7 questions 'The Mandalorian' still needs to answer in Season 2

The Mandalorian has officially wrapped on Season 1 with Episode 8, “Redemption.” As we closed out a rollercoaster first season — with some admittedly slow parts in the middle — we learned even more about the Mandalorian’s origins. That includes Mando’s real name (Din Djarin), Cara Dune’s home planet, and the fearsome power of Moff Gideon.

As the Mandalorian, Cara Dune, and Greef Karga only outmaneuvered Gideon and his troopers, a new mission emerged: Evade the Empire and return Baby Yoda to his home planet. But this new mission comes with a lot of new questions that The Mandalorian Season 2 will (hopefully) answer.

Before we can leave Season 1 in our rearview mirror, we have to discuss seven of the most pressing questions still left unanswered. Buckle up because we’re about to go deep on The Mandalorian Season 2 and everything it needs to explain.

Warning: Total spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 1 below.

7. What planet is Baby Yoda from?

You’d think after eight episodes we’d be a little closer to knowing some key information about Baby Yoda. Alas, we are not. However, the Season 1 finale did set up the forthcoming search for Baby Yoda’s origins, which should occupy at least one episode of Season 2, if not the entire season.

Even though the original Yoda was created somewhat hastily by George Lucas back in the ‘80s with no serious thought given to his origin story — more on that here — there has been more than enough time for Lucas and/or his collaborators to get their act together and flesh out Yoda’s origins as well as his species. And yet, here we are, a full 42 years later with no clear answers. We don’t even know what part of the galaxy he is from — which is going to prove tough for both Baby Yoda and Mando as they search for answers.

With Lucas acolyte Dave Filoni and the Star Wars-approved Jon Favreau working closely together on The Mandalorian, there will be some fun twists in revealing what planet Baby Yoda is from, what his species is named, what they’re like, and so on. Knowing a character’s planet of origin is a major key to understanding who they are in the world of Star Wars. If you need further evidence of that, consider how important it was to learn Cara Dune is from Alderaan, the same planet as Leia and the same planet blown up by the Death Star.

Cara’s origins explain why she’s so game to return to Nevarro and fight the Empire. So maybe Baby Yoda’s home planet will explain his backstory too.

6. What exactly are the rules of being a Mandalorian?

While the Mandalorian, Cara Dune, and Greef Karga are stuck in their face-off with Moff Gideon, Gideon reveals the Mandalorian’s true name — Djen Djarin — and key information about Mando’s past. This is followed by an exchange between our three heroes:

The Mandalorian: “I was not born on Mandalore.”

Greef Karga: “But you’re a Mandalorian.”

Cara Dune: “Mandalorian isn’t a race.”

The Mandalorian: “It’s a creed.”

The implications here might be confusing, especially since the planet Mandalore and the Mandalorian people (a.k.a. the Mandalorian race) are both real and canon. As such, we’re gonna need Season 2 to go even deeper on what the Mandalorian creed and how strict it really is, especially since some of these alleged rules have been broken in other Star Wars stories.

Consider the Mandalorian’s resolution to never take off his helmet in front of another person, suggesting that removing it could result in losing his Mandalorian status, or worse. Yet in the animated Clone Wars show, the Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren takes her helmet off in front of people all the time.

The Mandalorian also shared in Episode 2 that it was against his religion to put down his weapon. Mando does this more than once in Season 1, so, uh, what gives? Was this a joke? Or are there weird, situation-specific sub-rules about laying down a weapon in the Mandalorian religion/creed?

Even the Mandalorian refrain, “This is the way” seems flexible. In Episode 8, the Armorer tells Mando he must protect Baby Yoda and see out his home planet despite sharing mere moments earlier that the Mandalorians don’t have a pleasant history with the Jedi or Force-sensitive individuals like the Mandalorian. Of course, we know Mando is going to protect Baby Yoda no matter what, but it seems convenient to just declare “This is the way” as if it immediately smoothes over any past problems.

5. What is the former Empire’s plan for Baby Yoda?

We had a brief glimpse at what the Empire may have been planning to do with Baby Yoda in Episode 3, “The Sin.” After handing over Baby Yoda to the Client and Dr. Pershing, the Mandalorian has second thoughts. He returns back and frees Baby Yoda from the restraints as an IT-O Interrogator hovers above. In case you forgot, IT-O Interrogators are no good, very bad; back in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Darth Vader used one on Leia to extract information about the Rebel Alliance.

Dr. Pershing is also interesting. Before the Mandalorian jailbreaks Baby Yoda, we see Pershing is sporting the Kamino cloner symbol on his sleeve. No, Pershing isn’t Kaminoan, but he’s clearly connected. Is he trying to clone Baby Yoda into a new army of Force-sensitive soldiers?

