Chapter 22 of The Mandalorian's third season made mention of a dangerous Skywalker family secret.
Among the episode's various celebrity cameos was Back to the Future's own Christopher Lloyd as Commissioner Helgait and a Clone Wars-era Separatist sympathizer.
In justifying both his actions and ideology to Bo-Katan and Mando, Lloyd's Helgait claimed Count Dooku was "cut short in his prime by the Jedi enforcer-"
While Helgait too is cut short before saying who the Jedi was, the "enforcer['s]" identity is no secret to Star Wars fans. However, how Lloyd's character refers to the Jedi suggests that his other identity is still, in fact, a galactic secret.
Luke & Leia's Skywalker Family Secret
As most Star Wars fans know, that "Jedi enforcer" Christopher Lloyd's Commissioner Helgait is talking about is Anakin Skywalker.
Anakin is who executes Count Dooku in the opening act of Revenge of the Sith, as commanded by the then-Chancellor Palpatine.
This was one of Anakin's first steps toward the Dark Side; and by Episode III's conclusion, he's destroyed the Jedi Order and embraced his new identity as Darth Vader.
The fact Helgait still refers to Anakin as a Jedi suggests that neither he - nor the rest of the galaxy - knows Anakin became Darth Vader.
It also suggests that the galaxy, and some Separatists, were unaware that Dooku was a Sith Lord as well.
Now it's important to remember that The Mandalorian picks up five years after the events of the Return of the Jedi where Luke Skywalker - one of The Mandalorian's greatest cameos - finally redeems his father from his Sith persona.
In that same film, Princess Leia Organa also learns that Vader was her biological father.
Therefore, by the time of Chapter 22 of The Mandalorian, it seems that Luke and Leia have never revealed just who Anakin Skywalker became.
This is actually in line with the Star Wars novels and how the eventual reveal of this secret contributes to the fall of the New Republic.
When Star Wars Reveals Luke & Leia's Secret
Claudia Gray's 2016 novel Bloodline takes place 25 years after Return of the Jedi, 20 years after The Mandalorian, and six years prior to The Force Awakens, and it confirms the galaxy did not know Anakin and Vader were the same person.
However, Bloodline finally reveals this decades-long secret when a New Republic senator learns of Leia's parentage and makes it public.
Naturally, this ruins her political future and eventually leads her to helm the Resistance against the First Order.
However, as the galaxy becomes aware of this information, so does Ben Solo as Luke, Leia, and Han had kept the secret from him as well. This eventually contributes to his own fall to the Dark Side and the First Order.
Is Anakin's Dark Side Identity a New Republic Problem?
While Season 3 of The Mandalorian has largely focused on Bo-Katan and what it means to be a Mandalorian, it has also explored the flaws within the New Republic.
Christopher Lloyd's cameo is yet another reminder of the public's frustration with the republic and preferences for politics of the past.
But at the same time, his character also reminds fans that much of the galaxy is unaware that Anakin and Darth Vader are one and the same and his children are Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.
While it's understandable why the Skywalker twins would want to keep this information under wraps, it makes sense that its eventual reveal inspired political distrust in Leia and pushed Ben Solo toward Snoke and the First Order.
Perhaps The Mandalorian included this information to hint at further New Republic woes to come?
It's also worth noting that this isn't the first time a Mando-Verse Star Wars series has referenced Anakin Skywalker.
In The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano tells Luke that he reminds her of his father; and, in addition to the original trilogy cast, Ahsoka knows Anakin became Vader.
It will be interesting to see if the upcoming Ahsoka series continues to reference Anakin and whether future stories will continue to point toward Luke and Leia's family secret.
New episodes of The Mandalorian drop on Wednesdays on Disney+.
