Olly Dyche explores the candidates who could have saved The Mandalorian’s Grogu from Order 66…
The Mandalorian is without a doubt the best Disney project of the last two decades, absorbing its audience in exhilarating set pieces, great characters and the kind of emotional storytelling that made us fall in love with the franchise in the first place. The best thing to come from the show however is the adorable little green force sensitive child Grogu. His big black puffy eyes, adorable mannerisms and admiration for his Beskar armored surrogate father are what made us fall in love with him.
However, we know very little about Grogu’s past. Two and a half seasons (including Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett) into his journey, and all we know is that he was a Jedi youngling who somehow survived Order 66. Since finding all this out, fans have racked their brains around who could have possibly saved Grogu from the attack on the Jedi Temple. We’ll potentially discover the answer in the upcoming third season of The Mandalorian, but in the meantime here’s ten candidates who we think may have saved Grogu from the Jedi Temple…
The Grand Inquisitor
Sure, it may be hard to believe that one of the most ruthless Star Wars baddies was the one to save Grogu, but considering he was a Jedi Temple Guard during Order 66 it is entirely possible that the Grand Inquisitor was the one to save Grogu from Jedi genocide. It is still not confirmed as to when the Grand Inquisitor actually succumbed to the Dark Side and began seeking the last remaining Jedi post-Order 66, so revealing that it was The Grand Inquisitor is not out of the realm of possibility.
The Seventh Sister
The Seventh Sister, much like The Grand Inquisitor, was a Jedi who survived Order 66 before turning to the Dark Side. Whilst its unknown where The Seventh Sister was during the Jedi Purge, there is a chance she was at the Jedi temple on Coruscant during the attack and as she went on to survive beyond Order 66, there is also the prospect that she may have been the one to save Grogu.
Reva
A brand new Inquisitor introduced in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Reva like many Inquisitors was a Jedi who turned to the Dark Side. However, in the six episode run of Obi Wan Kenobi, we learned that Reva is working undercover to kill Darth Vader as revenge for the deaths of her fellow Jedi. Reva was a youngling at the temple when Darth Vader slaughtered countless Jedi. Luckily, Reva escaped and we have hope that she managed to take Grogu with her, which would ultimately be a cool tie-in and bring both shows together.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
While it would take a retconning of Revenge of the Sith, there is a chance that the iconic Jedi Master may have actually been the one to save Grogu. Whilst we know that Obi-Wan was on Utapau when Emperor Palpatine commanded his clone troopers to execute Order 66, Obi-Wan did later go on to see investigate the Jedi Temple post-attack. Perhaps Grogu survived the Jedi Purge by simply hiding, and it was Obi-Wan who found the youngling and helped him to safety.
Master Yoda
The reasons why Yoda may have been the one to save Grogu are exactly the same as how Obi-Wan saved Grogu. As both Jedi Masters went to the Temple together, there is a chance that they both found discovered the Youngling. It would make sense for Yoda to save Grogu, as there are only a few of Yoda’s species in the entire Star Wars galaxy, with Master Yaddle and Grogu being the only other two we know of, and so it would be fitting for him to find another one of his species.
Plo Koon
Now before you say “But he died during Order 66, we saw him get shot down in Revenge of the Sith”, we know – but we never saw a body, and if there is one law in cinema, if we don’t see a body, that character is not dead. Plo Koon is Dave Filoni’s favorite Jedi, and was actually a placeholder to have been the one to save Mando, Grogu, Bo Katan and the rest of the crew in the season two finale of The Mandalorian, so as to not spoil Luke Skywalker’s appearance. It would be incredible if Plo Koon was to save Grogu, as he’s an awesome Jedi we wish we saw more of in live action.
Jocasta Nu
First introduced in Attack of the Clones, Jocasta Nu became an instant fan favorite. Jocasta Nu is among the few to survive the Great Jedi Purge, and considering she was the Jedi Temple’s Chief Librarian we can assume she was there during Order 66. After her escape, Nu and her assistant Gar returned to the Temple in order to retrieve a holocron containing a list of force sensitive children, and even prepared a covert school to train young Jedi. Could Grogu have been an early student?
Barriss Offee
A theory that’s been flying around the fandom since Grogu’s flashback in The Book of Boba Fett is that Barriss Offee, a Jedi turned to the Dark Side, was actually the one to rescue Grogu. In said flashback we saw three Jedi protecting the temple, and on the walls next to them is a crest that belongs to Barriss Offee. It’s likely Offee was at the Temple during the Great Jedi Purge, as when we last saw her she was being convicted for bombing the Jedi Temple, which Ashoka was accused of. Barriss Offee’s overall fate is a mystery, but there is much speculation suggesting that it was in fact Offee that rescued Grogu. There are also theories that Offee was never truly bad and just became disillusioned by the Jedi’s beliefs like many before her.
Luminara Unduli
While Barriss Offee is a likely candidate to have saved Grogu, another is her former Master Luminara Unduli. The insignia on the walls of the flashback is somewhat hard to make out, leaving fans also thinking that it may be Unduli’s crest instead of Offee’s. Unduli wasn’t on Coruscant when the Temple attack took place, she was instead on Kashyyyk. After years of thinking she died in the Great Jedi Purge, Star Wars Rebels revealed that the great Jedi Master had survived Order 66 but was later arrested and executed. So again, it is plausible that Unduli went to the Temple after the attack and found Grogu hiding in the remains.
Mace Windu
The theory that’s been thrown around the most however is that the great Jedi Master Mace Windu came back from getting his hand cut off by Anakain Skywalker and being electrocuted and thrown out of a window by Emperor Palpatine in order to save our favourite little green alien. Mace Windu is one of the most powerful Jedi of all time, and we think he has to be alive, mostly due to his body never being found. As we said earlier, no body, not dead, and Mace Windu certainly wouldn’t be the first Star Wars character to survive a fall into the abyss.
Who do you think saved Grogu from Order 66? Let us know your theories and predictions on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Olly Dyche