The Mandalorian: 5 Ways Mando Is The Show's Best Character (& 5 Grogu Is)
When Disney announced a live-action Star Wars series called The Mandalorian as the flagship show for its streaming service, it was only expected to have one protagonist. One of the greatest marketing tricks that the Mouse House ever pulled off was keeping Mando’s sidekick a secret. The revelation of little Grogu at the end of the pilot episode is what turned The Mandalorian from must-see TV into a cultural phenomenon.
Mando himself is arguably still the show’s best character after two seasons, but there’s also a case to be made that the most adorable bounty in the galaxy is superior.
10 Mando: He’s A Quintessential Star Wars Protagonist
He may not wield a lightsaber or be strong with the Force, but the Mandalorian is a quintessential Star Wars protagonist. He’s exactly the kind of hero these stories need.
As a bounty hunter who follows a strict creed, Mando hits all of George Lucas’ original reference points: pulpy sci-fi, westerns, samurai movies, even religion.
9 Grogu: The Show Has Only Just Scratched The Surface Of His Rich Backstory
Despite being a baby, Grogu is said to be 50 years old in the first episode of The Mandalorian. He’s been around since the Jedi had a temple on Coruscant and, according to Ahsoka Tano, he trained under many masters during his time there.
The show has told us a lot about Mando’s backstory — he was orphaned during the Clone Wars and taken in by the Mandalorians — but still relatively little about Grogu’s rich backstory.
8 Mando: He’s An Antihero Who Becomes A Regular Hero
When the Mandalorian is introduced in the first episode, he’s a ruthless bounty hunter who tells his bounties he can take them in warm or cold (and, more often than not, ends up bringing them in cold). In other words, like Boba Fett, he’s a classic antihero.
But after finding little Grogu, Mando has a change of heart. He shoots IG-11 to save the Child, then shoots countless others to protect him as the kid quickly becomes his only priority. Now, he’s just a regular hero.
7 Grogu: He Inspired The Mandalorian To Do The Right Thing
If it wasn’t for Grogu, Mando would’ve gone on as an antihero. The appearance of Grogu is what inspired the Mandalorian to change and become a more heroic figure.
Mando is undoubtedly the star of the show — and its title character — but Grogu is the one who turned it from the adventures of a bounty hunter into a real story.
6 Mando: He Recalls Classic Spaghetti Western Heroes Like The Man With No Name
Pedro Pascal has said that when he signed on to play the title role in The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau told him to familiarize himself with Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, which was a huge influence on the series. Yojimbo was later reimagined as A Fistful of Dollars.
As a cool-as-ice lone wolf who wanders the galaxy in search of adventure and fortune, Mando recalls classic protagonists like Yojimbo’s Sanjuro and the Dollars trilogy’s Man with No Name.
5 Grogu: There’s A Dark Side Hidden By His Cuteness
What made Grogu — or, as the internet called him, “Baby Yoda” — such a global phenomenon was his cuteness. But what makes him such a fascinating character on the show is that there’s a real darkness hidden by that cuteness.
In the penultimate episode of The Mandalorian’s first season, Mando and Cara Dune arm-wrestle, and Grogu fears that his masked father figure is in danger, so he Force-chokes Cara. When Mando asked Ahsoka to train Grogu, she refused because he’s made too many emotional attachments and she fears he’ll fall to the dark side like Anakin.
4 Mando: His Characterization Relies On Subtler Elements Like Body Language
Although he’s actually taken it off in a couple of episodes now, the Mandalorian is forbidden by his creed to remove his helmet. This has meant that Pedro Pascal’s performance has relied on subtler elements like body language.
Moments like Mando finding the knob missing from his gearstick and deciding to go back and save Grogu are much more effective without being able to see his face.
3 Grogu: The Puppetry Is As Masterfully Done
Apparently, the producers of The Mandalorian were considering creating Grogu using CGI before Werner Herzog, who played the Client and is an acclaimed filmmaker in his own right, insisted that they use practical methods.
Harking back to the puppetry that brought characters like Jabba the Hutt and the original Yoda to life, Grogu’s puppeteering effects are masterfully done.
2 Mando: He’s Every Bit As Cool As O.T.-Era Boba Fett, But More Complex
Rumor has it that The Mandalorian went into development as a consolation prize for fans who were looking forward to the Boba Fett movie that ended up being scrapped.
Mando is similar to Fett in almost every way, but he’s a lot more complex and nuanced than the original trilogy gave Fett a chance to be. The show did eventually bring back Fett himself, of course, and he’s more badass than ever.
1 Grogu: He Steals Every Scene He’s In
No matter how interesting Mando is, if Grogu is in a scene, he steals it. Just by sipping from a bowl of soup or trying to eat a live frog, Grogu can wrench the spotlight away from everybody else.
Ever since his first appearance as Mando’s 50-year-old bounty in the pilot episode, audiences’ eyes have been glued to Grogu whenever he’s on-screen.