The Mandalorian Season 3 is finally here and the very first episode has already made a reference to another Star Wars show.
Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 1 and Rebels.
While Din Djarin is having a snooze in his N-1, Grogu is awake and watching the galaxy fly by out the window. He sees shadows of enormous creates keeping space with the ship in hyperspace, that look like enormous squid-like creatures.
The identity of these creatures is not given in the episode, but those who’ve watched Rebels may recognise them as purrgils. This species of space whale first appears when young Jedi Ezra Bridger uses the Force to connect with them in Rebels and uses them to save the day in a fight against an Imperial refinery.
This isn’t the last we’ll see of the purrgils, however, nor is it their most important appearance. They also play a crucial role in Ezra facing down Admiral Thrawn by taking down Grand Admiral Thrawn’s blockade of Lothal. The purrgils then go on to kidnap Thrawn, Ezra, and the crew of Thrawn’s Star Destroyer, the Chimera. Their whereabouts are then left unknown at the end of the show, a fact that has plagued fans of Ezra ever since.
It’s rumoured that the live-action Ahsoka show could see the former Jedi trying to track down Ezra (and, by extension, Thrawn) – could The Mandalorian be teasing events from Ahsoka?
Regardless, the fact that only Grogu see and was interested in the purrgils in The Mandalorian reminds us of another facet of Jedi powers: affinity and connection with living creatures. We often focus on the fighting power or Force abilities of the Jedi, but using the Force to connect with living creatures, as Ezra did, is also a vital part. Perhaps this will play into Grogu’s arc this season, as he certainly tried to reach out physically to the purrgils.
The Mandalorian is streaming weekly every Wednesday on Disney+.
Images: Disney/Lucasfilm
