Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2.
Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) has been the wielder of the Darksaber since The Mandalorian season 2 finale, but now Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) has picked up the blade in The Mandalorian season 3. While The Mandalorian season 3’s premiere suggested that Bo-Katan and Mando would be on separate sides for most of the season, it did not take long for the Mandalorian duo to team up. Bo-Katan still hasn’t shown interest in reuniting her people once more, but something has clearly shifted for the character.
Between rescuing Mando twice and offering to lead him into the Living Waters, Bo-Katan appears to have regained her trust in Din Djarin. Mando has reminded Bo-Katan, a Mandalorian apostate herself, of how “the Way” can help keep Mandalorians united. Such a task can only be completed with the Darksaber, and now who will lead the Mandalorians has become the show’s biggest mystery.
Bo-Katan Used The Darksaber In Episode 3 – But Didn’t Reclaim It
More than five years after Star Wars Rebels season 4’s Mandalorian arc, Bo-Katan Kryze is once again wielding the Darksaber on-screen. Though it is not clear how exactly Bo-Katan lost the Darksaber following the events of Rebels, reclaiming the blade first wielded by Tarre Vizsla had been Kryze’s main quest since her live-action debut in The Mandalorian. However, by the end of The Mandalorian season 2, it was Din Djarin who had won the Darksaber in combat. Now, to help save Din, Bo-Katan used the Darksaber in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2, “The Mines of Mandalore.” That, however, does not mean Bo-Katan reclaimed the Darksaber.
By Mandalorian tradition, the Darksaber can only be claimed by someone who won it in combat. Bo-Katan simply picked up the saber, meaning that she has no right to it according to creed. In addition, considering that Bo-Katan refused the Darksaber when offered the blade in The Mandalorian season 2’s finale, it would not make sense for Bo-Katan to try to reclaim it now. Bo-Katan also does not seem too interested in returning to a position of power after seeing her fleet disband, and while she is helping the Mandalorian find the Living Waters, retaking Mandalore still seems a distant possibility.
How Could Bo-Katan Reclaim The Darksaber?
Din Djarin may have won the Darksaber fair and square against The Mandalorian villain Moff Giddeon (Giancarlo Esposito), yet Bo-Katan Kryze has far more experience in leading. Not only that, but Bo-Katan uses the Darksaber much better than the Mandalorian. If Bo-Katan is still to unite the Mandalorians and reclaim Mandalore, then the Darksaber will be essential to her, as it was for all previous Mand’alors. That said, Din Djarin is currently the rightful wielder of the ancient weapon, meaning there would have to be some sort of conflict between Mando and Bo-Katan for the saber – which, after “The Mines of Mandalore,” does not seem likely.
Another possibility, one that could make for an interesting rest of The Mandalorian season 3 and beyond, is that Din Djarin loses the Darksaber against a new enemy. Be it a new villain or a returning character like Paz Vizsla, having someone win the Darksaber from Mando in a fight would create the perfect opportunity for Bo-Katan to reclaim it. In that event Bo-Katan can win the Darksaber in a fight against someone without causing a rift with an ally like Din. All of those scenarios only work if Din Djarin is not to become the next leader of Mandalore; otherwise, it would be redundant to have Bo-Katan reclaim the Darksaber.
New episodes of The Mandalorian release Wednesdays on Disney+.