Din Djarin’s Helmet Rule Proves We’ve Been Misunderstanding The Mandalorian For Five Years

Din Djarin’s helmet rule has been a crucial and unique aspect of his character in The Mandalorian ever since he was first introduced five years ago, but as it turns out, this infamous rule has caused the character and his journey to be misinterpreted. Mandalorian history in Star Wars never once saw Mandalorians keep their helmets on at all times until The Mandalorian hit viewers’ screens in 2019. Din became the first Mandalorian to faithfully wear his helmet around all other living things, only removing the beskar when he was alone to eat and take care of other basic needs.

The Mandalorian viewers have long since thought that the abandonment of this rule, heavily attached to Din’s Creed as a Child of the Watch, is what Din’s character journey has been leading up to. This caused the audience to be shocked when The Mandalorian season 3 doubled down on Din adhering to his helmet rule and finding redemption in the Living Waters beneath Mandalore after breaking his Creed twice over in The Mandalorian season 2. This seemed like a diversion from the original path of Din’s journey, but one important characteristic of Din’s Mandalorian helmet proves otherwise.

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The Mandalorian Helmet Is Key To Din Djarin’s Character

Din Djarin’s Mandalorian helmet is more than a piece of armor he uses to protect himself in battle or adhere to a religious Creed. Din Djarin actor Brendan Wayne describes it in a conversation with the SithCast Podcast as a “mirror” and an “equalizer” that allows viewers to picture themselves as a Star Wars hero. Working similarly to Spider-Man’s mask, the Mandalorian helmet helps Din Djarin maintain an anonymity that gives the audience’s imaginations the freedom to become the same hero they’re following throughout the story of The Mandalorian.

The helmet, then, is central to Din Djarin’s character. The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau emphasized the importance of the helmet early on in terms of its distinctive silhouette, but it goes much deeper than that. Din’s helmet rule was never meant to act as a ploy for hiding the face of the character or his lead actor, Pedro Pascal; it was always meant to make Din Djarin a hero template that viewers could project themselves onto. This means his helmet rule was never meant to be abandoned, even after the two instances of him breaking the Creed in the show.

Din Djarin’s Helmet Removals Were Acts Of Love & Loyalty, Not Rebellion

As of The Mandalorian season 3 ending, Din Djarin’s face has only been seen three times in the show, and two of those occasions broke his Mandalorian Creed by happening in front of other living things. With these two instances taking place at the end of The Mandalorian season 2, many viewers led themselves to believe that Din would be abandoning his helmet rule to instead embrace a Mandalorian way of living that’s more like Bo-Katan Kryze and her Nite Owls. What’s been misinterpreted, however, is Din’s motivation for breaking the Creed.

Din Djarin did not choose to break the Creed lightly, and he only did so out of the love in his heart for his now-adopted son Grogu. After crossing paths with Bo-Katan and discovering other Mandalorians who didn’t adhere to the strict Way of the Mandalore, the audience assumed Din would come to realize how restrictive his Creed was and abandon it in favor of living a more intimate life with Grogu. These acts of breaking the Creed, however, were not out of rebellion or any opposition to the religion he’s followed ever since he was a child.

To Din, these acts of love were upholding his Creed, even if he had to risk his identity while doing so. He tells the Armorer in The Book of Boba Fett episode 5, “Loyalty and solidarity are the Way,” and Din’s choices to remove his helmet for Grogu were the most extreme examples of him displaying both loyalty and solidarity to the foundling he both loved and swore himself to protect. It was never Din’s intention with these acts to go against his Creed, despite what many viewers may have thought at the time.

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The Mandalorian Season 3’s Din Djarin Arc Was Not A Diversion

This means Din Djarin’s controversial arc in The Mandalorian season 3 wasn’t a diversion from his original character arc, after all. From the moment Din risked his identity for Grogu, he intended on finding a way to redeem himself in the eyes of his Creed. Din, potentially better than anyone else, knows the rules and bounds of the Creed he swore himself to long ago. He knew, then, that “the Creed teaches us of redemption,” as he reminds the Armorer in The Mandalorian season 3 premiere. While Din didn’t know how to atone, he still knew it was possible to do so.

While this may seem to contradict Din’s stern belief about no longer being a Mandalorian once his helmet was removed, as he told Cara Dune on Sorgan in The Mandalorian season 1, the circumstances of what they were discussing then were completely different. Cara had proposed that Din should remove his helmet for the long-term to have a life with the farmer Omera on Sorgan, but in The Mandalorian season 2, Din knew his helmet removals would only be temporary. Atoning for those instances would be much different than atoning for a long-term fracture of the rule.

Din Djarin Has Never Intended To Abandon His Helmet Rule

It’s clear, then, that Din Djarin has never intended to leave his Mandalorian helmet rule behind. Throughout The Mandalorian, long before the supposed pivot in his arc in season 3, Din displays nothing but loyalty to the Creed and the helmet rule – even after he met Bo-Katan. Right before Din breaks his Creed for the first time on Morak, he firmly tells his allies “I won’t be showing my face,” clearly revealing his intention to stay loyal to the bounds of his Creed even if he had to bend then break them later on to save Grogu.

Din breaking his Creed twice over for Grogu was never meant to show any type of disdain for his way of life or his religion. Rather, it was meant to prove something significant about their relationship. The Creed meant everything to Din, as it had been protecting him ever since he was a child from a harsh galaxy that had hurt him at such a young age. Din breaking his Creed for Grogu proved that his son meant even more to him than the one other thing he held dearest, not that the Creed had become meaningless to him.

There’s not a single point in The Mandalorian story where Din seems to doubt his Creed or his religion. Even the episode with Bo-Katan sees him earning her respect for both himself and his Way, as she utters a more meaningful “This is the Way” that’s a stark contrast to her earlier mockery of it. Between Din’s own faithful adherence to his religion and the key importance of the helmet to the audience of The Mandalorian, the creators clearly never intended to have Din Djarin abandon his helmet rule.

This, however, doesn’t mean that Din’s face won’t ever be seen again in The Mandalorian. Now that Mandalore is moving into a new age, it could very well be that the Armorer says the helmet rule can be set aside, just as she did with Bo-Katan in season 3. The family aspect of this rule also has yet to be explored, and thus it may be allowed for Din to take his helmet off around Grogu now, since the child is officially his son. Nevertheless, it’s clear that The Mandalorian has always intended to maintain Din Djarin’s helmet rule.

The Mandalorian is available to stream on Disney+

The Mandalorian

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

Cast

Werner Herzog , Emily Swallow , Pedro Pascal , Nick Nolte , Omid Abtahi , Gina Carano , Carl Weathers , Giancarlo Esposito

Release Date

November 12, 2019

Seasons

3

Streaming Service(s)

Disney+

Franchise(s)

Star Wars

Writers

Jon Favreau

Directors

Jon Favreau , Taika Waititi , Bryce Dallas Howard

Showrunner

Jon Favreau