On Canceling the ‘Baby-Eating’ Baby Yoda
23 comments
I have a confession to make. I’m not a Star Wars fan.
I can hear the gasp of millions as I make this confession, their shocked eyes and drooping mouths staring at me in horror for this admission. The administrative team at Speculative Faith has probably called an emergency meeting of all members as they discuss this scandal that can threaten the fabric of the faith-based speculative fiction lovers community.
With a scarlet “H” on my chest 1 I stand firm against the opposition. I must admit it at the cost of all else. Therefore, I must say it again.
I am not a Star Wars fan.
Don’t cry for me, Star Wars fans. The truth is, I prefer Star Trek.
All joking aside, being a non-fan of Star Wars doesn’t preclude my becoming aware of the “controversy” and the “canceling” of Baby Yoda.
To say this is ridiculous would be too kind a word.
Thank God (and I really mean that) the cancel culture of the 21st century didn’t exist in the 20th century. In the 
bygone days of the 1980’s, poor ALF would have never made it past season one with his desire to eat cats, particularly when he tried to microwave the cat for a fast meal. 2
ALF was a loveable puppet that made its stamp on the pop culture of the 1980s. Now, in the 21st century, we have Baby Yoda making its stamp on the pop culture but in a new way.
After all, this is “Baby Yoda.” I’ve no idea if it’s a reincarnation of Yoda from the original movies. In all non-fan fairness, I wasn’t all that interested in finding out so there won’t be any commentary in this post about the origins of Yoda, the Force, Luke boy, Vader, and all that.
In The Mandalorian, from what I’ve seen of posts, Baby Yoda is eating the eggs of some frog alien lady. Apparently, this frog alien lady or whatever, is the last of her kind and her babies are the future and he’s chomping on them. Due to the “controversy” the producers clarified that the eggs are “not fertilized” so there’s no actual “baby” he’s chomping on. They compared it to us eating chicken eggs. This apparently backfired because now, some of the fans were really disgusted now.
It was meant as a comic relief. Just like ALF trying to eat Lucky the cat. Who was really lucky after all.
Yet, the uproar is up. Now, cute Baby Yoda is now cannibal Baby Yoda and the scourge of the universe.
You gotta be kidding me.
This is the latest example of a culture who has lost its soul and is replaced with a veneer of morality. For goodness’ sake! Baby Yoda ain’t real. The frog alien lady ain’t real. The eggs, the puppet or CG Baby Yoda is eating ain’t real. To throw all this shade on a puppet is ridiculous.
I assure you, Baby Yoda ain’t feeling the hate.
Now, in defense of fandom 3 (after all, I am a Trekkie) fandom is a member’s only club. Not just for those who are 
mere observers of our fanaticism, but those who immerse themselves in the obsession. We connect to the source of our fandom on many levels, but the one that makes us all fans is imagination. I don’t mind getting into rigorous discussion of why Captain James T. Kirk is the best captain of all time. I’ll go toe to toe with you defending the position that Vulcan should never have been destroyed in the reboot of the franchise. I’ll sign the change dot org petition to produce an episode showing a battle between the Voth and Species 8472.
Underneath the obsession is that fact that I know its fictional. I enjoy it because it gets me out of the real world for a while.
My issue I take with canceling Baby Yoda is this: If there’s uproar over this fictional thing—why does it stop at the real-life destruction of millions of children who are aborted every year? Where’s the cancel culture on Planned Parenthood, funded by government? Remember when undercover pro-life people showed videos depicting the truth behind Planned Parenthood and those videos were thrown out, dismissed, and summarily suppressed by the media — where was the cancel culture then?
No, this post is not going to expound on pro-life issues. There are better people than I who can go deep on that. I’m using the example of abortion, in real-life, to simply make a point.
Giant businesses and organizations get behind abortion all the time, donating millions. What about legislations that lets a mother abort her child at birth? Where’s the cancel culture for that?
See, the “babies” that the cancel culture says that Baby Yoda is eating on aren’t real. One fan said, “He’s killing this mother’s children.” Another made a remark that Baby Yoda eating the babies could be offensive and harmful for women who are infertile. Not surprisingly, a woman who was infertile thought it was funny.
I guess there’s no accounting for taste.
The point is this: the eggs in the womb of a woman are very real. As Hank Hanegraaf once said. “You did not come from a zygote. You were a zygote.”
