Where You've Seen Dr. Pershing From The Mandalorian Before
Contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 2
In episode 4 of The Mandalorian season 2, "Chapter 12: The Siege," fans saw the return of a character from early on in season 1 named Dr. Pershing, played by actor Omid Abtahi. Pershing appeared in the first and third episodes of season 1, assisting the Client (Werner Herzog) with his experiments on the Child, also known as Baby Yoda. At that point, it was unclear what they were doing to the Child and what their goal was, but the new episode finally sheds some light on that.
In "Chapter 12: The Siege," Pershing doesn't appear in person. Rather, Mando (Pedro Pascal) and the team see him in a recent hologram message sent to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), whom Mando previously believed to be dead. In the message, Pershing mentions that it's unlikely there would be a donor with "a higher M-count" than the Child — evidently referring to midi-chlorians, microscopic organisms in every living thing that allow one to connect with the Force. Pershing is using the Child's blood to experiment on subjects — possibly the clones Mando and the others see at this base — and he has officially run out, meaning they now need the Child again. Bad news for Mando.
While Pershing's appearance may not be great for Mando and the Child, fans are excited to see the familiar face again. Outside of The Mandalorian, audiences may also recognize actor Omid Abtahi from some of his previous work. Check out all his biggest roles before joining the Star Wars spin-off.
Omid Abtahi played Jerry Molbeck in Those Who Kill
In 2014, Abtahi starred in the A&E series Those Who Kill, the American version of the Danish crime TV series of the same name (Den som dræber in Danish). The show aired following new season 2 episodes of the network's hit series Bates Motel.
The American version of the show revolves around Catherine Jensen (Chloë Sevigny), a homicide detective who works with forensic psychologist Dr. Thomas Schaeffer (James D'Arcy) to track down serial killers. All the while, Jensen works to discover the story behind her brother's disappearance. Abtahi plays Jensen's co-worker Detective Jerry Molbeck, who investigates the strange murder cases alongside her. He is loyal and hardworking, allowing Jensen to take the reins of the investigation as he does research.
As Jensen's obsession with her missing brother and her theory that her stepfather is involved takes all of her focus, she leaves Molbeck in harm's way and he ends up face to face with the killer. Despite the interesting characters and capable actors, the series didn't do very well, and the network pulled the show from their channel after two episodes, relaunching it on their sister network, the Lifetime Movie Network. It was not renewed for a second season.
Omid Abtahi played Detective Abbasi in season 1 of Better Call Saul
Shortly after Those Who Kill, Abtahi joined the first season of the Breaking Bad spin-off series Better Call Saul. Appearing in three episodes of the first season, Abtahi plays Detective Geoff Abbasi, who works alongside Detective Greg Sanders (Barry Shabaka Henley) at the Philadelphia Police Department.
They investigate Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), questioning him about the death of his son, Matt, who worked as a cop and was murdered on duty. Along with that, the detectives are investigating the murders of two corrupt cops named Hoffman and Fensky, which happened six months after Matt's death. In season 1, episode 6, entitled "Five-O," Mike reveals that he found out that Hoffman and Fensky killed Matt after he hesitated to accept bribe money from a local gang. In retribution, he tricked the two officers into trying to kill him; he then turned the gun around on them, murdering both for what they did to his son.
While being interrogated, Mike asks for a lawyer — specifically Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), also known as Saul Goodman. Mike convinces Jimmy to help him get Abbasi's notebook to figure out how much the detectives know. With little information to go on, the detectives eventually move on, and Mike is safe.
Omid Abtahi plays Salim in American Gods
In his most recent role aside from The Mandalorian, Abtahi plays a character named Salim in the Starz series American Gods, which began airing in 2017. The show is based on the Neil Gaiman novel of the same name, and Gaiman serves as executive producer on the series adaptation. The story revolves around a man named Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), who is released early from prison after his wife dies in a car accident. Now alone, Shadow encounters a strange man named Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane), who offers him a job as his assistant of sorts. Soon after, Shadow finds himself in the middle of an all-out war between the New and Old Gods of the world.
Abtahi's character Salim is a young Muslim man who moves to New York City and sells trinkets and souvenirs. While taking a taxi ride back to his place one day, Salim meets a man (Mousa Kraish) who speaks Arabic and knows about Salim's home. Salim soon discovers that the man is actually an Ifrit, a demon in Islamic mythology also known as a Jinn. They develop a strong romantic connection, returning to Salim's hotel together for the night. In the morning, the Jinn is gone, but thanks to the help of Laura Moon (Emily Browning), Salim returns in season 2 to find his Jinn at the House on the Rock.