The Mandalorian Chapter 14 Duo That Calls Back To Attack Of The Clones

Contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6 — "Chapter 14: The Tragedy"

The Mandalorian continues to be a celebration of every corner of the Star Wars universe — sometimes even the forgotten parts. In "Chapter 14: The Tragedy," we find out the fate of a seemingly dead character from last season: Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen).

Back in season 1 of The Mandalorian, we saw the shadow of somebody looking over Shand's body, but we didn't know who they were or why they would care about Shand. Now we know that the shadow belonged to the one and only (except for all the clones) Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison). In addition to the excitement that Morrison is finally back in his Mandalorian armor for the first time in decades, "Chapter 14: The Tragedy" also offers the cool confirmation that Fennec Shand is still alive — now partly robotic (like so many of the best Star Wars characters), and in the service to Boba for the favor of his saving her life.

Keen-eyed and long-time Star Wars fans will see something similar, even cyclical, about the pairing of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand. Back during the Star Wars prequel trilogy we were introduced to Boba's father, Jango Fett, and a very familiar-looking assassin named Zam Wesell.

At the beginning of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) is under attack. While the risk to Padmé's life is known, and both Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are dispatched to protect the Naboo Queen, none are smart enough to see one assassin coming: Zam Wesell.

Zam attempts to kill Padmé in her sleep through a very unusual method: deadly, poisonous kouhun arthropods. It nearly works, but Obi-Wan and Anakin catch Zam in the act and give chase across the Republic planet of Coruscant. At the end of the chase, Zam is killed by and unknown assailant via Kaminoan saberdart before she can reveal her employer. The man who just so happens to be both Zam's killer and employer is none other than Jango Fett.

In truth, Zam is a shape-shifting alien called a Clawdite, but her human form we see in Attack of the Clones, played by Leeanna Walsman, bears a strong resemblance to Ming-Na Wen's Fennec Shand. Both characters wear sleek uniforms and rock similar helmets, and both are quick with a sniper rifle.

According to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Zam and Jango Fett were actually close, and Jango feels shame when he admits to Boba that he killed her. While the EU is no longer canon, it's interesting to see Boba Fett share a similar closeness with Fennec Shand. Might this be a hint at the fate of those two characters? Is Boba Fett destined to betray Fennec Shand? Or is this just a fun little Easter egg for eagle-eyed fans? Only time will tell.