Grogu Needs a Jedi Master – and There’s Only One Clear Choice
Grogu chose not to train under Luke Skywalker, but he still needs a Jedi Master. With Ahsoka also saying no, there is only one clear choice left.
The Mandalorian is one of the best pieces of Star Wars entertainment to come from the Disney era of the franchise. That’s not only because of Din Djarin himself — and the wealth of information about his people that fans have received — but because of his surrogate son Grogu. Once affectionately known as Baby Yoda, the 50-year-old infant took the fandom by storm beginning with his first appearance. And season after season, he’s kept viewers coming back for more. In The Book of Boba Fett — frequently referred to as The Mandalorian Season 2.5 — Grogu rejected training by Luke Skywalker in favor of a life with his adoptive father Din Djarin. Yet as his powers grow, he will require a Jedi Master. With Ahsoka Tano also refusing to train him, that leaves one perfect candidate: fan-favorite Jedi Ezra Bridger.
Grogu refused to be a part of Luke’s Jedi Academy because Luke wanted him to forego attachments, like the old Jedi Order. That’s on its way out, as the future of the Star Wars universe dictates. Grogu didn’t want to give up his adoptive father, so he returned to Din on Tatooine. Ezra is the perfect Jedi to train Grogu, for many reasons. Ezra also became part of an adopted family on Star Wars Rebels. His attachments and relationships made him stronger. But while they did take him down a dark path, he found his way back to the light with the help of Kanan Jarrus and his friends. He understands Grogu’s situation better than most, and that can help him be a great guide and teacher. The events of the Ahsoka miniseries bring him back into the picture, with a new threat to face and new skills to help him. Grogu makes the ideal choice to become his new apprentice.
Updated on January 28, 2024 by Robert Vaux: The original article was written before the Ahsoka miniseries had aired. It has been updated to incorporate those events into the article as well as offering more details on Grogu’s journey thus far, and where it might go in the future. The article’s formatting has also been changed to keep with current CBR guidelines.
Ezra Bridger Is the Perfect Jedi to Train Grogu
Grogu will continue to grow his connection to the Force with or without a teacher, as illustrated by his impressive actions in The Mandalorian Season 3. If he follows the path of the other known members of his species — his potential parents Yoda and Yaddle — then Grogu will become immensely powerful. Even at his young age, he has performed tremendous feats of strength with the Force. But without any guidance, Grogu may wander down the path of the Dark Side. He is fiercely protective of Din… to the point that he once Force-choked Cara Dune.
Without learning to control his emotions, he could fall into darkness as he attempts to protect his adoptive father. Ezra has experienced all of this before. He would be the perfect teacher for the foundling. He can teach Grogu how to balance his attachments with his duty to the Force. He can also show Grogu how to strengthen his bond with different creatures. Ezra is well known for his ability to connect with animals; Grogu has shown that same aptitude. Ezra understands the trauma of losing people to the Empire before finding a home with a new family. Ezra can do for Grogu what Kanan was able to do for him: provide a family and a Master.
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It’s also worth noting that Grogu has more or less rejected the formal teachings of the Jedi when he left Luke and returned to Din Djarin during the events of The Book of Boba Fett. A teacher thus needs to be an independent thinker when it comes to The Force, but also firmly allied with The Light Side. The likes of Ahsoka’s Baylon Skoll demonstrate the dangers of the wrong teacher — presenting an even greater threat of sending Grogu into darkness — and yet with the infant uninterested in the Jedi’s teachings, prospective masters become very thin on the ground.
Ahsoka herself is already training Sabine Wren and has expressed that taking on Grogu would not be appropriate for her. Once again, that leaves Ezra, who returned to his home galaxy at the end of Ahsoka. He’s not strictly Jedi — having developed several techniques and philosophies on his own — yet he remains resolutely aligned to The Light Side. Furthermore, he has immediate problems that demand attention.
Ezra sacrificed himself in the Star Wars Rebels finale to remove the threat of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Now Thrawn has returned, and the Republic is once again in dire peril. Even worse, he appears to be aligning with the Nightsisters: giving him powerful Force-using allies to call upon. And with both Ahsoka and Sabine trapped in another galaxy as of Ahsoka’s Season 1 finale, Ezra can’t fight them all on his own. Grogu is rested and ready to go, as is Din Djarin, who himself makes a natural ally for Ezra. The Mandalorian himself always does better with a partner to play off of and has already recognized the need to find a Force teacher for Grogu. Ezra binds all of those qualities together in a single package.
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It also ties both Ezra and Grogu into one of Star Wars’ most important ongoing plot threads: the fate of Force users once the Jedi are extinct. Luke is preordained to turn out the lights on the Jedi for good, but as he observes in Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi, both the Light and the Dark Side endure. Rey Skywalker is presumably destined to build something new out of the ashes of the old, but until then, Force users are in uncharted territory. Ahsoka herself is a Jedi in all but name, but she no longer feels bound by their rules, while others like Skoll are going to find their path.
Grogu has an opportunity to shape the way The Force is used for decades — up to and even beyond whatever is planned for Rey — and Ezra is the perfect instruction to prepare him properly. Furthermore, it gives Ezra a chance to properly play the master — having spent Star Wars: Rebels as an apprentice — which opens up a whole new side of his character as well. Their journey could usher in a new era of Force use while Luke shuts down the old, and allows the franchise itself to deliver a new Force-suing disciple while still maintaining firm ties to what came before.
Finally, there’s a good reason to connect Ezra and Grogu for reasons that have nothing to do with the in-universe narrative. The Mandalorian’s fourth season is on the way — along with at least one movie — but sooner or later, it will come to an end. Actor Pedro Pascal is in high demand, and once the series loses forward momentum, he’ll likely move on. Ezra, on the other hand, finishes the first season of Ahsoka primed for a major role in the saga. Transferring Grogu from Din Djarin’s care to Ezra’s would keep him front and center in the series when Pascal departs, and allow him to play an important role in the years following the fall of the Empire.
Grogu will continue to show incredible strength with the Force, and he will use his power to protect his father Din Djarin. Especially with Luke Skywalker no longer in the picture, he needs guidance from a Jedi to keep growing and not fall to the dark side. Ezra is the only one who can keep Grogu on the right path and heal his past trauma. He can succeed where Luke was unable to, while still keeping Grogu’s compass pointed in the right direction. And now that he’s officially returned, pairing him with Dion Djarin’s adoptive son feels almost like a no-brainer.
