The Mandalorian resolves a disgusting, 40-year-old space mystery

There's no denying Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian is a brilliant intergalactic spaghetti Western that ties together the past 42 years of Star Wars lore. And with Star Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker rounding off the Skywalker saga, The Mandalorian is proving to be much more than just a cash-cow sequel filling in some of the franchise's gaps.

With nods to the controversial Star Wars Holiday Special, Boba Fett's possible resurrection from the Great Pit of Carkoon, and the appearance of a certain Force-sensitive baby who could mean big things for the galaxy far, far away, the Disney+ show has also answered some of the many niggling questions from the depths of Star Wars fandom.

And something stinks – because Favreau and the writers have finally revealed how everyone in Star Wars goes to the bathroom.

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Up until now, it looked like the popular children's book called Everybody Poops was a lie passed down through the ages. There's a whole Nobody Poops trope that singles out the likes of Star Wars, Ghostbusters and Star Trek.

However, the Mandalorian premiere answered a conundrum that has been bothering hardcore fans since 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope. Considering it wasted no time delving into the action, even eagle-eyed viewers might have missed the show's solution to everyone's toilet troubles.

As Pedro Pascal's titular Mandalorian boarded his Razor Crest gunship, there was a brief tour of the bounty hunter's quarters. When the snivelling Mythrol tried to escape the bounty on his head, he joked that he needed to "evacuate" his thorax and was quickly pointed to the ship's very own WC.

Disney

The gilled alien didn't need to use the device known as the Vacc-Tube and was quickly dispatched by the Mandalorian when frozen in Carbonite (a nod to Han Solo's Empire Strikes Back arc).

Although this is little more than a throwaway scene when compared to the reveal of an adorable Baby Yoda, the Vacc-Tube is a major piece of fan service for those who like to think they know everything about the world of Jedi and Sith. Annoyingly – or perhaps, thankfully – The Mandalorian doesn't show the Vacc-Tube in action.

Raising more questions than answers, is everyone just supposed to assume the Mando blasts his 'deposits' out into space? Given the name Vacc-Tube, it's implied the waste is sucked out, which is a pretty gross idea to mull over. You don't want that ending up on the windscreen of the Millennium Falcon.

rey flying the millennium falcon in star wars

Lucasfilm

Sticking with 'mess', the first episode added another disgusting piece of trivia to the story. When the Mandalorian is looking for a landspeeder to take him to the Razor Crest, there's a cameo from comedian Brian Posehn.

His character sagely warns: "Be careful around the port. Everyone dumps their grey holds out. They think the whole entire planet is their own personal stink pit."

'Grey holds' refers to the term 'grey water' on ships, the dirty water that's got everything short of actual human waste in it.

It doesn't sound like personal hygiene is particularly high on the agenda out there in space. Added to this, The Mandalorian shows that the Vacc-Tube isn't exactly the most private of inventions, which might explain why Star Wars has never shown anyone using one.

What is everyone's weird obsession with bodily functions? (Ourselves excepted.) Earlier this year, Harry Potter fans were shocked to learn wizards went on the floor and zapped their stools away before plumbing was invented. Now, we just need to know how Stormtroopers go to the bathroom. Do they have to take the whole of that jockstrap area off?

The Mandalorian is now available to stream on Disney+.

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Tom Chapman

Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen.

Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.

These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN.

Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.