For the uninitiated, you are about to enter nerd-vana. The Star Wars universe is famous for its cult following among the group of individuals who are often, rather unkindly, referred to as nerds.
But let’s put unhelpful social categorizations aside and take a look into a beloved character on the TV series The Mandalorian: Grogu, also called Baby Yoda.
If you didn’t know it already, The Mandalorian takes the story further into the fantasy world of the (Luke) Skywalker saga. Many consider Grogu to be the showstopper of this TV series by noted actor, director, screenwriter and producer Jon Favreau.
It is a live-action series that is an extension of the Star Wars franchise. Timeline wise, the TV show dives into the events about 5-10 after the 1983 movie Return of the Jedi, released in 1983. The title character is played by Pedro Pascal (of Game of Thrones fame) who is a bounty hunter trying to find The Child or Grogu.
Now, this infant belongs to the Yoda species that we never really learned much about. And we are now looking at almost three decades of Grogu stories that no one had heard of and that’s what the fans hoped to learn about in The Mandalorian. But we know that they are these green alien creatures that are very Force sensitive.
The Origin Story: Who Is Grogu?
Here’s how the story goes. Grogu or The Child is a male Jedi who was born in 41 BBY which was the Galactic Republic’s era. He belongs to the same group as Jedi Master Yaddle and Jedi Grand Master Yoda and was raised in Coruscant or the Jedi Temple, to be precise.
Grogu had many masters in the course of his training till the Clone Wars came to an end and the Jedi Order fell. You might remember it as the Great Jedi Purge.
At this time, the Empire came to power and Grogu was rescued and hidden from them. This kept him and his powers hidden from the Imperials. Still a baby at the age of 50, this was circa 9 ABY, Grogu survived the temple siege but ended up in a camp run by Nikto mercenaries on Arvala-7.
Meanwhile, a bounty hunter called Din Djarin was commissioned to find The Child at the behest of Moff Gideon, the leader of the Galactic Empire.
But there were more troubles along the way.
Djarin came into the picture thanks to an Imperial called the Client and one Doctor Pershing. Later on, of course, the Client makes a backroom deal with Djarin to retrieve a dead Grogu for a lower price.
Djarin and a lethal droid IG-11 are sent out to find Grogu. They attack the Nikto camp and find Grogu but while the droid tries to terminate The Child, Djarin shoots the droid, saves Grogu and takes him to the Razor Crest, his ship.
Another group of three bounty hunters attack the ship and try to kill Grogu. They are able to ward off the trio successfully and decide to stay in the desert for the night. But by sun up, Djarin and Grogu notice that the ship is destroyed by Jawas, a tall sentient humanoid species.
Djarin decides to fight the Jawas when they agree to a deal with the help of a local farmer Kuiil. Djarin is tasked with retrieving a mud horn’s egg in return for parts of the Razor Crest.
Retrieving the egg also turns into a battle and it was in this fight that Grogu uses the Force for the first time to help Djarin get the egg and in turn the Razor Crest. An exhausted Grogu passes out and by the time he is awake, the ship is repaired and en route to Nevarro.
The Escapades: Drinking Soup, Chasing Frogs and More
Over 40 Sound and Motion Combinations, Interactive Toys
Once they were in Nevarro, Grogu was handed over to the Client and Dr. Pershing. This is where we learn that Grogu is a he because the not-so-good doctor refers to Grogu with these pronouns.
Soon after being examined by Dr. Pershing, Grogu was whisked away by the Client. This is when Djarin gets suspicious and decides to rescue Grogu. He attacks the safe house and finds a sedated Grogu.
But the battle is not over. Djarin rescues Grogu but now has to fight with the Bounty Hunters’ Guild who want the job completed and left alone. Djarin escapes the guild with some help from his tribe and decides to retreat to Sorgan where he can steer clear of the guild.
After the battles, a seemingly scared Grogu refuses to let go of Djarin. That’s when the bounty hunter accepts the Jedi. He also hopes that Grogu, who had become very friendly with the children, could have a childhood in this village indicating that the two are developing a bond.
While in Sorgan, we learn little details about Grogu that he likes soup, chasing frogs and maybe even eating them. We also learn that he’s very good at hide and seek which might come in handy for a Force-sensitive Jedi on the run. But things get complicated in Sorgan when another bounty hunter comes looking for Grogu.
