One of the most frequently asked questions about The Mandalorian is the very nature of Grogu, more famous as Baby Yoda, despite him not being related to the famous Jedi master introduced in the Original Trilogy. Grogu has become a breakout character from the show, which, at one point, focused more on Baby Yoda than the titular hero.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Grogu quickly became one of the most popular Star Wars characters ever. His story and his future have been discussed online in many places, with fans debating about his heritage, his nature, and whether he will end up being a Jedi or a Sith. The latter question will also be the topic of this article, as we explain, in detail, whether Grogu will grow up to be a Jedi, a Sith or something else.
NOTE: If you are not caught up with The Mandalorian, there will be spoilers below.
Who is Baby Yoda, a.k.a. Grogu?
Grogu, also known as Baby Yoda and the Child, is a character from The Mandalorian, a series set in the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas in 1977. Grogu is a Force-sensitive child who belongs to the same race as the famous Jedi Grand Master Yoda, but as it stands now (and from what we know about Yoda), the two are not related directly.
The Child was introduced in the first season of The Mandalorian as the asset demanded by the Client (played by Werner Herzog), a loyal officer of the fallen Galactic Empire. His story has been shrouded in mystery, as no one knew why the Client wanted Grogu, except that it was for some kind of strange experiment. The titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin, takes on the bounty and retrieves the child, forming a strong bond with him during the journey back.
Ultimately, Din Djarin rescues Baby Yoda from the Empire and escapes the planet, putting a target on his back. The Empire wanted their asset returned to them, and he was pursued by different bounty hunters, all working for the evil Moff Gideon, the Client’s boss.
After a final showdown with Gideon, Grogu, and Mando seemed to be free, but Moff Gideon survived his crash and went after them. At the same time, Mando took Grogu to search for the Jedi, and they ended up meeting Ahsoka Tano, who managed to use the Force to talk to Grogu but could not train him, as she wasn’t a Jedi anymore. She told them to find a Jedi sanctuary to contact someone else.
In the end, Moff Gideon got his hands on Grogu once again, and just when it seemed that all was lost, a mysterious figure appeared and killed Gideon’s droids. The mysterious figure was none other than Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, who heard Grogu’s call and came to help. In a heartbreaking goodbye, Mando let Grogu go with Luke to become a Jedi, knowing that it was how things had to be and that the two would certainly meet again.
This will most likely be explored further in the future seasons of The Mandalorian series.
Is Grogu a Sith Lord? Will he become one?
The question of Grogu’s exact relationship with the Force has been a burning one ever since the young member of Yoda’s enigmatic race demonstrated that he could use the Force in the first season of The Mandalorian.
Now, as we all know too well, Jedi Grand Master Yoda was the most powerful Jedi in the movies and was generally one of the most powerful Force users in history, especially if we disregard deities and similar characters, which are obviously overpowered. This means that seeing another member of Yoda’s race would undoubtedly spark some interest among the fans.
Yoda was loyal to the Light Side of the Force; he was probably one of the most loyal Jedi in history, although one of the Expanded Universe stories does show him revealing what would have happened had he become a Sith Lord. If you’re not familiar with that story, Yoda showed a projection revealing that he would turn into the most powerful Sith Lord ever and would be an unstoppable force of destruction.
Luckily for us, Yoda was on the side of the good guys.
These facts haven’t, of course, stopped fans from speculating that Grogu might actually be a young Sith Lord and that we will see him use a red lightsaber at one point. Why is that? Well, there have been a few pointers, although — in all honesty — we don’t really think they’re that relevant, but we can explore it a bit for the sake of conversation.
One of the main pieces of evidence that supporters of this theory use is that he used the Force Choke on Cara Dune when he felt threatened by her, which was a defensive reaction at best; it was far from having any actual relation to the teachings of the Sith.
The other argument used by supporters is the fact that the remnants of the Empire have a considerable interest in Grogu and that they have performed experiments on him; we don’t actually know to what end, but it has to do something with clones, possibly of Supreme Leader Snoke.
Now, this fact could easily be explained by Grogu’s own nature — he is a very powerful Force user, and the Empire would only naturally show interest in him, as Palpatine, who we know has survived the Return of the Jedi, would see significant potential in him.
Is there anything else? Not really. Grogu hasn’t demonstrated any malice in the show. He has shown to be a very good character and a character that has suffered a lot. He formed a strong bond with Mando, and he consistently demonstrated that he did not want to go with the Empire. On top of that, neither Ahsoka Tano nor Luke Skywalker felt anything dangerous in him, which speaks for itself.
Plus, anyone who knows anything about the Sith and their teachings knows that it is a difficult path to actually become a true Sith Lord. The Dark Side of the Force is just a prerequisite, but one has to learn a lot about their philosophy and embrace it. Where would Grogu have learned that? Nowhere, really, which is why he definitely isn’t a Sith Lord.
Will Grogu become a Jedi?
Just like he isn’t a Sith Lord at the moment, Grogu is not a Jedi, although — as things stand — he is going to become one in the near future. We’ll explain why that is.
First of all, Grogu is in the company of the good guys. Okay, Mando and his allies might not be Jedi, but they’re enemies of the Empire. They represent the good side in the series, which means that Grogu can only learn those traits from them (unless he gets into a tight spot during puberty, but we don’t want to speculate on that, really).
Secondly, Grogu has used his Force skills for good; we can easily disregard the choking incident simply because it was a defensive maneuver on Grogu’s side. He has demonstrated healing abilities, something characteristic for the Jedi, and used the Force to contact Luke Skywalker, which is hardly something a Sith could do.
Thirdly, Grogu has been in contact with two Jedi (okay, one Jedi and a former Jedi), neither of whom sensed anything evil in the little guy. Ahsoka Tano had a very intimate discussion with him, and it was she who suggested to Mando that they should seek out Luke Skywalker, who is a Jedi. When Grogu finally met Luke Skywalker, the latter took him with him to teach him the ways of the Jedi.
Now, we know from the Sequel Trilogy that Luke successfully trained Jedi until the Ben Solo incident, but Grogu would probably have finished his training by then. Seeing how the Sequel Trilogy revealed nothing of a rogue Sith Lord or anything related to an “evil Yoda,” we can infer that Grogu successfully passed his training and became a Jedi who, of course, went into hiding at one point. Just like all the others.
Sure, Disney might actually retcon this at some point, but that wouldn’t be a very smart move from their side. As there have been problems with the Sequel Trilogy’s narrative, another intervention that would retcon both it and The Mandalorian would certainly not be welcomed by the fans.
In the end, it all comes down to what Kuiil said when he reprogrammed IG-11. IG-11 was a bounty droid programmed to kill, but Kuiil reprogrammed him not to kill, but to protect and even sacrifice himself for his friends. IG-11 became what his “creator” made him be, which will happen to Grogu — he is still too young to be properly defined, and what he becomes will depend on who taught him and how. Seeing how it’s Luke Skywalker at the moment, we’re quite hopeful.
What do you think? Do you think Baby Yoda will become a Sith Lord or a Jedi? Are you looking forward to the next season of The Mandalorian? Let us know on social media by using the buttons below.
