The fans have spoken and Baby Yoda is definitely a character favorite from The Mandalorian season 1, so we put together our list of greatest Baby Yoda moments, both adorable and awesome.
With those big brown eyes, large fuzzy ears and a heart of pure gold, The Child in The Mandalorian — affectionately referred to by fans as “Baby Yoda” — arguably the most adorable character ever to grace the Star Wars universe. There have been hundreds of memes surrounding the little creature and even holiday plush toys made in his honor. So we decided to pay our own tribute by making a list of the 15 greatest Baby Yoda moments from The Mandalorian season 1.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
To give a little background for those who may not be familiar with the phenomenon that is Baby Yoda, this tiny green alien is the source of many events that take place in The Mandalorian. Bounty hunter Dyn Jarren, known throughout most of the show’s season as “The Mandalorian” or “Mando,” is hired by a wealthy client to retrieve a mysterious, 50-year-old life form from the desert planet Arvala-7. When Mando arrives, he discovers he’s not the only one who’s been hired for the job. A killer droid has been sent to terminate the life form and bring its body back for research.
When Mando, who has briefly teamed up with the droid to split the reward, discovers the life form to be an alien infant, who looks an awful lot like Jedi Master Yoda, Mando kills the hired droid on the spot and takes “Baby Yoda” back to the client. Eventually, unable to live with the guilt of leaving the child with Imperial stormtroopers and a scientist with experimentation on the mind, Mando steals the child back and acts as the little one’s guardian.
While Baby Yoda starts out as simply an adorable passenger on Mando’s journeys, The Child begins to show his true, force-wielding colors as the episodes go on. Baby Yoda saves Mando on multiple occasions from Mud Horn monsters and flaming weapons and even shows a knack for trickery with enemies. Though still very much a baby, with some of the most tearfully sweet moments every seen in Star Wars, Baby Yoda is as much adorable as he is totally awesome. The moments on our list of 15 greatest Baby Yoda moments are a mix of both.
The E.T. moment
This is probably one of the most iconic moments from The Mandalorian‘s first season, where Mando and Baby Yoda meet for the first time and share a sincere, and perhaps a slightly familiar, moment.
After Mando has murdered the killer droid assigned to “terminate” Baby Yoda for the same client that hired Mando to bring The Child back alive, Mando stares down at the big-eared, big-eyed, green infant, nestled inside a little bassinet-like pod and the two characters reach out their fingers to touch.
For those familiar with alien cinema at all, you’ll recognize this tender moment as being very similar to scenes from E.T., whose film poster also illustrates both a human and alien index finger meeting in the middle. But just because this scene is familiar, it doesn’t make it any less special.
With Mando being a bounty hunter, with the intention to never get attached to anyone, and Baby Yoda having been held captive for who knows how many years, the end of Episode 1 is a turning point for both characters. This is possibly the first time in many years Mando has felt true compassion for any creature and the first time Baby Yoda hasn’t felt scared or alone. It really sets the tone for this character relationship in the rest of the season.
Mud Horn rumble
In Episode 2, while still on the desert planet Arvala-7, Mando’s ship is ransacked by a group of Jawas. To get the parts of his ship back, Mando makes a deal with the Jawas to retrieve “The Egg” from a Mud Horn cave. It isn’t long before events go south and Mando takes a heavy beating from the horn of the mud monster.
As Mando is thrown around by the Mud Horn and realizing that his death is close at hand, Baby Yoda–who has been on the sidelines watching anxiously from his pod–uses The Force to stop the Mud Horn from charging at Mando. Not only that, but The Child actually manages to levitate the creature off the ground.
This gives Mando enough time to stab the creature, though Baby Yoda falls into a deep sleep in his bassinet, exhausted from his efforts. This is the first time Mando sees Baby Yoda use The Force, and it may be his first time even seeing The Force at work. It’s an exciting moment in the series that foreshadows future events and gives Mando a sense of why Baby Yoda had such a high bounty on his head. It’s also a pretty amazing scene for viewers to watch such a tiny creature stop a massive alien rhino with his tiny little hand.
The Child healer
The run-in with the Mud Horn is not the only time Baby Yoda attempts to use The Force in Episode 2. Before getting their ship parts back from the Jawas, and before attempting battle with the Mud Horn, Mando tries to commandeer the Jawas’ sand crawler and get his ship parts back by force.
