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When Grogu first debuted way back in the first season of The Mandalorian, he was a tiny, green, and very defenceless youngling.
Over the years, the Child has done some serious growing: his bond with Din Djarin has flourished from bounty hunter and target to father and son, and his mischievous, wilful, and snack-obsessed personality has made itself known. Along the way, he's moved from a baby stuck in his pram, to a Jedi Padawan – for a little while, anyway – and now to a Mandalorian apprentice with his own Beskar armor and a wrist-mounted (paintball) blaster. Grogu might still be tiny (and green), but he's no longer defenceless.
It's in his latest adventure, The Mandalorian and Grogu, that Grogu really comes into his own, too – and proves that he's so much more than just a cute sidekick.
The young protect the old
In the first half of the new Star Wars film, Grogu spends his time hanging out on Din Djarin's shoulder, occasionally jumping into action to destroy a mouse droid with the Force, or to shimmy up a building and unlock it from the inside. He also has plenty of lovely little moments that are guaranteed to make you aww aloud, like sneezing after the snowy AT-AT action scene, jumping on the bed of the new Razor Crest and giggling, or waddling through the Adelphi Base on his teeny legs.
It might seem, then, that Grogu's only purpose in his first big-screen outing is to help out Papa Mando and look adorable while he does it. But, halfway through the film, everything changes. Din Djarin is taken captive by the ruthless bounty hunter Embo after crossing the Hutt Twins, and Grogu and his Anzellan pals watch in dismay as Mando is taken away to Nal Hutta.
Back in The Mandalorian season 3, Grogu faced a similar dilemma when Din Djarin was attacked by a gruesome cyborg on Mandalore. Baby Yoda jumped into Mando's N-1 Starfighter and asked its astromech to pilot him to Bo-Katan Kryze, and, in this way, he was able to rescue his father. This time, however, Grogu and the Anzellans take on the challenge of saving Din Djarin all alone.
Grogu suits up in his Beskar armor and heads to Nal Hutta with the Anzellans, and, together, they manage to sneak into the Hutt palace, where Mando is battling a dragon snake for his life. Grogu fixes a bomb – yes, really – onto the bars of the dragon snake's lair, which frees Mando (and spares him a grisly fate as a snack). When it becomes obvious Din Djarin can't fit into the Anzellan's ship to escape, Grogu stays behind to save him, even though Mando told him to go.
Grogu Force heals Mando's wound, but the dragon snake's poison isn't so easily vanquished. Here, the film shifts to a beautiful, meditative sequence showcasing some stunning puppetry work, in which Grogu, completely alone on a planet where danger lurks in every corner, nurses Din Djarin back to health. Grogu – who, don't forget, is just a baby – builds a mud hut for Mando and uses the Force to slide him into it (with a few head bumps), collects water for them both, and manages to steal some fish from a nearby stranger.
This stranger turns out to be friendly, and he makes Grogu a poultice to cure Mando, which the Child dutifully feeds him. It works, and Mando wakes up – and, naturally, gets right back to holstering his weapons.
In a touching moment, Din Djarin also affirms that Grogu, by saving his life, is following the Mandalorian Creed: "The old protect the young, and then the young protect the old. This is the Way." It's hard to think of any higher praise for a Mandalorian apprentice.
Your turn, Grogu
Of course, that's not to say that Grogu has ever just been "shoulder candy," as one of the movie's bad guys calls him. Grogu has always been at the heart of The Mandalorian: the entire show revolves around the hugely meaningful father and son bond that grows between the Child and Mando himself, and all the ways it changes them both. Just compare how brutal and merciless Din Djarin was back when he was introduced to the paternal ease with which he confiscates Grogu's macarons until after dinner in the movie.
But Baby Yoda's adventure in The Mandalorian and Grogu is the biggest responsibility he's ever had on his tiny shoulders, and it proves how much potential he has as he continues to learn the Way of the Mandalore and grow older. At the end of the film, he's able to use his Force powers to rescue Rotta the Hutt from falling into the dragon snake's pit – back in season 1, lifting the mudhorn to save Mando knocked him out for the entire episode.
The film even ends on a note that sets up the future. As the duo flies away from Adelphi Base, Mando calls Grogu up to the controls and lets him push the button that sends them to lightspeed. "Your turn," he tells his adopted son, in a very clear passing of the torch.
Grogu probably isn't ready to become a fully fledged Mandalorian just yet – he's still pretty small, after all. But it's obvious that, whatever comes next, Grogu has plenty more ahead of him, both as his Force powers get stronger and as he learns more as a Mandalorian apprentice. They really do grow up so fast…
The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters now. For more, check out our The Mandalorian and Grogu review, or our roundup of how to watch the Star Wars movies in order.
