The Mandalorian shook up the Star Wars franchise, bringing a whole new wave of fans - and a whole new wave of merchandising. In spite of the titular character being ... well, the Mandalorian, the true spotlight of the show was the character officially known as "The Child," who rapidly became known among fans as "Baby Yoda."
When the show finally revealed The Child's true, canonical name as Grogu, the internet didn't really take too kindly to the change.
Memes On Memes
The women on the left: the internet. The Child on the right: Disney/Star Wars company.
Fans will scream and scream and refuse to acknowledge canon (as fans have been doing since time immemorial), and the ones who set canon will continue, unbothered and unconcerned, because Grogu it is, Baby Yoda it is not.
Stop Trying To Make Grogu Happen
Raise your hand if you've been personally victimized by Regina George ... er, Disney/Star Wars when they insist that Baby Yoda's name is actually Grogu. Mean Girls is iconic, and it shaped millennial culture, with quotes that range from "on Wednesdays we wear pink" and "four for you Glenn Coco, you go Glenn Coco" to the above "stop trying to make fetch happen." "Fetch" is Gretchen Weiner's slang du jour, and she claims it's British for "cool," and she keeps trying to get it to catch on. It does not, and her dreams are crushed in the scene above when Regina George informs her that fetch is not going to happen.
The same goes for Grogu - it may be true that The Child's name is canonically Grogu, but that doesn't mean that fans have to like it.
Crikey!
Steve Irwin was one of Earth's greatest treasures, may he rest in peace. He taught generations to love the world around us, and if he existed in the Star Wars universe, he would also teach everyone to love the animals, aliens and many other wild creatures that exist on all planets at all times.
If Steve Erwin got a look at Grogu - a Baby Yoda - it is a fair assumption that he would lose his mind over how adorable Grogu is.
Only Two Emotions, There Are
Baby Grogu is relatable on several accounts, especially in the sense that he seems to only have two moods: tired and angry, and needy and not angry. Sometimes we don't want to talk! Sometimes it's okay to be angry.
Then when we're done being angry, we want attention to help us feel better - and that's just the way it is. This is The Way, one could say.
Anger Is An Emotion Of The Dark Side ...
There's only so much a young Jedi-to-be can take. His name is Grogu and being called by something other than his name could have untold psychological implications. As we see with Anakin, it can be a quick slip to the Dark Side - being called Baby Yoda could be the nudge needed to move Grogu to the other side of the Force.
Maybe fans should start calling him by his name ... lest he take up a new, ominous mantel like certain other characters who started out adorable and ended up completely evil.
It's All Grogu To Me
In the original scene from Friends, Phoebe is trying to teach Joey French, since Joey listed it as a language he knew on his resume and was up for a part where he'd have to actually speak French. Teaching Joey one sentence at a time wasn't getting anywhere, so Phoebe broke it down to the syllable level.
Joey was following along, just like fans might do if they are convinced to call Baby Yoda, Grogu, but then when it comes time to string all the syllables together, it might immediately revert back to Baby Yoda (just the way it should be).
What's Star Wars Really About?
The Star Wars franchise is huge, sprawling, and involved. There are the six main movies, the most recent trilogy, the TV shows, and not to mention the books that make up the Extended Universe. The logic is that the movies are the main event, with all the different branches of the series being fun, entertaining side stories.
The Mandalorian is one such side story, but the popularity of Grogu challenges that idea - The Child is the entire Star Wars universe now.
A Long Time Ago In A Religion Far Far Away...
Ah, yes. The Star Wars and Christianity crossover we all needed: Yoda, the father; Grogu, the Baby, or the Son; and ghost-Yoda, the Holy Spirit. All three aspects of the same idea.
There's something to be said here vis-a-vis the Star Wars mythos, especially considering Anakin's special connection with the Force and Anakin's connection to Yoda, not to mention Anakin's family's connections. This is a lot.
Priorities
Priorities in the Star Wars universe go like this: cookies, followed closely by Wookies. Yoda may think he has the upper hand and has the more important connections, but anyone who's anyone knows that cookies are where it's at, even in a galaxy far, far away.
Baby Yoda connects with snacks and thus becomes the most relatable character in the entire Star Wars series.
You're Laughing
There are a lot of aliens with odd names out there in the Star Wars universe, but most of them don't already have a fan-favorite nickname before those names become canonized.
Baby Yoda is objectively an adorable name, while Grogu is ... not. Granted, with Lucas initially describing Yoda's species as a "frog," it maybe fits best, after all.