What The Creature At The End Of The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 2 Is

The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2 revealed the ancient Mythosaurs of Mandalore aren’t extinct after all – giving the Mandalorians hope at last!

This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2.The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2’s dramatic ending confirmed the legendary creatures known as the Mythosaurs are still alive. When Mandalore fell under Imperial bombardment, an event called the Night of a Thousand Tears, the surviving Mandalorians were scattered across the galaxy. It’s unclear just how many Mandalorians are at large, but many seem to have returned to the ancient ways, clinging to the lore that had seemingly been abandoned before the Purge. It’s easy to understand why they have done this; they have clung on to the Way of the Mandalorian, seeking to redefine themselves now they have lost their homeworld.

One of the most important traditions states that a Mandalorian cannot remove their helmet. Din Djarin broke this rule twice, once while infiltrating an Imperial installation and again when he allowed Grogu to look upon his face. In The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2, he heads to the ravaged world of Mandalore to seek redemption. This quest takes him to the Living Waters of Mandalore, situated beneath the beskar mines of Sundari. The ritual is interrupted, however, because the destruction of Mandalore has caused the bottom of the pool to collapse in. Din Djarin is plunged into the depths, only surviving thanks to Bo-Katan Kryze’s intervention. Deep in the waters,Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan discovers monstrous creatures still slumbering.

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The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 2 Reveals The Mythosaurs Still Exist

Viewers may well recognize these distinctive creatures as the legendary Mythosaurs of Mandalore, massive creatures that have been referenced several times in Star Wars canon. The shape of a Mythosaur’s skull is the symbol of Mandalore, and can be seen displayed at the Armorer’s Forge in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1. Back in season 1, the ill-fated Kuiil teased Din Djarin for struggling to ride his blurrg. “Your ancestors rode the great Mythosaur,” he quipped. “Surely you can ride this young foal.” But the Mythosaurs long since vanished from Mandalore, and even the Armorer seems to have thought they were just a legend – saying as much in The Book of Boba Fett, when she recalled an ancient Mandalorian prophecy.

Appropriately enough, the Mythosaurs are an established part of the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, branded non-canon (or “Legends“) after Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. Although many aspects of the Expanded Universe’s treatment of Mandalorians have been dropped from canon, their story broadly seems to match with the brief glimpse of the creatures seen in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1. There, they were a species of predator found on Mandalore, and some could grow to the size of a small city. The ancient Mandalorians viewed a Mythosaur hunt as something of a test of strength, and the creatures were eventually rendered extinct because of these hunts. The Mandalorians continued to honor the Mythosaurs, using their bones to craft traditional weapons, and they passed into legend.

The Armorer’s Mythosaur Prophecy Explained

In The Book of Boba Fett episode 5, the Armorer made a throwaway reference to the Mandalorian equivalent of a Chosen One prophecy. “The songs of eons past foretold of the Mythosaur rising up to herald a new age of Mandalore,” the Armorer told Din Djarin. Although she claimed not to believe in this legend, it’s interesting to note she provided no reason for the comment – perhaps implying she was aware of a broader context for the prophecy, one she recognized being fulfilled before her eyes.

The return of the Mythosaur in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2 clearly indicates the prophecy really is in play. The Empire thought they had sterilized Mandalore, bombarding the planet from orbit until its entire surface had been reduced to glass (a punishment known as glassing). But Mandalore has not been glassed, with the fusion bombs only scarring the planet’s surface. Deep beneath, in the caverns and catacombs of Mandalore, life still flourishes. Even the Mythosaurs still exist, slumbering rather than extinct. This discovery really does change everything, providing hope to the scattered Mandalorian survivors.

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Bo-Katan will have certainly recognized a Mythosaur, and it’s likely she knows a lot about the Mythosaur prophecy. In truth, there was something odd about Bo-Katan’s portrayal throughout The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2, as though faith and doubt were warring within her heart; it’s reasonable to assume she too had noticed familiar patterns of history weaving around her. If that is the case, then she knows what the discovery of the Mythosaurs means for her people. It will be exciting to see how this plays out in the rest of The Mandalorian season 3.

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New episodes of The Mandalorian release Wednesdays on Disney+.