Lines In The Mandalorian Season 2 That Mean More Than You Realized
The Mandalorian continues to be a gift to Star Wars fans in its second season. The Disney+ original series chronicles the story of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), a renowned bounty hunter on a quest to return a mysterious infant of the same species as the late Jedi master Yoda to his people.
Like the show's inaugural season, chapters nine through 16 are peppered with Easter eggs culled from deep dives into Star Wars lore. Some are visual cues you'll miss unless you keep an eagle eye on everything that transpires, while others simply require you to listen carefully. After all, whether they're heroes, villains, or something in between, all the characters of The Mandalorian live in the vast universe George Lucas created, and they know a lot more about what goes on in that far, far away galaxy than we do. We're here to explore some of that multi-layered dialogue, in an effort to better appreciate the story The Mandalorian tells. These are the lines from The Mandalorian season two that mean more than you realized.
Warning! Lots of SPOILERS for The Mandalorian's second season follow!
A bad guy swears by "the Gotra"
Early in the season two premiere of The Mandalorian, we meet the Abyssin crook Gor Koresh (John Leguizamo), who tries to rob Mando's armor. When the robbery fails and Mando interrogates Gor, the crook insists the only other Mandalorian he knows about is on Tatooine. When Mando doubts this, the cyclopean criminal insists it's true, adding, "I swear it by the Gotra!"
It's an interesting oath, because the Gotra of Star Wars lore are not the kind of thing you usually swear an oath to. The Gotra are essentially a Droid mafia, comprised mainly of battle droids abandoned by the Empire after the Clone Wars. First appearing in James Luceno's 2014 novel Tarkin, the Gotra have become an essential part of the Coruscant criminal underworld. The fact that Gor Koresh swears "by the Gotra" is strange, because it almost lends a godlike status to the droids. It could be that by the time of The Mandalorian, the Gotra's influence has spread enough that they've become intergalactic boogeymen and swearing by them is, in effect, saying, "If I'm lying, may the Gotra find and kill me."
It's also worth noting that there are already possible Gotra connections in the series. It's not out of the realm of possibility that IG-11 had some connection to the group. Let's also not forget Q9-0, aka Zero, the mercenary droid from chapter six, who tries to kill Baby Yoda.
Cobb Vanth orders a drink that calls back to season one
When Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) meets Mando in chapter nine, he's clearly hoping things won't get violent. He orders "two snorts of spotchka" from the Weequay bartender (W. Earl Brown, who occasionally tends bar as Olyphant's co-star in HBO's Deadwood) who hands over two cups and a bottle of blue liquid. While Cobb and Mando never get to share the drink, it's still an interesting allusion to the show's premiere season.
Season one's chapter four is first time the drink spotchka is mentioned in the Star Wars universe. It's a blue drink made from tiny aquatic creatures called krill. The krill represent the livelihood of the same village Mando and Cara Dune (Gina Carano) help protect from nearby raiders. The callback is likely intentional, considering Mando finds himself in a similar situation in chapter nine by helping a small community eliminate a threat. And as was the case in chapter four, Mando isn't enough to take on the threat alone. The community is ultimately needed to help defeat the krayt dragon.
It's also interesting that Cobb refers to the bartender as "Weequay." That's the name of the bartender's race, so it seems kind of like if Han were to refer to his best friend as "Wookiee" rather than "Chewie." Perhaps he's the only Weequay in Mos Pelgo, and the locals have simply gotten used to using that as his nickname.
Cobb Vanth gives us a clue about Boba Fett's survival
Chapter nine ends with one of the most long-awaited reveals in Star Wars history: The return of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), and consequently, the confirmation he survived his drop into the Great Pit of Carkoon in Return of the Jedi. In Star Wars books no longer considered canon, Boba Fett is shown to have escaped, and George Lucas actually said on a Return of the Jedi Special Edition commentary track that he'd considered adding a scene to show the bounty hunter had survived.
While Boba Fett's cameo doesn't reveal how he survived the sarlacc, it's possible an exchange between Mando and Cobb Vanth in chapter nine could give us a hint. When Mando, Cobb, and the Tusken Raiders first arrive at the krayt dragon's lair, Mando tells Cobb the beast lives in an abandoned sarlacc pit. Cobb responds, "Lived on Tatooine my whole life. There's no such thing as an abandoned sarlacc pit." Mando retorts, "There is if you eat the sarlacc."
It seems unlikely the Great Pit of Carkoon is the abandoned pit we see in chapter nine. The terrain is a lot different from the scene featuring the beast in Return of the Jedi. Still, the revelation that there is a creature on Tatooine capable of eating sarlaccs gives us one possible explanation for Boba Fett's survival.
Mando's curse calls back to chapter one
In the beginning of chapter nine's final battle with the krayt dragon, Mando utters something that sounds like a curse. As the beast begins to back up into his lair, Mando says, "Dank farrik, it's going back in." It's something that's repeated quite a bit throughout the rest of season two, and by different characters. While we don't know exactly what the curse means, it's a callback to not only The Mandalorian's first episode, but its very first scene.
