‘The Mandalorian’ season 2: Did you catch these ‘Clone Wars’ references?
While The Mandalorian is its own separate adventure within the Star Wars universe, the series has plenty of easter eggs & references to the Star Wars canon. The series takes place within the films’ timeline and even features iconic Star Wars locations, such as Tatooine.
In the most recent episode of The Mandalorian, Star Wars fans were gifted with several familiar faces and references to The Clone Wars animated series. Here are some of The Clone Wars references you may have missed in the latest episode of The Mandalorian.
Bo-Katan Kryze & The Nite Owls
In the latest episode of The Mandalorian, Din Djarin met Bo-Katan Kryze & other members of the Nite Owls on the ocean moon of Trask. Bo-Katan debuted in The Clone Wars as an elite soldier in Mandalore, member of the Death Watch faction, and the sister of Duchess Satine, the leader of Mandalore.
The Nite Owls is a unit of elite all-female soldiers led by Kryze. They help Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano remove Darth Maul after he becomes leader of Mandalore and kills Satine in The Clone Wars.
Before The Mandalorian, fans last saw Bo-Katan in Star Wars Rebels. In the two-part season 4 premiere, she becomes the leader of Mandalore. Mandalorian Sabine Wren & the rest of Phoenix Squadron deliver her the Darksaber to take back Mandalore from The Empire. However, Mandalore was lost in The Great Purge of Mandalore after The Empire led a genocide against the Mandalorian people.
In the third episode of The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan is on a search mission for the Darksaber and recruits Djarin to help her steal from an imperial ship, hoping the Darksaber is there. She also assists Djarin in his quest to find Jedi.
Death Watch
Death Watch is a terrorist organization which split from the main leadership of Mandalore. In The Clone Wars, Death Watch becomes radicalized after Mandalore turns into a pacifist government, leading Death Watch to rebel & seek to restore Mandalore to its ancient, powerful ways.
The group was led by Pre Vizsla. Bo-Katan & her Nite Owls were also members of the Death Watch. In The Clone Wars, after many failed attempts at taking over Mandalore, Vizsla joins forces with Maul’s Shadow Collective and successfully takes over the Mandalorian government.
However, after a power struggle between Vizsla & Maul, Maul killed Vizsla, leading to a split of Death Watch. The Mandalore Resistance was led by Bo-Katan and Maul led the Mandalorian Super Commandos, resulting in a war between the two factions.
In The Mandalorian, after Bo-Katan and the Nite Owls take off their helmets to Djarin’s disgust, they recognize Djarin as a child of The Watch. Bo-Katan refers to The Watch as a group of religious zealots who followed the Way of the Mandalore. The Children of the Watch are foundlings who were raised by former members of The Watch.
It’s known that Djarin isn’t a native of Mandalore and is a foundling who was raised by a group of Mandalorians. Despite seeing other Mandalorians who follow the same code as Djarin, this is the first indicator there’s still a rift within Mandalorian culture.
The Darksaber
In The Clone Wars, Vizsla is shown to be in possession of an ancient weapon called the Darksaber. The weapon was created by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian inducted into the Jedi Order. After Pre Vizsla was killed, the Darksaber fell into the hands of Darth Maul.
However, in the season one finale of The Mandalorian, Moff Giden is shown to be in possession of the Darksaber. Bo-Katan was the last known person to have it. However, it’s most likely she lost it in the Great Purge of Mandalore. The Darksaber may have more importance in the show later as the latest episode featured Bo-Katan on the hunt for this weapon, which is important to her people.
Ahsoka Tano
Ahsoka Tano is a former padawan of Anakin Skywalker and a fan-favorite from The Clone Wars. Tano became a powerful Jedi, however, she left the Jedi Order after being accused of murder by the Jedi Council. Tano re-joined the Republic army, only to narrowly survive the execution of Order 66 in The Clone Wars series finale.
Before season 2 started, news leaked that Rosario Dawson had been cast to play Tano in the character’s live action debut in season two of The Mandalorian. In the most recent episode, Bo-Katan tells Djarin to find Tano on the planet of Corvus, with the hopes Tano can lead Djarin to the Jedi who can take care of The Child.
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Fans of The Clone Wars were ecstatic after seeing Bo-Katan and now anticipate seeing Ahsoka Tano in non-animated form. It is unknown when Tano will exactly show up, but it’s cool to see The Mandalorian beginning to connect to the larger Star Wars universe.
