The Mandalorian’s Latest Episode Had A Subtle Connection To Darth Vader

Last week’s episode of The Mandalorian had a subtle callback to Darth Vader when Mando took Baby Yoda to Tython. But it’s still unclear what the implications of the scene are for the future of The Child.

In “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” Ahsoka Tano tasked the bounty hunter with taking Grogu to the planet, where they found a seeing stone atop the mountain that housed one of the first Jedi Temples in the history of that galaxy far, far away. When Mando puts Baby Yoda on the spot, though, he looks confused as to what he’s supposed to do. But before entering a Force-trance, we see a group of blue butterflies flying around him. He then tries to reach for one, which discourages Din Djarin even further.

While at first glance that might just be another aesthetically pleasing visual, there may be more to it than we currently understand. In the canonical comic series Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith, written by Charles Soule, one of the most prominent Star Wars writers under Disney, there’s a scene with the Chosen One that features the same vision.

In the eighth issue, we see the villain sitting in his ship meditating. And while fans have often seen him do that, even in the Original Trilogy, what makes this particular instance stand out is the fact that we go deep into the subconscious of the Dark Lord, wherein Vader witnesses himself floating over water in the middle of a terrifying storm, surrounded by dozens of blue butterflies flying in circles.

At this point, there’s no explanation as to what these butterflies represent in the living Force and Grogu, or whether The Child has any connection to Darth Vader. But if their inclusion in The Mandalorian hasn’t been a mere coincidence, then we can expect the writers to properly explain this phenomenon sometime in the future of the series.