The Mandalorian is a series that focuses on Din Djarin, but it's also pulled in beloved
characters from many different areas of the Star Wars universe. Here are few Season Two
characters that mean more than casual fans might think.
Star Wars has always been a space western, but The Mandalorian episode "The Marshall"
takes it even further. Here, we meet a gun-slingin' space marshall named Cobb Vanth. With the
Empire fallen and Jabba the Hutt taken down, Tatooine is left with a bunch of mining syndicates
vying for power. Someone had to set things straight after the Resistance took down the
Empire, so why not a space sheriff?
Though the episode is Vanth's first onscreen appearance in the Star Wars universe, he originally
appeared in Chuck Wendig's canon trilogy, Aftermath. There, we learn that Vanth is a
former slave, and has been protecting Freetown from Red Key raiders.
Even though its is unlikely that most fans of the Mandalorian have read the Aftermath
trilogy, we still may see more of Vanth's part of the galaxy in upcoming Disney+ content.
A straight-up space western might be just what we need in a galaxy far, far away.
The Mandalorian 's Frog Lady may not have a meta backstory within the Star Wars universe,
but her struggle speaks volumes about the state of the galaxy following the savage rule
of the Empire. Frog Lady is on a simple mission to deliver her eggs back to the moon, Trask.
Because this clutch of eggs is the last of her life cycle, she's desperate to keep the
eggs safe from harm. No pressure. And no help from Grogu, who's seemingly never met a creature
he didn't want to eat.
Frog Lady provides us with a deeply personal look at the state of civilization throughout
the galaxy. Much of the Star Wars franchise focuses on massive battles without shining
much light on the aftermath of that destruction. How many other species are almost completely
wiped out after the Empire's destruction? Not all species eliminations come from the
massive blast of a Death Star, and Frog Lady shows us how deep and vast the hurt following
war can be for the beings caught in its wake.
It's not often that a Jedi leaves the Order — but then again, Ahsoka Tano is no ordinary
Force-wielder. Ahsoka first appeared during the 2008 animated film Clone Wars, which spawned
a TV series of the same name. While Ahsoka's final scene in the Clone Wars series finale
leaves her journey open-ended, viewers do know Anakin Skywalker's former padawan has
left her role as a Jedi completely behind. Yet as we see in The Mandalorian, she doesn't
abandon the Force.
Rosario Dawson assumed the role of Ahsoka for The Mandalorian for the show's 13th episode,
"The Jedi," and when she appears for the first time, Ahsoka wields a pair of white lightsabers,
which she purified from Dark Side crystals.
Canon projects like Clone Wars, comic books, and novels have introduced fans to numerous
Force-wielders and their lightsabers, but Ahsoka is a Force-sensitive character who's
actively wielding the Force while rejecting the Jedi way. Her choice to follow her own
rules leaves room for fascinating storylines and characters that don't jibe with Jedi beliefs.
The former Jedi left her mark on The Mandalorian by shedding light on the life of the Child
when she revealed his true name and his past as a padawan at the Jedi Academy. That was
just the beginning: Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka is getting her very own self-titled show on
Disney+.
Valin Hess may be a new character for The Mandalorian, but what he represents goes far
beyond his character's scope. Star Wars has a significant number of villains, but most
of them are pretty one-dimensional. We all hate Grand Moff Tarkin, the ruthless Imperial
Naval leader, but beyond a few scenes when he demonstrates his cunning nature or talks
about military tactics, we don't get a sense of who he is. We often don't know why characters
who represent The Empire do the things they do, outside of fear and a lust for power,
so it's interesting to hear from some lower-level villains.
In Chapter 15, "The Believer", Mando has to sneak into an Imperial base with former Imperial
sharpshooter Migs Mayfield, and before the pair can sneak back out, they're cornered
by Hess, who was once Mayfield's superior officer. When Mayfield asks Hess how he could
sacrifice his entire division to wipe out a city, Hess replies,
"You see, boys, everybody thinks they want freedom, but what they really want is order.”
Hess toasts the Empire — at which point Mayfield shoots him dead. But before that,
Hess' monologue offers a rare glimpse into the mindset of the Empire's military commanders,
and it's chilling... even though his answer doesn't come as a surprise.
Given that The Mandalorian focuses on characters who have reasons for avoiding the New Republic
after the fall of the Empire, it's unsurprising that we don't see many former Rebels. Pilot
Carson Teva and his wingman Trapper Wolf are exceptions. Along with others from the Rebel
ranks who helped take down the Empire, the pair now monitors goings-on in an official
capacity, policing a galaxy healing after decades of strife.
Mandalorian viewers are introduced to the duo in Chapter 10, "The Passenger," when Mando's
attempt to avoid them nearly gets him eaten by a giant space spider. It isn't just that
he's feeling shy: After Teva and Wolf rescue him, we find out there's a warrant out for
his arrest. When Mando asks Teva if he's going to try and take him into custody, the pilot
admits he ought to, but for better or worse, the New Republic is far from the authoritarian
regime that the Empire was, and Teva lets him go.
