It took a season and a half, but The Mandalorian tied back into the Star Wars prequel trilogy in the most peculiar way. As suspected, the series has blown the lid off Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) whole genetic experimentation operation, and it’s through that plot device, the ethos of The Child has started to get explored. The end result? It may turn the beloved “Baby Yoda” into one of the most powerful wielders of the Force fans have ever seen.
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Full spoilers for The Mandalorian Chapter 12, “The Siege” are below. Proceed with caution if you have yet to see the latest episode of the hit Disney+ series!
In “The Siege,” Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) agrees to blow up that last remaining Imperial stronghold on Nevarro so that Magistrate Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and Marshal Cara Dune (Gina Carano) can turn the planet into a trade stronghold on the Outer Rim. The group opened a whole can of worms when they infiltrated the base, only to find out it wasn’t just any regular Imperial operation — it was a scientific lab dabbling in experimentation and cloning.
Through the use of a hologram, it’s revealed by Doctor Pershing (Omid Abtahi) that The Child has the highest “M-count” they’ve seen, a direct reference to the controversial ‘Midi-chlorians” plotline introduced by Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Ginn in The Phantom Menace. Pershing then explains the experimentation has to temporarily halt because they’ve run out of blood from The Child to use.
Because of The Child’s high “M count,” it raises a few questions. If Gideon, Pershing, and their extensive group — which has a fancy new Star Destroyer-like ship, mind you — are actually remnants of the Empire, you’d think they would know of other existing Jedi and Force-sensitive users. In fact, we know through the expanded Star Universe universe consisting of video games and comics they’re entirely aware of Jedi that survived the Great Purge, from Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi to Jedi Masters like Oppo Ranciscis and Eeth Koth.
Better yet, we know the Empire managed to convert a handful of Jedi for their mission, and we know the Inquisitors hunted down and experimented on several more. Maybe Pershing’s entire “M-count” line is just a throwaway — but the evidence is there, suggesting The Child could soon be one of the most powerful Jedi to grace our television sets.
After all, why would Moff Gideon and his crew go after a baby, even they could get more blood from a Jedi adult somewhere else in the universe?
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