The Ahsoka Line That The Mandalorian Director Dave Filoni Cut From Chapter 13

Contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5 — "Chapter 13: The Jedi"

Unlike their omniscient audience, characters within the Star Wars universe are often unaware of the backstories of other characters. The Mandalorian fans already know of the existence of the Skywalkers and the Force — and since Mando (Pedro Pascal) never heard of Jedi until recently, they're also the only ones who call the Child "Baby Yoda." But both Mando and the audience have more to understand about the Yoda look-alike and must learn this information in a way that feels seamless and believable.

In the show's most recent episode, "Chapter 13: The Jedi," audiences are introduced (or reintroduced, for those who have seen The Clone Wars or Rebels) to Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), a powerful former Jedi and ex-apprentice to Anakin Skywalker. As Ahsoka attempts to save innocent civilians on the forest planet of Corvus from an evil Magistrate, she encounters Mando and the Child. Ahsoka is the first character to communicate directly with the Child using the Force, and reveals crucial information about him — including the fact that his real name is Grogu.

It's a game-changing moment, but how Ahsoka delivers this information to Mando — and to the audience — was almost different. Dave Filoni, an executive producer on The Mandalorian who wrote and directed "Chapter 13: The Jedi," recently revealed the line that he cut from the episode.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Filoni addressed the fact that through Ahsoka, The Mandalorian now has a character who knows of Yoda, and because of that, he originally wanted to give Ahsoka a line that would reflect what we were all feeling when we first saw Grogu. 

"I thought one of the most compelling things about introducing Ahsoka is that she is one of the few, few people that we could encounter in a story and she would say, 'All right. I met someone like him. I've only ever seen one other being like this.' I had to stop myself from doing something ridiculous like have her say, 'Is that a Yoda baby?'" said Filoni. "It almost demands to be said."

While "Is that a Yoda baby?" would have been a perfectly understandable line for Ahsoka to utter given the circumstances, and fans might be slightly bummed that they didn't hear her say that, Ahsoka does actually mention the powerful little green Jedi we all know from the original Star Wars trilogy. As Ahsoka shares with Mando, Grogu was raised in a Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and after the Clone Wars, he was taken and hidden. She then states, "I've only knows one other being like this — a wise Jedi master named Yoda."

The Mandalorian returns with another new episode this Friday, December 4, on Disney+.