Mandalorian Season 2's big twist may be explained in Rise of Skywalker book
Why's everyone after Baby Yoda?
The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization confirmed how Emperor Palpatine managed to survive his fall in Return of the Jedi. However, Rae Carson’s book also revealed that, while Palpatine’s son was a clone and a proper physical host, he was not Force sensitive. That’s where Baby Yoda comes into play. The Mandalorian spent a lot of Season 1 protecting the sweetest creature in the galaxy, and a fascinating new theory suggests the Episode IX novelization might finally explain a major Baby Yoda mystery ahead of The Mandalorian Season 2.
Speculative spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian.
During the second episode of The Mandalorian, Baby Yoda used the Force for the first time to protect Mando from a beastly creature. While fans have long speculated that the Galactic Empire seeks the unnamed child due to his ability to harness the Force, it’s never been confirmed.
Were Palpatine's goons after this little guy?
Reddit user HootWest, however, may have found the answer to the Baby Yoda mystery. The theorist suggests that everyone is after the adorable green creature because they “want to work out how to harness his naturally occurring midichlorians and use [them] on a clone.”
Let’s backtrack. Midichlorians were first introduced in 1999’s The Phantom Menace. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jin explains to young Anakin Skywalker that midichlorians are essentially a life force living inside every living organism. The implication is that the more midichlorians one has, the stronger they are in the Force. With that in mind, it’s possible the Sith Eternal, the dark power of the Force that Palpatine called upon to save him from death, wanted to experiment on Baby Yoda to create the ultimate Palpatine clone.
Baby Yoda's midichlorians may make Palps a better clone.
It makes a lot of sense in the context of the information gleaned from The Rise of Skywalker’s novelization and everyone’s obsession with capturing Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian. Up until that point, Palpatine’s clone hadn’t been perfected and Baby Yoda’s Force power and seemingly high midichlorian count might be the key to fixing the issues.
Perhaps Palpatine himself created Baby Yoda as part of the initial cloning process and was simply trying to get him back. That last one’s admittedly more of a stretch. However, considering how many hoops the Episode IX book jumped through in an attempt to make sense of the movie, the idea that Palpatine’s cloning process started with Baby Yoda may not be as impossible as it sounds. Either way, The Mandalorian Season 2 will hopefully clear up the questions surrounding Baby Yoda and what that might mean for the galaxy at large.
The Mandalorian Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ in October.