The bounty hunter is killed and Djarin decides to leave with Grogu on his ship. It becomes Djarin’s mission to return Grogu to the Jedi. This started a whole new quest for the remaining Jedi. Djarin and Grogu traveled the galaxy in search of those who were left behind. In those travels, Djarin was accompanied by Ahsoka Tano, a former Jedi.
Their travels bring them from Sorgan to Tatooine. On their way, Djarin and Grogu encounter another bounty hunter called Riot Mar. When they reach Tatooine, Djarin leaves Grogu on the ship and goes out looking for work so that he can repair the Razor Crest. Grogu wakes up to be taken care of by Peli Motto, the hangar manager.
But once again, a bounty hunter finds Grogu and kidnaps him along with Motto. Djarin finds them and wards off the bounty hunter but now they need to leave Tatooine.
A New Deal: When Grogu Used the Force Again
Djarin makes a deal for credits with an old friend, a mercenary by the name of Ranzar Malk. The job is to rescue a prisoner of the New Republic and to help Djarin out, Malk puts together a crew of mercenaries.
One of them is a droid and a pilot named Zero. Djarin hides Grogu in a compartment and the crew gets on the Razor Crest to the New Republic Correctional Transport. One of the crew members is Migs Mayfield, a former sharpshooter for the Imperials, who happens to discover the compartment and Grogu.
Djarin puts Grogu back in the compartment and the crew leaves Razor Crest to rescue the prisoner. While the crew is gone, Zero discovers a hologram from Greef Karga, of the guild. He’s the one who gave Grogu’s bounty order to Djarin.
The hologram tells the story of Grogu’s capture the first time around. An intrigued Zero becomes aware of Grogu’s value.
Meanwhile, the mercenaries betray Djarin on the mission. Djarin retaliates but in the process, Grogu leaves the compartment and is found by Zero. In trying to escape Zero, Grogu uses the Force for the second time.
Djarin returns to the ship, destroys Zero and saves Grogu yet again. They head back to return the prisoner to Ranzar Malk and collect the payment. The exit isn’t that simple either. Malk tries to attack the Razor Crest but Djarin thwarts it and the ship exits hyperspace.
Once again, Grogu gets hassled and Djarin steps in to comfort him.
Back to Nevarro: Grogu Becomes a Foundling
In the next chapter, Djarin and Grogu come back to Nevarro. This is after an offer from Greef Karga asking Djarin to help them defeat the Empire. In return, he would get to keep Grogu safe.
Djarin stops by Sorgan to pick up a friend Cara Dune to help with the latest mission. While Djarin is consulting with Dune, we see Grogu try to play with the ship’s controls which is yet another indication of the Jedi’s playful nature.
Djarin also stops by Arvala-7 to get Kuiil, the farmer, to help with the assault. Kuiil also reprograms the droid IG-11, who had hurt Grogu the first time around, to “nurse and protect”. This makes Djarin skeptical which can be seen as the bounty hunter’s protectiveness of Grogu.
Soon we learn that Grogu feels the same way about Djarin. While on their way to Nevarro, Djarin and Dune try to arm wrestle. A naive Grogu tries to choke Dune using the Force for the third time.
Upon reaching Nevarro, we see that Grogu heals Karga when the latter has a poisonous injury. Karga, who was initially planning to betray Djarin and his crew, changes his mind. He also becomes aware of Grogu’s powers.
Once they are ready to launch the mission, the crew plans to use Grogu as bait to lure the Imperials. But Djarin refuses and offers to pose as a prisoner of Dune and Karga and leave Grogu with Kuiil at the Razor Crest for safety. But during the mission, Imperial troopers discover Kuiil and Grogu. They kill the farmer and kidnap the Jedi.
This is when IG-11 spins into action. The troopers who captured Grogu stop at the city outskirts awaiting further orders from Moff Gideon. And in the meantime, they start harassing Grogu like every villain’s minions in every movie do. Talk about having an inferiority complex.
IG-11 storms in, kills the troopers and rescues Grogu, living up to his ‘nurse and protect’ programming. The droid hops on one of the trooper’s bikes and speeds off to the city along with Grogu.
The city of Nevarro is filled with stormtroopers and IG-11 has to shoot their way out of trouble. At this point, Grogu is seen laughing. Not all that innocent, this baby. One could say that Grogu is young enough to be scared at times but old enough to enjoy vengeance.
