The Mandalorian: Why I Hope Baby Yoda Won’t Return
By: Damon Ferrara
Tags: Grogu, Unpopular Opinion, Star Wars, The Mandalorian, Baby Yoda

(Spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 2 finale.)

Baby Yoda is in a better place now, frolicking around the fields of Luke Skywalker’s uncanny valley. Mando’s quest to return “The Child™” to his people is now complete. It was hard for him to give up Grogu, but this is what he was fighting for over the past 16 episodes. Now comes the question: Should Baby Yoda return for Season 3?

Internet memes and Disney’s bottom line both vote in favor. But, creatively, I believe there is a better way…

Mando’s Quest Needs to Have Meaning

Like I said, this is what Mando was fighting for. And it was tough to do. Not just to find a Jedi, but to give his adopted son away. That sacrifice shouldn’t be undone.

It would also be hard to undo. Perhaps, next season, Luke will discover that his X-Wing’s out of power converters and decide to stick around. But, for now, they’ve headed separate ways, with no motives for coming back together.

If Baby Yoda travels with Mando again, they’ll face the same complications they’ve already faced. The solution was to give Grogu to Luke. That’s now been done.

The Empire already got its blood sample and Din Djarin’s opened up to other people. There’s much fear in Grogu, but he’s still a baby at age fifty, so he’s not growing up anytime soon. Going with Luke’s his best chance of staying in the light.

The Mandalorian doesn’t need Baby Yoda anymore. His story’s over.

And the show itself is now well-established. It can afford to move on from Baby Yoda. This is Disney. There will be new cute muppets.

Luke Skywalker’s Trapped in the Uncanny Valley

This may vary person-to-person, but CGI Luke Skywalker looked weird to me. I doubt he was easy or cheap to produce, either. He only appears briefly and doesn’t move or show much personality. Always in motion is the future, but not Luke’s expression.

That makes it hard to bring him into future stories. And with Luke as Grogu’s mentor, that makes it hard to bring back Grogu. They could write Luke out in another cameo, but then what was the point of bringing Baby Yoda to him in the first place?

I’m not opposed to more Luke appearances in Star Wars. I’d love to see him meet Ahsoka, for instance. But for any longer appearance, they need to either find a new technique or recast the role.

Avoid the Jedi — and the Past

One of The Mandalorian’s greatest strengths is that it uses the Star Wars mythology to further its own worldbuilding, instead of getting caught up in empty nostalgia. Luke’s appearance is entirely justified by the show’s internal logic. Din found one of these powerful enemy sorcerers with whom the Child belonged. That the sorcerer is the original Star Wars hero is irrelevant to the scene.

The Mandalorian’s the most standalone live-action Star Wars since the prequels. You can enjoy it at any level of fandom.

And this is a story that deserves to stand on his own. Let Din have his own book, as the Skywalkers had theirs.

But if Luke and Grogu keep appearing, the show will have to address more of that mythology. Even if Baby Yoda gets assigned some other Jedi mentor, lots of backstory and exposition would follow.

That’s not The Mandalorian’s style. The Mandalorian is Star Wars at its most archetypical: A gunslinger walks into a frontier town. No one knows his name, but they know he means business.

Attaching homework to that experience will weaken its power.

Speaking of which…

Lone Gunslingers Need Alone Time

At some point, The Mandalorian will end. Considering how many Star Wars shows Disney is making, I’m guessing it won’t be that long a run. The show’s stripped-down ethos might make a shorter run more creatively satisfying. If the series runs for four seasons, we’re at the halfway point, with a battle for Mandalore probably next.

Let Din Djarin have new adventures with new companions. Like I said above, he’s the unnamed gunslinger. Parting ways and chasing sunsets is in the character’s literal DNA. This may be the last chance to switch things up before we’re too close to the ending.

But even if the show does continue for a long time, a Doctor Who model of rotating companions might help keep it fresh, anyway.

Mando and Grogu Should Still See Each Other Again — Eventually

When The Mandalorian does end, perhaps then, Baby Yoda returns for the final act, saving his stepfather with Luke’s training. At that point, there will be meaning in their time apart. The show can earn their reunion.

But if the show reunites Mando and Baby Yoda next season, the hard work of bringing Grogu to his people will feel like just another side quest. The show could get caught up in the Skywalker mythos. And this is the book of The Mandalorian, not The Mandalorian and the Jedi.

(I assume we’re calling them books now. Let’s all just roll with it.)

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