Disney
With the long-awaited release of Disney+, the first-ever live-action Star Wars television series, The Mandalorian, made its debut as the first episode was released on the Mouse House’s new streaming platform.
Warning: spoilers for the first episode of The Mandalorian.
After spending much of the first episode establishing the personality and the mythos surrounding the titular Mandalorian, the series finally kicked itself into gear in the episode’s closing moments with its big reveal.
Earlier in the episode, the Mandalorian — a bounty hunter — is tasked by Werner Herzog’s mysterious and clearly evil character “The Client” to track down a 50-year-old person. While not much is known about The Client, given that he’s surrounded by a sizable unit of Storm Troopers, he clearly has a connection to the Empire.
Other than its age, its last known location, and a tracking device, that is all the information that the Mandalorian is given prior to his journey. It’s important to note during this interaction, while The Client is generally indifferent about whether the target is alive or dead, his “colleague” Dr. Pershing is very adamant that he wants it alive, presumably to study.
Later, hen the Mandalorian finally shoots his way to his destination, he finds that the “50-year-old” he’s been sent to kill is actually just a baby. As a nearby droid points out, not all creatures age at the same rate.
But while the age of the target is one twist, the major twist comes seconds later when it’s revealed that the infantile creature looks exactly like Yoda. But is it actually the miniature light-saber wielding backward talking philosopher?
Given that the events of The Mandalorian take place 25 years prior to the events of The Force Awakens, no, that *is not* Yoda in the first episode, as he passed away during Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi at the age of 900-years-old. However, it doesn’t take a Star Wars expert to deduce that the creature is clearly the same species as the legendary Jedi knight.
Yoda’s origin is one of the biggest mysteries in the Star Wars universe, as his species is so mysterious it doesn’t even have an official name. It is simply listed as “unknown” on the Star Wars Wikipedia:
“The species to which the legendary Jedi Master Yoda belonged was ancient and shrouded in mystery. The species had two sexes: male and female. Members of that species were small in size, with green skin and long pointed ears. Their three-fingered hands ended in claws. Their ears were expressive, curling and unfurling in accordance with their emotions. The species’ life expectancy spanned several centuries. Members of this species were rarely seen anywhere in the galaxy. Their brains also possessed a sub-brain that activated when having visions.”
In addition to Yoda, only one other creature from this species has appeared in the Star Wars universe thus far, and that’s Yaddle, a female who appeared on the Jedi Council in the prequel trilogy.
With the “Baby Yoda” being a clear target of the Empire, we expect the child’s history, and eventual destination, to be the main plot point of the first epic season of The Mandalorian.
With unrivaled content from classics, new releases, and originals from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and much more all for just $6.99/mo, who wouldn’t be interested in signing up? There’s also a Disney Plus free trial for the first seven days – it’s $6.99 a month afterward. Also: You can sign up for the Disney Plus bundle, offering Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ streaming services for just $12.99/month
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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Contact him on Twitter @eric_ital or via email eric@brobible.com