Don't Expect Grogu To Get His Mandalorian Helmet Any Time Soon

This piece contains spoilers for "The Mandalorian."

Whether we all like it or not, our beloved Grogu is being taught the so-called "true" Way in "The Mandalorian." This, as you can imagine, is a bit of a double-edged sword — while we are all for the Jedi-to-be honing in his skills, it also sets him on a potentially dangerous path full of creepy religious tenets and poor safety precautions. So far, it's not looking like the Children of the Watch are any more sympathetic, but at least they recognize that Grogu has potential for greatness. I, personally, can agree with them on that.

On the bright side, the latest episode of "The Mandalorian" proved that we shouldn't expect Grogu to don the Mandalorian helmet for a while. We see this before his adoptive father Din (Pedro Pascal) puts him in a training exercise with a young Mando foundling – when asked why the little guy is being trained despite not wearing a helmet created by the Watch, Din replies that it's because he's unable to recite the Mandalorian creed. Of course, the obvious rebuttal would be that if he can't recite the creed, he can't train to be a member of the Watch, but that is put to rest when the foundlings and the rest of the group find out what he's capable of. Regardless, he was officially given the foundling status by the Armorer (Emily Swallow), so he's on his way up ... for now.

The fact that Grogu isn't about to become fully initiated into the Children of the Watch isn't surprising for a few varied reasons. For starters, Grogu can barely talk. The only clear word that he's been able to mutter so far throughout the show's three seasons is "patu," the meaning of which is still uncertain. Considering he's around fifty years old, he'll probably only be able to speak maybe one or two sentences by the time he's reached his centennial. There's a good chance that if the Watch is even still around, Grogu will outlive everyone he met as a foundling by the time he's able to recite the creed and thus receive his helmet.

This plot detail also acknowledges a big elephant in the "Mandalorian" room, and that is the fact that Grogu's popularity mostly has to do with how cute he is. I have already written about how portraying him as a puppet instead of a CGI creature is the best call due to his range of emotions, and this episode was far from an exception. We already have to deal with Pascal's kind and loving face being covered up all the time, so what would happen if Grogu's was, as well? Would mass panic spread onto the streets? Would "Star Wars" merchandise sales plummet? Who's to say? Regardless, it's for the best that Grogu isn't fully initiated into the Watch yet, and it's even better that he won't be getting a helmet for presumably a long, long time.