The Mandalorian‘s most important and enduring question might just be this—who does the show’s title truly refer to? Is the titular Mandalorian Din Djarin, the bounty hunter we’ve followed since the series’ premiere? Or is it Grogu, a Foundling who is both Jedi and Mandalorian, same as a legendary figure of Mandalore’s past? Or does The Mandalorian‘s title reference Bo-Katan, the brave warrior and deposed ruler who seeks redemption for both herself and her people? The Mandalorian has presented each character as a viable and worthy potential candidate, all deserving of the show’s title. But that mystery might have ended in “Chapter 22.” The season three episode seems to have given one of our candidates the last thing they need to be the Mandalorian their people have waited for.
Bo-Katan knows the power of the Darksaber, both its potential and its peril, better than anyone. The first time she wielded it, she reclaimed the title of Mand’alor, her peoples’ ruler. That iconic weapon helped her unite many clans to fight back against the Empire together. But her second reign ended with the near-total annihilation of her planet and its denizens. Tragedy befell her when Moff Gideon carried out the Great Purge of Mandalore. Some, like the Armorer, blamed Bo-Katan for that atrocity. They said because Bo-Katan accepted the Darksaber rather than winning it in battle, she cursed their home world.
The Darksaber, along with the rules of obtaining it, is so important to Mandalorians that Bo-Katan’s Nite Owls abandoned her when she returned to them without it. They took her fleet and left her without a clan or purpose. Thanks to Axe Woves, we know that wasn’t simply because Din Djarin won it from Moff Gideon before she could. They abandoned Bo-Katan because she refused to challenge Din for it.
Lucky for her, it turned out she didn’t have to, though. Just as we thought it might, Bo-Katan’s rescue of Din Djarin on Mandalore gave her claim to the Darksaber. Din only “handed” it to her because she had rightfully won it from the creature who took it from him. We can debate the merits of what might seem like a Darksaber ownership technicality. But what we can’t debate is that Bo-Katan is now considered its rightful holder by the only people who matter. And that might be the final piece for Bo-Katan to not only claim rule over all Mandalorians, but to claim her title as The Mandalorian. This is especially true since it is just the latest revelation about her role on the show.
Season three opened with a broken Bo-Katan all alone in her family’s castle. It was the lowest we’ve ever seen the character on screen in Star Wars. Since then, she saved Din Djarin’s life using the Darksaber, bathed in the Living Waters of Mandalore, and saw the first mythosaur anyone has seen in tens of thousands of years. She earned acceptance by the zealous Watch and led the covert in successful missions. Most recently, the Armorer even encouraged her to remove her helmet so she could “walk” in both worlds of Mandalorians in an effort to recruit them all. No Mandalorian alive can claim any resume even remotely close to that. And all this together makes the perfect case for Bo-Katan to be the subject of The Mandalorian‘s title.
Just seeing the mythosaur alone was a monumental sign that Bo-Katan is the one destined to bring about a new age of Mandalore. And the Armorer’s proverbial stamp of approval was as well. But now that Bo-Katan possesses the Darksaber by creed, there’s nothing left for her to prove her worth to her fellow warriors. She seems primed to be “the” Mandalorian the live-action series is named for.
Does that mean The Mandalorian‘s title definitely refers to Bo-Katan? No. This show started with Din Djarin and might still be about him and his journey, which is far from over. Additionally, all of those credentials might not be enough for Bo-Katan to ultimately restore her people to glory. It’s not as though Mand’alor’s can’t die. Pre Vizsla briefly ruled the planet with the Darksaber in his hand until Darth Maul took off his head. And there’s still reason to believe Grogu will rule as the great Jedi-Mandalorian Tarre Vizsla, creator of the Darksaber, once did. Is seeing a mythosaur as meaningful as taming one, which Grogu seems primed to do someday?
What started out as a show about a single bounty hunter and his child has turned into something much bigger. The Mandalorian connects to Palpatine’s cloning plan, the rise of the First Order, the fatal missteps during the early days of the New Republic, the very future of the Jedi, and more. We don’t know which story will ultimately prove the most important. But its title refers to one specific person, and if that Mandalorian ultimately turns out to be Bo-Katan, this episode will be remembered as the one that first confirmed the truth.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike, and also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
