Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2 was full of twists and turns, as it introduced the live-action Ahsoka, revealed Baby Yoda’s real name and finished off with a fandom-shattering cameo in the finale. Though the second season is fresh in audience’s minds, Season 1 isn’t to be forgotten. With the vast Star Wars fan base, there are always new theories and realizations to be discovered, including the following. Reddit user RandomRedditGuy_ posits an interesting theory about the mercenaries who held Grogu in Season 1, Episode 1, claiming they weren’t keeping him for the Empire; they were the “good guys” protecting Grogu from falling into the wrong hands.
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Season 1, Episode 1 is where everything begins for Mando and Grogu. The former is given the proposition of obtaining the latter for a high reward. The Empire is after the Child, and they put a high bounty on him to be killed or retrieved for nefarious purposes. After a daunting journey and a little help from Kuiil, Din locates the encampment where Grogu is held.
Scanning the site, the bounty hunter realizes it’s protected by Nikto sentries. He also spots IG-11, the bounty hunting droid who boldly steps out into the open, demanding the mercenaries hand over the Child, but these sentries aren’t eager to bend to IG’s will, so a battle ensues.
After a skirmish between the two bounty hunters and the mercenaries, Din and the droid emerge victorious, gunning down the Nikto sentries. They enter the base, find the bounty, and as IG is about to shoot Grogu, Din shoots the droid instead, saving the Child.
It’s easy to assume that the mercenaries who held Grogu “hostage” were the villains. After all, they attacked the protagonist with guns, attempting to prevent him from obtaining his bounty. However, the Redditor proposes these mercenaries were trying to protect the Child from the Empire or anyone who wanted to hurt him or use him for corrupt reasons. These criminals had no intention of handing Grogu over to the Empire; instead, they were willing to lay down their lives to protect him.
The Redditor elaborates on the theory, saying these mercenaries may have actually been former prisoners or slaves of the Empire, thus having an even more personal reason to protect the Child. Through the galaxy’s grapevine, they realized this innocent kid was being hunted by the evil organization, and they were willing to do whatever it took to ensure Grogu didn’t endure what they suffered at the Empire’s hands.
When reviewing “Chapter 1,” the theory is plausible. Considering these mercenaries were holed up on a backwater planet with their sole purpose seemingly being to protect the Child, viewing them through the lens of protector instead of villain makes a lot of sense, keeping him safe until the Mandalorian could take over that responsibility.
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