[Warning: contains minor spoilers for The Mandalorian’s new season. Read on at your own risk!] The wait is over, and Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 3 is finally upon us! (Check out our first reactions HERE.) Admittedly, this season’s kick-off didn’t pack quite the same punch as its two predecessors, but it certainly got us right back into the story. There were plenty of Easter eggs and surprises (IG-11!) hinting at what’s to come in the show’s third season… but there was one, huge reference that likely has far greater implications for Din Djarin’s galaxy.

Mandalorian Season 3; Star Wars Rebels
Grogu gets a glimpse of the purrgil in The Mandalorian Season 3 premiere. Note their massive size
compared to Din Djarin’s N1 starfighter. (Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.)

We’ve said it before: Dave Filoni is the master when it comes to Star Wars storytelling. Everything he does, he does for a reason. So, when a wide-eyed Grogu sees a pod of purrgil accompanying Djarin’s Naboo starfighter through hyperspace, you know it has far more meaning beyond just the cool, visual effect it gives us to start the season off.

Big things to come for The Mandalorian Season 3, and beyond

Mandalorian Season 3; Star Wars Rebels
The purrgil descend upon Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Star Destroyer in the Star Wars: Rebels series finale. (Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.)

We all know that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have done an amazing job of intermixing elements from throughout Star Wars in the live-action series. The appearance of the purrgil, however, may tie together an overarching story that began in Star Wars: Rebels. The purrgil, if you recall, are basically hyperspace-travelling space whales. Ezra Bridger used his Force connection with the creatures to save Lothal in the Rebels series finale. They whisked Ezra, Thrawn, and an entire Star Destroyer into parts unknown. Once the dust settled, Ahoska and Sabine Wren embarked on a mission to find their friend…. And therein lies the connection to The Mandalorian Season 3, and beyond.

Ahsoka; The Mandalorian
“Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?” (Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.)

Ahsoka herself made her live-action debut in Season 2 of the hit show for Disney+. In the episode ‘The Jedi,’ she takes on a remnant Imperial Magistrate and demands to know: “where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?” That was, of course, the first hint at Ahsoka’s stand-alone series, coming later this year. Fast forward, and everything comes together. Sabine Wren will appear in that series, certainly. But now that we’ve seen purrgil in The Mandalorian Season 3, well…. A season we know will focus on Mandalorian culture, with hints to the Rebels, almost assures us we’ll see Ahsoka and Sabine appear before the season comes to a close. Will the purrgil lead finally them to Ezra and Thrawn?

Yes, everything does indeed happen for a reason in Dave Filoni’s Star Wars.

The first episode of The Mandalorian Season 3 is now streaming on Disney+.