'The Mandalorian' Season 2: Has Baby Yoda seen Din Djarin without his helmet on during their travel together?
Not counting a brief error in judgement where the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) handed the Child (AKA Baby Yoda) over to what remained of the Empire, the two have been inseparable since the moment they first met. The Mandalorian is the Child's keeper, his protector, and his escort in Din Djarin's mission to return the Child to his home. The two have spent every moment together, which begs an important question - has the Child seen Din Djarin without his helmet on?
An important part of the Mandalorian's belief system and code of honor is the fact that once he first receives his helmet, no person may ever see him with the helmet off. As we saw last season, this does not mean he never removes the helmet - he's seen removing it to eat, and he claims that he removes it to take a bath. The important thing is that no person ever sees it off of him, and even that has a workaround, as he allows IG-11 to see his true face in the Season 1 finale, as IG-11 is just a droid and not a complete person in Din's eyes. Baby Yoda IS undeniably a person, however, even by the Mandalorian's standards - and given the pair's constant proximity, it's very possible that the Child has seen Din remove the helmet in times of necessity.
In the last episode of 'The Mandalorian', an attack by mercenaries seeking to kidnap the Child leaves the pair without a means of transportation, forcing them to trek through the desert back to the Razorcrest. At some point, the Mandalorian would have had to have stopped to drink water, an impossible task with his helmet on. There are other times where it would be necessary to remove his helmet too - when he eats, when he bathes, when he drinks - and the Child is always, always around. The Mandalorian needs to take care of himself. The question is, when he does so, does he cover Baby Yoda's head, or does he assume the Child is too young to be able remember any details later in life?
This would be a mistake on the Mandalorian's part, because we've seen repeatedly that there's more going on to the Child that meets the eye. It's easy to forget that the adorable tot is actually 50 years old, and has shown a fair amount of cognizance in the past. He's used his abilities in crucial moments, with a mastery of the Force that even fully-trained Jedi Knights have trouble handling, and he knows just how to keep himself out of danger. The Child knows a lot more than he's been letting on - and his large innocent eyes may just have caused Din Djarin to have inadvertently broken his oath.
The next episode of 'The Mandalorian' airs on Friday, November 13, on Disney+.
