Here are all the Star Wars Easter eggs from the second installment of The Mandalorian season 2. Din Djarin and Baby Yoda made their glorious return last week in “The Marshal,” an episode that finally confirmed Boba Fett’s survival and introduced Cobb Vanth to the world of live-action. With Timothy Olyphant’s space sheriff and a caravan of Tusken Raiders in tow, Mando vanquished one of Tatooine’s fabled Krayt dragons and earned Fett’s abandoned Mandalorian armor in return, as well as a hefty chunk of dragon meat for his small, green companion. Following the precedent set in The Mandalorian season 1, the season 2 opener was packed with references to the Star Wars universe, including a cut character from The Force Awakens, a direct mention of the Force, and a major Obi-Wan Kenobi callback.
The Mandalorian season 2’s latest offering sees Din Djarin find a new lead in his hunt for other Mandos, but in exchange for that information, he must ferry a frog lady and her spawn to Trask without entering hyperspace. What sounds like a simple (if somewhat arduous) task turns into the journey from hell, forcing Mando to contend with New Republic jobsworths, giant spiders, and a bratty Baby Yoda. As usual, the heroes barely make it out alive.
Wherever Mando goes, Baby Yoda goes, and wherever The Mandalorian goes, so does a wealth of Star Wars Easter eggs. This is the way. Through all of the action and surprises, these are the Easter eggs hidden within The Mandalorian season 2’s “The Passenger.”
“The Passenger” begins in the immediate aftermath of last week’s premiere, as a gang of Tatooine hoodlums mug Din Djarin and destroy the speeder he borrowed from Peli Motto. It’s curious that these assailants go directly for Baby Yoda, as if they know the child is more precious than any of Mando’s other treasures, but this is a mystery for another day. Although the gang remain unidentified, one of the attackers looks suspiciously like an unmasked Jawa (who also appear this week) or a Teedo – small in stature, wrapped in a brown cloak and moving with a distinct animated shuffle. The creature is actually the same species as Scrapjaw Motito, glimpsed during the Jakku market scene of The Force Awakens. Although originally found on Jakku, it’s no surprise to see Motito’s race reemerge on Tatooine, given the similarities between those planets. One of the other ruffians bears a strong resemblance to a Nikto – a horned species first appearing in Return of the Jedi.
Trekking through the Tatooine desert, Din Djarin eventually makes his way back to Mos Eisley’s cantina, where he finds Peli Motto gambling with a big insect. The duo are secreted in one of the bar’s alcove booths, which is also where the (in)famous scene between Han Solo and Greedo in the original 1977 Star Wars movie takes place. Judging from the booth’s central position opposite the bar, it’s possible that Peli Motto is sitting exactly where Greedo was shot, with Dr. Mandible occupying Han’s seat. Fortunately, no shots were fired from either direction on this instance. While his species isn’t mentioned, Dr. Mandible appears to be a member of the Killik race, who were made canon via a Star Wars Squadron prequel novel.
If the apparatus behind Mos Eisley’s bar looks familiar, that’ll be because it’s based entirely on the heads of IG droids. Before IG-88 appeared as one of Darth Vader’s bounty hunters in The Empire Strikes Back, his head was used as a prop in the previous movie’s cantina scene. This type of recycling was commonplace during the original trilogy era, when Star Wars wasn’t the bid-budget behemoth it is today, and The Mandalorian honors the past by retaining the IG bar decor. Of course, The Mandalorian has its own famous IG unit in IG-11, making the reference even more apt. There’s a certain irony in a bar that once maintained a blanket ban on droids being literally made out of droid parts.
Predictably, The Mandalorian season 2’s return to Mos Eisley cantina is filled with Easter eggs, and the giant hairball sweet-talking a lady at the bar has appeared previously in the franchise. A member of the Gigoran race, this Wookiee-adjacent species featured in both the Rogue One and Solo spin-off movies, but made a canon debut in the Star Wars: Commander video game, after initially being created for the Star Wars Expanded Universe. For such a minor species in the grand scheme of Star Wars, the hairy folks of Gigor are racking up the live-action credits.