Failing to do so, Mando sets up camp for the night and tends to his wounds, gotten from being electrocuted by the Jawas. Baby Yoda, being the sweetheart that he is, climbs out of his little bassinet pod, hobbles over to Mando and reaches out his hand to use The Force to heal Mando’s arm.
Mando, either not understanding what The Child is trying to do or believing the baby wants to be picked up, puts Baby Yoda back into his pod. The best part about this scene is that Baby Yoda attempt this one or two more times–climbing out of his pod, clumsily walking over to Mando and trying so gosh-darn hard to heal his rescuer’s wounds. While he’s unable to use The Force at this time, it’s really one of the cutest things ever watching the little one wants so badly to help Mando.
Froggy is served
There are few greater pleasures in life than watching a 16-inch baby alien, barely able to walk, attempt to chase a frog, capture it, and gobble the thing whole. Maybe it’s a little disturbing, but Baby Yoda has to eat too.
What’s adorable about these scenes, and why they’ve made it on the list of the greatest Baby Yoda moments, is that they show The Child’s distinctive personality–both rebellious and humorous–and it makes Baby Yoda more than just an adorable face in the show.
Twice in The Mandalorian, Baby Yoda chases a frog–the first being at dinner time in Episode 2 where The Child disobeys Mando’s orders to spit out the frog and, instead, Baby Yoda swallows it, legs and all–but the second is possibly the most precious.
In Episode 4, The Child and Mando have come to the aid of forest planet Sorgan, where a village of shrimp farmers are being attacked by Klatooinian raiders. Baby Yoda is quick to befriend the children of the village and entertains them by capturing a frog, putting it in his mouth and spitting the creature out as the children shriek with delight. It’s the first time we’ve seen Baby Yoda have a clear sense of humor and we love it.
Don’t touch the button
Other than catching frogs for an afternoon snack, another favorite pastime of Baby Yoda’s in The Mandalorian is exploring the gizmos and gadgets on Mando’s space ship. While The Child spends most of his time during flight in his pod, strapped to the back seat, he always eventually makes his way to the steering station at the front or in Mando’s lap.
In Episode 4, as Baby Yoda and Mando set off on their next adventure, The Child is at the front of the ship, gazing around at all the blinking lights on the inside of the cockpit. Baby Yoda sets his sights on a big green button right next to him. He pushes it, naturally, and an odd sound is heard in the ship. Mando clicks another button, without saying a word, and goes back to steering.
Baby Yoda clicks the green button again resulting in a firm, “Stop touching things,” from Mando. Baby Yoda pouts his ears at first, then perks up and stares at Mando as he slowly reaches for a new button, which he presses, and the ship begins to shake. But instead of getting angry, Mando just puts the rebellious baby in his lap, like a dad.
Joystick or baby toy?
Of course, buttons are not the only bright and shiny new thing that captures Baby Yoda’s attention on the ship. Funnily enough, Baby Yoda is also obsessed with the silver orb at the top of the ship’s joystick. On multiple occasions, The Child climbs out of his pod to sneak his way to the front of the ship to steal the orb. Whatever the appeal is, we’re thrilled that to see how the power of a tiny little metal object can make an already cute character even more precious.
At first, Mando scolds Baby Yoda, saying, “This is not a toy,” as he takes back the orb from The Child, who is trying to fit the silver ball in his mouth. Whether it’s because he’s still teething after 50 years or just likes all things shiny, Baby Yoda continues to go after the orb and Mando eventually gives in, handing it over as The Child’s first toy.
Not only is it fun watching Baby Yoda act like a stereotypical infant or toddler, but it’s also enjoyable to watch Mando grow more affectionate of Baby Yoda and take actions that are more and more like a father, rather than a bounty hunter. There’s a good chance he enjoys seeing Baby Yoda smile as much as we do.
Sipping on soup
When Mando and Baby Yoda, in an attempt to rest and steer clear of those still hunting down The Child, arrive on the Sorgan planet, the two make a stop in a nearby cafe and Mando orders Baby Yoda some soup, while noticing a suspicious woman sitting at an opposite table. When the woman suddenly disappears, Mando asks the cafe owner to look after The Child while he tracks down the woman. Once getting outside, the woman, Cara Dune, attacks Mando in a hand-to-hand brawl.
