Lucasfilm’s creative art manager has come to the defense of a controversial The Mandalorian scene that saw Baby Yoda eat another creature’s eggs.
The Star Wars spin-off series, which follows a Mandalorian called Din Djarin on his adventures following the fall of the Empire, has proven to be a massive hit for Disney Plus. A second season is currently underway, and a third is already being prepared.
Without a doubt, one of the biggest reasons for this success is The Child aka Baby Yoda. Aside from all the viral gifs and cute merchandise, the character’s appearance in the show provides a welcome sense of innocence and plenty of comic relief.
But in Chapter 10 episode The Passenger, which came to Disney+ on November 6, the loveable Baby Yoda took a surprisingly dark turn.
The episode saw Djarin accompany a new character, known only as Frog Lady, as she attempted to deliver her unfertilized eggs to her husband. The eggs were her only hope to continue her family line, which was facing extinction. So what did Baby Yoda do? He started eating them.
Some fans called the egg-eating scene “upsetting”
Most viewers took the scene at face value as a bit of dark comedy, but others weren’t so happy. One fan on Twitter compared Baby Yoda’s on-screen actions to “f**ing up someone’s IVF”, pointing out that this could be hard to watch for people who have experienced difficulties having children.
“It’s not funny at all to hear mama frog lady go into great detail about how important and beloved her eggs are to her & have to watch them get eaten on 3 separate occasions for shits & giggles,” wrote one viewer. Another added that the scene was “incredibly upsetting for a wannabe mom”.
In response to the backlash, Lucasfilm creative art manager Phil Szostak shared his thoughts on the scene in an attempt to defend The Mandalorian. He explained that the running joke was included for “comedic effect” but acknowledged that it could be “disturbing” for some viewers.
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“For the record, Chapter 10 of The Mandalorian makes it clear that the Frog Lady’s eggs are unfertilized, like the chicken eggs many of us enjoy,” he explained. “But obviously, chickens aren’t sentient beings and The Child eating the eggs is intentionally disturbing, for comedic effect.”
For the record, Chapter 10 of #TheMandalorian makes it clear that the Frog Lady’s eggs are unfertilized, like the chicken eggs many of us enjoy. But obviously, chickens aren’t sentient beings and the Child eating the eggs is intentionally disturbing, for comedic effect.#StarWars https://t.co/Js51fLpE3C
— Phil Szostak (@PhilSzostak) November 9, 2020
Szostak later added: “Fans of horror know that disturbing things make some of us laugh and some of us squirm, or both. Your mileage may vary.”
Regardless of where you stand on Baby Yoda’s egg-eating antics, it’s unlikely that the minor controversy will have much impact on the show’s success. It’s clearly performing well for Disney, and is even winning back Star Wars fans jaded by the recent movies.
There’s plenty more Star Wars goodness coming to Disney+ over the next couple of years. There’s a Rogue One prequel series, an Obi-Wan series, an untitled female-led series, and the animated Star Wars: The Bad Batch series to look forward to.
In the meantime, you can catch new episodes of The Mandalorian Season 2 on Disney+ every Friday.
