Yoda’s species remains one of the great Star Wars mysteries. So far, we’ve met only three of them—Yoda, Yaddle, and Grogu—and that’s it. Two of the three rose to Jedi Master status and embody the light side. Grogu, the outlier, began training with Luke Skywalker but ultimately chose to leave the Jedi training and rejoin Din Djarin, putting his formal Jedi path on hold, so we’ll have to see where his journey heads next. Even so, I’m convinced this remarkable species is essentially immune to the lure of the dark side. Here’s why.
Longevity and Wisdom: The Foundation of Emotional Control
Members of Yoda’s species measure life not in decades but in centuries—Yoda himself hit 900 years—so wisdom and patience aren’t virtues they seek; they’re baked into every cell. Centuries of study let them unpack the Force in all its layers, from mystical prophecy to day-to-day empathy, and that long view shapes every choice they make. When Yoda meets young Anakin, he clocks the boy’s swirling fear in seconds because he’s seen that cocktail of hope and dread a thousand times before—and he knows where it can lead.
We see the same perspective in the Legends novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, where Yoda calmly presses his fallen Padawan, Count Dooku, to justify the Sith path:
“But another way to solve the war there is. If you will not join with me, perhaps join with you I should. Tell me more,” Yoda says, leaning on his stick.
“If power over beings need I not, what else can your dark side do for me?”
Dooku begins to rattle off promises of raw dominance but cannot name a single gift of true peace or creation:
“What do you want?” he snaps. “Tell me and I’ll show you how the dark side delivers. Friends? It can compel them. Lovers? It understands passion. Riches—endless life—deep wisdom…?”
Yoda’s reply cuts through nine centuries of Sith bombast. He lifts a simple blossom and answers:
“I want a rose.”
With that request—life, not conquest—Yoda baits Dooku to admit the dark side cannot create, only corrupt. For a brief moment the ancient Master even lets the darkness brush across his face, showing Dooku the terrifying power a 900-year-old Sith Yoda could wield. Then, just as swiftly, Yoda lets the shadow slip away, reaffirming the light. The exchange proves that even when a member of Yoda’s species inspects the dark side up close, its hollow promises hold no lasting allure.
“Yoda came out of the shadows. The vision of him in his Sith avatar faded. It was only Yoda, the same as always, taking Dooku’s hand and studying it intently, as if he were mad Whirry, trying to read the future in the pattern of liver spots. ‘Feel the trembling, even you must.’”
The exchange proves that even when a member of Yoda’s species inspects the dark side up close, its hollow promises hold no lasting allure. With lifespans measured in centuries, they’ve long since learned that the Sith’s quick power grabs burn out fast. Sith rely on anger and fear, making impulsive choices that often become their downfall. By contrast, Yoda’s people cultivate calm reflection over centuries, investing their time in meditation, learning, and inner peace—another reason the dark side’s temptations rarely gain a foothold in their hearts.
Even Under Stress, Grogu Shows Zero Sith Inclination
Before The Mandalorian came along, the only members of Yoda’s species we knew were Yoda himself and Yaddle. Then the show dropped Grogu—“The Child”—into our laps and gave us a front-row seat to a brand-new case study. Over the first two seasons (and his cameo run in The Book of Boba Fett), we see him bust out moves that look dark-side on paper—Force-choking a pair of stormtroopers in Chapter 7, yanking cookies with telekinesis in Chapter 12, even blitz-healing Din after a mudhorn fight in Chapter 2. But every one of those moments springs from defense, hunger, or compassion, never malice.
Luke confirms that vibe when he starts training Grogu in The Book of Boba Fett: no flicker of darkness—just raw potential and a sky-high midichlorian count. What Luke does pick up on is Grogu’s iron-clad bond with Din Djarin, the one emotion strong enough to make him pause Jedi training altogether. Ahsoka senses the same attachment back in Chapter 13 and decides not to take Grogu as a Padawan for that reason alone. Even Grogu’s flashback to Order 66 shows him terrified but not hateful, reinforcing the idea that—given the same traumatic spark that turned Anakin—this little guy still leans light.
We’re only at the opening crawl of Grogu’s story, and future films could throw curveballs. For now, though, every data point—from defensive Force-chokes to Luke’s clean bill of spiritual health—lines up with the running theory: members of Yoda’s species instinctively default to the light side, even when they dabble in powers the Sith love to abuse.
