Six Years Ago Today, Star Wars Gave Baby Yoda a Force Power That Breaks All the Rules

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I still remember being totally blown away when Grogu first appeared in The Mandalorian Season 1 six years ago! They didn’t even tell us his real name right away – we didn’t find out it was Grogu until Season 2. Officially, Lucasfilm called him ‘The Child,’ but honestly, the internet immediately dubbed him ‘Baby Yoda,’ and that’s what everyone called him. What made it even more amazing was that Lucasfilm had kept him a complete secret! They deliberately held back on a ton of potential merchandise money, knowing a big reveal would be worth it, and boy, were they right!

From the very beginning of The Mandalorian Season 1, it was clear Grogu, like Yoda and Yaddle, was strong with the Force. He first showed this by lifting a mudhorn, but he quickly proved capable of much more. One of his most impressive abilities appeared in Season 1, episode 7, “The Reckoning,” where Baby Yoda demonstrated he could use the Force to heal others.

Force Healing Changes Everything for Star Wars

The idea of healing through the Force wasn’t new to Star Wars. It appeared in older stories from the Expanded Universe as early as 1994, with a character named Cilghal. However, the sequel trilogy, and especially George Lucas’s Revenge of the Sith, significantly changed things. Lucas connected Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side to his fear of losing Padmé, making the Force healing ability problematic. When Disney reset the official storyline in 2014, labeling the older stories as “Legends,” they intentionally removed Force healing because it didn’t quite fit with the established story of Anakin Skywalker.

Things shifted in 2019 when Star Wars brought Force healing back into the story with both The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker. This updated version of the power involved one person giving their life energy to another. The Rise of Skywalker presented it as an old, forgotten Force ability that Rey rediscovered in ancient Jedi texts. This explanation made sense, as it would explain why Anakin Skywalker couldn’t learn it to save Padmé.

It’s hard for me to believe the Jedi truly ‘forgot’ about Force healing, especially when you consider Grogu. It seems like a natural, instinctive ability for strong Force users, something they just know how to do. And honestly, while Grogu is incredibly powerful, he doesn’t hold a candle to Anakin Skywalker! He was the Chosen One, born of the Force itself, with a midi-chlorian count even higher than Yoda’s. If anyone should have been able to Force heal, it was Anakin, and that makes me think he shouldn’t have been so worried about Padmé during childbirth. It feels like a crucial piece of the puzzle that was overlooked.

Star Wars Keeps Making Force Healing Even More Confusing

For several years after its introduction, the healing power of the Force was a mystery for the creators of Star Wars. Early stories suggested only Rey and Kylo Ren, as a unique pair connected by the Force, could use it, leading to questions about whether Grogu also had a similar connection with someone else. However, the series Andor later revealed a Force healer living on Yavin 4 before the events of A New Hope, demonstrating that this ability wasn’t limited to those with a special Force connection.

Force healing seems to be a power used by those who aren’t strictly “light side” or “dark side.” As explained in Secrets of the Jedi, Force-sensitive individuals don’t start with a specific alignment, which could explain why characters like Grogu have unusual abilities. The concept of the Dyad also suggests balance between light and dark, potentially explaining how both Rey and Kylo Ren could heal others. Similarly, the Force healer shown in Andor wasn’t a Jedi, hinting that they might have been focused on balance instead of the light side.

It’s important to remember this is just a theory, but Grogu’s unique ability with the Force has introduced a new power to the Star Wars universe, and we’re still seeing the effects of that. Even after six years, it’s still a mystery how Grogu managed to heal someone, and he hasn’t demonstrated that power again recently. It’s possible the creators at Lucasfilm now wish they hadn’t included that scene, as it’s created more complications than they anticipated.

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2025-12-18 19:45