Since Ben Solo, a.k.a. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), is known within the Star Wars sequel trilogy as Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) first apprentice, so it may seem like a plot-hole when Luke takes Grogu to be his apprentice during the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian. However, this actually strengthens Luke’s story rather than compromising it. If Grogu, also known to the Star Wars fandom as Baby Yoda, is one of Luke’s first failures as a Jedi Master and teacher before his formation of a new Jedi academy, his experiences training Grogu might provide a better background for his treatment of Ben Solo, as revealed in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
After Grogu is abducted by Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and his Dark Troopers, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), and fellow Mandalorians Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoss) and Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado) go on a mission to commandeer Moff Gideon’s Imperial Cruiser and rescue Grogu in the season 2 finale, "The Rescue". After Din defeats Moff Gideon in combat, Din and his team barricade themselves in the command deck when they are pursued by a fleet of Dark Troopers. Before the droids can attack, however, reinforcements arrive in the form of a mysterious Jedi, whom Grogu contacted at the Jedi Temple on Tython. While Star Wars fans speculated on social media before the reveal that the Jedi could be Ezra Bridger from Star Wars Rebels or Cal Kestis from Jedi: Fallen Order, it is instead revealed to be a young Luke Skywalker during his days as a Jedi Knight after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
While Luke’s adventures between Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi have never been featured onscreen, other canonical Star Wars projects including Charles Soule’s comic Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren and single-player gameplay from EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront II reveal that Luke was studying the original Jedi from the Old and High Republic eras before he began training the next generation of Jedi. Within Battlefront II, Luke’s discovery of a Jedi star compass sends him on a solo mission to the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To. In The Rise of Kylo Ren, Luke finds an abandoned Jedi outpost that contains Jedi texts and holocrons on a trip with Ben Solo. Since Luke is still researching the original Jedi when Ben Solo is his apprentice, this suggests that Luke still doesn’t feel secure as a Jedi Master after the events of The Mandalorian, which could possibly be due to his failure to train his potential apprentice Grogu.
Ahsoka Turned Down Baby Yoda For His Weaknesses
When Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) meets Grogu in the episode “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” she decides that she cannot train him because his weaknesses make him vulnerable to the dark side of the Force. Through their shared connection to the Force, Ahsoka and Grogu begin to communicate by feeling each other’s thoughts. Grogu tells her about his past, revealing that he was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant where he was trained by multiple Jedi Masters. During the execution of Order 66 and the Empire’s rise to power, Grogu was hidden by someone unknown, after which point his “memory becomes dark.” When Ahsoka tests Grogu’s abilities, Ahsoka senses that Grogu is very fearful since he has been repressing his Jedi abilities in order to survive. Due to his traumatic past and his attachment to Din, Ahsoka ultimately decides she can’t train Grogu because his bond with Din “makes him vulnerable to his fears.”
Ahsoka knows firsthand how fear and attachment can affect a Jedi, since those feelings led to the downfall of her own Jedi Master, Anakin Skywalker a.k.a. Darth Vader. In The Mandalorian, Ahsoka implies that Anakin was a “fully trained Jedi Knight” when he allowed his love for his wife Padme Amidala and his fear of her impending death to make him vulnerable to Darth Sidious’s influence. Since Grogu never finished his training, he therefore doesn’t have the discipline that comes from years of Jedi training, putting him at an even greater disadvantage. During Ahsoka’s test, Grogu proves that he allows his emotions to control him, since he easily becomes discouraged by his fear of wielding the Force. If Grogu continues his training in his emotional state, it might similarly lead him down the path of the Sith, which is why Ahsoka suggests letting Grogu’s abilities fade altogether.
Luke Skywalker Was Desperate To Rebuild The Jedi
Possibly the reason that Luke Skywalker never hesitates to recruit Grogu, despite his weaknesses, is that Luke is desperate to rebuild the Jedi Order at this point in the Star Wars timeline. Since Luke is one of the last remaining Jedi after the era of the Galactic Empire, he resorts to learning more about the Jedi by rummaging through the remnants they left behind, visiting temple ruins and discovering ancient relics, which already speaks to his desperation to continue the Jedi way. Since Luke bears the responsibility of furthering the new Jedi Order alone, it makes sense that he would accept any Force-sensitive being to be his student - especially one with Grogu’s current abilities and potential - regardless of their flaws during the early days of his quest to rebuild the Jedi.
