order to track down Moff Gideon’s location and find Grogu.
In doing so, he ends up having to remove his helmet, the first time he has done so in front of other people in public – the exception being in season one, when he only did so in front of a droid when on the verge of death.
The decision to take off his helmet demonstrates even more just how much Grogu means to him, as he and Migs get away from the mining hub by the skin of their teeth.
Having made their way to Moff Gideon’s cruiser, the time for Din’s face-off with the antagonist arrives.
With Bo-Katan and her comrades also along for the journey, Mando is told that Bo-Katan must be the one to defeat Moff Gideon, as that would result in the Darksaber’s allegiance being passed onto her, making her the ruler of Mandalore, the homeworld of the Mandalorians.
When the deadly Dark Troopers start fighting with Mando, it seems as though he could be done for, but he destroys one with his spear and ejects the others from the ship.
Having beaten Moff Gideon in a duel – and therefore taken ownership of the Darksaber without even realising – Din escorts his opponent to meet up with the rest of his allies.
While Mando ejected the Dark Troopers, they manage to fly back onto the ship… and are out for blood.
But before they can kill the heroes of the story, a mystery Jedi lands on the cruiser in an X-wing, demolishing them all with ease.
As the doors to the bridge open, mist flows out as the Jedi takes off his hood – revealing none other than the legendary Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), following the events of the 1983 film Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
It’s a tear-jerking goodbye for Din and Grogu, as the Mandalorian removes his helmet so that the Child can see his face for the first time, before the youngling is taken away by Luke and the Jedi Master’s trusted droid, R2-D2.
While this timeline might have caught you up on the main plot points that went down in The Mandalorian season two, if you haven’t watched The Book of Boba Fett, there are going to be some gaps in your knowledge.
After all, in the season two finale, Luke whisked Grogu away to be trained in the ways of the Force… but in The Book of Boba Fett, Din and the Child were reunited.
Grogu was given the choice by Luke whether to follow the path of a Jedi or a Mandalorian, and – in a relief for fans of the best father-son-duo ever – he chose the latter.
But if there are Star Wars fans who haven’t seen the other spin-off show, they might start off season three a little bit confused… unless there’s a handy catch-up compilation at the start of the first episode.
The Mandalorian season 3 is available to watch on Disney Plus, with new episodes released on Wednesdays.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : The Mandalorian director explains what will happen in season 3 without Gina Carano after firing
MORE : What time does The Mandalorian drop on Disney Plus?
Follow Metro on Snapchat
You can follow our new Snapchat show Pop Cultur’d, the go-to place for all things pop culture.
Keep up with the latest Showbiz exclusives by following Metro Showbiz on Snapchat.
And football fans can indulge in all the transfer gossip and more on Metro Football on Snapchat.
Need a refresher? We’ve got you covered.