A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

It is a period of civil war. Star Wars fandom, long since divided post The Last Jedi, find themselves at a crossroads. Although the film was met with critical praise, the fandom clashes with each other on the internet. Venom is spewed while fans both old and young believe they have the high ground. It seems that all has been lost.

The final installment of the Skywalker Saga a near-month away and things seem as toxic as ever. Evading trolls has become perilous and suddenly the internet is no longer safe for Star Wars fans. There is no place left to hide. Hope is all but lost. 

Whispers of a new show coming to the Disney+ streaming service circulate a buzz amongst fans both bitter and excited. The Mandalorian arrives to our screens and suddenly the great war that has loomed over the fandom for the last two years seems to dissipate. There is a rise in the Republic as a figure emerges from the shadows…

Geeklings, I will die for Baby Yoda. This is not an exagerration. This is not me waxing hyperbolic. The is me, a thirty-eight-year-old man, proclaiming to you that he will literally die for Baby Yoda. He is that important to Star Wars. Much like Anakin Skywalker being proclaimed the chosen one, the one who would bring balance to the Force, we turn to Baby Yoda to do the same. Did he ask to carry this burden on his tiny little adorable shoulders? No… but no hero ever does.

Yoda has long since been one of my favorite Star Wars characters despite how slow he is to figure out the plot of the Sith in the prequels. Yoda is my guy. I wept when he passed. Much like Luke, I had never seen anyone look that good at nine hundred years old and his loss was tough as a child and then again as an adult. I wept when he returned in The Last Jedi giving perhaps his greatest pieces of wisdom yet. Failure is an option. It’s how we learn. Yoda is the perfect embodiment of what the Force should be so it is no wonder that this little creature is exactly what is needed for Star Wars. A uniting cause. Something for the fandom to rally behind. This green, big-eared, doe-eyed creature snuck into our hearts and has restored faith to those who pulled a Kylo and strayed. Baby Yoda, and his floating egg stroller are everything.

Sure, there is a bit of uncertainty surrounding Baby Yoda with The Mandalorian taking place five years after Return of the Jedi. It certainly raises the question of where the hell Baby Yoda is in this new trilogy. Those who travel to the Dark Side may believe he’s dead. Surely a creature this adorable and this important would make its presence known in the new trilogy. What other explanation would there be besides creative teams not communicating with each other? To those who whisper those dark tidings, I shake my head in disgust. How dare you even envoke the idea of death when concerning Baby Yoda. You will not make a mockery of his name.

It is clear that Baby Yoda is most likely in hiding, like regular Yoda before him. Is this Yoda’s child? A clone? The infant version of Yoda plucked out of time? We don’t know and that’s okay. Sometimes the existence of something is just enough. I went into The Mandalorian looking for a Star Wars western along with some bounty hunter goodness. Maybe a little more history on the Mandalorians themselves. And two episodes in, I’ve found that. What I didn’t expect to find was Baby Yoda my new driving force in watching the show.

He must be protected at all costs. He’s so little guys. Did you see how tired using the Force made him? Little dude needed a major power nap afterward. No matter what happens December 20th we must be mindful that we now live in a world where Baby Yoda exists. That’s a world worth living in. That’s a universe worth celebrating. Baby Yoda is here and I will be the first one on the front line to protect to him. To preserve him. To make sure he’s safe. Because Geeklings, I think we need him right now more than ever…