The Book of Boba Fett finale spoilers follow.
While The Book of Boba Fett was originally supposed to be a showcase for the fan-favorite bounty hunter, his first solo venture quickly shifted away from that towards a pick’n’mix assortment of treats made specifically for nostalgia-driven fans.
From Ahsoka and Cad Bane to Luke Skywalker and the Mandalorian, multiple characters from the wider universe have been paraded throughout this season to the joy of Star Wars fans everywhere. So, of course, it should come as no surprise that Baby Yoda ended up playing a key role in this show too, particularly in that final episode where he essentially saved everyone from the Rancor’s wrath.
Although Grogu’s arrival helps set up future events in The Mandalorian season three, he’s also included because he’s just cute AF. Disney knows that any extra glimpse of Baby Yoda here certainly wouldn’t hurt The Book of Boba Fett’s appeal in the long term, but it’s not all just fan service. In fact, Grogu’s return to Tatooine actually pokes fun at fans, or at least those who aren’t keen on his real name.
When the macaroon-loving munchkin arrives via X-Wing, Peli Motto freaks out, assuming that the authorities are on her case for, well, everything. But once the roof slides off, she quickly realizes that this visitor is none other than Baby Yoda, flown here with the help of an astro-mech (namely R2D2).
If Grogu had flown that ship himself, we just know he would have run that cassette tape out and there’d be blue sugary stains smeared all over the windows.
With his arrival in the beskar shirt, it’s clear that Baby Yoda has gone against Luke Skywalker’s teachings, choosing to follow his heart and search for Mando instead of becoming a Jedi Master.
But for Peli, that’s not the biggest surprise. For her, the revelation that Baby Yoda is actually called “Grogu” is far more shocking. “I’m not calling you that,” she says, and in doing so, Amy Sedaris echoes the sentiment of many fans who recoiled at that name when it was first uttered in episode five of The Mandalorian season two.
When Ahsoka accessed Grogu’s memories using the Force, we knew that some big revelations were coming, but it was the name itself that became the episode’s biggest talking point back then. And that’s primarily because we all spent so long describing him as Baby Yoda. The whole world fell in love with Baby Yoda, and that name was already ingrained in pop culture by this point, so forcing fans to reconsider that didn’t sit well with everyone.
Sure, some happily embraced the little guy’s new moniker — good name, that is — but there are enough tweet reactions and angry Reddit threads to suggest that this sentiment wasn’t shared by everyone.
Aside from the dissonance between “Grogu” and “Baby Yoda”, the name itself didn’t exactly ring true for fans who felt that this was an ugly name for a cute baby. To be fair, it doesn’t sound as adorable as you might expect, and when the episode first dropped, The Conversation even used studies to suggest that “Grogu” makes more sense for something large, rather than our cute little pint-sized hero. Science!
Given how the discourse around Baby Yoda Grogu has dominated so much of Star Wars in recent years, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people behind the scenes would have picked up on this too. So it’s safe to say that Peli’s reaction to all this is absolutely a deliberate nod.
Jon Favreau, who wrote this and every other episode of Boba Fett to date, is no stranger to this kind of wry humor, so really, it was only a matter of time before he poked fun at the Grogu detractors.
But don’t be too offended if you feel called out by this. At the end of the day, it’s just a harmless joke, and what’s most important here is that Grogu himself likes the name. Which he does, at least, if Ahsoka is to be believed.
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