MovieChat Forums > The Mandalorian (2019) Discussion > 50 Years Have Passed... (spoilers)

50 Years Have Passed... (spoilers)

posted 5 years ago by Keelai (36157)
12 replies | jump to latest

... and "Baby Yoda" still has no name. You would think that the children would've given him/her a name or nickname.

Viewers knew him/her for a few seconds and came up with one.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

Mando should've asked one of those people who originally had the little guy, before he shot them all. Excuse me: you wouldn't happen to know that kid's name, would you? Thanks. Awfully sorry about this. Zap! 😳

Would a man who doesn't even consider it vital that he has a name bother to name a baby? I mean there's only one on his ship, right? Squirt, sport, kid, and the ever popular hey you - that works just fine. I'm sure the village kids called him something but we never did find out what. I'm guessing it wasn't Baby Yoda though.

[–] Keelai (36157) 5 years ago

Mando said "it" for a while.

Are we sure it's a "him"? Kind of hard to tell with reptilians.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

We have no idea how to tell the difference with that species. Clearly Mando doesn't know either. People just use "him" because it tends to be the default pronoun when gender isn't specified.

[–] Keelai (36157) 5 years ago

I had reptiles and couldn't tell either. The pet shop employee was clueless, too.

I guess saying "him" is nicer than "it".

[–] zeesha (1826) 5 years ago

In episode 4, the village widow says "He is very happy here." And Mando replies "He is".
Mando tries not to get too attached to the baby Yoda because he wants to leave it somewhere safe like this village in the middle of nowhere. I guess that's why he hasn't named the baby.

[–] mrbnk (419) 5 years ago

Being a bounty hunter, he knows he shouldn't have emotional attachments to anyone or anything. Being an orphan himself, he wants the baby to survive and to be safe. It seems the baby isn't safe without him, so he is stuck with it. The more he is stuck with it, the more he is emotionally attached.

But i really don't think that he will ever name the baby, even though he keeps it and settles down somewhere.

[–] MisterE (740) 5 years ago

I have a hard time believing that "Baby Yoda" would still be a baby after 50 years of life experiences. 50 years without developing language skills. We haven't seen the Mandalorian change a diaper, yet, so we don't know how a 50 year old baby poops. I expect him to suddenly strike up a conversation with Mando and we'll find out that "Baby Yoda" has been running a bit of a con.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

The brains of human children don't mature in a straight linear fashion. For example, around puberty a dramatic increase begins in abstract reasoning ability that continues into young adulthood. Try explaining highly nuanced concepts or social situations to an 8-year-old. Good luck with that.

If it took 70 years for a child to develop to the mental level of a human eight year old, they might have more useful skills (because of their sheer volume of memory) but they'd still be processing everything with the mind of a young child. Much of that experience would go over their heads and be useless to them. They'd still think and act basically like they were eight. It's not merely the passage of time and experience, physical growth and development of the brain are crucial. You need a fully mature brain in order to think like an adult. A baby sitting for 50 years in their high chair watching the world would not be a little grownup.

[–] Keelai (36157) 5 years ago

Good points! I literally remember my thinking ability changing when I was about five and then again during puberty.

I wouldn't want to be a parent on his planet dealing with a baby for 50+ years. At least they don't cry or poop.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

Yep, a number of important milestones around age five too. One result is the ability to clearly separate fantasy from reality which younger children don't have.

Unfortunately, these days there seem to be adults who have lost that ability once again.

[–] mrbnk (419) 5 years ago

From an evolutionary perspective, i don't think that a species with such a long period of infancy would last. An individual must be up on their feet and able to fend for themselves as quickly as possible. I am even amazed at humans for making it this far.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

Well just look at what we do: we guard and protect our offspring, for as long as they remain helpless. With highly intelligent life forms that works as an option.

They've never said much about this species. What kind of a world are they from? Not every ecosystem is full of vicious predators. We don't even know if that long lifespan is natural - or a result of genetic enhancement. As far as I can tell they've withheld details about Yoda's race on purpose, to make them mysterious.