Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The Mandalorian: Easter eggs and episode 6’s secrets explained

The flagship series on Disney+, The Mandalorian (and especially one little green alien), has captured our hearts. Following an eventful five episodes, the latest chapter of the series has its bounty hunter hero (played by Game of Thrones actor Pedro Pascal) team up with a group of deadly mercenaries for a dangerous mission.

We recap each episode of The Mandalorian, a show made by fans, for fans — and reveal the larger Star Wars Universe hidden in the show’s details
March 12, 2021
Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian on Disney+
Recommended Videos

There’s a lot to absorb in each episode of The Mandalorian, so here’s a recap of what happened in episode 6, as well as a breakdown of some noteworthy elements. (Note: There will be discussion of plot points from the episode, so consider this a spoiler warning. You can also go back and read our recaps of Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5.)

Recap

Episode 6 of The Mandalorian has an old associate from Mando’s early years recruit him for a dangerous rescue mission — a mission that turns out to be a prison break from a New Republic transport ship. Teamed up with a group of deadly mercenaries who seem intent on testing his reputation, The Mandalorian assists in extracting the prisoner, then must defeat the mercenaries and reclaim his ship after they double-cross him.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

He manages to dispatch each of them before Rebel reinforcements arrive, then reluctantly returns the prisoner to collect his bounty, only to be double-crossed once again. This time around, he’s prepared for the betrayal, and escapes into hyperspace (along with The Child, a.k.a. Baby Yoda) just before Rebel ships destroy the mercenaries’ space station.

Alien roll call

Titled “The Prisoner,” Episode 6 didn’t feature a large cast, but it did get up close and personal with a diverse array of alien species that will likely be familiar to Star Wars fans.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The massive, horned mercenary Burg played by Clancy Brown (best known for playing Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption) is a Devaronian, a species that made its first appearance in the original Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope as one of the patrons of the Mos Eisley Cantina (the same cantina The Mandalorian visited in Episode 5, in fact).

Also joining The Mandalorian in the mission is Xi’an, a member of the Twi’lek species played by franchise actress Natalia Tena (she played Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter franchise). The Twi’leks are known for the large appendages that grow out of their heads, and they first appeared in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Xi’an is eventually joined by her brother, Qin, the prisoner they rescue. Also among the prisoners on the ship is an Ardennian (see above), one of the four-armed aliens introduced in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Cameo crazy

Although the episode was light on call-backs and references to the Star Wars mythology, it did feature a long list of noteworthy cameos.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The New Republic officer the mercenaries discover in the ship might not be a familiar face, but his voice might ring a bell or two for fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The officer is played by Matt Lanter, who voiced Anakin Skywalker throughout the long-running animated series. This episode marks the first time in the Star Wars saga that Lanter has appeared on screen, despite voicing one of the most important figures in the entire franchise for almost a decade.

Lanter wasn’t alone in finally getting an on-screen role after years behind the camera, as longtime Star Wars writer and director Dave Filoni — who wrote and directed episode 5 and directed The Mandalorian‘s series premiere episode — plays one of the three X-Wing pilots who destroy the mercenaries’ ship. Filoni is best known as one of the primary writers and directors for The Clone Wars and the creator and writer on Star Wars: Rebels and various other Star Wars animated projects.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Filoni, whose character is identified as “Trapper Wolf” (you have to love Star Wars names!), is joined by fellow Mandalorian episode directors Rick Famuyiwa and Deborah Chow (see above) as the other two X-Wing pilots. Famuyiwa, who directs this episode and is best known as the director of 2015’s Dope, plays a character named “Jib Dodger.”

Chow directed one of the series’ most epic episodes to date, the Mandalorian-filled third episode, and plays a character in this episode named “Sash Ketter.” Chow is also attached to direct the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+.

Disney’s The Mandalorian is

available to stream on Disney+

. The next episode premieres Wednesday, December 18. 

Want more? Check out our Mandalorian gift guide or bundle

Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+

.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s Disney+ release date moved up
Two kids drive a vehicle down the road.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is arriving earlier than expected. The eight-part series will debut with a two-episode premiere at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Monday, December 2. Subsequent episodes will be released on Tuesdays at the same time, with the season finale airing on January 14, 2025.

Disney also announced the directors for each corresponding episode. Series co-creator Jon Watts will helm episodes 1 and 8. The Green Knight's David Lowery directs episodes 2 and 3. The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), the Oscar-winning duo behind Everything Everywhere All at Once, direct episode 4. The remaining three episodes will be directed by Beef's Jake Schreier (episode 5), Bryce Dallas Howard (episode 6), and Minari's Lee Isaac Chung (episode 7).

Read more
Andor creator says season 1’s success has given him complete creative freedom
Cassian stands by a hillside in Andor season 1.

When it premiered in late 2022, Andor's first season quickly emerged as one of the most critically acclaimed Star Wars titles of Lucasfilm's entire Disney-owned era. The show went on to earn eight Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series. According to Andor creator Tony Gilroy, the Rogue One prequel's extremely positive reception has helped him convince Disney and Lucasfilm to follow his vision for its second and final season.

Speaking with Empire, Gilroy told the outlet, "The critical appreciation of the show was really helpful, if not essential, in helping Disney choke down the price of what this is." Andor season 1 reportedly had a sizable budget of $250 million, and it seems likely, based on Gilroy's comments, that the show's second season will end up costing the same amount or more. Unlike some other blockbuster shows of the past few years, though, most Andor fans would argue that its first season's budget was used well and visible in every one of its episodes.

Read more
Andor season 2 will reveal the origin of one iconic Star Wars location
Cassian Andor looks behind him while he walks in Andor season 1.

Andor season 2 will be an even bigger and more expansive space adventure than its predecessor. In a recent interview with Empire, Cassian Andor himself, actor Diego Luna, teased that the critically acclaimed Star Wars series will go to even more places and planets in its second season than it did in its first. "We move in space more than ever — the amount of planets and sets you’re going to get to see," Luna promised. "There are some familiar and new locations."

According to Andor creator Tony Gilroy, the show's sophomore season will even travel to one of the most important locations in Star Wars history: Yavin 4, the moon where the Rebel Alliance's headquarters are stationed during the first Death Star's destruction at the end of Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. "I mean, we have to end up in Yavin, right?” Gilroy teased. "So, we’ll tell the story of Yavin. No one has quite dealt with Yavin the way we will be doing it.”

Read more