It seems like a Jedi-training match made in heaven, but Ahsoka refuses to mentor Grogu. Why didn’t Ahsoka train Grogu?
Ahsoka didn’t train Grogu because of his emotional attachment to Din. She witnessed how emotional attachments can corrupt a Jedi Knight’s judgment, and she doesn’t want to steer Grogu down the same path.
Later in the show, Grogu is able to find a suitable mentor who will take him on despite his emotional attachments.
Ahsoka meets Grogu, refuses to train him
In Season 2 of The Mandalorian, Din Djarin and Grogu venture out in search of a Jedi. Din has been quested by The Armorer to return Grogu, a force-sensitive child, to his kind.
With help from Bo-Katan, Din and Grogu find Ahsoka, one of the last remaining Jedi who survived Order 66.
Ahsoka performs tests on Grogu to determine his aptitude with the Force. She can not convince him to use the Force to pull in a rock that she’s instructed him to grab. At a loss, she asks the Mandalorian to give it a try.
Din is able to goad Grogu into using the Force. He has him pull in his favorite ball from the ship. Once Ahsoka realizes the emotional attachment that Grogu has with the Mandalorian, she refuses to train him.
Ahsoka says that Grogu’s attachment to Din makes him vulnerable to his fears and anger.
Din, confused by this statement, says that logic is all the more reason to train him. Remembering her master, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka says she’s seen what such feelings can do to a fully-trained Jedi Knight.
Anakin’s emotional attachments and downfall
Anakin gives into emotional attachment when he falls in love with Padme during the Prequel films. The Jedi Order forbids emotional attachment due to the power and strength of the Force. Someone with strong emotions, who possesses the full brunt of the Force, can use it for dastardly things.
Therefore, it is in a Jedi’s best interest to remain emotionally neutral and centered. Should a Jedi be emotionally attached to someone, they’ll use the Force to make exceptions. An example of this being how Anakin uses the Dark Side of the Force in an attempt to save Padme’s life during childbirth.
If Anakin had not formed emotional attachments like he was told, he would not feel the urge to save Padme and would not convert to the Dark Side.
This emotional attachment to saving his wife (which Jedi aren’t allowed to have) causes him to use the Force in unapproved ways.
Ahsoka, having seen this pattern of behavior in her master, worries for Grogu. She would not want to teach Grogu the ways of the Force, only for his emotional attachment to Din to cause an unprofessional outburst.
A villain, Moff Gideon, is aware of Grogu’s powerful Force connection. He wants Grogu to harness this potential anger and hate.
| RELATED: Why Did Moff Gideon Want Grogu? |
It is for this reason that Ahsoka does not train Grogu. Ahsoka says she will “not start this child down that path.” What she means is that she won’t allow Grogu to become stronger with the Force while knowing he may insert his emotions into it.
So that’s why Ahsoka won’t train Grogu. She’s witnessed how emotional attachment corrupted Anakin, and she doesn’t want Grogu to become stronger with the Force if he’s not emotionally neutral.