The two draw their guns and suddenly stop fighting when Mando notices that Baby Yoda has been watching them on the sidelines, calmly sipping his soup. While the scene is pretty cute, the little green alien enjoying his tiny cup of hot lunch, there’s something a little more curious and interesting about this scene. Baby Yoda has always been quick to come to Mando’s aid in any other dangerous situation. As far as we can tell, there’s only one explanation: the food was more important.
It’s pretty funny to think that Baby Yoda was so lost in filling his tiny tummy with his soup that he didn’t think to offer any assistance to Mando during the fight. He is, after all, just a kid.
The “Oops” moment
We have to admit, not all Baby Yoda moments are pleasant, especially the ones where it seems like The Child is at risk of being hurt or endangered by ruffians and thugs.
In Episode 6, Mando has to team up with some unpleasant former acquaintances for another bounty hunting job, and these people do not treat Baby Yoda well. One member of the group even drops The Child and it’s unpleasant to watch. But, Baby Yoda is tougher, and more clever, than he appears.
While on the job, Mando has to leave Baby Yoda on the ship with a droid named Zero while the bounty hunting group goes to free a prisoner of the New Republic. Eventually, the group turns on Mando and tries to have him imprisoned in place of the prisoner. Meanwhile, Zero tries to kill Baby Yoda on the ship.
Baby Yoda manages to evade Zero for a while, the little one sneaking around the ship, but eventually Zero corners him and Baby Yoda attempts to use The Force. Zero suddenly starts sparking and exploding and Baby Yoda hilariously looks at his own hand, eyes wide in shock. But it turns out the sparks were not caused by The Child, but Mando killing Zero from behind.
Baby Yoda’s (brief) joy ride
In Episode 7, after Mando has requested the help of friend Cara Dune (from Episode 4) in his effort to take down his original client and ensure Baby Yoda’s safety, the trio is on Mando’s ship with Dune and Mando discussing plans of action. Baby Yoda, left by himself in the cockpit, is shown spying (upside down) on Dune and Mando from the flight area of the ship. Seeing the two are busy talking, The Child slowly disappears into the cockpit.
Suddenly, the whole ship begins to shake wildly and Dune and Mando rush up to the flight area to see what the problem is. There, they find an all-too-happy Baby Yoda giggling loudly while wreaking havoc on the flight controls–devices the infant has been eyeing ever since Mando first brought him on the ship.
While in previous episodes, Baby Yoda has been shown to have a calm demeanor and conduct actions that are wise beyond his years, this is a truly special moment we get to see The Child act like a truly rebellious, unsophisticated, thrill-seeking baby. It’s a glorious moment to behold and one that ultimately leads to Mando deciding to hire a babysitter. This scene leads to the introduction of droid IG-11, who also plays a critical role in Baby Yoda’s life.
The dangers of arm wrestling
As we’ve stated before, not all Baby Yoda moments are cute, and this one was downright shocking.
While Mando and Dune are locked in a playful arm wrestling match on the ship, Baby Yoda seems to be entertained by the spectacle. As he reaches up his arm to use The Force, it’s initially suspected he might be in a playful mood himself, using the force to help pull Dune’s arm onto the table. But then Dune begins to choke and reaches for her throat as Baby Yoda’s hand turns to a fist to kill her, thinking that he’s saving Mando from harm. From his squinting eyes and pierced mouth, the little guy seems to be acting without mercy in mind, which is chilling to think about.
Though Mando quickly stops The Child from killing Dune, explaining that they’re friends, Baby Yoda looks like he’s taken out of a daze and starts to cry a little. This scene, while disturbing, is still one of the greatest Baby Yoda moments as it offers a very necessary glimpse into how even such a young child can use The Force for darkness when they start to become afraid. Fear, after all, was the catalyst for Anakin turning to the Dark Side. It’s a struggle we may see Baby Yoda face again in season 2.
Baby Yoda’s second joy ride
Our favorite little green baby might have only had a brief moment of pure glee when he took over piloting duties on Mando’s ship, but Baby Yoda gets another chance at an exciting ride in Episode 8 when Baby Yoda’s droid nurse IG-11 , a reprogrammed version of the same droid who tried to kill him in Episode 1, saves The Child from abusive storm troopers on a desert speeder. If there was any question about IG-11’s loyalty to Baby Yoda, those doubts are shattered as the droid utterly destroys these two troopers, declaring, “I am this child’s nurse droid!”
