Grogu

‘Mandalorian’ Season 3: New Star Wars book fuels a surprising Darth Vader theory

Could Grogu have a secret connection to one of Star Wars’ most notorious characters?

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Grogu, otherwise known as Baby Yoda, is still a wild card within the Star Wars universe. Though we’ve got to know him well over two years, his past is still a mystery — not just to the audience but to Grogu too.

With The Mandalorian Season 3 still in the distant future, it didn’t seem likely we would learn anything new about this tiny youngling, but a brand new Star Wars book could confirm a fan theory that’s swirled around Grogu from the beginning.

Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith, which hit shelves on October 11, serves as a follow-up to Secrets of the Jedi, published in November 2019 on the same day The Mandalorian premiered. Within the pages that explored the Dark Side of the Force is a section on one of the most mysterious elements of Star Wars lore: the Force dyad.

The most famous Force dyad in Star Wars history is the pairing of Rey and Kylo Ren, who were indelibly connected through the Force in the recent movie trilogy. However, The Mandalorian has many fans wondering if Grogu, too, is a dyad. And if so, who would he be connected to? If we look at the timeline, the answer to that question might mean the return of Star Wars' most iconic character.

As posted on Reddit (see above), the entry in Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith reads, “Members of a dyad were believed to be capable of transferring their life force to heal others.”

While this echoes back to Kylo Ren transferring his life force to Rey at the end of Rise of Skywalker, it was preceded by a moment in The Mandalorian.

It’s easy to forget the first time we saw “Force healing” on screen. In Episode 7 of The Mandalorian’s first season, Grogu used his force healing powers to cure Greef Karga of his wounds after being attacked by flying reptile creatures. This episode premiered a mere two days before the release of The Rise of Skywalker.

With Secrets of the Sith revealing that only members of Force dyads can Force heal, it seems to confirm a long-held fan theory: Grogu is a member of a Force dyad himself.

Baby Yoda heals Greef Karga with the Force.

Lucasfilm

If Grogu is a Force dyad, then who is his other half?

Well, Grogu was born the same year as Anakin Skywalker, and coincidences in the Star Wars universes are as rare as Slip ‘N Slides on Tatooine. If Grogu is, in fact, one-half of a Force dyad with Anakin, it could explain why Grogu’s memories are so foggy. (You would be confused too if the companion your soul bonded to suddenly passed away.)

Going forward, this has enormous implications for The Mandalorian. Tying Anakin to Grogu is suddenly a lot more important now that Grogu is in the care of Luke Skywalker, Anakin’s son. As Luke explores Grogu’s past, he may discover some previously unknown information about his estranged father.

Though it may not seem like much, this one sentence from Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith may have unlocked another opportunity to see Darth Vader on screen again.

Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith is now available to purchase.

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