The droid successfully gets Grogu back to Djarin and the crew. While Grogu was gone, Gideon and Djarin’s crew had a kind of a face-off that leaves the bounty hunter gravely injured. The crew retreat and hide in a building where they are attacked by more troopers.
At this point, Grogu once again uses the Force to contain a fire which he then throws back at the Imperial troopers. Using the Force exhausts Grogu once again and he collapses before he can help heal Djarin’s injuries.
Djarin sends Grogu with his crew while he is healed by IG-11. The crew reunites and goes to meet the Armorer who is the leader of Djarin’s tribe of warriors, the Mandalorians.
After hearing Grogu’s story from Djarin, the Armorer declares the Jedi to be a foundling and the bounty hunter becomes a sort of a father figure to Grogu. They are declared as a clan of two and the Armorer places a new signet on Djarin’s shoulder plate which is a mudhorn.
In case you forgot, it’s a throwback to when Grogu saved him on Arvala-7. The Jedi also gets a mythosaur necklace that belongs to the Mandalorian.
But the battle isn’t over just yet. The fight with Gideon ensues and along the way, IG-11 sacrifices itself to keep Grogu safe. Eventually, Djarin and his crew defeat Gideon following which they get on the Razor Crest and leave Nevarro.
Looking for Other Mandalorians
After defeating Gideon, Djarin and Grogu decide to go on a journey to find other Mandalorians. They head towards an unknown planet to meet Gor Koresh, a hunter of Mandalorian remnants, who might know something about the other Mandalorians.
Unfortunately, Koresh and Djarin get into a battle and only towards the end of it does the former reveal that he has heard of another Mandalorian. Grogu loses his cradle during the battle but remains safe by the end.
Koresh tells them about a Mandalorian who is on Tatooine. Once again, Djarin and his foundling have to go back to Tatooine, the desert planet. The duo are received by an excited Peli Motto, the hangar manager who looked after Grogu while Djarin was out looking for work. When Djarin explains what they were looking for, Motto once again offers to, well, Jedi-sit.
But Djarin only borrows Motto’s speeder bike and takes Grogu with him. They race off to a village called Mos Pelgo. Djarin stops when he encounters a cantina and leaves Grogu behind.
But we know that playfulness and curiosity are in this Jedi’s nature. So Grogu quietly follows Djarin where the bounty hunter gets into a fight with Cobb Vanth.
During the fight, a rumbling starts outside the cantina. As the sounds intensify, a scared Grogu hides in a pot. The fighting duo realize that the rumbling was the sound of a dragon that had been terrorizing Mos Pelgo.
They unite forces to defeat the dragon and Vanth agrees to give Djarin his Mandalorian armor if they complete the mission.
When they start their journey towards the dragon, Vanth, Djarin and Grogu encounter a group of mastiffs and some Tusken Raiders. Here once again, we see Grogu scared of the animals and hiding from them till Djarin negotiates a truce.
The Tusken Raiders form an alliance with Djarin and Vanth and come along to slay the dragon.
When they find the cave that is said to be the dragon’s home, a single Tusken Raider walks in while the rest watch from above a cliff. To their horror, they witness the dragon devour the Tusken. This leaves not just Grogu but the other Tuskens in horror too.
The group then comes up with a plan to lay a trap made of explosives. A protective Djarin once again leaves Grogu at a safe distance while he battles and eventually slays the dragon. Djarin tucks away a piece of the dragon’s meat which Grogu notices.
You might say that as child-like as Grogu is, there is hardly anything that escapes Baby Yoda, especially when it comes to Djarin. With Vanth not being what Djarin was looking for, he and Grogu ride away on their speeder bike.
Frog Eggs Get Grogu Curious…again!
Djarin decides to go back to Mos Eisley with Grogu. But on the way, they are attacked by bounty hunters who are after Grogu. They succeed in taking the Jedi hostage but Djarin makes a deal with them and retrieves Grogu for his jetpack.
But he tricks them and gets his jetpack back but they have to move forward on foot now. The father figure that he is, Djarin secures Grogu in a cloth and starts moving towards Trask.
