There are some mysteries that’ve been debated amongst Star Wars fans for years. Who were Rey’s parents? Where did Supreme Leader Snoke come from? And who is Anakin Skywalker’s father? But now we can scratch at least one off the list, because The Mandalorian finally answered the question of where Star Wars characters go to poop when in space. The answer is… *drum roll* they use a ‘Vacc-tube.’
We get to see one towards the end of the opening sequence, where the titular character has caught his target and is returning to collect the bounty. Said target announces he has to “evacuate his thorax” and heads off into the bowels of the ship, the Razor Crest. It’s here we see the Vacc-tube in all its glory: a vaguely toilet-shaped (and it has to be said, rather grubby) device that (we presume) ejects waste into space.
Sadly, we don’t actually get to see anyone using the Vacc-tube, but I guess watching the Mandalorian take a giant dump on camera might ruin the whole enigmatic and mysterious hero thing he’s currently got going on. It’s also notable that there doesn’t seem to be any privacy for someone using it, which might explain why Chewie and Han were so close to one another and why Leia was in a terrible mood for much of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
Whatever the case, we can at least close the book on this particular conundrum. Obviously, this is a small and rather strange detail to focus on, but it just goes to show that The Mandalorian is a little different from previous Star Wars projects. It’s willing to explore the grimier and more lived-in bits of a galaxy far, far away, rather than pristine Imperial spacecraft and marble Jedi temples. Here’s hoping we get more cool stuff in episode 2, which airs on Friday.