At the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, Obi-Wan’s ghost instructs Luke to go to the Dagobah system to be trained by the legendary Jedi warrior Yoda. When he arrives on Dagobah, Luke meets a little green hermit who steals his dinner, hits Artoo with his cane, and promises to take him to Yoda. Much to Luke’s surprise, the little green hermit is Yoda.
After Frank Oz made Yoda an icon with his masterful puppetry in the original Star Wars trilogy, the prequels saw a younger, more virile, computer-generated Yoda in action, doing triple-flips in lightsaber duels with all-powerful Sith Lords. In both trilogies, Yoda imparts a lot of poignant, if out-of-order wisdom.
Originals: “Do, Or Do Not. There Is No Try.”
This is arguably Yoda’s most iconic quote. It carries an important message about the power of determination. If one is going to succeed, they have to believe they can succeed.
When Luke fails to lift his X-wing from the swamp and deems it to be impossible, Yoda shows him that nothing is impossible by removing the ship himself.
Prequels: “Into Exile, I Must Go. Failed, I Have.”
After the Great Jedi Purge, Obi-Wan goes to defeat Anakin and Yoda goes to defeat Palpatine. While the former succeeds, the latter fails. He tells Bail Organa, “Into exile, I must go. Failed, I have.”
Lucas originally showed Yoda exiling himself on Dagobah in the closing montage of Revenge of the Sith, but decided to keep the story focused on the Skywalkers with Luke and Leia being sent to their new adoptive parents.
Originals: “When 900 Years Old You Reach, Look This Good You Will Not.”
In the middle act of Return of the Jedi, Luke heads to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training but finds Yoda on his deathbed. Luke’s master quips, “When 900 years old you reach, look this good you will not.”
The great thing about Yoda’s death scene is how readily he accepts that his time has come. He just climbs into bed and waits to become one with the Force.
Prequels: “Truly Wonderful, The Mind Of A Child Is.”
Throughout the prequel trilogy, Yoda is often seen training younglings in the Jedi Temple. When Obi-Wan comes to one of his classes with the incomplete Jedi archives, Yoda jokes to his students, “Lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan has. How embarrassing.”
Yoda is shown to really care about his students and encourages them with compliments like, “Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is,” which has become a meme template for when kids say the darndest things.
Originals: “ On What You Have Learned, Luke. There Is... Another... Skywalker.”
As he lays dying in his hut on Dagobah, Yoda imparts a few final pieces of advice to Luke: “When gone am I... the last of the Jedi will you be. Luke, the Force runs strong in your family. on what you have learned, Luke. There is... another... Skywalker.”
And on that bombshell, he es away. The other Skywalker he’s talking about is, of course, Leia, but Lucas hadn’t figured that out when he had Leia kiss Luke in The Empire Strikes Back.
Prequels: “Impossible To See, The Future Is.”
In Attack of the Clones, Yoda says that despite the immense power of the Jedi, nobody can see into the future: “The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is.”
While the past can’t be changed, the future isn’t written — it’s whatever we make of it. This is the same message peddled by the Terminator franchise.
Originals: “No. There Is Another.”
When Luke senses that Han and Leia are in danger on Bespin, he decides to cut his Jedi training short so he can go and help them. Obi-Wan’s Force ghost s Yoda on Dagobah.
As Luke’s X-wing illuminates Yoda with red light, Obi-Wan says, “That boy is our last hope.” Referencing Leia, Yoda says, “No. There is another.”
Prequels: “Fear Is The Path To The Dark Side.”
When Anakin starts having visions of Pé’s death in Revenge of the Sith, he goes to Yoda with his uncontrollable fears about not being able to save the people he loves from dying.
Yoda offers an ominous premonition for Anakin’s near future with his response: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Originals: “Judge Me By My Size, Do You?”
Luke blames his unsuccessful attempt to lift his X-wing out of the swamp on the size of the ship, but Yoda tells him, “Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”
With his immense Force abilities, Yoda is able to effortlessly lift the X-wing and carry it onto more solid ground, where Luke will be able to take off.
Prequels: “Your Apprentice, Skywalker Will Be.”
When Qui-Gon first brings Anakin before the Jedi Council, Yoda rightly senses darkness in his soul and refuses to allow him to be trained. However, he’s later guilt-tripped by Qui-Gon’s dying wish into letting Obi-Wan train the kid.
Obi-Wan says, “Master Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word. I will train Anakin. Without the approval of the Council, if I must.” Yoda replies, “Qui-Gon’s defiance, I sense in you. Need that, you do not. Agree with you, the Council does. Your apprentice, Skywalker will be.” And so, Anakin’s fate — and the fate of the galaxy — is sealed.