Does anyone else see this glaring problem? That a cancel culture would have more compassion for a frog alien lady on TV than for a child in a womb? What does it say about our culture at large? Have you ever canceled a favored fandom? Or, am I just being too flippant? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
- H is for heretic ↩
- It is true that when a child did try to microwave their own cat, the producers of the show edited that scene out. But most people back in the 20th century knew and acknowledged, wholeheartedly, that kids sometimes do stupid things. ↩
- According to Wikipedia: “A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. ↩
I cancel my fandom of franchises (Oh no!) fairly frequently. It is a sad thing but when a franchise crosses a line (Boy, is Hollywood prone to this!) that violates my convictions I have to dump the franchise. So I understand the get rid of baby Yoda thing. I understand it but that doesn’t mean I agree with it. (Let other people have their convictions. You just keep yours) To tell the truth, I dumped Star Wars when the 3rd movie (Episode 6) came out. Star Trek got a similar boot because of First Contact. (Actually, I’ve booted Star Trek several times. It’s hard to let go of things you love.) That doesn’t mean I don’t continue to like and remember things from these series or even joke about them. But I no longer look forward to new movies, new series, new episodes. If we need to cancel something and start over, I would say it was Hollywood. It corrupts everything it puts it’s hands on.
I can understand that. I know for myself, it’s been very difficult for me to get into newer incarnations of Star Trek — Enterprise, Discovery, Picard for a myriad of reasons I won’t go into. I just think that to take it to this extreme is ridiculous. Plus, I’m sure the producers will now make Baby Yoda do whatever to make him ‘palatable’ again.
Yes. Which is my ultimate point (which I didn’t make clear). Everyone has their convictions. They should keep them. If you want to change things then persuade others that your point of view is correct. It is the heart that must change. There are some things that should be changed, like abortion, but even if you cancel something or outlaw it that doesn’t change the heart of those who think differently. the heart is what must be reached.
Yes. I only keep up with this stuff because of my family. I wish Star Trek had ended with The Next Generation. And the movies had ended with Star Trek VI after leaving out the first and fifth. I wish Star Wars had ended with the prequels–and done those a lot better. Too many zombie series running around that need to have stakes put through them.
We have a real dearth of originality in Hollywood. No creativity. Partly due to poor quality products from the monopolies.
It can also be seen as a judgment on a decadent culture. The arts are the first thing to go (so I understand.)
I shade toward Trekness, but my fam always gets me Star Wars merchandise because it’s readily available in flyover country. Dr.Who, The Expanse, and Thunderbirds Are Go! round out my passions.
I’m glad The Child has fallen from grace, for the same reason I was glad that Superman died. (Sorry about the spoiler if you’ve been living under a rock with no library card since the ’70s.) You don’t have to retcon the cute little Furby because it starts cursing in Klingon or uses the Almighty Force to steal oviparous collectibles.
I’m reminded of a speech given by a character in another show I’m a fan of:
“You’d expect people who talk about the sanctity of life to be against the death penalty. You’d expect people who care about supporting the helpless to be against preventing the most helpless of all from living full and satisfying lives. Maybe the nuns were right and we are inherently evil creatures barely restrained by the threat of eternal damnation. Hypocrisy runs rampant, and it’s society’s job to keep us from forgetting that we are as guilty as the worst criminal we will tolerate.”
Jack McCoy, played by Sam Watterson in Law &Order
Your comment reminded me of the John Wick franchise, and how he went gangster (literally) over the death of his dog. We all know why he did but at the same time, we here in the U. S., would never countenance the filmmakers showing the dog being beaten. In the movie, it’s implied with a raised crowbar over and a thud and a whimper, followed by a trail of blood leading to John Wick’s prone figure. Yet, most of us sat, me and Granny included, watching as he shot people’s brains out in revenge and how he got the Russian dude’s kid in the end. That’s human nature — eternally conflicted.
I dearly love my cat Abby. I spend extra money on special food she needs. But–much as I’d hate to–I’d let her die if I had to choose between her life and a human stranger.
Good post!
I would point out three things.
1. The Baby Yoda protesters probably don’t see the issue of abortion here simply because they think of it in terms of genocide. The frog lady mentions multiple times that these eggs are the last of her genetic line and that she must reunite with her husband to fertilize and keep her species going. so bringing up this valid issue of abortion will likely just end up with us talking past one another.
2. The show clearly identified these as unfertilized eggs so it was not abortion in any sense anyway. If you believe it was, I hope you’ve sworn off omelets! 😉
3. Baby Yoda might be 50 years old but he is a baby developmentally. He’s used his powers instinctively and sparingly. He basically hides, eats and gets into trouble otherwise. As a father of four, I can tell you kids eat things they’re not supposed to and they can be pretty sneaky about it, especially if you’re a Mandalorian trying to save his ship from, well, …spoilers. One of my kids even ate a sticky hand (one of those nasty squishy things you get out of a vending machine or [cough cough] a VBS program) and we never knew it until it came time to change the diaper! It a very alarming surprise to say the least!
