tendance
The Mandalorian is a massive hit, The Disney original series
and its fans have about a 1million questions about the series’
breakout star.
We’re not entirely sure what the deal with Baby Yoda is, but
here’s everything we know so far.
Yoda’s species is extremely mysterious:
George Lucas famously never gave it a name, wishing the
wizened Jedi Master to remain an enigma in as many ways
as possible.
One thing we do know, however, is that members of this race
are not asexual, as illustrated by Star Wars Episode I: The
Phantom Menace.
That film gave us a few fleeting glimpses of Yaddle, a female member of Yoda’s species
who was a member of the Jedi High Council and even assisted
in the training of a young Qui-Gon Jinn.
While The Mandalorian doesn’t go out of its way to clue us in
as to the gender of Baby Yoda, Doctor Pershing, an employee
of the Client, reveals the truth in the series’ third episode.
What did you do to it?
If it wasn’t for me, he’d already been dead!
And the little tyke is referred to as “he” several times in the episode
4, and Omera even calls him the Mandolorian’s “boy.”
So at least one mystery has been solved for sure: Baby
Yoda’s a baby boy!
With that out of the way, let’s move on to a question that might
sound silly at first:
Is “Baby Yoda” actually the Yoda we all know and love?
After all, the Jedi Master was a baby once, and it would
certainly, explain the little guy’s importance to the remnants
of the Empire and the Rebellion alike.
Of course, giving this question a few moments’ thought
produces an obvious answer: no way.
At least, not unless Yoda’s species practices reincarnation.
The Mandalorian takes place between the events of the
original Star Wars trilogy and the sequel films, and you
may remember that Yoda “became one with the Force”
and died during the events of Return of the Jedi.
While we suppose it’s possible that the series could throw
us a curveball with an “actual Yoda in an infant’s body”
reveal, nothing in the show’s plotting thus far indicates,
to be frank, that it would take a route that’s quite so lazy.
No, we’re pretty sure that a new character Baby Yoda is the reincarnation of Yoda, he is not.
Of course, there is another possibility that Baby Yoda could
be a clone of the late Jedi Master.
It’s been pointed out by astute fans that in a promotional
an image featuring Doctor Pershing, he appears to be wearing
a patch with an insignia that is very, very similar to those worn
by the clones of Jango Fett produced on the planet Kamino,
as seen in Attack of the Clones.
This could be a coincidence, it could be misdirection, or, it
could be a dead giveaway.
Of course, if the little dude isn’t Yoda, this raises the question
what is his name?
Yes, we can all be pretty sure that the internet would have
initially named him “Baby Yoda” in any event, but it only
continues to do so because we haven’t been clued into
what his real name is
have we?
The answer: no, we have not.
According to Dave Filoni, who directed the first and fifth
episodes of The Mandalorian’s first season, this is by
design.
Speaking with amusement Tonight, Filoni aforesaid, We still
want to stay a lot of things a mystery, we do not wish to travel
around respondent things and creating them less special.
Told that people were simply referring to the tot as “Baby
Yoda for lack of anything else to call him, Filoni replied, quote,
That’s fine! All part of the mystery.
Well, that clears up nothing, but since we haven’t even gotten
official confirmation of the Mandalorian’s name yet, we
suppose that shouldn’t be too surprising.
One of the most dramatic moments in The Mandalorian so
far came in the second episode, when “Mando” is nearly
killed by a vicious Mudhorn.
Wielding nothing but a knife, the Mandalorian lowers his
head as the beast charges, but the charge is interrupted
by Baby Yoda, who uses the Force to levitate the snarling
monster, allowing the Mandalorian to finish it off So
How the heck is an infant able to use the Force?
Doesn’t that require super-intensive training
as revealed by The Phantom Menace, children can indeed be
Force-sensitive, and tap into its power, with little-to-no
training.
Consider Anakin Skywalker, whose status as one of the best
pod racers in the galaxy as a mere youngling was thanks to
his insane midi-chlorian count, “even higher than Master
Yoda,” as we recall Obi-Wan Kenobi saying.
Sure, Anakin wasn’t levitating stuff as a child, but we find it
highly likely that members of Yoda’s species are naturally
Force-sensitive, taking into account that the only two to be
introduced prior to Baby Yoda’s arrival were both esteemed
Jedi Masters.
The Mandalorian gives us a better explanation for the
little guy’s Force abilities, anyway, that’s the best one we’ve
got.
With the release of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker swiftly approaching, fans have obviously taken to wondering if
the cute and cuddly character’s introduction in The Mandalorian
is setting us up for an appearance in the Skywalker Saga’s
conclusion.
Since the series takes place sometime before the events of the
sequel trilogy, it could be that by the time of the events of
Rising of Skywalker, Baby Yoda would be…well, we’re not sure.
Kid Yoda? Tween Yoda, perhaps?
Old enough, at any rate, to potentially play a key part in the
the story, However, we find this to be highly unlikely.
There’s no evidence that The Mandalorian’s creator and lead
writer, Jon Favreau, has coordinated in any way, shape, or
form with Skywalker writer/director J.J. Abrams,
and a Young Yoda cameo, while likely a crowd-pleaser, would be off-the-charts distracting, not to mention shoehorned in, considering what we know about the plot of Skywalker.
No, we’re thinking that Baby Yoda will be a character-specific
to The Mandalorian, and that’s just fine with us.
