The Mandalorian season 1, episode 7: Easter eggs, Star Wars references and secrets you might have missed

The main villain is finally introduced in the penultimate episode of The Mandalorian's first season on Disney+

After a series comprised mostly of standalone escapades, Disney+ series The Mandalorian started to tie things together with a dramatic seventh episode.

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“Chapter 7: The Reckoning” began with the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) receiving a message from his former employer Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), informing him that the planet Nevarro has been on military lockdown since Mando absconded with the Child in episode three.

If the Mandalorian kills the Client (Werner Herzog), and rids the town of the oppressive ex-imperials, Karga promises to quash his beef with the Bounty Hunters’ guild.

Sensing a trap, however, the Mandalorian decides it’s better not to go in alone, and enlists the help of some familiar faces from the past six episodes: Kuiil the Ugnaught (Nick Nolte) and Cara Dune the ex-Shocktrooper (Gina Carano).

Naturally, things do not go quite to plan, and “The Reckoning” ends with Baby Yoda in desperate peril and the Mandalorian in a tight bind, surrounded by ex-Imperial troops and a new Big Bad – Moff Gideon, played by Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito.

Here are 8 Star Wars references from the episode you might have missed:

1. The Zabrak

The fierce creature Cara Dune gets the better of in the bar when the Mandalorian arrives is a Zabrak – the horned alien species most associated with the acrobatic Sith warrior Darth Maul.

2. Moff Gideon

Esposito’s caped baddie wears his Imperial heritage proudly; the name, “Moff”, is a senior position that reports to a Grand Moff, such as Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin. His spaceship is a specialised Tie fighter, the iconic battle vehicles used by Imperial troops.

3. Death Troopers

The elite Imperial soldiers that appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story make a significant return here, surrounding the Mandalorian after he meets with the Client.

The Client confers with an ex-Imperial Stormtrooper in the penultimate episode of The Mandalorian (Disney+)

4. Lando’s battle staff

The staff wielded by one of Greef Karga’s bounty hunter heavies looks an awful lot like the distinctive spear weapon wielded by Lando Calrissian in Return of the Jedi, when he is disguised as a guard at Jabba the Hutt’s palace.

5. Force heal

In a turn of events that has been hinted at several times throughout the season, Baby Yoda uses the Force to heal a wounded companion - not the Mandalorian, but duplicitous Guild boss Greef Karga. Force healing is a Jedi power not seen in the films until Rise of Skywalker - which was actually released after this episode.

6. Force choke

Baby Yoda is also seen using the Force in a more sinister way, when it thinks the Mandalorian is being attacked by Cara Dune (in fact, they are arm-wrestling). Force-choking is a technique made famous by Darth Vader in the very first Star Wars film.

7. Rebel Commando Helmet

In the bar where the Mandalorian finds Cara Dune, a man can be seen in the background wearing a Rebel Commando Helmet – which Star Wars fans will recognise from the battle on Endor in Return of the Jedi.