'The Mandalorian' Season 2: Mando and Baby Yoda make better father-son duo than Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker
Baby Yoda/The Child and Mando/Din Djarin managed to melt hearts in Episode 2: 'The Passenger' in Season 2 of 'The Mandalorian'. The opening minutes saw Mando attacked by aliens with one of them scooping up the green imp and threatening to kill it. Mando strikes a deal where the alien would spare Baby Yoda's life for his trademark jetpack. As the alien releases the little one to the ground and vamooses with the jetpack, there is a heartening scene of the child running towards Mando and clinging to him with relief.
Those Baby Yoda haters would guffaw at this shouldn't be a surprise. A 50-year-old child cooing its way to a helmet-donned character and the audience going "aww" over doesn't really call for the hype to some, but those heavily invested in the show and tuning in every Fridays to get their cuteness fix had every reason to celebrate, especially with so little of Baby Yoda in the first episode.
Which brings us to argue if Mando and Baby Yoda are indeed the best father-son duo in 'Star Wars' history. Over the years, the franchise has made relationships a key part of its storylines and in comparison can be Darth Vader and his son, Luke Skywalker. There is no doubt they perhaps share the most dramatic and complicated relationships in the lore and while it ends with reconciliation, the lead up was a plotline in its own way. For those unaware, Anakin (Vader) was clueless that his unborn child would be twins.
Although he searched for a way to save them and Padmé after having a gruesome vision of their deaths, he couldn't save his wife. While he went on to also become Vader, the twins were somehow saved and when he hears the news of her death, Vader also assumes the child was dead as well that fuels his transformation to becoming a Sith. It was not until the next 19 years that he met his son after sensing a strong force-connection.
The father-son duo would go on to become enemies with contrasting ideologies about the Force and freedom, and all the while, are unaware of their relationship. However, things become different when Luke learns the truth. Even though the son had a tough time processing the fate his father was Vader, he hoped he could put him on the path to redemption. When Palpatine was killed by Vader, it was more an act of love for his son, and that had a bittersweet ending.
As far as Mando and the Child go, their bond has developed and become deeper since the first season. The kid now understands Mando better and vice-versa. However, with the season still exploring Baby Yoda's origins, the relationship at the moment doesn't seem to have the same amount of drama as Luke and Vader, but considering how the plotline is chugging, it's easy to say these two could go on to become the best father-son duo in the franchise.
And we're not talking about a potential tearful goodbye between the two by the end of Season 2.
'The Mandalorian' Season 2 drops new episodes every Friday on Disney+