The first time we hear the phrase, it's spoken by Mando's first bounty in the series: The blue skinned Mythrol (Horatio Sanz) Mando captures on Maldo Kreis. Shortly after Mando and his prisoner arrive at the Razorcrest, the ferry that brought them across the ice is devoured by a monstrous ravinak and Mando's ship is its next target. As the pair board the craft, the Mythrol yells, "Dank farrik, that was close!"
It's interesting that Mando is now repeating lines from a former bounty, though he doesn't quite find himself in the same situation as the Mythrol. After all, the Mythrol is cursing because the monster got too close, while in chapter nine, Mando is cursing because this new and much more dangerous monster didn't get close enough.
The Frog Lady's destination includes some familiar names
It always seems like Mando can't take a single step forward on his journey without doing yet another job for someone else, and chapter 10 is no different. After his adventures in and around Mos Pelgo, Mando returns to Mos Eisley to quickly find another lead on Mandalorians and a task he has to perform for the intel. The mechanic Pelli (Amy Sedaris) meets someone known only as "the Frog Lady" (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) who knows where a group of the elusive warriors live. But she wants a trip back home in return for the info.
As she's giving Mando the low-down, Pelli tells him, "She said her husband has settled on the estuary moon of Trask in the system of the gas giant Kol Iben." The names of both the moon and the gas giant are references to heroes from the Star Wars Legends narrative.
The moon Trask is named for Trask Ulgo, a character from the 2003 role-playing game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Trask is an officer in the Galactic Republic as well as a native of the doomed planet Alderaan. Kol Iben, on the other hand, is named for a character from print media. Kol Skywalker is a Jedi descendant of both Anakin and Luke Skywalker appearing in the Dark Horse comic Star Wars: Legacy.
Mando's initial exchange with the X-Wing pilots includes a nod to fans
In chapter 10, Mando leads a pair of New Republic X-Wing pilots on a wild chase, only to be saved by those same pilots at the end of the episode. But before the chase begins, while Mando's still trying to talk his way out of trouble, he shares an interesting exchange with the pilots. When he thinks the pilots are finally about to let him go on his way, Mando says, "May the Force be with you." One of the pilots responds, "And also with you." It may sound like a simple throwaway line, but this was a big reference — not to any of the movies or the expanded universe, but to a particular kind of Star Wars fan.
Star Wars fans who grew up worshipping in Anglican, Lutheran, or (before 2008) Catholic churches are used to a very specific call-and-response during services. At one point, the religious leader will say, "The Lord be with you," or, alternately, "Peace be with you," to which the gathered worshippers respond, "And also with you." It is natural for fans raised attending such services to add a similar response to "May the Force be with you," even though it isn't canon.
With this short conversation in chapter 10, however, the call-and-response has become canon. If that ever changes, we're sure John Mulaney will have a thing or two to say about it.
Apparently, Mythrol's side effects were worse than Han's
Chapter 12 sees the return of a number of characters, including Horatio Sanz reprising his role as the Mythrol, Mando's first target in chapter one. We learn that it was Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) who put up the bounty on the amphibious alien, who's now working off his debt. After Greef tells Mando why the Mythrol is working for him, the bounty hunter says, "Well, if he runs off on you again, let me know." The Mythrol responds, "Let me assure you, I do not wanna spend any more time in carbonite. Still can't see outta my left eye."
This is a callback to the finale of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi. After being freed from carbonite in Jabba's palace, the panicked Han Solo says he can't see, and Leia explains blindness is a temporary side effect of the carbonite freezing.
We don't know exactly how long it's been since the Mythrol was freed from carbonite, but it seems strange he would still suffer symptoms from the freezing. It could be he's fishing for sympathy, or it could be a ploy to put Greef off his guard in hopes of a future escape. After all, he's not known for his honesty. Even if he is telling the truth, there's a good chance neither Cara, Greef, nor Mando believe him, since they let him drive the speeder on their way to the Imperial outpost.
Chapter 12 brings up one of the most unpopular parts of the prequels
As Mando and his companions are on their way out of the Nevarro Imperial outpost, they come across a lab filled with deformed corpses floating in tanks. In spite of their tight schedule, the heroes pause to access records to find out what the lab is for. Mythrol plays a holo-recording of Dr. Pershing, the Imperial doctor who works on Grogu in the first season. Among other things, Pershing reports, "There were promising effects for an entire fortnight, but then, sadly, the body rejected the blood. I highly doubt we'll find a donor with a higher M-count though."
