This post contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett “Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger.”
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Master Yoda
In the last episode in The Book of Boba Fett, we see Grogu training with Luke Skywalker. While we are not sure which planet he is on, we know that this is the beginning of Luke’s Jedi Temple. While Grogu is training Din Djarin appears and leaves a gift for Grogu. This gift symbolizes the attachment that he represents. By the end, Luke decides that he must leave Grogu with an impossible choice.
This choice is between a lightsaber and a Beskar chainmail gown. This is essentially making Grogu choose between two paths, one that Luke perceives is a choice between the Light and Dark Side. With the guidance and wisdom of Ashoka Tano, whose own master was burdened with attachment the choice seems like a necessity. We have already seen Grogu struggle with the Dark Side, even bordering on its use to defend Din Djarin.
This defense of Din Djarin is the exact same base impulse that Ashoka would have seen in Anakin. Not only has Anakin seen his aggressive behavior in the defense of her, but she is well aware of what happened between Anakin and Padme. This impulse to defend through attachment is based on the fear of losing someone.
This brings us back to the quote that Master Yoda said to Anakin in the beginning, before he started his training. Fear is almost always the beginning of the path towards the dark side, and Luke’s fear of losing the new Jedi Order pushes him to force Grogu to make a choice. If he were to choose the Beskar, his attachment would be too strong for him to stand.
It is even more important because he will live for 100 hundreds of years. Grogu, like Yoda, has the chance to become the living wisdom of Luke’s Jedi Order. On the other hand, the strength of an attachment over time would likely only grow. That means that Grogu has to make a decision, or the fate of the Jedi would be hung on a time bomb of attachment.
The Book of Boba Fett is streaming now exclusively on Disney+.