Summary

• Yoda's decision to go into exile on Dagobah was strategic, as the planet's obscure and grim history made it the ideal place to defeat the Sith.
• Yoda's defeat against Palpatine was due to his recognition that his power alone was not enough to defeat the Sith.
• Yoda believed that training Anakin Skywalker's children, Luke and Leia, as the first Jedi of a new generation was crucial in defeating the Sith and saving the galaxy.

Following the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Jedi Master Yoda goes into exile, choosing the Outer Rim swamp world of Dagobah as his new home. As revealed in a variety of Star Wars non-movie materials from both canon and Legends, Yoda had good reason for both “disappearing” from the galaxy and choosing Dagobah as his specific place of exile. The planet of Dagobah is certainly one of the galaxy’s most obscure worlds, but it also has a fascinating – and occasionally grim – history in the Star Wars franchise, making it the ideal planet for Yoda’s long-term plan to defeat the Sith.
In the years between Revenge of the Sith and The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda lived in solitude on Dagobah, remaining hidden from the Sith and their Empire. As seen in The Empire Strikes Back, Dagobah became Luke Skywalker’s training ground, with Yoda putting him through an intense and highly truncated Jedi education that saw Luke failing many of his key tests. Yoda would, ultimately, never leave his new home, as he passed away on Dagobah in Return of the Jedi, though the obscure world would be revisited by Luke and other key Star Wars characters in both canon and Legends. These same non-movie materials – and the films themselves – all explain Yoda’s decision.

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