By George Bate & Josh Bate
The Mandalorian moves closer and closer to plot elements from Heir to the Empire with the latest episode Chapter 23: The Spies. Check out all of the easter eggs, references, and trivia facts in this latest episode.
Elia Kane walks through the foggy underbelly of Coruscant. Several shots clearly evoke Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049, both which starred Star Wars legend Harrison Ford.
Moff Gideon holds a meeting with his shadow council, which teases a number of interesting easter eggs. One member of this meeting is Captain Pellaeon, who is played by Xander Berkeley (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Candyman). Pellaeon made his debut in Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire as Grand Admiral Thrawn’s right-hand man.
Speaking of Thrawn, the Chiss Imperial leader is mentioned several times throughout this meeting. Especially after the recently released Ahsoka trailer, it’s clear Thrawn will be an important character moving forward.
Also present during this meeting is Brendol Hux, father of General Armitage Hux (played by Domhnall Gleeson) in the sequel trilogy. Brendol Hux plays roles in a number of Star Wars books, including Aftermath: Life Debt and Phasma. Making this easter egg even cooler is the fact that Brendol Hux is played by Brian Gleeson, older brother of General Hux actor Domhnall Gleeson.
Brendol Hux is revealed to be in charge of something called Project Necromancy. In Legends, Sith necromancy was an aspect of Sith magic used to reanimate the dead.
Shirley Henderson, who voiced and puppeteered Babu Frik in The Rise of Skywalker, returns to voice the Anzellan droid-smith who makes IG-12.
The Mandalorian survivors encountered by Bo-Katan’s group as played by Charles Baker and Charles Parnell. Baker is best known for his role as Skinny Pete in Breaking Bad, while Parnell has played roles in The Last Ship and Top Gun: Maverick.
Bo-Katan explains how the darksaber ended up in Gideon’s possession, as seen in Chapter 8 of The Mandalorian’s first season. Bo-Katan surrendered the darksaber to Gideon under the promise that Gideon would spare Mandalorians. However, as seen in The Book of Boba Fett with the Night of a Thousand Tears, Gideon was not true to his word and systematically eliminated all Mandalorians.
Gideon is seen later in the episode wearing Beskar armor that clearly evokes the original Star Wars baddie Darth Vader.
Gideon requests and later receives Praetorian Guards. These are the same guards used by Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi. The term Praetorian actually originates in Ancient Rome. The Praetorian Guard was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as bodyguards and intelligence agents for Roman emperors.
Check out our review of Chapter 23: The Spies below: