If you’re not interested in seeing spoilers from the latest episode of The Mandalorian, you’d be wise to exit out of this article now.
The first episode of Disney +’s The Mandalorian revealed a major plot twist, with the introduction of a baby Yoda, who turns out to be the mark for the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), a bounty hunter.
The second episode of the show builds on that twist and helps expand on what little we know about Yoda’s species. So, what did episode 2 of the The Mandalorian show us? Here are the five big takeaways from “The Child,” which dropped Friday morning.
1. It is an undeniable fact that Yoda Jr. is cute
Baby Yoda is adorable. You can’t deny it.
When ranking the galaxy’s cutest characters, there’s Yoda Jr. and Ewoks — and then there’s everyone else. This seems like a silly takeaway, but I promise it’s meaningful. This cuteness doesn’t seem to be just about fan service. It’s probably what will bring together Yoda Jr. and “Mando,” a nickname Kuiil (Nick Nolte) gave the Mandalorian. (Also, I must say: Kuiil looks considerably like a frowny-face emoji.)
In one of the first few scenes of the 27-minute episode, Yoda Jr. endears himself to Mando by trying to heal his wounds after three bounty hunters attempt to ambush them. When the baby repeatedly wanders from his crib and raises his hand to use the force, Mando brushes off the 50-year-old infant’s attempts, clearly not knowing what the baby is trying to do. (The Mandalorian reveals later in the episode that he’s unfamiliar with The Force. He can’t even put it into words.) It’s a sweet scene, with Yoda Jr. doting on Mando in the same ways Yoda doted on younglings in Star Wars Episode Two. Whether he’s Yoda’s kid or not, the child seems to have Yoda’s disposition.
But maybe I’ve buried the lede: THIS BABY HAS FORCE POWERS!
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2. The baby is as powerful as most imagined, and 3) the Mandalorian isn’t quite as powerful as he seemed.
Whether this is Yoda’s son, Yoda’s reincarnation or simply a lost member of Yoda’s species, the child seemed likely to be force sensitive.
We see a few uses of the force in the episode, and it’s largely as a product of Mando’s incompetence. Because while Mando’s abilities in battle were clean and impressive in the first episode, he’s clumsier in navigating the challenges in this episode.
We found out in the first episode that the Mandalorian’s spaceship was pre-Empire. Basically, it’s a collectible. So imagine getting back from the heist of the century to find that your getaway whip, a 1960s Corvette Stingray, has been gutted for parts. That’s how Mando must have felt upon finding that the Jawas dissembled his ride while he was off looking for Yoda Jr.
That was Mando’s first mistake of many in the episode.
The Jawas later blast Mando off the top Sandcrawler in an ensuing chase scene. With the Mandalorian attempting to scale the side of the moving vehicle, the scene felt like “Free Solo” meets “Indiana Jones.” His failure on the Sandcrawler forces negotiations with the Jawas — mediated by Kuiil. Mando and the Jawas decide on a compromise: the Mandalorian will procure an egg from a rabid space rhinoceros in exchange for the stolen parts. Seems fair, right?
That’s when Yoda Jr. looks a lot like Yoda Sr. The Mandalorian seemed to be on the verge of losing the fight with the rhino, but the baby stops the animal in its tracks and suspends it in mid-air. (That’s more than Luke Skywalker could manage in his early 20s when he failed to levitate his X-wing from the swamp on Dagobah in episode five.) That stops the beast’s momentum, so Mando can stab it and retrieve the egg.
The bond between Yoda Jr. and Mando grows deeper — the fuzzy, wrinkly nugget saved the steely, muscly cowboy’s life. Yoda Jr. needs a long nap after the display of force power, and Mando seems to be keeping close tabs on the baby’s health.
4. Few seem to know the enormity of Yoda Jr.’s presence.
The bounty hunters in the initial scene recognize that the baby is their mark, with one of them attempting to kill the child. But it’s unclear if they know the baby’s power or his intergalactic clout. (Although, was it just me or did the canyon lizards seem intent upon sneaking glances at the little, green prince?) No one in the episode seems to recognize who or what Yoda Jr. is.
“This is what was causing all the fuss?” Kuiil says looking at Yoda Jr.
“I think it’s a child,” Mando responds.
When the Mando explains Yoda Jr.’s use of the force against the rhino to Kuiil later in the episode, they are both befuddled. They’ve clearly never seen anything like it.
Word, apparently, does not get around in this galaxy far, far away.
5. The Mandalorian doesn’t care about the baby yet, but perhaps he will soon.
We’ve hit the classic (space) cowboy impasse: the loner protagonist has to bring himself to care about something. They’re recycling the tired trope (of toxic masculinity). Love? Attachment? Yuck.
In this case, it’s obvious the Mandalorian will come to care about Yoda Jr. But it’s unclear how long it will take him to adore the beautiful and bumbling baby that Star Wars nerds (like myself) surely already love.
“Good luck with the child. May it survive and bring you a handsome reward,” Kuiil says in the final moments of the episode.
The reward doesn’t have to be Beskar and money, like The Client (Werner Herzog) promised. The reward could be companionship and an existential purpose (like, say, helping restore order in the galaxy). I feel like we’ve seen another space pirate struggle with the same reward (*cough* Han Solo *cough*).