This encounter is more than a glimpse at Republic police work in action. The Mandalorian also
threw in a fun Easter egg for fans to discover: Longtime Star Wars writer and Mandalorian
producer-slash-occasional director Dave Filoni plays Trapper Wolf. And with the upcoming
Star Wars Disney+ series Rangers of the New Republic, which will take place during the
same time as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, we may see a lot more of these two.
We all know Boba Fett is important, but let's be real: he's pretty tame in the original
trilogy. He stumbles over his armor, he barely says a word, and he's accidentally bested
by a blind Han Solo. As far as villains go, Star Wars has done better. But is he really
a villain? The original trilogy made it clear that he was only in it for the money. However,
given his urge to help Mando and the warrior's code of ethics he shows in The Mandalorian,
it's hard not to wonder if the Empire forced his hand.
Following his surprise return and subsequent role in rescuing Grogu from Moff Gideon, Boba
Fett's slate is now clean, and he returns to Tatooine to take over Jabba the Hutt's
palace. We've yet to learn what the former bounty hunter has been up to all these years.
Was he stuck in the digestive tract of a Sarlacc for several years, or did he escape relatively
quickly after Han launched him into the pit?
Perhaps his motives aren't as pure as they might seem. He does save Fennec Shand, noting
that they were both left for dead in the desert. Maybe he was once the villain everyone believed
him to be, but he's clearly been changed. Then again, the teaser for his Disney+ series
The Book of Boba Fett suggests otherwise. He's a little too smug when he kills Bib Fortuna
and claims his throne.
What does it take to stop assassin Fennec Shand from killing people for money? A near-death
experience, apparently… but better a change of heart, later than never, if Fennec Shand
has actually changed her tune. We briefly learn about the assassin in season 1 of The
Mandalorian, when we discover that she's a mercenary who's already killed for the Hutts.
It's not until season 2 that her character is more thoroughly fleshed out.
Fittingly, given that Shand is named after the desert-dwelling fennec fox, the assassin
is sly and her motives are often unclear. While Shand isn't exactly a hero, she does
have some kind of code. The mercenary follows Boba Fett after he saves her from death, and
she even puts her life on the line to help Mando find Grogu when Moff Gideon's dark troopers
kidnap him. Both she and Boba Fett are incredibly hard to read, but hopefully, The Book of Boba
Fett will answer all of our burning questions.
Star Wars fans who haven't tuned into the animated series Clone Wars and Rebels might
not be able to guess by her appearance in The Mandalorian, but Bo-Katan Kryze is kind
of a big deal on Mandalore. Bo-Katan is devoted to returning Mandalore to its former glory,
and she's taken on the likes of Darth Maul to prove it.
By the time we see her in The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan is in pursuit of the Darksaber, which
is being wielded by Moff Gideon. It's a quest that grows more complicated after Mando becomes
its rightful owner by defeating Gideon in combat during the season finale. Din tries
to give her the weapon, but as a delighted Gideon points out, the Darksaber must be won,
not given.
It's unclear at the close of season 2 just how much Mando's ownership of the Darksaber
will mean for Mandalore and Bo-Katan, but any conflict between the two won't be the
first time they've clashed. When they meet, she scoffs at Mando's refusal to take off
his helmet, basically accusing him of following a cult-like faction of Mandalorian tradition.
Being faced with Bo-Katan's assertion that you can be a Mandalorian without shielding
your face from the galaxy marks the first time Mando really questions his staunch beliefs.
The question lingers, as we see him remove his helmet twice after that conversation,
particularly in the poignant closing moments of the season finale, when he removes it in
order to give Grogu a proper goodbye.
Disney billed The Rise of Skywalker as the swan song to the Skywalker saga. Rey even
buries Luke and Leia's lightsabers, putting their storyline to rest. It wasn't subtle.
Yet The Mandalorian's second season finale brought us a re-emergence of the Skywalkers
in a major way. Luke himself saunters onto Moff Gideon's ship, decimating an entire platoon
of dark troopers in his response to Grogu's call. It's clear from the minute a hooded
figure brandishes a green lightsaber that Luke is under the shroud of mystery, but many
fans were still thrilled to see him remove his hood, looking and sounding just like he
did in Return of the Jedi.
While the moment is one of triumph, it also poses the question: just how far will this
go? Will Disney be whipping out CGI Luke in another 30 years? If Luke is fair game, then
who else are they going to CGI back into existence? With a slew of Disney+ shows on the horizon,
including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lando, it's hard not to wonder whether the Skywalker era will
ever be over. And while, for nostalgia's sake, that's a great comfort, it also might prevent
other great stories from emerging. The bottom line? Disney may have been skewing the truth
when they said The Rise of Skywalker was the end of the Skywalker story... but fans still
have to admit the scene was still pretty epic.
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