Star Wars: The Mandalorian Reveals a New Force Power

Star Wars dropped an episode of The Mandalorian early this week, to coincide with the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in theaters. A lot Mandalorian fans seem to be happy with the way episode 7 plays out, as the pivotal chapter of The Mandalorian's tale introduces a deadly new threat; kills off a popular character; and ends on a cliffhanger that has fans now hyperventilating over the fate of our blessed Baby Yoda. In the midst of all that excitement, it may have been easy to overlook another big development in this chapter of The Mandalorian: the revelation of a new Force power!

Warning! SPOILERS for The Mandalorian Chapter 7 Follow!

"Chapter 7: The Reckoning" sees The Mandalorian called back to the planet Nevarro where the series began, to face the people he betrayed by running away with Baby Yoda. Mando's former handler Greff Karga (Carl Weathers) arranges to bring the bounty hunter back to "The Client" (Werner Herzog) safely; meanwhile, Mando has recruited former shock trooper Cara Dune (Gina Carano) and the curmudgeonly Kuiil (Nick Nolte) to back him up and protect The Child.

This nice little Mexican Standoff crew heads out to meet The Client and must camp out in the Nevarro wilderness for the night. Unfortunately, the party gets attacked by a flock of winged beasts, and in the process, Greff Karga is severely injured. Whatever venom is in the winged creature's talons, it spreads through Karga quickly and is about to finish him off - that is, until Baby Yoda intervenes. The Child reaches out with the Force and not only heals the lacerations on Greff Karga's arm, but seems to heal any lingering poison, as well.

Now, while "Force Healing" is a power that's existed in Star Wars' Expanded Universe for yeas, the technique has only been canonized within the obscure corner of the short-lived Star Wars: Uprising mobile game (2015 -2016). That means, for all intents and purposes within the fandom, The Mandalorian will be the first time that Force Healing has been revealed in a mainstream Star Wars project.

The Mandalorian's Force Healing reveal may not be the only expantion of the Force we get this week: J.J. Abrams has already teased that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will similarly reveal new Force abilities fans haven't seen before:

"It was really important that we not just redo the things you've seen, but add new elements—which we knew will infuriate some people and thrill others," Abrams revealed to Vanity Fair... "We wanted to make sure that this picture also showed aspects of the Force in ways that go beyond what you've seen before."

As Star Wars Universe continues to expand, so does our understanding of what Force users can do. How do you feel about it - and what does this reveal mean for Baby Yoda' story in the larger franchise?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th. The Mandalorian streams new episodes every Friday on Disney+. Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren is now on sale.