The Mandalorian season 2, episode 7 breaks a show tradition by not showing Baby Yoda. In early, pre-release marketing materials, The Mandalorian was sold to audiences as a bounty hunter show, following the exploits of a lone gunman making his way through a post-Imperial galaxy. In The Mandalorian series premiere, it was revealed the show was much more than initial expectations, with the surprise twist of Baby Yoda. The adorable infant immediately became a fan-favorite character, helping The Mandalorian seize the zeitgeist and become a massive success for Disney+. He's taken on a greater importance in The Mandalorian season 2, which saw Din Djarin attempt to reunite Baby Yoda with the Jedi.
Ever since Din found Baby Yoda, the two have been virtually inseparable (Din says, "Wherever I go, he goes") and their touching dynamic is the emotional core of the show. That's why it was so devastating when Moff Gideon's Imperial remnant captured Baby Yoda in the aptly-named episode, "The Tragedy." That development set Din on a collision course to save the child, calling upon the help of Cara Dune and (surprisingly) Mayfeld to help in his quest. Viewers saw this mission in action on the latest episode, "The Believer," which had plenty of classic Star Wars action. However, it broke The Mandalorian formula in a big way.
"The Believer" is the first Mandalorian episode to not show Baby Yoda onscreen. While Grogu is alluded to in dialogue multiple times (including Din's callback to Gideon's season 1 monologue), viewers to not see the child. Prior to "The Believer," Baby Yoda and Din were the only two characters to appear in every episode thus far.
There are a couple of reasons why the creative team went in this direction. For starters, there honestly wasn't much of a place for Baby Yoda in "The Believer's" story. The episode dealt with Din, Cara Dune, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, and Mayfeld working together to locate Gideon's ship, so a majority of its 39-minute runtime consisted of showing the mission to Morak. Even in the episode's closing moments, where Din issues his warning to Gideon, there wasn't a reason to include a shot of Baby Yoda to simply keep the character's perfect attendance streak going. Audiences understand what Din's motivation is, and odds are any scene with Baby Yoda would have simply reiterated what viewers already know. Everyone loves to see Baby Yoda, but this time he wouldn't have helped move the narrative forward.
The Mandalorian's weekly release schedule also makes Baby Yoda's absence have more weight to it. Viewers can't simply start watching the next episode - they have to wait a full week for The Mandalorian season 2 finale. By that point, it will have been two weeks since Baby Yoda was last seen onscreen, mimicking the time Din's been away from Grogu in-universe. That will make the pair's presumed reunion in the next episode all the more satisfying. It's another illustration of how The Mandalorian always make sure to present its episodes from Din's point of view. He didn't get to see Baby Yoda in "The Believer," so it makes sense viewers didn't, either.