The Mandalorian Season 2 – My Top 5 Easter Eggs Explained!
Of the countless Easter eggs hidden throughout Season 2 of the The Mandalorian, there were five that really stood out to me. Easter eggs are hidden or sometimes easily seen references to other in-universe or out-of-universe characters, groups, places, things, lines, or sequences. They’ve existed in the Star Wars universe since Star Wars: A New Hope, where there were references to 1138, referring to THX-1138, the first film made by creator George Lucas. The practice continues to this day, pulling obscure references from corners of the Star Wars universe that rarely see daylight. Today, we’ll be talking about my 5 favorite Easter eggs from Season 2 of The Mandalorian.
5: Dr. Mandible
Dr. Mandible 
Kitik Keed’Kak 
Hem Dazon
The idea of taking a real-life insect and enlarging it to make a new Star Wars species, such as the ant-like Dr. Mandible, isn’t as new of a practice as you may think. Kitik Keed’Kak, a female Yam’Rii from the planet Huk, is based off of a praying mantis. Keed’Kak first appeared in the very background of Chalmun’s Cantina in Star Wars: A New Hope. Dr. Mandible’s eyes are also quite similar to another of the original cantina creatures: Hem Dazon. Dazon’s eyes were made to glow by the simple move of sticking a flashlight in the back of his head, though I’m sure something a bit more advanced was used for Dr. Mandible’s glowing eyes in The Mandalorian.
4: IG-11 Remembered
Behind Nevarro’s cantina-turned-schoolhouse in The Siege, there’s a newly erected statue of an IG unit standing heroically on a rock. This is a memorial to IG-11, the assassin droid who sacrificed himself to destroy a platoon of stormtroopers in The Redemption episode of Season 1 of The Mandalorian. Since droids are so often discriminated against and sometimes abused in the Star Wars galaxy, I was pleased that Greef Karga and the other citizens of Nevarro took the time to honor IG-11’s sacrifice. Fans were displeased that Kuiil, the Ugnaught who was killed by Imperial bikers, was not also memorialized, but I believe Kuiil would be pleased with his simple grave that Mando made for him.
3: Now This Is Podracing!
If you’ve seen Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, you may have recognized Cobb Vanth’s mode of transportation: a swoop bike. A swoop bike is basically an engine with a seat attached, and Vanth’s was almost definitely not new, since it’s practically identical to the engines of Anakin Skywalker’s podracer. While Vanth’s speeder sported some additional armor plating, it was otherwise the very image of what would’ve happened if Anakin had put a seat and handlebars on one of his podracer engines.
2: Tython
Tython is a planet strong with the Force, and strong with the storyline of the Star Wars: The Old Republic video game. Tython first appeared in the Legends novel, Darth Bane: Rule of Two, where it was dubbed the birthplace of the Je’daii, who later formed the Jedi Order. Tython’s Seeing Stone enabled Grogu to fall into a deep Force-trance, in which he reached out in the Force and made his presence known to Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. There were multiple massive Jedi Temples present on Tython throughout history, but none were visible in The Mandalorian.
1: Supreme Leader Snoke
We know from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that Supreme Leader Snoke was merely an artificially engineered human created by Emperor Palpatine’s Sith followers on Exegol. What we didn’t know is when Palpatine started working on Snoke. Now we know! Five years after Return of The Jedi, the Empire had succeeded in creating an early version of Snoke, as seen in a close-up in the Imperial Research Facility. We also now know what Grogu’s blood was harvested for: experimenting with introducing blood with high midi-chlorian counts from Force-sensitives to genetically engineered beings. This experiment was unsuccessful in that facility’s attempts, according to Dr. Pershing.
Author Bio: J. A. Marroquin
Hello there! My name is Jonathan Marroquin. My first memory of Star Wars is seeing a dusty VHS tape in the corner, which my grandpa explained was a sci-fi movie. I fell in love with it immediately. In the next few days, I watched Star Wars: A New Hope more times than I could count. I like to say Star Wars was my first love, and it’s stayed true to me ever since. A LEGO enthusiast and stop-motion animator, I enjoy writing fan-fiction in the Star Wars and Harry Potter universes. I love to read Star Wars books, build LEGO Star Wars scenes and ships, and basically do anything involving Star Wars. My interests have also recently expanded to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As part of my homeschooling courses, I enjoy learning French with my amazing grandmother, who also serves to help me puzzle through the haze of confusion that is high school math. May The Force Be With You, Always!
