Star Wars: The Mandalorian Reveals Major Ties to the Prequel Trilogy

The latest episode of Star Wars: The Mandalorian was an intense affair as the titular bounty hunter had to make a major decision about how he was going to handle his obligations to the fallen Empire, weighed against the well being of "Baby Yoda," the young creature he was hired to secure. But in the episode, we get another flashback that reveals a major connection to the Star Wars prequel trilogy, showing how the Clone Wars specifically affected Mandalorian culture — especially when it comes to the attacks of the Trade Federation.

Previous trailers have shown glimpses of Super Battle Droids appearing in Star Wars: The Mandalorian — but now we finally get to see them and other Trade Federation vessels on the series.

When the Mandalorian is watching his armor get forged, the pounds of the hammer against Beskar steel seemingly ignites new memories, prompting visuals of the Star Wars prequel trilogy with droids from the Trade Federation.

In the flashback scenes, we see who is presumably the Mandalorian as a young child as his parents attempt to escape to safety while Trade Federation forces attack their village. We catch glimpses of the Super Battle Droids as well as their combat ships flying through the skies. All as the droids shoot down the citizens of this town, the Mandalorian's parents attempt to secure his safety, eventually hiding him in what appears to be a trash compactor in hopes of ensuring his survival.

But as soon as the parents close him in the bin do we see an explosion through the cracks of the door, followed by footsteps. Suddenly, a Super Battle Droid throws the doors open and prepares to blast the young child, but then the Mandalorian's flashback suddenly ends as he's bestowed with a new piece of armor.

All of this plays into the episode's big storyline of dealing with the baby Yoda, and how he'll decide to proceed after being paid to turn it over to the remnants of the Empire. He knows that their interests in the child are hardly altruistic, but he was paid a handsome fee in order to turn it over. But ultimately, his past and being forced to experience some traumatic events ultimately informs his decision, and he decides that protecting the baby Yoda is for the best.

It's clear that the Trade Federation's attacks had a major impact on the Mandalorian, and we'll likely get more context into how that plays out in future episodes of the series.

New episodes of The Mandalorian premiere on Fridays on Disney+. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

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