Once again, Djarin seeks Peli Motto’s help to locate another Mandalorian. They team up with Frog Lady who claims that her husband had spotted the Mandalorians. They leave Tatooine along with Frog Lady and her eggs.
Once again, a curious and frog-loving Grogu spots the eggs and starts snacking on them secretly till he is caught and reprimanded by Djarin who puts him in a bunk. But that hardly stops Grogu.
The little Jedi gets back on eating a whole lot of eggs while they crash land on the ice planet, damaging the Razor Crest. A bunch of events take place here. While they fix the ship from landing damage, the Frog Lady wanders off.
Djarin and Grogu go out in search of her. They encounter spider eggs that Grogu starts to snack on. This wakes up the ice spiders who chase them back to the ship. They escape the spiders, repair the ship and escape the planet.
When they finally arrive on Trask, the trio crash land once again in the harbor. Frog Lady reunites with her husband and Djarin and Grogu go to a tavern. Knowing that Grogu loves soup, Djarin orders some for him and discusses a deal with a Quareen captain. These are creatures with tentacles that look like squids.
One of them crawls out of the soup and attacks Grogu. Father figure Djarin steps in, removes the insect and tells Grogu to stop playing with the food.
Djarin and Grogu head towards a trawler where they hope to find more information on the Mandalorians. But this turns out to be untrue and the clan of two gets into more trouble.
They are attacked by the creatures for Djarin’s armor but they are rescued by the Nite Owls. Grogu is saved from the creatures but his crib gets irreparably damaged. The Nite Owls are headed by Bo-Katan Kryze who claims to be from a faction of Mandalorians.
But Djarin and Grogu get out of there and head back to the port. They get into more trouble and are once again saved by a different group of the Nite Owls. This time, Djarin and Grogu make a combined decision to listen to them. They finish their business with Kryze and go back to Trask. Kryze gives them a tip about the location of a Jedi called Ahsoka Tano.
Back at Nevarro: Using the Force for Cookies
The Razor Crest’s previous repairs don’t hold up for a long journey, which forces Djarin and Grogu to stop and fix it. They try to do it on their own but Grogu is not of much help.
When he accidentally electrocutes himself while working with the wires, Djarin decides to go to Nevarro for proper help. We learn that while Grogu has many skills, mechanical help isn’t one of those.
Here, Grogu is sent to a school while Djarin joins forces with Greef Karga and Cara Dune to destroy the last standing Imperial base. We know that Grogu is curious but turns out he’s not good at listening and following instructions.
When a droid explains protocol, instead of paying attention, Grogu is seen asking a boy next to him for a cookie. That seems insignificant except when the boy denies Grogu the cookie, the Jedi uses the Force to get the whole pack of cookies.
Eventually, Djarin gets the Razor Crest repaired and they leave. On the way, there is a dogfight which causes Djarin to do some tricky piloting. They come out of it safely but Grogu throws up the cookies he obtained by force (get it?).
Finding the Other Jedi: Grogu Uses the Force to Connect with Her
Then they set course to Corvus, a forest planet to locate Ahsoka Tano. When they reach Corvus, Djarin has to make a deal with Morgan Elsbeth, the local Magistrate.
The deal is to find and kill Tano in exchange for a spear that is made of beskar, the same material as Djarin’s highly coveted armor. Grogu is with him this whole time and if you remember, nothing escapes him.
They head into a forest where they are ambushed by Tano. Djarin and Tano lock horns briefly till the Jedi notices Grogu and realizes why Djarin is here. Later in the day, Tano and Grogu use the Force to connect with each other when Baby Yoda tells her his story with Djarin.
Tano tries to use the Force once again the following morning but Grogu doesn’t follow her command. Instead, he listens when Djarin asks him to do the same.
This worries Tano because she thinks that their bond is too strong and it might spell trouble for Grogu. Tano is worried that Grogu will end up like her master.
Instead of pushing her luck, Tano tells Djarin how to find the planet Tython where he will find the ruins of the ancient temple. She reveals to Djarin that this will help Grogu choose his destiny and bids them adieu.
Planet Tython: An Aura of Incredible Strength
Once they arrive on planet Tython, Djarin places Grogu on a seeing stone. Here, there is a big moment when Grogu tries and successfully contacts another Jedi.
Djarin and Grogu have a disagreement when the former wants Baby Yoda to do his thing. His instructions are unclear because he doesn’t understand how the Force works.