Man, people will argue over anything though, right?
Glad you pointed that out. And fair point about genocide vs abortion. It would be an instance in talking past each other, which isn’t my point at all. Thanks for the clarification.
I didn’t understand that the eggs were the last of her line to mean their loss would be the end of the frog people, but rather the end of her personal line. The reason the military service would not take all the sons of a household because somebody should be left to carry on the line.
I quit calling myself a ‘fan’ of anything as fandom became more about what you hate (about what the creators do with your fandom, or against other fandoms) than what you love.
Good point!
I absolutely agree with you. It’s much easier to deal with fictional outrage than to face the reality of our own fallen world. It makes people feel better but it accomplices nothing substantial.
I could care less about the Mandalorian because…I’ve got better things to do with my money right now than pay to watch it, but reading this had me laughing out loud and then nodding in agreement with you.
Our society is completely topsy-turvy when it comes to priorities.
America has lost its sense of humor. My husband loves watching reruns of King of Queens and there is no way some of the things they say and do would be allowed on any current program. And that show ended in 2007.
I totally agree, Jen. I was in high school in the late 70s. Between Monty Python, Looney Toons, Mel Brooks, and SNL (John Belushi and crew, who also included guests Steve Martin and Eddie Murphey), and we LOVED dark humor. We knew it wasn’t real.
So many things offend people. It’s weird, because what offends me may make you laugh. And vice versa. Who decides what’s okay and what’s not? Those who feel they’ll lose $$ if something continues. I bet if they polled every single person in the world, they’d find out people really aren’t as sensitive as media is telling us.
The really exasperating thing about all this is that despite the hyperbolic articles lamenting about the hypersensitivity of fans, nobody “cancelled” Baby Yoda. What actually happened was that few SW fans on Twitter — most female, but some male as well — felt that the joke about the Child eating the Frog Lady’s eggs (and Din/Mando not paying attention soon enough to stop him) was poorly written because of the emphasis the show had already placed on the value those eggs had for her. So these fans remarked on their own Twitter feeds, in conversation with their own followers, that they didn’t think the joke was funny and that it also made them dislike Baby Yoda, which was probably not a smart choice for the scriptwriter to make since the Child is Lucasfilm’s most popular character at the moment.
Of course, Twitter loves a good cancellation and will manufacture one at the least opportunity, so this quickly got retweeted and mocked by fans who disagreed, and eventually reached various Lucasfilm reps who proceeded to make sneering remarks about the fans making up stuff to be offended at, being too stupid to know how small children behave, and/or not being able to take a joke.
All of which missed the point the original critics were making, that the joke was badly written *in the context of the episode* — especially given what we’d already been shown about how serious and important these eggs were to the Frog Lady. The episode even gave her an impassioned speech about how vital it was that her eggs survive long enough for her husband to fertilize them. So we’re expected to take her seriously and care about the eggs’ survival, but we’re also supposed to find it hilarious when the baby eats them? Even my husband, who is by no means a bleeding heart and who has no connection at all to SW fandom, remarked that it was “kind of sick and creepy, not really funny at all.”
The whole issue could have been avoided if the script had been written differently — having Baby Yoda repeatedly go after the eggs and being caught just before he eats one, for instance. But as it was, the scenes of the Child eating the eggs weren’t comical so much as disturbing. Especially for some women SW fans who struggle with fertility and identified with the Frog Lady’s desperation. Is it fair to tell viewers to care about something, give them high-stakes reasons to care about it, and then be surprised and offended when they do end up actually caring?
Anyway, while I agree that SW fandom has a lot of wackos and cranks in it, I don’t think this is an example of fans being extreme so much as Lucasfilm and their supporters being hypersensitive to criticism. It’s not that the fans who object to things like the Frog Lady’s eggs being eaten aren’t “getting” the joke — they just don’t agree that it’s funny or well written. And I agree with them.
Great points you made. Some other commentators have also pointed that out.
This. YES. Thank you. And also, I super hate spiders. So….. I was mostly just horrified and disturbed by this episode. It was totally unenjoyable for me. Which I was super disappointed by, because I’ve loved every previous episode of this show.
Yeah, there’s a big difference between a fictional child eating the unfertilized eggs of another species because he’s hungry and real adults killing the fertilized egg- also known as a child- inside of their own wombs because they don’t want them.
I love this article. It nails the blatant hypocrisy of the cancel culture with its perverted, dying remnants of a once Christian conscience.
But the important thing to remember:
The true best captain of Star Trek is Captain Sisko. Any other answer is wrong.
*coughs* Uh…Sisko was a Commander of a space station, not Captain. *coughs* Captain Kirk wins. 🙂