Season 1 of The Mandalorian left fans wanting more answers about this new parsec of the Star Wars galaxy, with most questions concerning Moff Gideon's plans for Baby Yoda, his connection with the First Order and whether he was a rogue Force-user or not. However, Reddit user ObviouslyAnnie went in the opposite direction, proposing that maybe the true mastermind of the series was the innocent-looking, teeny-weeny bundle of frog-eating joy that Star Wars fans know as Baby Yoda. At first glance, it's tempting to dismiss this theory as too outlandish, belonging to the same parallel dimension where Jar-Jar Binks was the real Sith Lord, but a closer look reveals a myriad of clues and canon precedents backing up this theory.

First, there's the most obvious one: Baby Yoda is strong in the Force, and almost every Jedi, Sith and everything in between that has been seen in Star Wars is adept at some form of mental manipulation. Even the more, physically inclined Force users, like Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker and Kylo Ren, seem to be able to at least sense and read through the thoughts of those around them, although in comparison with Obi-wan, Snoke and Palpatine their methods are as subtle as a sledgehammer. In The Rise of Skywalker, Poe lampshades how scary the mind-trick really is when he sees Rey using it on First Order Stormtroopers, freaking out almost as much as Will Smith in Men in Black when he learned about routine memory erasure.

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Palpatine stares at Anakin

There's also a possibility that this mental manipulation is not entirely conscious, nor as insidious and ill-intentioned as it might seem. One popular fan theory about the prequels was that Anakin mind-tricked Padmé to fall in love with him, although that might not have been entirely conscious. Leaving all the unfortunate implications of that theory aside, it also raises some interesting questions about this particular skill in Anakin's babies, particularly Luke, who unlike his sister was handed off to some distant acquaintances that had no real reason to take him in -- did the Lars's truly love him or was the tiny proto-Jedi projecting adorableness into Owen and Beru's brains until they loved him like a son?

So, the chances are that Baby Yoda could use mental manipulation on those around him, whether consciously or unconsciously. Given his tiny size and lack of motor and communication skills, this ability would explain how he survived for 50 years with the entire scum and villainy of the Outer Rim looking for his head; he just mind-tricked them into becoming his babysitters. This would explain why Mando and IG-11 had to team up on Arvala-7 to mow down a battalion of Nikto mercenaries that were protecting the Child. One possible interpretation is that the Niktos were hired by Moff Gideon or Karga to find and fetch the Child, but the little one manipulated them into protecting him instead. That also explains why the Client (Werner Herzog) had added the option to kill Baby Yoda to the headhunting contract; maybe he suspected Baby Yoda's abilities. It also explains his surprising eagerness to be quiet for the sake of the sleeping Baby Yoda by the end of the season -- he had succumbed to the "must protect Child" vibe in the previous episodes.

Then there's also the opening of the season finale, where the two stormtroopers that had been charged with retrieving the Child fail to shoot a can that was less than 20 feet away from them. The scene is played for laughs, tapping into the Star Wars trope that stormtroopers are terrible shots, but could it be that Baby Yoda was unconsciously messing with their aim?

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So, this particular theory could hold some water if it was confirmed in Season 2 of The Mandalorian. However, there are also a handful of character and thematic elements working against it. Firstly, there's the heart of the show: the idea that goodness, generosity, love and honor can sprout even in the heart of the most battle-weary mercenary, as shown with Mando, Kuiil, Greef Karga, Cara Dune, Dr. Pershing and IG-11. If the message of the show is that the right thing is to protect the innocent and weak, it would be undermined by the Child's mental manipulation tricks.

There's also Mando's backstory, which establishes his character as an extremely grateful orphan that knows that he owes his life to the kindness, honor and love of an entirely different people, and that has grown in a culture that values the young ones over everything else. Taking this into account, it seems logical that Mando would save not only Baby Yoda but any other youngling that he had found on his way, despite the terrible consequences for his personal safety and the safety of his community; suggesting that the Child was behind his decisions undermines Mando's core character traits and his character arc. Besides, in A New Hope, Obi-wan explained that mind-tricks only work on the weak-minded, and neither Mando nor his allies are weak-minded characters, so their protective instincts must come from common decency and human instinct.

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Finally, in the real world, humans are hardwired to take care of any creature that has baby-like features, a phenomenon that has been in scientific papers since 1943. This infant cuteness factor is composed of large eyes, a large forehead, small facial features in the center of the face and a small head-body ratio, and is an evolutionary measure that ensures infant survival. Not only will the attention of adults gravitate towards babies for this reason, but illustrators, animators and toymakers have been taking advantage of it for years to create highly appealing cute characters, from Mickey Mouse to Winnie the Pooh and most recently, Baby Yoda. So yes, Mando might be vulnerable to the Child's baby wiles, but, in actuality, it's just Disney performing the actual mind trick on their audience.

Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, and Emily Swallow. Season 1 is available now on Disney+ and Season 2 arrives in October.

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