As a result, Grogu doesn’t do anything (meaning doesn’t use the Force) and this ends up annoying Djarin.
There is a disturbance in the nearby atmosphere which keeps Djarin busy and while he is working on that, Grogu starts meditating and creates an aura around him.
This is an incredible moment because we see the power of the force field Grogu can create around him and how it works vis-a-vis.
We see that it stops Djarin from getting to Grogu. The Mandalorian leaves him be and decides to check out the disturbance which turns out to be another ship with a bounty hunter, stormtroopers and Gideon himself.
A majestic battle ensues. Baba Fett, the bounty hunter and Fennec Shand, his accomplice wanted Djarin’s armor and they threatened to shoot Grogu if he didn’t. Deep in meditation, Grogu knew nothing about the battle around him.
Meanwhile, Gideon’s stormtroopers tried to enter the temple and get hold of Grogu. They destroy Razor Crest in the process, leaving the clan of two no way of escaping.
Djarin tries to get hold of the little guy a few times but fails because of the force field around the Jedi. In fact, he gets incapacitated when Fett and Shand step in for him and defend Grogu. When he wakes up, he tries to reach Grogu again but with no luck.
While they manage to drive away the stormtroopers, unfortunately for them all, Gideon sends some dark troopers to capture Grogu. And by the time they approach him, Grogu finishes his meditation which dissolves the force field and leaves him vulnerable.
Gideon’s forces capture Grogu and take him to the cruiser and Djarin loses him. With the help of Fett and Shand, Djarin sets force to retrieve Grogu. They head to Nevarro and get Cara Dune’s help. They also get the former sharpshooter Migs Mayfield hoping it will add firepower to their crew.
Meanwhile, back in Gideon’s cruiser, we see Grogu in a cell where he fights a couple of stormtroopers using the Force. As you remember, this is an exhausting activity for Baby Yoda.
But the act captures Gideon’s attention who taunts him with the Darksaber. When Grogu fails to capture it from Gideon, the latter gloats, orders Grogu to be bound and leaves the brig.
The Final Mission: Rescue, Retrieve and Return the Jedi
As we near the end, we see Djarin and his crew successfully learn the coordinates of Gideon’s cruiser. In the process, we see some sacrifices made by Djarin which show how much he cares for Grogu.
Along with Dune, Fett and Shand, Djarin challenges Gideon and gets on the cruiser where Grogu is imprisoned. They also take Dr. Pershing as a prisoner in the process. We also see Kryze join the rescue mission to help Djarin.
On board the cruiser, Djarin finds the brig and Grogu but sees Gideon with the Darksaber right over the Jedi. Gideon wanted Grogu’s blood and he tricks Djarin by lying to him that he had enough of it from The Child.
And when Djarin approaches Grogu, Gideon attacks him with the Darksaber. Djarin fights him off with his beskar weapons and accessories but Grogu is still in the cell.
There are some more theatrics as Djarin retrieves Grogu from his cell and heads towards the bridge of the cruiser. The dark troopers on the bridge are thwarted by an X-wing starfighter.
Goodbye Djarin: Grogu Is Back to His Jedi Training
In the last chapter of The Mandalorian, we see that a figure emerges from the mysterious starfighter. Djarin recognizes the figure to be a Jedi and stays out of his way. The Jedi takes his hood and, BIG REVEAL, it’s
It is also revealed that when Grogu was meditating on the planet of Tython, he was connecting with Skywalker.
Din Djarin accomplishes his mission of reuniting Grogu with his kind. There’s an emotional moment when he removes his helmet and reveals his face to Grogu. Grogu sees Luke but is convinced to go along only when he sees R2-D2 next to him.
He starts walking towards R2-D2 when Luke picks him up. Thus, this starts the beginning of Grogu’s training on using the Force with
The story is elaborate and filled with a lot of mazes. But The Mandalorian is a deep dive into the ways of the Jedi through Baby Yoda or Grogu or The Child.
The Book Of Boba Fett
After the first season, Grogu Makes a return in The Book of Boba Fett. Din Djarin gifts a Beskar chainmail vest via Askoka to give to Grogu. Grogu is training with Luke. After being given an impossible choice by
Brad Burnie is the founder of Starships.com. He loves all video game genres. In his spare time, he loves reading, watching movies, and gaming