The now-infamous shots of Baby Yoda gleefully eating poor Frog Lady's eggs is proof that Jon Favreau is certainly not sitting on his laurels with the hit series The Mandalorian. The Disney+ live-action Star Wars TV show shocked audiences with the twist reveal of "the Child" in its series premiere, and the adorable 50-year-old toddler quickly became an internet sensation. While Baby Yoda's origins remain a mystery, season 2 is set to explore the character further — and audiences are quickly discovering that Baby Yoda is not as innocent as he seems.
The Mandalorian season 2 continues where the first left off, with the titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin, seeking out others of his kind to help him on his quest to reunite the mysterious Child with his own kin. Not knowing much about the alien species, the Mandalorian hopes to find Jedi who may be able to help. After all, Baby Yoda has displayed remarkable Force powers — and is wanted by the Imperial remnants, almost certainly for nefarious purposes. Although Din Djarin may not know much about the Jedi, audiences recognize they are the best option for Baby Yoda's future.
The Mandalorian season 2, episode 2, "The Passenger" featured ethically-questionable behavior by the Child, who repeatedly indulged in eating the eggs of fellow traveller Frog Lady (played by Misty Rosas). Din Djarin was offering the woman safe passage to the estuary moon of Trask in return for information regarding the location of other Mandalorians. As Frog Lady explained, she required sublight transportation to the moon for her freshly-laid eggs in order for her husband, who had settled there, to fertilize them by the equinox. If she failed to have her eggs fertilized in time, her ancestral line would end — providing the narrative stakes driving the episode. Further raising the stakes (and, admittedly, adding levity to the episode) was Baby Yoda's interest in eating Frog Lady's eggs — something that perfectly fits what viewers already know about his character.
While some viewers have taken to social media to express disgust and horror (and others, glee) over Baby Yoda's behavior in "The Passenger," the incidents in question are not actually that bad, in the grand scheme of things. Yes, Baby Yoda was essentially eating Frog Lady's offspring — or more accurately, the unfertilized eggs that would become her offspring — but such behavior is common in the animal world, which these alien species are based off of. Many amphibians typically lay clutches that can contain thousands of eggs, which are then promptly abandoned. A small percentage of the clutch survives into adulthood, but the majority serves as an important food source for the local ecosystem. In fact, there are even species of frogs that feed their young by laying additional unfertilized eggs for them to eat [via National Geographic]. Baby Yoda finds himself tempted to indulge in (and like most toddlers, unable to resist) what is likely a natural food source for him — and something he doesn't often encounter in his travels. Yoda chose to live on the swamp-planet Dagobah for a reason: likely, his race prefers wetlands, where amphibians like frogs are plentiful. Besides, it shouldn't be so shocking to see Baby Yoda drooling over frog eggs: season 1 established him as an omnivore after he caught, and ate, a live frog.
Baby Yoda eating Frog Lady's eggs is actually a positive sign for The Mandalorian: it shows that Favreau is not afraid to challenge the show's status quo, and isn't relying on Baby Yoda's "cuteness" factor to keep viewers interested. Baby Yoda is incredibly likeable, but he is not morally infallible and has already shown the capacity to do others harm. Allowing the Child to develop into a complicated figure is in the show's best interest long-term, but is the kind of gamble that networks are far-too-often afraid to do — especially for established fan-favorite characters. Thankfully, The Mandalorian seems committed to genuine narrative quality over shallow fan-service and pandering, which means Baby Yoda can continue to learn and grow as the series continues.
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