By "higher M-count," Dr. Pershing is referring to one of the most controversial pieces of the Star Wars mythos: The midi-chlorians. In The Phantom Menace, we learn that every Jedi's blood includes higher than average amounts of midi-chlorians, and it's through communication with these microscopic life forms that Jedi find their special connection to the Force. The fact that the concept remains so polarizing among fans may be why Pershing says "M-count" rather than "midi-chlorian count," allowing fans on the thumbs-down side of the debate to imagine "M" stands for something else.
At the same time, the presence of the lab and Pershing's recording have fed widespread speculation that the experiments have something to do with the cloning of Palpatine and the creation of Supreme Leader Snoke.
Chapter 13 reveals Ahsoka Tano is on the hunt for Thrawn
Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian sees the long anticipated live-action premiere of Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson. The former Jedi teams up with Mando against the forces of Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto). As Mando deals with Elsbeth's underling Lang (Michael Biehn), Ahsoka defeats the magistrate in a duel. Once she has Elsbeth helpless, Ahsoka demands, "Now tell me, where is your master? Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?"
Thrawn is a villain too good to be left on the cutting room floor of Star Wars canon. The blue-skinned Imperial first appeared in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn novel trilogy, starting with 1991's Heir to the Empire and concluding with 1993's The Last Command. While those novels have officially joined the list of Star Wars media no longer considered canon, Thrawn survived to fight the Galactic Rebellion in Star Wars Rebels.
Ahsoka's lines let us know that, wherever he is, Thrawn survived the events of the original trilogy. It could very well be that Ahsoka's hunt for the admiral will be the focus of the upcoming Disney+ Ahsoka Tano series.
Chapter 15 references a cult classic
Chapter 15 shows us just how far Mando is willing to go to rescue Grogu. With the aid of the newly appointed New Republic Marshall Cara Dune, Mando recruits Mayfeld (Bill Burr) to help him infiltrate an Imperial facility in order to access a computer that can give him the location of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). Once they're inside, Mayfeld refuses to approach the computer console after spotting a former commanding officer. Mando does it himself, and makes the surprising choice to remove his stormtrooper helmet, thus exposing his face. When Mayfeld's old commander starts questioning Mando, Mayfeld swoops in to save the day, successfully bluffing the officer into believing they're the genuine article. Trying to lead Mando away, Mayfeld says, "C'mon, let's go fill out those TPS reports so we can go recharge the power coils."
Mentioning TPS reports is no doubt a reference to the 1999 cult classic Office Space. In the comedy, Ron Livingston plays Peter, a passionless officer worker at a software company constantly hounded by his supervisor Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) to finish his TPS reports. Though decades old now, Office Space's hated TPS reports continue to flood social media with hosts of hilarious memes.
Considering both the Empire and Office Space's Initech apparently use TPS reports, we're not really sure which organization would win a "Worst people to work for" contest. We figure Initech has a decent shot, though.
Chapter 15 isn't the first time we hear of Operation: Cinder
In Chapter 15, Mayfeld reveals himself to be a more layered character than he originally appears to be in the first season. He and Mando are corralled into sharing drinks with the Imperial officer Valin Ness (Richard Brake), the same officer Mayfeld avoids earlier. We soon learn Ness holds an important place in Mayfeld's history — one with such weight, in fact, that Mayfeld allows it to expose him.
As Ness asks for ideas for toasts, Mayfeld suggests, "How about a toast to Operation: Cinder?" Initially, Ness seems impressed by Mayfeld, turning to Mando and saying, "Now there's a man who knows his history." We soon learn Mayfeld served under Ness during the eponymous operation, and was traumatized by what occurred.
When you find out about Operation: Cinder, the reaction is understandable. It wasn't something dreamed up specifically for The Mandalorian, but instead has been mentioned in numerous Star Wars comics, video games, and other media. Cinder is Palpatine's contingency plan in the case of his death, to make sure the galaxy's civilizations don't outlive him. Weeks after the Battle of Endor, the Empire put Operation: Cinder in motion, using satellite arrays to cause disastrous climate changes on different planets including Naboo. No official number has ever been given for the casualties, but it was clearly significant, and certainly enough to make Mayfeld shoot Ness in the chest. And, yes, Mayfeld shot first.
In chapter 16, Koska mentions something often seen but rarely named
Early in chapter 16, Mando returns to Trask with allies, hoping to enlist the help of the Mandalorians he found there. Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) and Koska (Sasha Banks) are not happy to see Mando accompanied by Boba Fett, whose voice they recognize as those of the clones created on Kamino. Koska and Fett exchange a few barbs, eventually leading to a brief melee. Before things get violent, Fett warns the younger Koska, "Easy there, little one." Koska fires back, "You'll be talking through the window of a bacta tank."
Bacta tanks aren't a particularly obscure part of Star Wars lore, though you don't often hear them referred to by name. They're cylindrical tanks filled with bacta fluid, which is known for its healing properties. Probably the most prominent use of a bacta tank comes early in Empire Strikes Back when Luke Skywalker is submerged in a one of the tanks after being rescued from the deadly cold of Hoth's surface by Han Solo.