WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian season 2.
In the final episode of The Mandalorian, Din Djarin and his allies launched their rescue mission to save the young child Grogu (affectionately referred to by fans as Baby Yoda). In prior episodes, the child had been taken from the Mandalorian by the Imperial Moff Gideon, who sought to experiment on Grogu and study his blood due to the child's great power in the Force. This prompted Djarin to gather allies like Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Cara Dune, and fellow Mandalorians Bo-Katan Kryze and Koska Reeves to aid him in his rescue mission.
Gideon's forces proved to be quite formidable, as he had an entire platoon of Dark Troopers under his command. However, a Jedi arrived to save the day, responding to the call Grogu made through the Force in past episodes. By the end of the episode, the Jedi is revealed to be none other than Luke Skywalker himself, and he takes young Grogu to be trained under him in the ways of the Force, thus concluding the second season.
While this was quite a thrill for fans, it does raise some questions, particularly when it comes to his nephew Ben Solo (the future Kylo Ren). Before this episode, it was believed that Ben Solo was Luke's first student and apprentice. What does this mean given the context of the Star Wars timeline, as well as the future for Grogu and Luke during this time period?
Luke Skywalker Retrieves Grogu From The Mandalorian For Training
After cutting though the entire platoon of Dark Troopers with his iconic emerald lightsaber and impressive power in the Force, Skywalker made his way to the bridge where the Mandalorian and his allies had just defeated Moff Gideon and recovered young Grogu. Seeing the child responding to the video monitors of the Jedi making his way to them, Din Djarin makes the decision to open the bridge doors and let the Jedi in, so that he could finally complete his quest to return Grogu to his own kind.
Luke explained to Djarin that while Grogu is strong in the Force, "talent without training is nothing." He also promises he will give up his life to protect the child, but that Grogu won't ever be safe until he masters his powers and abilities. After a heartfelt goodbye to Djarin, Grogu left with Luke Skywalker to learn the ways of the Jedi.
Who Came First? Baby Yoda or Ben Solo
However, Luke taking Grogu for training does seem to contradict what's been known about Rise of Kylo Ren series from Charles Soule, it was said that Ben was trained by his uncle Luke as his first student. Not only that, but other students wouldn't be brought in until some time after Ben was Luke's only apprentice. It's also known that Luke started training his nephew when Ben was 10 years old. To put that into context, Ben couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 years old during the time when The Mandalorian takes place, where Luke has just taken Grogu (hence the potential continuity contradiction).
While this could mean Star Wars: The Force Awakens could explain why Luke didn't start the New Jedi Order immediately after the creation of the New Republic.
Luke Skywalker's Quest For Knowledge Of The Jedi Order
Luke's activities after Return of the Jedi can be seen in multiple Star Wars projects such as Greg Rucka's Shattered Empire comic, Soule's Rise of Kylo Ren, and EA's solo campaign gameplay from Star Wars: Battlefront II. Much of Skywalker's time was spent collecting as much knowledge as he could about the Jedi Order of the past in the days of the Old and High Republics. Having the unconventional training that he did from surviving masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, this was also a way for Luke to build confidence within himself to feel prepared enough to start his own Jedi temple with a small collection of students.
In the Shattered Empire mini-series, Luke is seen in the weeks just after Return of The Jedi recovering fragments of the Force-sensitive Great Tree that was once planted in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant before the rise of the Empire. In Battlefront II, Luke discovers an ancient Jedi com in one of Palpatine's old observatories, which leads him to the First Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, similar to a Sith Wayfinder in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In Soule's The Rise of Kylo Ren, Luke is traveling with Ben Solo and Jedi historian and Church of the Force member Lor San Tekka, where they find an old Jedi outpost containing vast stores of knowledge such as ancient texts and Jedi holocrons. Aside from this final mission with Lor and Ben, much of Luke's travels and questing for knowledge of the Jedi was on his own, occurring around the same time as the events of The Mandalorian. Is it possible that Grogu was the reason why Luke felt the need to gather and learn as much as he possibly could before finally starting the New Order in earnest years later?
What's In Store For Luke Skywalker And Baby Yoda's Future?
It's possible that the Jedi way might not be the final destiny for young Grogu. Even if it is, Luke's role could be more short-lived than some might assume. In previous episodes, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Grogu could very well be Luke's first failure. An inability to train Grogu early on could be why Luke becomes so determined to collect as much knowledge as he can, so that he can be better prepared for future students like his nephew (though he would fail all the same).
However, this is all conjecture until we know more. While this is a way to make Grogu's new connection to Luke fit in with what's come before, and what lies ahead in the canon timeline, it could also just be a retcon and Grogu has now become Luke's first apprentice as opposed to Ben. However, this doesn't explain where Grogu has been by the time of the Sequel Trilogy. It's also uncertain whether or not dark days are ahead for the child if he's still around when Ben Solo falls to the dark side, becoming Kylo Ren and his subsequent destruction of Luke's Jedi Temple. In any case, here's hoping Grogu will find his destiny regardless, whether that's here with Luke Skywalker at the end of The Mandalorian season 2, or elsewhere down the line.