Damn. Don't mess with the boss baby of The Mandalorian. In The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 7, "The Reckoning," Mando -- whose actual name is Din Djarin, but I'm still calling him Mando -- killed some time by arm wrestling with former Rebel soldier Cara Dune (Gina Carano). Baby Yoda -- whose actual name has yet to be revealed, but I'm sticking with Baby Yoda -- watched the match and decided to tip the scales for daddy Mando (Pedro Pascal). Baby Yoda put out his hand and used the Force to choke Cara Dune, Vader style.
Apparently that scene, which also included Kuiil, went pretty Method for Cara Dune actress Gina Carano. Here's how she responded when a Mandalorian fan asked how it felt to learn she'd be Baby Yoda's first Force choke victim:
Passed out twice?! This is NOT the way. Gina Carano is a former competitive mixed martial artists -- hardly a shrinking violet -- so that's interesting. Bryce Dallas Howard directed Episode 4, a few chapters before this one, and mentioned how hard Carano worked to do all of those stunts while also battling a stomach flu. Sounds like it wasn't the easiest shoot at times.
So, I'm not sure what was happening on set that day for this Episode 7 scene, but maybe Baby Yoda is just really strong with The Force. (That didn't stop those two scout troopers from hitting him in Episode 8, but at least the internet is hitting back at Jason Sudeikis for it.) Or maybe they just did so many takes of that scene, Gina Carano got light-headed.
By the way, Gina Carano also knows The Child's real name, and I'm guessing that information comes out in The Mandalorian Season 2, which already started filming in October 2019. Carano playfully teased a fan whose account is called Baby Yoda:
Here's how Baby Yoda's Force choke scene played out in Chapter 7/Episode 7. While Cara and Mando were arm wrestling, The Child started choking Cara Dune from afar...
Mando: No, no, stop! We're friends, we're friends. Cara is my friend.Cara Dune: That is not OK!Kuiil: Very curious.Cara: Curious? It almost killed me.Kuiil: The story you told me of the Mudhorn now makes more sense.Mando: What is it?Kuiil: What it is, I don't know. But what it does, this I've heard rumors of.
That turned into a fight about working for The Empire, so Kuill didn't expand on the rumors. The Mudhorn was featured in Episode 2, when Baby Yoda used the Force to kill it.
It was kind of surprising to see Baby Yoda jump in with a Force choke to protect Mando since he did nothing but sip loudly when Mando and Cara Dune had their real fight back in Episode 4. That sip turned into a meme, but otherwise showed Baby Yoda looking unbothered. This time, however, he seemed to think he was defending his daddy. Maybe that showed the strength of their bond at that point. Or was he trying to say something specific about Cara?
What's the real story with The Child/The Kid/Baby Yoda/He Who Shall Not Be Named Until Season 2? Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) told Mando, "You may think you have some idea what you’re in possession of, but you do not." All we know is that the kid looks like, well, a baby Yoda and is clearly Force-strong like Yoda (and others).
Mando's big mission in The Mandalorian Season 2 is to discover Baby Yoda's origins. We'll have to see how that goes when Season 2 arrives on Disney+ in Fall 2020. Here's more of what we know so far about Season 2. And here's what else you can expect on Disney+ in 2020.
