The Line In The Mandalorian Season 2 That Means More Than You Think

Like every other episode of The Mandalorian so far, Chapter 10 sprinkled a handful of universe-building details across the top of its plot. We saw Mando survive an overburdened trek across the Tatooine dunes and a night in a frozen wasteland, confirming that, like the thermos of the outer rim, beskar armor keeps hot things hot and cold things cold. We learned that, just as we always suspected, outer space is full of giant ants, and they're terrible at cards. We found out that Ridley Scott's nightmare alien-bug-nest scenario is a rule, not an exception, and that many of the myriad sentient species of the Star Wars mythos, not just Gungans, really do have delicious offspring.

Most importantly, perhaps, in an out-of-nowhere line of throwaway dialogue, a bizarrely niche piece of fan rhetoric was cemented as part of the Star Wars lexicon for all time.

The moment comes during the episode's second act. Mando, the Child, and their amphibian passenger are on their way to a world with an environment that'll help keep a clutch of giant gecko eggs not too hot and not too cold. As tends to happen on long road trips, they're pulled over by the fuzz, a pair of New Republic X-Wing pilots with bureaucracy in their hearts and rashy, itchy trigger fingers. Mando gives the outer space analogue of "I'll be sure to get that tail light replaced ASAP, officer, and might I add that you look stunning this evening" before signing off with an ever-so-desperate "May the Force be with you."

But it's not our hero's willingness to appropriate another culture's space religion that had fans chattering. It's the fact that the coppers responded with a curt "and also with you."

And just like that, every fan of The Mandalorian that grew up Catholic spat blue milk all over their TV screens.

If you or someone close to you lives life in the middle of the Venn diagram of Star Wars nerds and folks who spent time in a Lutheran, Anglican, or (pre-2008) Catholic church, you're probably already aware of a knee-jerk reaction that's been hammered home by years of liturgical prefaces. Sunday after Sunday, a communal leader will have recited the words "the Lord be with you," to which you'll have replied "and also with you."

As has been pointed out by Reddit users on Star Wars, Christian, and Mandela Effect forums, this recitation has burrowed into the mind of Jedi enthusiasts for decades, triggering a tendency to respond "and also with you" any time that a space wizard or interstellar rogue said "may the Force be with you" on screen. Now, through the power of an immensely popular streaming show, their inclination has now been justified. It's not the first line from The Mandalorian with deeper meaning, but it definitely tickled a particular demographic.

Whether there will be further religious callbacks in the Star Wars franchise – like, say, immaculate conceptions, an eternal struggle between light and darkness, the redemptive power of self-sacrifice, or prophesied chosen ones coming out of the desert — remains to be seen. All we know for sure is that the Force will be with us, always.

And also with you.