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Credit: LucasfilmAs Season 3 of The Mandalorian begins to wind down, the stakes are only getting higher. With the Darksaber now firmly returned to Bo-Katan, the remaining episodes of Season 3 are sure to be jam-packed with action, suspense, and some major bombshells. Now, fans are starting to pick up on some of the smaller, forgotten plot details from earlier episodes, with one person making a hilarious connection between the events of “Chapter 22: Guns for Hire” and a minor character shown in “Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore.”
Throughout the show’s third season, the question of who the rightful wielder of the Darksaber is has hung heavy over the leading ensemble of characters, primarily Bo-Katan Kryze and Din Djarin (played by Katee Sackhoff and Pedro Pascal, respectively). Din has been in possession of the blade since The Mandalorian‘s Season 2 finale, and has struggled to master its powers since. Meanwhile, Bo-Katan has a long and convoluted history with the weapon, and controls it with ease. As stated by The Armorer (Emily Swallower) in Episode 5 of The Book of Boba Fett, “it will win if you fight against it. You cannot control it with your strength.”
In Star Wars, the Darksaber has belonged to many notable figures and has always acted as the symbol of a worthy Mandalorian ruler. From its original owner, Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi, to his direct descendant, Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla (Jon Favreau), lore says that one can only truly claim the blade through combat. It was later obtained by Darth Maul (Sam Witwer), who bested Pre Vizsla in battle and subsequently took his head in Season 5, Episode 14 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The blade then passed through the hands of Star Wars Rebels’ Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar) and soon after, Bo-Katan herself before she lost it during the Great Purge. As seen in The Mandalorian Season 2, the Darksaber reappeared in the hands of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), and Din Djarin claimed the saber for himself—if by accident—after beating him while rescuing Grogu.
Bo-Katan’s efforts to reclaim the Darksaber set much of the groundwork for her character’s motivations in Season 2 of The Mandalorian. And in the latest episode, Bo-Katan’s efforts finally paid off when, through a strange loophole, Din handed her the Darksaber after explaining a new rule: she’s technically the rightful owner of the blade since she defeated the creature that had defeated Din in “The Mines of Mandalore.”
And funnily enough, this logic also confirms that at one point, the one-eyed, cyborg crab creature living beneath the surface of Mandalore in Chapter 18 was, technically, the rightful weirder of the Darksaber while Din was under its captivity. This fact was pointed out by a fan on Twitter, who wrote: “so i guess for a brief second this thing was the ruler of mandalore and rightful wielder of the darksaber lmaoo.”
// the mandalorian spoilers #TheMandalorian //
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so i guess for a brief second this thing was the ruler of mandalore and rightful wielder of the darksaber lmaoo pic.twitter.com/OUDQD2sGvm— sage⁵⁰¹ 💌 mando era (@ahsokasgoggles) April 5, 2023
Bo-Katan was the person who struck the creature down, meaning that—thanks to this ancient Darksaber law—she is, in fact, the rightful owner of the blade.
You’re not alone if that’s enough to make your head spin. Din’s explanation of this rule left many Star Wars fans confused, which complicates the already hard-to-grasp playbook surrounding the Darksaber. However, Din is clearly using this technicality as an excuse to support Bo-Katan’s ambitions to reassume her position as leader of the Mandalorian fleet.
It’ll be interesting to see Bo-Katan’s next move now that she’s been reunited with the all-powerful Darksaber. Her obtaining the legendary weapon shuts down any prior suspicion that Bo-Katan would betray Din, dueling him for the Darksaber to establish herself once again as the ruler of Mandalore. Now, her next move might be returning to the Living Waters, where she’ll perhaps attempt to tame and ride the Mythosaur she saw deep below the planet’s surface, like the great Mandalorian rulers before her.
More will be revealed in Chapter 23 of The Mandalorian, which will be available to stream on Disney+ starting April 12, 2023.
Are you excited to see Bo-Katan Kryze wield the Darksaber in future episodes of The Mandalorian? Let us know in the comments below.