Movies News Talk
The symbolism in one scene of The Mandalorian season 3 reveals why Din Djarin has always been vitally important to Mandalore and his people's unity. While Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) seemed to take more of a backseat role in The Mandalorian season 3, one scene proves that he has always been absolutely essential to Mandalore and the unity of its people. As one of Star Wars' most recognizable Mandalorians, Din Djarin always had to be a part of Mandalore's story, despite the fact he was raised on the moon Concordia instead. Because of this, Din is consistently at Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff)'s side as she leads the effort to reclaim Mandalore, even if he has future plans that stretch beyond Mandalore.
While it's not explicitly stated by the characters in The Mandalorian, the raptor-like creature in season 3, episode 4 "Chapter 20: The Foundling" who takes Ragnar Vizsla is, in fact, a shriek-hawk. These creatures are more famously known as the symbol worn by members of Death Watch on their armor, one that Paz Vizsla still has in The Mandalorian despite the fact that, in the Armorer (Emily Swallow)'s words, "Death Watch is no longer." The Children of the Watch are a clear offshoot of this group, and they still respect this symbol of their ancestors. Despite this, it's a shriek-hawk that attacks, and has been consistently attacking, a foundling from their own covert. If saving a foundling is the highest honor of the Children of the Watch, then having a foundling at risk must be their greatest tragedy. The symbolism behind the shriek-hawk attacking those who bear its symbol, then, is absolutely profound; the history of the Children of the Watch was quite literally coming back to haunt and hurt them. This foreshadows the change this group needs, and it's one only Din Djarin himself could bring.
The fight against the shriek-hawk sees an entire team of Mandalorians, particularly the specialized and appropriately-named Shriek-hawk Training team, face the creature, but ultimately they are fairly unsuccessful. Bo-Katan is swatted out of the air hard enough to lose a pauldron before she manages to free Paz from the creature's jaws, which puts him out of commission once he lands on a jagged rock structure. The other Mandalorians also attempt to fire ropes and other grappling devices to seal off the shriek-hawk's mouth and wings, though their efforts are to no avail. It's only Din who can fly in, fire a shot to tie up the shriek-hawk's wing, and stab the creature hard enough to release the foundling. This leads directly to the shriek-hawk's defeat, which sees the raptor swallowed up by another, larger creature in the water, all while Din flies just in time to catch Ragnar and save him. This is highly symbolic of Mando's role in this entire underlying story of Mandalorian unity and overcoming the past. Only he was capable of defeating the past that had been haunting them and saving their future.
Din was the only person who was capable of overcoming the Children of the Watch's past in such a way as this, one that would ultimately lead to a more united future for all of Mandalore. As a foundling himself, Din didn't have the burden of Death Watch's past weighing on his shoulders, as he was only adopted into this group either at the time Death Watch was fracturing or directly afterward. He carved his own path as a Mandalorian, especially after becoming Grogu's caretaker and father, and this set him up for this role perfectly. Din has always proved that he sees far beyond the bounds of cultural groups and differences, with his knowledge of the Tuskens' language as evidence alone of this fact. His willingness to work with the Jedi to help Grogu is another piece of evidence The Mandalorian planted to set Din up for this unifying role. Taking down the shriek-hawk was simply another step of strong foreshadowing that led to him ultimately shattering the Mandalorians' prejudiced and divided history, ultimately leading to Mandalore's eventual unity in The Mandalorian season 3 finale.