Mandalorian Season 3 Can Perfectly Reverse A Bo-Katan Rebels Storyline

The Mandalorian season 3 has the perfect opportunity to reverse a storyline involving Bo-Katan and the Darksaber. Season 2 of the hit Disney+ streaming series brought back Bo-Katan Kryze as a main character, and also reintroduced the infamous Mandalorian Darksaber into the post-Empire era of the Star Wars timeline. Both played a big role in the season finale, and will undoubtedly become an even bigger part of season 3.

Bo-Katan was first introduced as a member of the terrorist group Death Watch in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and eventually rose to become a leader of the oppressed Mandalorian people during the events of Star Wars: Rebels. In a key scene from the animated series, Bo is presented with the legendary Darksaber, and accepts it as a symbol to help unite her people. As the episode ends, it appears as though all will be well for Mandalore, its people, and their new leader.

However, The Mandalorian season 2 reveals that Bo lost the Darksaber sometime after the events of Rebels. The season ends with Din Djarin winning the Darksaber, and thereby unintentionally laying claim to the throne of Mandalore in the place of Bo. It’s also revealed that the Darksaber can only be won via fair combat, meaning that Din cannot just hand the saber over to Bo. This moment in the finale not only sets up some of the drama that will no doubt continue into Season 3, but also opens the door for Bo’s moment of accepting the Darksaber in Rebels to be reversed, and for Din to rightfully claim the weapon and leadership of Mandalore as his own.

While it’s currently unknown just why Bo-Katan accepted the Darksaber in Rebels but couldn’t in The Mandalorian, the easiest explanation is that her ascension to leadership was, at the time, seen as a necessary move. In other words, Bo claimed the Darksaber because her people needed her, not because she had rightfully earned it. In the moment, she was seen by her people as the best choice to lead them into the future, but this might no longer be the case by the time of The Mandalorian.

This change of circumstances could very well lead Bo to the revelation that she might not be the ruler Mandalore needs. Despite fighting for her people and spending decades of her life attempting to reclaim the planet she loves, Bo might eventually come to realize that someone like Din Djarin might deserve the throne and Darksaber more than she does. If this is indeed the direction The Mandalorian is going, season 3 could end with Bo doing for Din what Sabine Wren did for her in Rebels: surrendering the Darksaber to the leader her creed deserves, and choosing to unselfishly support him as the one true Mandalore.