The Mandalorian seaosn3, episode 2, sees Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and Grogo travel to the ruined planet of Mandalore, revealing a wide variety of Star Wards Easter Eggs. After the recap-heavy season 3 opener, Din begins his true journey by reaching the world of Mandalore.
The plot accelerates season 3 in episode 2, “Chapter 18 – The Mines of Mandalore’. This return to a planet featured heavily in other Star Wars TV shows and novels means there are a lot of references. Here is everything we spotted in episode 2 of season 3 of The Mandaolorn.
Familiar Species
The episode opens with small Easter Eggs in the form of familiar faces at Peli motto’s hangar on Tatoone. There, Peli is shown doing a deal with a Rodian with the help of some Jawas. Both are prominent Star Wars Species.
Boonta Eve
Another reference that links The Mandalorian to George Lucas’ prequel trilogy is the pod race through the centre of Mos Eisley as Tatooine celebrates Boonta week. This throws back to Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, where Anikin is pod racing on Boonta Eve.
Links to Clone Wars
Grogu force jumps into Peli’s arms, prompting her to ask, “who taught you to leap like a Lurman?” The Lurman are small, monkey-like species seen in The Clone Wars Season 1. They are incredibly agile, and at least one of them was force-sensitive.
Grogu vs Yoda
The force jump makes Grogu much more reminiscent of Yoda; the aged Jedi Master was proficient in the combat form of Ataru, which requires the same kind of Force Leaps. Grogu’s training with Luke Skywalker has left him much more experienced with the Force; this is shown throughout the episode, with Grogu depending on The Force to defend himself. It will be exciting to see whether Grogu goes on to demonstrate some new powers too.
Boba Fett & The Hutts
Pell name-drops both Boba Fett and The Hutts, making the first reference to the events in The Book of Boba Fett. There, Boba established himself as a local crime boss, taking over Hutt territory. Din Djarin helped him keep his territory, so Peli is wondering whether Din has been hired for another crisis.
Peli Motto’s droids
Peli uses the same group of pit droids as seen in Season 1. This time, they’re accompanied by a BD unit – made popular in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and R5-D4, the very same droid from the first Star Wars movie.
R5-D4 & the Rebel Alliance
R5-D4 was first introduced in the first Star Wars film, as one of the droids seen on the Jawa Sandcruiser. It was later revealed in the Star Wars novel “The Red One” that R5 deliberately sabotaged his own motivator because he believed R2-D2 needed to be sold to the Lars family. There have also been theories that he served in the Rebel Alliance. This may or may not be true, but it’s a fact that without R5, Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 would never have met.
Moon of Concordia
When Din and Grogu travel to Mandalore, they see the moon of Concordia, where Din was raised. In the Clone Wars, Concordia was the home base of Death Watch, led by Pre Vizsla. Din was, of course, inducted into Death Watch during the time of the Clone Wars.
Din’s helmet
It has been debated how a Mandalorian helmet works when navigating toxic or deadly environments. As he arrives on Mandalore, we see Din pressurise his helmet against the harsh atmosphere, with an audio nod to the sound of Darth Vader’s breathing. It’s subtle, but the nod is there.
Weight of the Darksabre
When Din is attacked by the Alamites he unveils the Darksabre for the first time this season. As in The Book of Boba Fett, Din struggles to use the Darksabre; according to the Armorour, it is because he fights against the blade. In Star Wars: Rebels, the Darksabre was used by Sabine Wren, who claimed it to be heavier than she expected.
Siege of Mandalore
Din and Grogu make their way through the sewers of Sundari, a surprising Star Wars Easter-Egg. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ahsoka Tano pursued Darth Maul through the same sewers.
The first two episodes of Season 2 of The Mandalorian are available to stream on Disney+ now. New episodes release weekly on Wednesdays.