10 times Yoda stole the show– And our Jedi-loving hearts

The character of Yoda was first introduced in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and was brought to life by English-American actor and puppeteer, Frank Oz. No one would have thought that a petite, green creature from the swamp of Dagobah, would have become such an iconic character in this hugely loved franchise.

However, with his backward-speak, witty persona, the grand Jedi master has won fans all over the world. The mentor of Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who later trained Luke Skywalker, was an important character during the fight against Darth Sidious.

Although we witnessed his death in The Return of the Jedi, Yoda has appeared as a spirit or vision in the later films and TV shows as well. Whether it was a lightsaber duel or teasing his padawans, the legendary Jedi master excelled in both activities. Let’s take a look at the 10 best moments where Yoda was the scene-stealer in the Star Wars franchise.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer’s opinion. Reader discretion is advised.

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10 times Yoda stole the show

10) Yoda meets Luke for the first time (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

After being guided by Obi-Wan Kenobi’s force spirit, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), accompanied by R2-D2 and C3PO, visits Dagobah to train under Kenobi’s mentor, Yoda. However, before the difficult training begins, Luke has to deal with a 900-year-old creature, who doesn’t appear to be friendly at first.

Before training him in the ways of the Force, the Jedi master began testing the young Skywalker for his patience by raiding his supplies, such as eating his food and taking his lamp. He wanted to know what kind of person Luke was by testing his patience, which proved to be hilarious as Luke grew more and more frustrated with the Jedi’s tactics.

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9) Yoda teasing Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones)

Attack of the Clones depicts another memorable scene of the Jedi grand master as he helps his pupil, Obi-Wan Kenobi. It is one of the playful moments that depicts that it's not just Luke but the legendary Jedi master who is capable of teasing his pupil, who has become a Jedi master himself.

In the scene, Kenobi seeks help from Yoda to search for a planet called Kamino, which appears to be erased from their star charts. While making fun of his former pupil, the Jedi master says:

“Lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan has. How embarrassing!”

He then asks his younglings that he had been teaching to look for the planet, and with their help, Kenobi successfully locates the planet he had been looking for.

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8) Yoda and the clone troopers (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

The premiere episode of The Clone Wars has one of the coolest Yoda scenes, which is a fan favorite. In the episode titled, Ambush, Yoda, with three clone troopers- Lieutenant Thire, Rys, and Jek are challenged by Asajj Ventress to fight her droid forces to decide if Toydaria will side with the Galactic Forces or the Separatists.

As the forces almost ambush the Jedi master and his clone troopers, they take refuge in a cave where he motivates the demoralised clones about their uniqueness and individual identities despite being clones, showing the Jedi master’s wisdom and his personal opinion on the clones.

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7) Jedi grand master vs. Count Dooku ( Star Wars Episode II- Attack of the Clones)

The iconic scene of Yoda igniting his lightsaber and getting ready to duel his enemies will always be the iconic scene of the Jedi. Yoda’s agility, combined with his acrobatic skills, which are enhanced by the Force, appears difficult for the former Jedi master, also known as Darth Tyranus, to endure.

In an attempt to save himself from the experienced and strategic lightsaber attacks of Yoda, the Sith Lord dislodged a pillar on Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker with his force, and as Yoda tried to save the two, Dooku grabbed the opportunity and escaped.

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6) His duel with Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith)

After surviving Order 66, programmed by Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, to erase all the Jedi from the Galaxy with the help of clone troopers, Kenobi and Yoda went to the Jedi temple to warn the surviving Jedi to go into hiding.

Later, the Jedi grand master confronts the Dark Lord in the Senate building, where the iconic battle between the two. With taunts hurling at each other, both veterans ignite their lightsabers to fight.

The small size of the office and Chancellor's podium proved to be advantageous for the grand Jedi master due to his small stature, and with the help of his Ataru style of fighting, Yoda gained the upper hand in the duel. However, the Jedi soon realised that the Sith Lord had become stronger, and rather than dying, he chose to escape from the battle and go into exile to be able to train the next generation of Jedi, which consisted of Luke Skywalker, to defeat the dark force.

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5) Fight with Dark Yoda (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

In the 12th episode of The Clone Wars, titled Destiny, Yoda discovers a planet that is said to be the origin of midi-chlorians and the Living Force. He meets five priestesses named after five different emotions who give him five different tests to prove his worthiness.

One of the priestesses, Serenity, poses a test where the grand master had to know his true identity to let go. The Jedi initially dismisses this by claiming that he knows himself, but faces a challenging threat when he has to fight his own dark shadow.

He initially does not identify it as his shadow, which helps the dark Yoda to gain power over him, but the Jedi gradually understands the situation and accepts it as being a part of himself, which he does not want to let go of. This realization makes the shadow lose its power, resulting in the Jedi's win over one of his first tests.

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4) Pulls X-wing from the swamp (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

This is easily one of the top 5 scenes of the Jedi master, where we get to see more of his witty humor and his mastery over the light side of the Force. When Luke fails to pull the X-wing from the swamp by saying it's too big to be lifted by using his force, the Jedi grand master shows Skywalker how the power of the force does not depend upon the size or any other such factors. He easily and calmly lifts the X-wing, demonstrating to Luke not to judge him by his size.

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3) Yoda and Luke’s scene from The Last Jedi

Master Yoda’s scene in The Last Jedi with his pupil, who is still as frustrated as he was the first time, was one of the most memorable scenes of the veteran Jedi. As Luke approaches to burn the tree and the texts, he catches his master’s force spirit, sitting on a rock. When he hesitates to do the task, the grandmaster does it himself and burns the texts with his force.

This might be one of the last times that the grand master came to teach another great lesson to the angry Jedi who has turned bitter with the failures of himself and the Jedi order over the years, and wants to burn down his past. Yoda reminds him that his past and his failures are what Rey might need to become a Jedi under his teaching. He says:

"The greatest teacher, failure is."

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2) "Do or do not. There is no try." (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

The training session of Luke Skywalker by the Jedi grand master has many memorable quotes, and this is one of the most inspiring for not just Luke but for everyone. While training, there were several instances where Luke appeared to be mentally constrained and doubting his abilities in using the Force, as seen in the pulling of the X-wing.

In an attempt to teach him the importance of doing his task with full commitment and not half heartedly, Yoda quotes this dialogue, suggesting to him to give all of himself to overcome his self doubt to be able to use the light side of Force successfully.

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1) Yoda’s death (Return of the Jedi)

Yoda finally perishes as his body becomes one with the Force, at the age of 900 in Return of the Jedi. But not before revealing some important information to Luke when he comes back to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training. The Jedi master informs the young Skywalker that Darth Vader is indeed his father, Anakin, and he has to defeat him to become a Jedi. He also tells him about the existence of another Skywalker that he had been unaware of, who turns out to be his twin sister, Leia Skywalker.

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