The Mandalorian: 12 Star Wars Easter Eggs And References You May Have Missed In Episode 2

The second episode of The Mandalorian--"Chapter 2: The Child"--has arrived. The new installment of the Disney+ live-action Star Wars series picks up where the premiere left off and pulls viewers even further into the story of the Mandalorian. As GameSpot's Chris E. Hayner explained in his review of the second episode, "this episode is a significant improvement over the first episode. That's not to say 'Chapter One' was bad, because it wasn't. The tone and pacing of 'The Child,' however, was a big step forward."

One place where it didn't quite measure up against "Chapter One" is in the Easter egg department. While the first episode of The Mandalorian was absolutely stuffed with nods to the Star Wars franchise, "The Child" took a more subtle approach. Yes, there were several familiar Star Wars elements--from certain aliens to what definitely seems like a nod to an old video game--but they weren't popping up left and right. And there wasn't a single Life Day reference.

Still, there's plenty in the episode that you might have missed and GameSpot managed to track it all down for you. Take a look at the Easter eggs and references below and see how many of them you caught. Consider this a spoiler warning, though. If you haven't seen "Chapter 2: The Child," turn away now.

The Mandalorian airs Fridays on Disney+.

The western movie influences on The Mandalorian have been evident thus far, but this shot early on in the second episode is the biggest nod to the genre yet. Mando clearly knows he's about to do battle with someone, and he's ready to draw his pistol.

Mando fights a few Trandoshans, who also have the same bounty for the Yoda Baby. Members of this species are known as hunters, and the most infamous of all Trandoshans is the bounty hunter Bossk, who has been featured in Clone Wars, Rebels, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.

The Trandoshans are wielding weapons known as Slaver blades - long knives used by the reptilian species, often by slavers hunting Wookiees.

While Mando is trying to heal himself after his battle with the Trandoshans, Baby Yoda comes up to him and raises his hand, like he's trying to use the Force. However, before anything happens, Mando put the child back into its floating space-crib. More than likely, the kid was trying to use Force Heal, an ability some Force-sensitive folks can access with training. It was used once in the Clone Wars, but it's never appeared in any live-action version of Star Wars.

First introduced in A New Hope, Jawas are a scavenger species, selling what they find to locals. The species originates from Tatooine, but they can be found on other Outer Rim planets as well. There's even a drink named after them on Coruscant: Jawa Juice.

One of the first large-scale land vehicles we see in A New Hope is the Jawa Sandcrawler. It's a huge, slow-moving, mobile fortress where the Jawas work and live. Originally, these massive vehicles were used on Tatooine during the planet's mining boom. Obviously, it wasn't just on that planet though. After these Sandcrawlers were abandoned, Jawas repurposed them for their species.

In order to try and get the parts back to his ship, Mando chases down the Jawa Sandcrawler and tries to scale it, while Jawas toss junk at him. This seems very familiar, and that's because one of the opening levels of Super Star Wars for the SNES features Luke Skywalker climbing that very same vehicle. Is The Mandalorian playing homage to a very frustrating level of a video game?

As Kuiil and The Mandalorian approach the Jawas, we hear one of the Jawas call out “Utinni!”. This commonly used Jawa expression was first heard in A New Hope, when R2-D2 is captured by the Jawas on Tatooine.

While we haven't seen any Wookiees on The Mandalorian yet--though they should totally make an appearance--at least they're around in spirit. Mocking his terrible language skills, a Jawa tells Mando his accent in speaking the alien's native tongue is awful and that he sounds like a Wookiee. Chewbacca wouldn't stand for that.

There are plenty of droids and alien races throughout The Mandalorian. This particular little bot stood out, though. That's an R5 unit the Jawas have next to their Sandcrawler. While it's possible this is a functioning unit, chances are it's nothing more than scrap--the Jawas love scrap.

The creative team behind The Mandalorian seems to be having fun creating new aliens and monsters for the show, and the Mudhorn might be the best one yet. This massive beast is cleverly named due to its huge horn and penchant for living in mud. It also nearly kills Mando, until something special happens.

After a tease of it early in the episode, Baby Yoda goes full on Force superhero by levitating the Mudhorn, saving Mando's life. This is a huge moment that will surely play a massive role in the episodes that follow. After all, knowing Baby Yoda is Force-sensitive will make him quite valuable to people like The Client. Still, due to his young age, it's clear he doesn't have his full powers yet, which is demonstrated by Baby Yoda passing out after dropping the Mudhorn.