Upon meeting Grogu within The Mandalorian, Luke observes that Grogu is waiting for Din’s permission before he leaves with Luke, which suggests that Luke is already aware of Grogu’s attachment to Din. While it’s unclear how much knowledge of Grogu’s strengths and weaknesses was imparted to Luke when he sensed Grogu's presence in the Force, Luke doesn’t pause to test Grogu’s abilities or assess his emotional stability as Ahsoka did upon meeting him. Instead, Luke simply requests that Grogu come with him and states that while Grogu is strong with the Force, “talent without training is nothing.” Since Luke’s intention to train Grogu never wavers, this further suggests that Luke had always planned on recruiting Grogu regardless of any weaknesses he discovered within him.
Luke Skywalker Ignored His Own Weaknesses In Grogu
Luke may have ignored Grogu’s weaknesses when considering him to be his apprentice because Grogu's feelings of fear and attachment are also Luke’s own weaknesses. In Return of the Jedi, Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) tries to tempt Luke to the dark side of the Force by stoking his anger, calling attention to the Alliance’s impending failure and the probability that all of his friends on Endor will die. During his duel with Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), his father more specifically senses Luke’s fear of losing his sister, Leia (Carrie Fisher). Since Vader used Luke’s attachment to Leia against him, Luke knows firsthand how attachments can make a Jedi vulnerable to the dark side.
In Luke’s own experience, however, there is also a benefit to the feelings of attachment and fear, as Vader saved Luke from being killed by Darth Sidious due to their bond as father and son. Since Luke's own feelings of attachment and fear didn’t compromise him as a Jedi and brought Vader back to the light side of the Force before his death, it might also explain why Luke would be eager to ignore those feelings within Grogu; unlike Master Yoda and Ahsoka, he believes that they don’t automatically cause a Jedi’s downfall.
Baby Yoda Sets Up Kylo Ren's Future
Instead of creating a plot-hole, Luke deciding to train Grogu as his apprentice within The Mandalorian actually provides more context that explains why Luke is so quick to doubt his apprentice Ben Solo within the Star Wars sequel trilogy. In The Last Jedi, Luke explains in detail what happened on the night that Ben Solo turned to the dark side and demolished his Jedi academy. Luke confesses to Rey (Daisy Ridley) that he had often sensed the darkness within Ben Solo during their training, but when he went to confront him, Luke noticed Ben Solo’s heart had already been turned by Snoke. In a fleeting moment of fear, Luke attempts to prevent the destruction Kylo Ren would cause in the future by trying to murder him, which essentially pushes Ben over to the dark side of the Force.
If Luke had similarly failed to recognize a perceived weakness in his past apprentice Grogu, it would certainly explain why Luke is wary of the darkness within Ben Solo to the point that his fear causes him to almost kill Ben. Since Luke was able to see the good inside of the Sith Lord Darth Vader, it doesn't align with Luke's history for him to assume that Ben's connection to the light side of the Force is unsalvageable unless his experience training Grogu ended disastrously and taught him to avoid any sign of weakness within any future apprentices. It would also account for Luke’s viewpoint that passing on his knowledge of the Force to Ben was the result of his own “hubris.” As one of the last remaining Jedi, Luke certainly couldn’t be blamed for wanting to pass on his wisdom over to his nephew Ben, but doing so after possibly failing another apprentice might explain why he blames himself for trying.
Alternatively, it’s not official yet that Grogu will actually be Luke’s first apprentice. While Luke states that Grogu needs to be trained to foster his talent, he never actually states that he will be the one to do so. If season 3 of The Mandalorian returns to Grogu’s story, it might throw the audience a curveball by having Luke deliver Grogu to one of the other remaining Jedi for training and instead reveal that Luke took Grogu for the same reason he’s searching for Jedi artifacts and through the ruins of past Jedi Temples. Grogu is technically a relic of the era before the Galactic Empire having trained with past Jedi Masters and, since this appears to be a point in time when Grogu’s memory is most clear, Luke may be able to learn something from Grogu in return.