The new Star Wars live action series, The Mandalorian, may only have premiered little more than one week ago on Disney+. But the show has already made a big name for itself on the internet - and that’s due in large part to a very tiny character at the heart of its story. Though the show was marketed as a series about a ruthless bounty hunter, known so far only as The Mandalorian, viewers got a big surprise at the end of the pilot episode.
The target The Mandalorian had been tasked with capturing was none other than a baby of Yoda’s species - dubbed, for now, by the internet as Baby Yoda, and so far referred to within the series only as The Child. It’s clear that this character is an absolute viral sensation, and we’ve got the adorable memes to prove it.
Baby Yoda loves you, too
It’s pretty safe to say that no single Star Wars character has received so universal and loving a response since… well, possibly ever. Especially in these highly divisive and hotly debated times for the fandom, Baby Yoda has served as a surprising and absolutely adorable unifying force, with the internet proudly adopting Baby Yoda as their own.
The outpouring of love has basically been nonstop since the first episode of The Mandalorian was released with the launch of Disney+. And as this adorable emoji-laden edit of Baby Yoda shows, the loving feelings are absolutely mutual.
Adventures in Baby Yoda sitting
It’s pretty clear that The Mandalorian isn’t exactly equipped to be a father figure, no matter how hard he tries. Presumably, he’ll get better as the series goes on and as long as Baby Yoda remains in his care. But as of right now, it’s really a wonder that he’s managed to keep the tiny green alien as safe as he has.
So it wouldn’t be out of character, really, for something like this meme to happen within the series’ canon. It’s not like The Mandalorian can keep hauling a baby in a floating crib around on all of his missions, some of which involve carbonite freezing and are definitely not safe for a baby.
Two chubby babies for the price of one
Baby Yoda isn’t the only pint-sized science fiction creature that the internet’s meme culture has been totally obsessed with as of late. Following the success of Detective Pikachu, the chubby little yellow Pokemon has popped up in various memes across the internet, many of which depict him as speaking like a baby.
It was a natural fit, then, to pair the furry little friend with the internet’s new favorite baby, Baby Yoda. Just one of the many examples of this new adorable internet duo finds the two of them reaching toward one another, as the caption states, to “pass fuit gummy,” referencing another bizarre but adorable meme.
Sorry, other cute Star Wars characters: it’s not you, it’s us
It’s always to be expected that a new series or film within a beloved, commercially successful franchise will introduce new characters. It’s even more likely that there will be a new adorable character, meant to garner interest from children and make a profit off endless streams of merchandise and toys.
So far, the sequel trilogy of films has had adorable characters like loyal droid companion BB-8; the seemingly impossibly cute puffin-inspired porgs of Ahch-To; and now BB-8’s little duckling droid, D-0. But as this meme depicts, there’s no competition whatsoever when it comes to who’s the cutest of them all.
More like the Man-Dad-Lorian
When The Mandalorian was promoted, and even for much of its first episode, the series certainly seemed like it was going to be a conventional action adventure western epic. It would have been entirely impossible to predict that the show would wind up having as much comedy as it does - and even more impossible to expect it to feature an unconventional family dynamic.
From the moment The Mandalorian revealed he was once a foundling, and therefore has a fondness for them, it should have been expected that he would soon find someone in need of fierce protection. But we never could have anticipated the absolute maximum adorableness that is Baby Yoda.
Taking a page from Rosa Diaz’s book of parenting
Speaking of unexpected and unconventional parenting, a scene from the cult hit sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine often makes the rounds within other fandoms whenever a typically gruff character turns into an absolute softie around someone tiny and cute. In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Rosa Diaz gets a puppy and says, “I’ve only had Arlo for a day and a half, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.”
The comparison between the likewise stoic Rosa and The Mandalorian is all too accurate, so this piece of meme fanart from artist istehlurvz is all too accurate. Instead of Rosa cuddling a puppy, we have The Mandalorian snuggling Baby Yoda and saying, “I’ve only had this child for a day and a half, but if anything happened to it, I would kill everyone in this galaxy and then myself.”
This is basically what happened, though
Though Baby Yoda may actually be 50 years old, because of whatever his species is, he appears as though he is just a little baby. As a result, Baby Yoda gets himself into plenty of trouble and doesn’t exactly listen to what he’s told to do. During the second episode, “The Child,” Baby Yoda chases around what seems to be a space frog.
After catching it, he promptly shoves the entire thing in his mouth head first, and swallows it whole, even though The Mandalorian yells at him to spit it out. So in the case of this meme, an adaptation of the popular meme of a crying woman yelling at a white cat sitting at a dinner table, this isn’t really even an exaggeration. This is literally what happened.
We’re just proud of our child, okay?
A common meme on the internet, and Twitter in particular, finds people making fun of being asked what they’re smiling about while looking at their phone. The expectation, of course, is that someone thinks they’re either texting or looking at someone they have a crush on, or messaging their significant other. But as this familiar meme shows, that’s almost never the case.
As this meme depicts, the person being questioned is, in fact, looking at their camera roll on their phone, which is absolutely packed with adorable photos and GIFs of Baby Yoda. Honestly, we can’t say we blame them.
He’s a very talented baby
For a character with no lines at all so far, Baby Yoda has accomplished a whole lot in the series. Over the course of the second episode, Baby Yoda reveals his skills in the Force, including some potentially new and unexplored healing powers associated with that ability.
When The Mandalorian is injured, Baby Yoda tries to heal him, and so, “he protec.” When The Mandalorian needs help in a fight, Baby Yoda lifts the beast with the force and moves it away, and so, “he attac.” But he is still a real baby after all, so it’s no surprise that, most important of all, “he nap.”
Admit it: this is what we’re all thinking
The Mandalorian is a very good show, and possibly one of the best new Star Wars properties released in recent years at that. But no matter how good the show might be, there’s no denying that part of its main appeal to the audience - both old fans and newly converted ones - is the Baby Yoda himself.
Inspired by the beloved scene in The Simpsons when Homer changes a sign that reads “Don’t forget: you’re here forever” to “Do it for her” by surrounding the words with pictures of baby Maggie, this meme offers the frank reminder that many people are really in this show only for the Baby Yoda. And that’s absolutely valid.
