‘The Mandalorian’ on Disney+: 5 Things You May Have Missed in Chapter 8

After introducing comedians Amy Sedaris, Horatio Sanz, Brian Posehn, Eugene Cordero and probably more into the Star Wars mythology, The Mandalorian closes out Season 1 by sneaking in two more big name funnymen. Adam Pally’s scout trooper actually appeared in last week’s episode, but this week he’s joined by a trooper voiced (and possibly played?) by Jason Sudeikis. Pally is known for Happy Endings and will soon be seen in a new NBC sitcom called Indebted. Sudeikis is a Saturday Night Live alum who also appeared on The Last Man on Earth.

During Moff Gideon’s assault on our heroes’ makeshift stronghold, he reveals what he knows about the trio. His speech includes a bit of information about ex-Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune, including the fact that her full name is Carasynthia Dune. However, it’s her home planet that’s of more interest to Star Wars fans: she’s from Alderaan, the same planet that Princess Leia Organa called home and the same planet that the Death Star blew up in Star Wars: A New Hope. This background explains why Dune was so eager to help the Mandalorian the instant she found out Nevarro was lousy with Imperials. She doesn’t just have a Rebel soldier’s hatred of Imperials. She has an Alderaanian Rebel soldier’s hatred of Imperials.

In the finale chapter, we get to see the rest of the Mandalorian’s backstory play out after seeing flashes of it all season. Now we know how he survived the Separatist raid on his home planet: the Death Watch came to his rescue. In the flashback, a group of Mandalorians in blue armor come to his rescue. This armor, specifically their sigil, will be familiar to fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars as Death Watch played a recurring role in the animated series. The group was initially an anti-pacifist cell that frequently clashed with Mandalorian government and ultimately split up into opposing factions. It’s unclear, although likely, that the faction that rescued Din Djarin was the Mandalore resistance cell led by Bo-Katan Kryze (although we don’t see her in the episode).

Later, the (still unnamed) Mandalorian armorer played by Emily Swallow mentions an ancient band of wizards known as the Jedi. As she tells Djarin, the Mandalorians once waged war against the Jedi. This war, which occurred thousands of years ago, has been referenced a few times in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. It’s been said that it was this clash with the Force-using Jedi that caused the warriors of Mandalore to develop the armor and weapons that they continue to upgrade and use today.

Okay, it’s impossible to really miss this but still, we gotta talk about it! Finally, after a season of anticipation, we not only learn the Mandalorian’s name but see his face as well. The Mandalorian is Din Djarin, born on an unnamed planet and adopted into Mandalorian culture after being rescued by the Death Watch. He then took a vow to never take off his helmet in front of a living creature, which he still hasn’t broken since only IG-11 saw his face.

Who is the actor that plays The Mandalorian? That’s Pedro Pascal, known for roles on Game of Thrones and Narcos. He’ll next be seen playing Maxwell Lord in 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984. It was also Pascal that accidentally (?) revealed the Mandalorian’s name in an interview released on the same day as “Chapter 1,” although his name was misspelled as “Dyn Jarren.”

After his crash landing, Moff Gideon emerges from his wrecked TIE fighter carrying a weapon that probably caused everyone that’s watched the Star Wars animated series to freak out: the Darksaber.

The Darksaber is a lightsaber, a unique and ancient one originally built by the first-ever Mandalorian inducted into the ranks of the Jedi (Tarre Vizsla). At this point in canon, the Darksaber is over a thousand years old and has been through a lot. It’s passed from master to master, including Sith lord Darth Maul during his reign on Mandalore and early member of the Rebel Alliance Sabine Wren. The last time we saw the Darksaber in Star Wars Rebels, it was passed from Wren to Death Watch leader Bo-Katan Kryze in order to help her fight against the Empire. The fact that the Darksaber is no longer in Kryze’s possession, and is in fact in Imperial possession, doesn’t bode well for the warrior. How did Gideon come to possess the Darksaber? Did he take it directly from Bo-Katan Kryze? These are questions that we hope will be answered in The Mandalorian Season 2.

Stream The Mandalorian "Chapter 8" on Disney+