This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 4
This week’s The Mandalorian gave us some long-awaited answers on Grogu’s escape from the Jedi Temple during Order 66. The flashback to the events of Revenge of the Sith delivered on showing Clone Troopers and Jedi squaring off against one another in those hallowed halls.
Grogu’s savior was a powerful Jedi warrior called Kelleran Beq, who expertly dual-wielded lightsabers and led the Clone Troopers on a dizzying and daring chase through Coruscant before finally escaping on board a Naboo ship.
This Jedi badass was played by none other than Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best, with his performance acting as a redemption for the hate and mockery he suffered in the wake of The Phantom Menace. But this isn’t Best’s first appearance as Beq, as the character was the host of Jedi Temple Challenge, a Star Wars Kids game show in which young contestants tackled ‘Jedi Training’ to win Kyber Crystals.
The show ran for a single season in 2020 though was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic making it difficult to safely shoot the show. Even so, it’s worth underlining that as it featured real children, it and its host Kelleran Beq were firmly non-canon.
That’s changed now, and Beq’s teaching ability and wisdom were clearly recognized by the Jedi Order as he was seen as the ideal person to save Grogu from the Clone Troopers. The flashback ended with Beq and Grogu leaping into hyperspace and we suspect we haven’t seen the last of him in the show. Whether he survived all the way through to The Mandalorian era remains to be seen, though given the way he fought, we wouldn’t rule him out.
The Mandalorian airs Wednesdays on Disney Plus.
Published: Mar 22, 2023 03:59 am