The Mandalorian may have thrown a serious wrench in the Empire’s plans, but he isn’t in the clear yet. Moff Gideon is still alive and will likely be hellbent on catching Baby Yoda in Season 2. Expect another faceoff, and hopefully, when that happens, we’ll finally find out why he wants this green baby so bad.

4. How was Baby Yoda’s existence first discovered?

It felt extremely thrilling to come to the end of Episode 1 and discover the bounty worth a buttload of Beskar was none other than wee Baby Yoda. But The Mandalorian has mostly remained tight-lipped on how the remnants of the Empire became aware of Baby Yoda’s existence to begin with.

Baby Yoda might be 50 years old but it’s not like he’s out here walking and talking and drawing the attention of the Empire. Instead, Baby Yoda barely clears 2 feet in height, weighs about as much as my Starbucks order, and coos when he’s happy — y’know, like a baby. So, if anyone is spilling the beans on Baby Yoda’s existence, it’s not this little green guy.

Which brings us to all kinds of questions regarding Baby Yoda’s life before the Mandalorian discovered him on Arvala-7, including who was taking care of Baby Yoda from the ages of 0-49 and who possibly alerted the Empire to his existence. Baby Yoda’s previous caregiver could also be the person who ratted him out.

Or, it’s possible Baby Yoda was in the care of, say, the remnants of the Rebel Alliance (that might explain the aforementioned IT-O extractor and Pershing’s use of it to extract coordinates for the Empire…) and he was exposed by a mole in the ranks.

Or maybe it was extremely dumb luck that the Empire stumbled onto Baby Yoda? Either way, this is something that can, should, and must be answered in Season 2 if only because it will provide pivotal information about our favorite alien baby.

3. Do all members of Yoda’s species have Force sensitivity?

This goes hand-in-hand with questions around Baby Yoda’s planet of origin. If and when Season 2 gives fans even more questions about Baby Yoda’s species, it will be important to address the nature of Baby Yoda’s Force sensitivity.

He’s displayed great power and command of the Force relative to physical maturity. This lines up with our previous knowledge, thanks to the prequel trilogy, that Yoda was one of the few beings to have ever had an extremely high Midi-chlorian count (Anakin Skywalker’s was higher) which allowed him to control the Force better than his peers.

Since Baby Yoda is ostensibly from the same species as Yoda and is already showing Yoda-levels of Force control, does this mean the entire species is just as powerful? Or are Baby Yoda and Yoda similar to other species insofar as they are the exceptions rather than the rule? It’s a tricky question, but if it’s tackled in Season 2 it could really unlock some truths about Baby Yoda.

2. What are Luke, Leia, and Han up to at this point in time?

Remember these wild and crazy kids? You know, the ones who helped destroy the Empire just five years before the start of The Mandalorian? Well, Luke, Han, and Leia are still alive and have moved on with their lives while we’ve been watching the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda gallivant across the Outer Rim.

Thanks to The Rise of Skywalker, we know Luke is currently trying to track down the Sith Wayfinder that leads to the secret Sith planet Exegol. Meanwhile, Han and Leia are getting ready to have their son, Ben Solo, while the Rebellion transforms into the New Republic and hunts down the remaining Imperial forces. Lando’s also out there somewhere.

The Mandalorian Season 2 has the unique opportunity of catching up with these iconic characters in some way since they are all still in the relatively immediate aftermath of the Battle of Endor and are processing their new lives post-Empire. They were major figures in defeating the Empire, and legends have a way of living on in Star Wars. So it’s hard to imagine they won’t get name-checked in Season 2 or even revealed to be characters with a role to play in the next season’s story.

1. How was Baby Yoda created?

The origins of Baby Yoda are a complete and total mystery. Considering how rare this species is in the world of Star Wars (to date, we only know about Grand Master Yoda, Yaddle, and now Baby Yoda), it’s time to start really considering how Baby Yoda was made. This will likely be addressed or, at minimum, will have more clues dropped in relation to the topic in Season 2.

Right now, we’re dealing with a few logical options. The first is the semi-chilling thought of Yoda and Yaddle knocking boots before Yoda perished in the original trilogy. The timing of Baby Yoda’s birth would put him as entering into the world between the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy.

But we can’t ignore two other options which could be revealed in Season 2 as part of Mando and Baby Yoda’s journey. As seen with Snoke in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the Clone army in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, cloning is a popular option in this galaxy. Just as we learned in Rise of Skywalker that Snoke was not one-of-a-kind but in fact one of many Snoke clones being used by Palpatine, It’s possible Baby Yoda is just one of many Yoda clones created from the Grand Master Jedi’s DNA (or whatever the alien equivalent of DNA is).

The other option: Baby Yoda is a being made purely by the Force, which would explain his basic but powerful wielding of it throughout The Mandalorian Season 1. This would be an earth-shattering revelation in the world of Star Wars and would take both Baby Yoda and Mando into some very interesting directions in Season 2.

The Mandalorian Season 1 is currently available to stream on Disney+. Season 2 is coming… eventually.