The Best Reactions To The Mandalorian's Baby Yoda
That distant, shrieking peal you heard — coupled with the metaphysical rumble you felt — was the sound of a million adoring squeals and stamping feet before the internet's new source of delight. The first episode of The Mandalorian introduced us to the newest, most fascinating, and cutest character in the Star Wars universe: an unnamed baby of the same (also unnamed) species as Yoda, the illustrious Jedi Master.
The puppet, now ordained as Baby Yoda for the sake of simplicity (despite not being a tiny version of the actual Yoda), seems to be tactically engineered for maximum charm and adorableness, and in these turbulent times, our collective little green gremlin child is taking the internet by storm to bring light and joy to our lives. We love and believe in him, and so too does he return that love and constancy to us as well as the titular Mando of The Mandalorian.
This groundswell of appreciation for the character has led to all kinds of chatter about Baby Yoda and The Mandalorian in general, which we can all be sure is exactly what the folks at Disney and Lucasfilm were hoping for. Perhaps the conglomerate has won, but haven't we won as well in some small way, to receive such an adorable blessing? Let's check out some of the best reactions to Baby Yoda that the internet has to offer.
The Mandalorian's Baby Yoda inspired many meme remixes
Our modern era drives us to react to news of all stripes in the form of GIFs and still images that become memes. This also means commandeering and remixing previous memetic content with our new fascination of the millisecond to make a fresh meme that will carry on, continuing the work of its creative internet ancestors. Such as it is with the classic "same energy" meme format, now featuring Baby Not-Yoda from The Mandalorian.
Twitter user @RyanLacksTact made a comparison to another adorable long-eared friend we made this earlier this year, Detective Pikachu.
Yes, excellent. We feel that vibe, its melodrama and diabetic-coma-inducing cuteness. Free them.
Twitter user @WordsOfDiana also made a "same energy" comparison to a classic and beloved meme-creature we have known for many a year: the Ikea Monkey, who ran around the ready-to-assemble furniture and home goods store wearing a coat we humans could only dream of pulling off.
The inherent chaos (and serenity in the face of causing it) exuding from both Baby Yoda and the Ikea Monkey feels extremely appropriate. We would absolutely believe Baby Not-Yoda escaping Dada-lorian's watchful eye to enter Space Ikea as a plot point in The Mandalorian. Can we get that, please?
Twitter user @odogstwit made a particularly incisive comment when reacting to Baby Yoda: "baby grinch walked so baby yoda could run." You know what? They're right, and we couldn't be prouder extremely online parents. We owe 2000's Jim Carrey-led version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas an apology. One iteration of nightmare fuel can beget perfection, if only we forgive its faults and let it grow.
Tumblr user pagethepunisher slap-chopped a wholesome oldie-but-goodie meme up with The Internet's Favorite Baby as well.
@pagethepunisher/Tumblr
Shh. Let the precious edamame bean enjoy his 17th replay of the cantina song in peace.
Our last selection comes in the form of Twitter fan art reimagining The Woman Yelling at a Cat meme that has been cycling on various social media for several weeks.
Leave him alone, Mandalorian, how dare you. The baby didn't ask to be kidnapped for the sake of a bounty, now, did he? Being a new dad is stressful and we know those rascally Jawas that left your ship sitting on cinder blocks has got you extra-pressed, but we all know you're better than this.
Fans say Baby Yoda soothes their blues
Something as pure and innocent as Baby Yoda bursting to the forefront of the internet (which at times can be a dreary and cynical place) makes for a delightful panacea. The Mandalorian also premiered on Disney+ just before the holiday season — it's getting dark and cold, and many will be shut up in their homes feeling cut off from the world. Baby Yoda is the sun, blessing us all with his wide smile and utter lack of judgment for our (and the Mandalorian's) sins. Many have celebrated this specific joy and sudden boon to their neurotransmitters in their own ways.
Tumblr user muscosus is completely correct: there's no shame whatsoever in taking joy from where it presents itself to you, and we are right there with them soaking it up from Baby Yoda.
Another Tumblr user, marvelrebels, agrees: "let us give thanks to the worlds #1 source of serotonin currently baby yoda."
@marvelrebels/Tumblr
Bow, mortals. Your god is here, and he will bring you psychic peace.
The Mandalorian fans love and cherish Baby Yoda
Jokes and memes aside, the response to The Mandalorian's Baby Yoda is simple and overwhelming love. Something familial in each of our lizard brains has been switched on for him — something that we usually reserve for actual human babies. We want to hold and coo at and play with Baby Yoda, see him grow and thrive, celebrate his successes like we would any toddler making their first hesitant steps, and have him smile benevolently on our own victories like an approving, tiny chartreuse angel.
Twitter user @An_a_eL employed a little assistance from the perpetually-excited Tom Hiddleston to illustrate their enthusiasm about Baby Yoda: "Me everytime i see #babyyoda do anything."
Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian isn't just cute — he should be as inspirational to us as Maggie Simpson is to Homer, according to Tumblr user cohensanders.
He not only can lift giant space rhinos with his mind, but he will also lift our spirits and lead us through our struggles to find a better day, too.
Alternatively, Tumblr user sqoiler felt the need to express this surge of purpose and love in a more aggressive way.
Extreme? Probably. But also so valid. (And yes, there are variants of this joke featuring the Mandalorian's head Photoshopped on top of Brooklyn Nine-Nine actress Stephanie Beatriz as well.)
Love can drive us to say and do strange things, and although Twitter user @arisonpup's thoughts might be a little odd, we understand and appreciate its emotionality: "can i just say that i would let baby yoda eat me just like he ate the frog i swear i have never loved anything more." If adoration is a kind of spiritual consumption, @arisonpup is living through a transcendental experience, and we encourage them in their rapture.
When cynical commercialism works
As cute and disarming as Baby Yoda may be, he and The Mandalorian as a whole are Star Wars products. Disney's desired end result of a character like his is ultimately to sell toys and plushies — sanity tells us that between bouts of parental compulsion. Even The Last Jedi's Porgs were divisive, but Baby Yoda is seemingly the chosen one that will bring balance to the fandom where Anakin Skywalker failed. However, if we must fall before this totem of consumer culture, it seems most of us will go willingly to our doom.
Once again, Tumblr user muscosus came in hot to remind us that sometimes, the capitalist grift just cannot be denied, and that's all right: "if i GIVE IN to capitalism and BUY baby yoda merch...do NOT persecute that green baby bc IT caught ME slipping! that's on me!"
Tumblr user littleillusion will likely elbow in ahead of muscosus to get to the register, as their 2 AM search history is all inquiries about when Baby Yoda merch goes on sale and how they can obtain it. (You're gonna have to climb over our dead bodies to be first, littleillusion.)
If you're still able to resist the tractor beam of corporate interests, Twitter user @ArtsyPabster wants to remind you that fan conventions offer that succulent home-made content free of moral quandaries.
*Baby Yoda appears*
artist alley vendors: pic.twitter.com/NYTjpMFLpb
— Pablo Leon (@ArtsyPabster) November 19, 2019
We welcome this new artistic renaissance. Baby Yoda is worth it.