Spoiler warning! If you’ve not seen Chapter 12 of The Mandalorian yet, stop reading now, and go watch it.

In Chapter 12, “The Siege”, Din Djarin comes back to Nevarro, to make some much needed repairs to the Razor Crest before traveling to Corvus. The town on Nevarro from the first season has undergone some changes, and actually looks like a decent town, rather than the wretched hive of scum and villainy it was before.

The former Mandalorian hideout has been taken over by a gang of Aqualish though, who find themselves on the receiving end of Cara Dune’s blaster. Interesting to note is that there are two distinct varieties of Aqualish seen here, one that is clearly inspired by Ponda Baba from Episode IV, and another that has a closer resemblance to the Aqualish seen in the Prequels. Both of those designs were so different that the Prequel Aqualish were categorized as a different subspecies (the Ualaq, with three-fingered hands and four eyes). But Ponda Baba’s face never really looked like it had the “tusks” that later Aqualish seem to have, instead having what has been compared to a “baboon’s behind” on his face. These two new Aqualish seen in Chapter 12 form a nice bridge between the two disparate designs of the OT and PT. Both of them have hands with five fingers, however, so both should be classified as the Quara subspecies.

The Aqualish have set their eyes on one of the Lava Meerkats native to Nevarro as a meal, but it is rescued by Cara. These creatures were already introduced in the last episode of the first season, but we get a better look at them this time around. They were named on the official StarWars.com databank.

Among the citizens now inhabiting the town are a few familiar faces, I haven’t been able to spot any new designs this week. First of is a Mimbanese who is part of the repair crew, and spy for Moff Gideon (which is interesting, knowing the history of the Mimbanese with the Empire).

On the streets we also see (yet again) Silvasu Fi’s species (Solo sp. #12), but also the same Kyuzo costume seen in Chapter 9 (one of Zuvio’s deputies). People who stare at these scenes too long may have also spotted not one but two members of Hoogenz’s species from The Force Awakens behind one of the market stalls (TFA sp. #14).

There’s a few Jawas as well, of course, and there’s a Melbu standing across the street from Greef Karga’s office. Also note the IG-11 statue on the central square. In several places on the market, as well as next to the entrance to Greef’s office are potted plants, one of which (far right in the picture below) appears to be a Fatsia japonica, a common ornamental plant.

The Mythrol from the first episode of season one is back too, unfrozen from carbonite and paying of his debt by working for Greef. The character still hasn’t received a name, even though he plays a big role in this episode.

In the end of the episode we find out what’s really going on in the Imperial research base, and how it links back to the original plot of the abduction of the Child. Apparently Dr. Pershing has been trying to create a Force-sensitive strandcast (a sort of clone) using the Child’s blood. The “M-count” mentioned in the hologram refers to the Midi-Chlorian count, which determines the Force-sensitivity of an individual (as explained in The Phantom Menace). The tanks also hold some misshapen beings that are possibly some sort of Snoke version 1.0. Things are starting to get interesting.

Next week we will likely see Ahsoka Tano, as the title for Chapter 13 has already been announced: “The Jedi”. Stay tuned.