Dave Filoni took the reins of this week’s episode of The Mandalorian, and he and his animated characters didn’t disappoint. Head on down below to check out all of the awesome Easter eggs, Star Wars references, cameos, and best moments featured in The Mandalorian: The Jedi, aka, Season 2, Episode 5.
Eggs
Hey now fans of no longer calling the Child the Child or Baby Yoda, it’s time to breakdown all of the interesting easter eggs, star wars references, cameos, and best moments from The Mandalorian: The Jedi, aka, S2E5.
Grogu!!
1
Ok, Dave didn’t waste anytime introducing us to the live action Ahsoka Tano, who as expected and discussed on our show, is played by Rosario Dawson.
What a treat, and I must say I also found the opening to be similar to the opening of The Rise of Skywalker and Ben’s romp through mustafar.
And just to get this out of the way, yes, this episode is one huge homage to Kurosawa films and their influence on George Lucas’ Star Wars saga. Master Dave knows what is up when it comes to paying tribute to the Maker and those who inspired him.
2
We finally learned who Michael Biehn of Terminator and Alien fame played in this series and it is a dude named Lang. I also found his armor to be Galen Marek-esque, but I could be seeing things.
3
We also met Morgan Elsbeth, who was played by Diana Lee Inosanto.
4
Alright here Dave gave us a callback to the shifter knob moments from Season 1. Reinforcing its connection to the bond between Din and the Child, aka, Grogu!
5
In Calodan we see an 8D8 style droid, the torture bot from Jabba’s palace.
6
Ok, now this could just be an owl, but I’m pretty sure its Morai, a convor with a connection to Ahsoka Tano that dates back to The Clone Wars series and was seen in one of the last shots from that show’s final season.
7
Well, meet Grogu, I’ve said it a few times now, but this was the official moment that we learned Baby’s Yoda real name, as well as his connections to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and how he was hidden away after the Clone Wars. Lots of drops here.
8
Ahsoka was full of references as she also dropped Yoda’s name and some Force science while talking to Din. You know, how it binds us and all that hocus pocus stuff.
9
We got the good old Force training with Rocks motif in this episode, something every beginner Jedi apparently goes through, and a joke in The Last Jedi. Ahsoka also dropped some Yoda lines here about sensing much fear in Grogu, and she even mentions that Grogu has been hiding his powers to stay safe, something we learned Luke did after his failure with Ben, so this was a whammy of an exchange in terms of nods and references to the Skywalker saga films.
10
Sticking with the whole training scene, we learn that Ahsoka won’t train him due to his attachment to Din, and she specifically highlights how even the best of Jedi can crumble under the weight of attachments, which was a direct reference to the fall of her former Master, Anakin Skywalker.
11
Din mentions HK-87 assassin droids, which to me was a nod to HK-47 from the KOTOR game, and they were also styled after some old Ralph McQuarrie art, so consider this one a twofer.
12
Hey now, Calodan has a Lothcat problem!
13
The Grand Admiral Thrawn namedrop was a treat to say the least, and a massive franchise reference. Live action Thrawn is a thrilling concept, which also means there’s a great chance for a live action Ezra Bridger, so at this point we can clearly see how The Mando is starting to open up the possibilities to explore more of the known Star Wars universe than what it has tackled so far. We are getting into a much larger world now moving forward and it is exciting to say the least.
14
Ahsoka gives us one last reference with the Planet Typhon mention, which first appeared in the Dr. Aphra comics, but has also been known to be one of the original locations where the Jedi setup shop and built a temple.
Best Moments
And now for the best moments.
1
I mean seeing Ahsoka Tano in the flesh is about as good as it gets. While we knew she was coming, her introduction was still awesome, and perfectly showcased how badass she is. I loved everything about how Dave chose to bring her to life.
Rosario is a great choice, and I found her to channel Ashley’s version of the character quite well, albeit with her own live action flair. It was just an amazing moment for a long time fan of the character, and it makes me happy to see her make the jump to the big leagues as they say.
2
I really enjoyed the first meeting of Din and Tano. It had a little call back to another Force user meeting someone wearing Beskar armor, but this one isn’t a bozo, so I think Din fought admirably with a former Jedi. Boba definitely can’t say that about his tussle with Luke. What a dope.
3
Learning the Child’s name was a pretty special moment. It just happened, there wasn’t a big hubbub about it. Grogu just naturally came out and I dig it. It does strangely give the Child more meaning now and makes him feel like an actual character and not just a prop for cuteness.
Grogu, we speak your name!
4
Ahsoka in action shined in this episode, but I especially enjoyed her storming Caldan’s Walls and generally looking like a Ninja with lightsabers. She is a bad togruta, and I love her for it.
5
The duel between Ahsoka and Morgan is about as Samurai movie-like as it gets. At times I was reminded of my time with Ghost of Tsushima, another property heavily influenced by Kurosawa, just like Star Wars, and Dave’s work in The Jedi episode here.
6
The Thrawn mention was completely unexpected but very welcomed. It more or less blows the lid off of this show’s relatively small scope up until now. At this point The Mandalorian has incorporated major characters from the books and animated shows and has thrust them front and center in its own overarching narrative.
While Din may think he’s still on a mission to bring Grogu to a Jedi, he’s now also indirectly mixed up in whatever Bo-Katan is up to, and you know Ahsoka ain’t done with him either, especially now that we know she’s hunting down Thrawn.
I even speculated that Thrawn may be the one pulling the major strings in a piece based on some Moff Gideon insights provided by Giancarlo Esposito, so getting confirmation that he is involved in this show’s plot was pretty freaking excellent.
I think Din is about to realize he’s become a part of a much bigger world over these final three episodes, so I can’t wait to see where his adventure takes him next.
Make sure to tune into the next episode of the Star Wars Time Show in which myself and my co-host Nick will fully breakdown The Jedi and give our thoughts on it as a whole.
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