The game Peli Motto and Dr. Mandible are playing will be familiar to Star Wars fans as Sabacc, a popular card game within the galaxy far, far away. Another crossover from Legends canon, Sabacc was inducted into official lore thanks to the 2014 A New Dawn novel and has since featured in Solo, Star Wars Rebels and the sequel trilogy. Undoubtedly the most famous game of Sabacc in the Star Wars story would be the fateful hand contested between Han Solo and Lando Calrissian with the Millennium Falcon on the line. The specific hand Motto wins with in The Mandalorian (the “Idiot’s Array”) has also been mentioned previously in the franchise.
As Baby Yoda drools over the cooking Krayt dragon meat, he’s accompanied by Peli Motto’s pit droids and a Treadwell. The result of a one-night fling between WALL-E and a treadmill, this droid is first introduced in A New Hope and has since popped up in the prequel trilogy, video games, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as The Mandalorian season 1. Specializing in repair, it’s little wonder Peli Motto has one in her arsenal, despite their odd appearance. In “The Passenger,” the Treadwell is being used as a spit for the dragon meat.
The Treadwell droid isn’t the only Star Wars Easter egg in The Mandalorian season 2’s meat cooking scene. While robotic limbs hold the chunky steak in place, the grill is provided by the flame of a pod racer engine. When Peli Motto was reintroduced in The Mandalorian‘s previous episode, she appeared to be working on a pod racer, but the vehicle was mostly obscured in the back of shot. “The Passenger” not only proves it was a pod in Motto’s garage, but also reveals that any vehicle left in her shop can and will be used to cook food. First seen in The Phantom Menace, it seems podracing is alive and well in The Mandalorian‘s era, and this scene also includes a line from Motto referencing the Rodian race. For those who have visited Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge theme park, the pod racer/BBQ setup will be reminiscent of the Ronto Roasters.
The titular “passenger” of this week’s The Mandalorian episode is a frog-like lady who barks hoarsely in a language Din Djarin doesn’t understand. The passenger is carrying her eggs to her husband, and the success of this mission will decide the fate of her entire lineage. Mando juggles the worries of a concerned mother with the appetite of an egg-hungry Baby Yoda, but sees his quest through, despite the near-destruction of the Razor Crest. Although the audience won’t understand a word she’s saying, Frog Lady is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who has provided a litany of voices in Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars Resistance, as well as playing Ilco Munica in The Force Awakens, alongside much, much more.
Din Djarin has already proven his linguistic talents in The Mandalorian, especially during last week’s alliance with the Tusken Raiders, but he can’t understand the new passenger aboard his ship, and inquires whether there’s a language they can both communicate in. During this scene, Mando mentions Huttese, before uttering a few words to no avail. Huttese is known as the dialect of Jabba the Hutt and his people, but is spoken throughout the galaxy by many different races, especially on Tatooine.
During the incredibly slow journey to Trask, Din Djarin’s Razor Crest is apprehended by a pair of X-Wings. Like the police pulling over a suspect car, the X-Wings play nice at first, before asking harder questions and forcing Mando to flee. The X-Wing fighter is perhaps the most famous ship in Star Wars canon, second only to the Millennium Falcon, and its return in The Mandalorian season 2 comes with waves of nostalgia, especially with the familiar orange jumpsuits and targeting system. Djarin drops the line “may the Force be with you” in this scene, which could be considered odd since he’s never heard of the Jedi. The moment highlights how the Force has become a myth in the galaxy.
