How Season 2 Of The Mandalorian Connects To Rebels And Clone Wars: Thrawn, Ahsoka, And Bo-Katan

A few episodes into Season 2 of the Mandalorian, there have been many connections to other Star Wars TV shows--we're talking Rebels and The Clone Wars, obviously. Considering that many of the episodes are written by Dave Filoni--the mind behind the two mentioned animated series--of course we're going to start seeing more and more mentions of elements from these shows pop up.

Warning: There are some spoilers for the November 27 episode of The Mandalorian here as well as the Season 1 finale of the Disney+ show. Turn away now if you're not caught up.

We saw the biggest connection in the Season 1 finale when Moff Gideon stepped out of a Tie Fighter holding the Darksaber--the weapon the very first Mandalorian Jedi used, which appeared on Clone Wars.

Now, with Season 2, the references are a bit more frequent and apparent. In Episode 3 of Season 2, Mando found himself face-to-face with other Mandalorians, one of which was Bo-Katan Kryze, played by Katee Sackhoff who you may also know as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. This isn't the first time Kryze has been a part of the extended Star Wars Universe. Kryze has appeared both on the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series.

Kryze is one of the most famous Mandalorians in current canon, as she was the former leader of the Nite Owls and she stood against the Empire during their occupation of Mandalore. In addition, for some time, she was the keeper of the Darksaber--the cool, glowing sword Gideon was holding during the Season 1 finale. She was also voiced by none other than Sackhoff during her many appearances on The Clone Wars and two appearances on Rebels.

During Episode 3, she revealed some interesting information about Mando and his history. During Season 1, we saw the character Paz Vizsla and probable relative of The Clone Wars' Pre Vizsla, who was a member of Death Watch. This splintered group of Mandalorians who were a bit too devoted when it came to the Mandalorian code.

"Children of the Watch are a cult of religious zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society," Kryze said after learning Mando wouldn't take off his helmet, recognizing that he's a member of that group. "Their goal was to reestablish the ancient way." While Death Watch was devoted to an ancient code, Children of the Watch obviously takes it one step forward--and this is where Mando himself comes from, after being saved by a group of them while his family and town were being attacked by droids. It's an interesting moment that shows the diversity of beliefs within this warrior culture that we haven't seen in live-action before.

This episode also featured a clue to where Mando will be reintroducing a fan-favorite character Ahsoka Tano. The former Jedi padawan to Anakin Skywalker has had quite the journey on both Clone Wars and Rebels. Ahsoka--played by Rosario Dawson--made her debut in Episode 5, as we found out she was looking for General Thrawn, which is another name from Rebels you may be familiar with. Ashsoka is the former Padawan to none other than Anakin Skywalker during the animated series The Clone Wars. However, we all that story ended--with Skywalker turning into Darth Vader, and then yelling "Nooooooooooo" after his wife died. And Ahsoka continued her battle against the Empire by working with the Rebels under the codename Fulcrum in Rebels.

As for Thrawn, he was part of the Imperial Navy, working his way up to Grand Admiral. He was the main antagonist on Star Wars: Rebels, and the last time we saw him, he and Ezra were both being carried deep into space by space whales called Chimaera. It's safe to say that in this post-Empire time period, Thrawn has returned.