SPOILERS: ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian’ May Be Diving Into The Most Controversial Storyline Yet

Star Wars fans don't tend to agree on much, but almost all agree that Star Wars has made its fair share of missteps. As with any story, there are bound to be parts that do not please everyone, but Star Wars is finally diving back into one of the most famous and divisive choices made: midi-chlorians.

The Mandalorian hasn't made many steps that fans have had issues with, but this may finally stir the pot. Dating back all the way to 1999's The Phantom Menace, midi-chlorians have been a major source of debate for many fans.

The latest episode of The Mandalorian, "The Siege," doesn't just dip its toe into the concept of midi-chlorians, it wades right in waist deep. It does finally answer why Moff Gideon wants The Child so bad, but it's not an answer all fans are going to be happy with. It was apparent to most that it had to do with The Child's natural Force abilities, but it was narrowed down to be The Child's blood specifically he wanted for an experiment. We don't know much about the experiment or its end goal, but we do know that it had to do with the one fact not many fans are happy to hear: the M-count.

The M-count is an obvious reference to the midi-chlorian count, something that is supposed to explain how strong a person's connection to the force can be. Dating back way to the original trilogy, the Jedi were built up to be special, so special you couldn't predict their Force abilities. The idea that there's something in your blood you could test to tie you to Force sensitivity was not something fans wanted. It really took away the mysticism about the intergalactic warriors and boiled them down to just normal people with the luck of having more midi-chlorians.

Most references to midi-chlorians since The Phantom Menace have been minimal and vague, due to the intense backlash. The last time that they were mentioned in canon was during the Yoda arc of The Clone Wars season 6 back in 2014. This is the most blatant reference since. It is possible that this is setting up a possible way to eliminate midi-chlorians from the Star Wars canon, but we don't know yet. The episode featured an appearance from Dr. Pershing, the same doctor from the beginning of the series, who told of the experiences in the initial experiments. He mentioned the initial tests, which centered around blood transfusions showing early success, but which would inevitably fail as The Child's blood was rejected from whomever they tried to inject it into. It's possible they're going to tie this to the midi-chlorian count, but it's also possible that they could use this to distance the connection between midi-chlorians and Force abilities in The Child, effectively trying to sever the tie between them. While it's too early to tell either way, it is possible that this idea is just a fantasy, and that this is only going to reaffirm the connection between midi-chlorians and Force sensitivity in Force users.

It is surprising to see Jon Favreau entering such a controversial space. So far in the series, he's been playing it safe and trying to stay away from topics that divide fans. It has paid off so far, with The Mandalorian being rather beloved by many fans, but it was only a matter of time before something tended to divide fans. While the incident with the frog eggs got close, this is definitely going to elicit a much stronger reaction from some older and more die hard fans. It's going to be interesting to see the reaction among fans to the re-introduction of midi-chlorians to the Star Wars canon.

Only time will tell what this will bring to the story, but for now we can only continue to watch and see where The Mandalorian brings our heroes and what it reveals about the Empire's interest in The Child.

Written By Tristen Brooks

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