The final cameo in The Mandalorian season 2’s “The Passenger” comes courtesy of Dave Filoni, who reprises his role as Trapper Wolf, the X-Wing pilot from season 1. Filoni has been a creative force in the world of animated Star Wars and has served as both a director and writer on The Mandalorian. Popular with fans and a driving vision of the modern Star Wars franchise, it’s great to see Filoni back in his X-Wing as Trapper, blasting some spiders and helping out the good guys.
While stalling Mando’s journey, the X-Wing pilots claim to represent the New Republic. A concept introduced in The Force Awakens, the New Republic is the form of governance that replaces the Empire after Return of the Jedi, but is decimated by the maiden firing of Starkiller Base. The Mandalorian takes place while the New Republic is still finding its feet, and “The Passenger” offers some insight into their earliest years, patrolling space for Imperial remnants and ensuring everyone plays nice. However, The Mandalorian also highlights the New Republic’s softer side when they help Din Djarin out of a tight spot and send him on his way without trouble. The pilots’ conversation suggests that maintaining the New Republic in these troubled times is a thankless task.
The last time X-Wing fighters were seen in The Mandalorian, Din Djarin was returning from a risky prison break mission, and the past catches up to him in “The Passenger”. The Mandalorian season 1’s “The Prisoner” saw Djarin betrayed while springing a Twi’lek prisoner from a New Republic transport ship. Since the Razor Crest played getaway for this mission, the suspicions of the X-Wing pilots are roused, and they eventually connect the ship with the jailbreak. A reference is made to “prisoner X-6-9-11,” otherwise known as Qin, and the pilots acknowledge how Djarin handed three of the culprits over to the New Republic after the mission was complete. Mando is also commended for trying to help Lt. Davan, the New Republic prison guard played by Matt Lanter.
The Mandalorian season 2’s X-Wing pilots also confirm “Bothan-Five” as the name of the ship Djarin and his criminal teammates invaded last season. Although never shown in live-action, the Bothans were famously allied with the Rebel Alliance and served as spies, proving instrumental in stealing the plans for Palpatine’s second Death Star. Mon Mothma once stated that “many Bothans died” to save the galaxy from tyranny, and the New Republic naming a fleet of ships in their honor reveals how the Bothan sacrifice has been marked following Return of the Jedi.
One of Din Djarin’s criminal companions in “The Prisoner” was Zero the droid, voiced by British actor and comedian, Richard Ayoade. Zero met the wrong end of a blaster bolt when he threatened Baby Yoda but, for some reason, Mando has yet to clear the remains from his Razor Crest. This untidiness proves fortunate in The Mandalorian season 2, as Frog Lady is able to use Zero’s components to speak through the droid and allow Djarin to understand her. Although it’s the amphibian talking, the voice is, once again, that of Richard Ayoade.
“The Passenger” features a thrilling chase sequence between the Razor Crest and the two X-Wings after the pilots begin asking too many questions. The breakneck pursuit visually references several common Star Wars tropes, the trench run being the most obvious. As Mando seeks to shake the Bothan-Five-0, he descends into the mountain crevice of an ice planet, beginning a classic Star Wars trench run. Although Luke Skywalker’s Death Star approach is the most famous example, other space chases have reused the same trope. Mando also flies the Razor Crest into a low, wide gap, hoping the X-Wings won’t be able to follow. This strategy has often been employed by the Millennium Falcon, taking advantage of the ship’s shape to squeeze through gaps other vessels can’t.
Cruelly denied another delicious, endangered frog egg, Baby Yoda finds his snacky-snack elsewhere. Unfortunately, the young troublemaker munches on the offspring of a giant ice spider, and the entire family give chase. Although these white spiders are confirmed to be a new addition to the Star Wars world, they’re based on decades-old Ralph McQuarrie designs for The Empire Strikes Back. The original creatures were ultimately cut from the 1980 Star Wars sequel, but The Mandalorian has a way of repeating history, and these angry arachnids are a homage to McQuarrie’s original work.
Originally from https://screenrant.com/mandalorian-season-2-episode-2-star-wars-easter-eggs/