Putting Baby Yoda in a backpack, IG-11 rides into battle to save a cornered Mando, Dune and another bounty hunter named Greef Karga. With Baby Yoda still strapped to his front, the droid begins firing on multiple storm troopers as Baby Yoda smiles and laughs, seemingly enjoying every moment of both his speedy adventure and the troopers’ demise.
It’s a fun scene to watch and a nice comedy relief after seeing the first two stormtroopers hit Baby Yoda on the head multiple times. That’s enough to fill us all with a fiery rage.
A fiery victory
Speaking of fire, Baby Yoda really shines in Episode 8 when he manages to stop a fire blast aimed at his friends. While Mando is fatally injured from battle and the other four–Dune, Karga, The Child and IG-11–are trapped in a room, cornered by Imperial remnant commander Moff Gideon and his stormtroopers, things seem pretty bleak for The Mandalorian heroes. But they have a secret weapon even they don’t know they had up their sleeve.
As a new stormtrooper appears on the scene, painted in red and carrying a large flame thrower weapon, Gideon’s goal is to smoke out the group and capture The Child. But Baby Yoda has other plans.
When the stormtrooper enters the room, he begins to launch flames at Mando and his group. Baby Yoda stands up, raises his hand in true epic Star Wars fashion, and not only stops the flames, but he sends them flying back at the stormtrooper, saving his friends in the process. Baby Yoda’s silhouette in front of a mass of red flames is an awesome picture and his effortless attack on the stormtrooper is just way too satisfying for words to describe.
Mando’s a father
There are many points in this story where Mando is regarded as being Baby Yoda’s father. Once by one of the women at the shrimp farm village in Episode 4 where she refers to The Child as Mando’s “boy,” and again by a Tatooine repair woman named Peli Motto, who says Mando has a lot to learn about raising a child. But it’s not until Mando is officially assigned the task of being Baby Yoda’s father by his Mandalorian Armorer that things start to get really emotional.
Mando has acted like The Child’s guardian in numerous instances up until this point, but the word “father” has not been used. This is the first time Mando is named as a parent and given the title, and when Baby Yoda looks at him and begins cooing, it’s almost too much to take.
There’s also a scene later on when the battle is finally over, that Baby Yoda walks over to Mando and hugs his legs, looking up at his “dad” and smiling. There have been some characteristically child-like moments on Baby Yoda’s part throughout the season, but this action takes the cake. Mando is where he feels safe. Mando is what he regards as home. It’s heartbreaking in all the best ways.
Death of a droid nurse
Other than the death of Kuiil, a former indentured servant who befriends Mando and helps protect The Child with his life in Episode 7, the death of Baby Yoda’s droid nurse is one of the saddest deaths of the season. IG-11’s first death by Mando was welcomed at the beginning of the season as he was an imminent threat to our beloved Baby Yoda. But in this episode, you want so badly for him to live for Baby Yoda’s sake. While the focus is not technically on Baby Yoda, he is one of the reasons this scene is such a hard pill to swallow.
After being anti-droid for most of the season, Mando has finally learned to trust one droid, IG-11, because it saved both his life and dedicated its sole function to protecting The Child. At the end of Episode 8, IG-11 offers one last act of service–self-destructing in an explosion to kill a horde of stormtroopers–all to save Baby Yoda and Mando.
As IG-11 walks down the lava river to his death, Baby Yoda watches his droid nurse both leave him and self destruct for his sake. It’s the second time Baby Yoda has had to watch a friend die for him and the look on his face suggests he’s wrestling with that sadness. We certainly are.
Honorary Mandalorian
Prior to the death of IG-11, who heals Mando’s fatal head wound, Mando gave Dune a Mandalorian necklace to show the guild if Mando did not survive. It was to offer her safe passage into the guild and act as proof that Mando wanted her and The Child protected by the other Mandalorians. While Mando does make it out alive and well, he discovers that the majority of his guild has been defeated and killed.
Back on the ship, Mando sees that Baby Yoda now has the necklace in his possession, The Child sucking on the metal emblem. Mando tells Baby Yoda to keep the necklace and there are a few levels to that statement. It could be simply a kind gesture from father to son, or it could be that Mando wants his boy to have a way to identify with the guild should anything happen to Mando.
In another sense, Mando giving The Child the necklace could be illustrating the point that the two of them are their own guild now. After all, they are officially family. Either way, it’s truly touching.