Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
More On:
Star Wars
-
'The Acolyte' Episode 7 Recap: What Had Happened Was...
-
'The Acolyte' Proves To Be Yet Another Divisive 'Star Wars' Offering, But Everyone Agrees This Scary Ass Mask Is Pure Nightmare Fuel
-
'The Acolyte' Episode 6 Recap: Teacher's Pet
-
'The Acolyte' is Using Manny Jacinto to Seduce All of Us to the Dark Side of the Force
It’s been a hot minute since The Mandalorian concluded Season 1 and we are still obsessed. We can’t get enough Baby Yoda memes and can’t stop ending conversations with “I have spoken.” But considering that we’re still a ways away from Season 2 debuting on Disney+, we’re gonna have to learn how to cope without a weekly influx of Mandalorian content. This is not the way!
Fortunately for all of us, there is more Star Wars content on the way via Disney+: Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will debut on the service on February 21! Check out the trailer for the new season embedded above, BTW. That’s great news for those that need to see more masked commandoes kicking ass, because Clone Wars is chock-full of that—and that includes clone troopers and Mandalorians. That’s right—there’s not one but two other Star Wars TV shows available to stream on Disney+ that contain plenty of Mandalorian action. Those shows are Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, two animated series that actually made a major mark on The Mandalorian. Seriously.
Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which never really pulled off the level of TV/movie connectivity that fans wanted, Star Wars delivers. Characters from the cartoons pop up on the big screen (Forest Whitaker played one in Rogue One) and cartoon canon has ramifications on the movies too (that’s how Darth Maul was alive and well in Solo). The same goes for The Mandalorian, a live-action series that’s picking up a couple of plot threads initially laid out in The Clone Wars years ago.
If you haven’t binged both of those cartoons yet, now’s the perfect time. And if you’re specifically looking for the episodes that tie into Mandalorian lore, we’ve got you covered. Below you’ll find a guide to the episodes of Clone Wars and Rebels that will give you a more in-depth understanding of what happened in The Mandalorian Season 1 (spoiler alert)—and it might even give you theories about what’s going to happen in Season 2. And with the new season of Clone Wars coming out at the end of February, now’s the perfect time to see how these shows (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and The Mandalorian) intersect.
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Season 2
Mandalorian culture made it’s big, in-canon debut in a three-part storyline in Season 2 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These episodes are set roughly 30 years before the events of The Mandalorian and they introduce a couple of major concepts that appear in the Disney+ series (beyond the whole concept of Mandalorians, that is). The episodes introduce Death Watch, an extremist organization that allied themselves with the Sith Lord Count Dooku in an attempted coup against Duchess Satine Kryze. Death Watch’s leader Pre Vizsla carried the Darksaber, an ancient lightsaber constructed by the first-ever Mandalorian member of the Jedi Order over a thousand years prior.
- Episode 12: “The Mandalore Plot”
- Episode 13: “Voyage of Temptation”
- Episode 14: “Duchess of Mandalore”
The Mandalorian episode 8 contains a flashback of Death Watch in action rescuing a child from a Separatist attack. That child would grow up to be Din Djarin (a.k.a. the Mandalorian played by Pedro Pascal). Also in that episode, we see the return of the Darksaber, this time carried by Imperial officer Moff Gideon.
Also for those looking to construct a firm timeline, it’s likely that Death Watch rescued young Din Djarin sometime after the events of “Duchess of Mandalore.” How do we know that? Death Watch rescues the kid from Separatist forces, and prior to “Duchess of Mandalore,” Death Watch and the Separatists are working together. So that means the flashbacks that pepper Season 1 of The Mandalorian have to take place after the Separatists and Death Watch split up in “Duchess of Mandalore.”
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Season 3
Season 3’s Mandalore two-parter doesn’t have major ramifications for The Mandalorian, but it’s a fun watch just for a look at the political upheaval that plagued the planet during the Clone Wars. Plus, you get a fun team-up between Padme Amidala and Mandalorian leader Satine, as well as an episode focused on fan favorite Jedi Ahsoka Tano.
- Episode 5: “Corruption”
- Episode 6: “The Academy”
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Season 4
Season 4 contains a standalone episode that pits Ahsoka and her twin lightsabers against Death Watch and the Darksaber. This episode is notable for providing more insight into the inner workings of the group that adopted Din Djarin, and it introduces major Mandalorian figure Bo-Katan Kryze. It’s possible that she’ll be referenced on The Mandalorian at some point, as she was the last person known to carry the Darksaber before it showed up in Gideon’s possession.
- Episode 14: “A Friend in Need”
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Season 5
The final Mandalore plot in Clone Wars (for now) acted as the culmination of a few simmering subplots. In it, Darth Maul (yeah, he’s not dead) teams up with Death Watch in another attempt to crush the Separatists and the Republic as well as take over Mandalore. Death Watch, the Darksaber, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul, Bo-Katan and Satine—this one has a lot going on!
- Episode 14: “Eminence”
- Episode 15: “Shades of Reason”
- Episode 16: “The Lawless”
'Star Wars Rebels' Season 3
Fast-forward a few decades in continuity to Star Wars Rebels, and the Mandalorian mythos continues to grow. For one thing, there’s a Mandalorian warrior—Sabine Wren—in the show’s main cast. So if you just like that Mandalorian swagger and/or the look of that armor, you should just watch the whole show.
More specifically, Rebels Season 3 picks up on a major thread from Clone Wars: the Darksaber. Darth Maul pops up again, Darksaber in tow, and it ultimately ends up in the hands of Sabine Wren. We also meet Sabine’s mother Ursa Wren, who we learn was a member of Death Watch.
- Episode 11: “Visions and Voices”
- Episode 15: “Trials of the Darksaber”
- Episode 16: “Legacy of Mandalore”
- Episodes 21-22: “Zero Hour”
And for timeline purposes, Season 3 of Star Wars Rebels is set 11 years before the events of The Mandalorian.
'Star Wars Rebels' Season 4
Star Wars Rebels wraps up its Mandalorian plot in the Season 4 opener, set 10 years before the events of The Mandalorian. The episode includes the passing of the Darksaber from Sabine to Bo-Katan Kryze, who makes her first appearance after the events of The Clone Wars.
- Episodes 1-2: “Heroes of Mandalore”
How the Darksaber goes from Bo-Katan to Moff Gideon is a story that has yet to be told. Here’s hoping Bo-Katan shows up in live-action when The Mandalorian returns for Season 2.
