Everything We Know About The Secret Origin Of Grogu
Warning: this post contains major spoilers for "The Book of Boba Fett." Proceed with caution.
"The Mandalorian" introduced not only one of the most popular characters of the modern "Star Wars" era with Grogu (aka Baby Yoda), but perhaps one of the most popular characters in the history of ... history? Time will tell if that popularity can endure, but the mysterious nature of the cute little Force user may well help with his longevity. To that point, we actually learned quite a bit more about Mando's little buddy and Luke's new Padawan recently, though what we discovered actually raises more questions that will need answering at one point or another.
Last chance to turn away for "The Book of Boba Fett" spoilers, folks.
Specifically, "The Book of Boba Fett" Chapter 6 brought back not only Grogu, but Din, Luke, Ahsoka, and a whole bunch of other characters both old and (relatively) new to the galaxy. In the process, some of the hazy backstory for Grogu was revealed, and it could link Baby Yoda to some of the most tragic events in the history of "Star Wars." Let's dig in.
Grogu's Mysterious Past
Baby Yoda was kept a complete secret until he showed up at the end of the first episode of "The Mandalorian." Even then, finding that bounty in a floating metal container raised so many questions that the first two seasons of the show did very little to answer. Where did he come from? Where did the Empire find him? What happened in those first 50 years of life to lead him to Mando? Luckily, "The Book of Boba Fett" offered a window into the past by sidelining the title character for the penultimate episode of his own show to focus on these mysteries.
During his training with Luke at the new Jedi temple, Luke asks Grogu about "back home" and realizes that Grogu doesn't seem to have memories of where he came from. He then asks if the little guy would like to remember, and through the Force, he returns him to some dark, distant memories. It is here that we get a very important flashback that offers up far more about the character's backstory than we had up to this point.
During the vision, we see Grogu lying down, not dissimilar to when we first met him in his little pod. We see a garrison of Republic troopers from the Clone Wars era battling some Jedi. All of this is happening while little Grogu watches on in horror, his Jedi friends no match for the barrage of blaster fire coming their way. Yes, indeed, it does appear that the little alien was present for Order 66, the major event that happens during "Revenge of the Sith" and "The Clone Wars" finale that sees Palpatine ordering the death of all Jedi. As one might expect, many details are left off the table for now, but the implication is clear. Grogu was there around 25 years ago (give or take) when the Jedi were nearly wiped off the map, yet somehow managed to survive the ordeal himself.
The Force Is Strong In Him
The episode doesn't give us too much more regarding Grogu's origin story, at least not directly. There is another moment where Ahsoka approaches Luke after a training session with the little Padawan. Ahsoka compliments Luke for training him well and the Jedi replies, "It's more like he's remembering than I'm actually teaching him anything." Therein lies an important hint as it suggests that the little one had previously been trained in the ways of the Force, but has been away from the Jedi for some time, which may be why his skills are (or at least were) so rusty.
To do some theorizing, it seems like Grogu may well have been training at the Jedi temple during the height of the Republic during the prequel trilogy era. At that time, there would have been many younglings at the temple and it would be easy enough to imagine he was just part of the crowd before Order 66 was carried out. That opens the floodgates for a host of other questions that eventual "Star Wars" stories will need to fill in.
Lingering Questions
So, where does that leave us? For one, it would be interesting to find out just where Grogu was during those events. If he was at the actual Jedi temple on Coruscant, then the implication is that he somehow avoided Anakin Skywalker's wrath. After all, we know the newly-christened Darth Vader had no issues killing younglings. If that's the case, who saved Grogu? Where has he been for the last 25 years? Did Yoda know he existed? Does that mean everyone from Yoda's planet is a Force user? Or was Grogu special? A great many questions with precious few answers at the moment.
The fact of the matter is that we still have many, many questions regarding the one we call Baby Yoda and we may have to wait a while to get those answers — if we ever get them at all. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, the folks driving the Disney+ "Star Wars" ship, know all too well that the mystery is part of what makes Grogu so interesting right now and they aren't likely to give it all up right away. They are going to make us wait for it and, in the end, that probably makes for better storytelling.