There were many things that went right for The Mandalorian's first season, but The Child was by far and away the most succesful hit . Our little green friend, passionately nicknamed Baby Yoda by the fanbase, was kept a secret right up to the moment he was first revealed at the end of the series' pilot episode - an incredible feat in this day and age.
The small character broke the internet and became the focus of the show for many viewers, who were treated with a Baby Yoda Meme of the Week during each episode. The Child's comedic moments inspired an endless amount of memes on the internet, with the most popular easily being the scene when he watches a brawl with his cup of soup, which has young kids to thank for its existence...
NEWS
During the The Mandalorian: Behind the Camera ATX Television Festival panel via Collider , director Bryce Dallas Howard explained that her kids were instrumental in conveying the importance of The Child:
My kids were on set pretty much every day. And even before we came to set, when it was the storyboards for the episode… when we were just conceiving of things, my daughter would come into the editing room and whenever Baby wasn’t on screen, she would lean over to me and be like, ‘Where’s Baby? Where’s Baby? Where’s Baby?’
The director noted that executive producer Jon Favreau realized how important Baby Yoda's safety was for young viewers:
Jon [Favreau] picked up on that, like, ‘Oh yeah — if the kid is wondering where Baby is, then we need to know where Baby is at all times.’… There was something with the kids where Baby was very real and Baby was in danger and they needed to see where Baby was at all times…
Howard's children are to thank for the creation of the Cup Meme, designed to ensure us that The Child was safe:
They needed to know Baby was safe. And from that a variety of moments came up that were constructed just because we wanted everyone to know Baby was safe.
WHAT THIS MEANS
If you were to poll a group of Star Wars fans on their favorite Baby Yoda moments, the odds are pretty good that the cup scene would rank near the top of the list. Since Chapter 4: Sanctuary dropped last November, there have been thousands of memes created based on the spectating Baby Yoda and his cup of soup.
It really shouldn't come as a surprise that The Child was so important to the young kids around the set. If the little guy was able to win over the hearts of fans of older generations, he easily has the new kids all over him as well. The children playing the young villagers on Sorgan probably didn't even need to act very much, they could just respond to the actions of Baby Yoda because they believed in him so greatly. The same can be said for Howard's kids and viewers worldwide, who can now enjoy their memes forever - or until the next one starts trending.
