Tamal Kundu
The second season of ‘The Mandalorian’ ends with the appearance of a young Luke Skywalker, who saves Djarin, Grogu, and their allies from the Dark Troopers combat droids. He takes Grogu, who used to be a Jedi Initiate before the fall of the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic, to complete his training. He tells Djarin, the youngling’s foster father, that while Grogu is strong with the Force, talent without training is nothing. He promises to protect the child with his life and warns the other man that Grogu will not be safe until he masters his ability. And yet, in episode 6 of ‘The Book of Boba Fett,’ he makes Grogu choose between continuing his Jedi training and returning to the Mandalorian bounty hunter. If you are wondering his reasons for such an action, we got you covered. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Why Did Luke Make Grogu Choose?
Grogu hails from the same mysterious species of aliens as Jedi Grand Master Yoda and is Force-sensitive. Luke is absolutely right when he says that the child faces serious danger until he learns to control his powers. The first two seasons of ‘The Mandalorian’ are basically about Djarin trying to keep Grogu alive while he searches for the Jedi. But as Luke begins to train the youngling, he discovers that the latter is still attached to his foster father. According to Jedi dogma, this is incredibly dangerous and might lead a Force-sensitive individual to the dark side. Luke even has his own father’s example to make him believe that the pursuit of detachment is the only and true way for the Jedi.
Grogu is supposed to be the first student of the Jedi school that we see being built in this episode. By the time of the sequel series, it is completed and housed several students at one point. When Luke makes Grogu choose between the Mandalorian and the Jedi Order, represented by Yoda’s lightsaber and Djarin’s beskar chainmail, he is, unfortunately, making the same mistakes as his predecessors. Before its fall, the Order had grown too complacent and dogmatic. Its members failed to see that elements within the Galactic Republic would cause their downfall. Order 66, Darth Vader, and Darth Sidious didn’t kill all the Jedi. According to George Lucas, the survivors chose to vanish into obscurity for their failure to protect the Republic.
Luke is supposed to represent a new hope for the Jedi Order and the galaxy at large, but he, too, can’t escape the old way of thinking. He ends up paying a steep price for this as well, when his own nephew, Ben Solo, turns to the dark side and kills his fellow students at the school.
Did Grogu Choose the Armor or Lightsaber?
Between the beskar chainmail armor that came from his foster father and Yoda’s lightsaber, Grogu ultimately chooses the former, effectively picking the Mandalorian way of loyalty and solidarity over the detachment of the Jedi. We see him reunite with Djarin in the season 1 finale of ‘The Book of Boba Fett.’
This clears up certain future plot points as well. Now that he is not a student at Luke’s school, he will not be there when Ben Solo goes on the rampage. He belongs to a species with a lifespan of nearly a thousand years. With Luke helping him regain his memories of the Jedi Academy, he can use it in the future to establish an order of Force users that seek the balance between the light and dark sides. He can also meet Rey, and they might work together to achieve this goal.
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