The Mandalorian

[Frontier]

Bo is either going to force Din to fight her or have to convince him to do the job of reuniting Mandalore since he has the Darksaber when he doesn't want to do it (or at least be the spearheading figure).

[ZeroBG82]

I don't want to see the character rewarded for all the terrible things she had a hand in with the throne of Mandalore. The best case scenario is character becomes second in command. The worst case scenario is the character dies sacrificing herself for the greater good.

Ok, so... Bo-Katan. I think she's a really misunderstood character, by and large. And I think it's important to note WHY she wants to unite and rule Mandalore: because nobody else will. She doesn't seek power for herself, either for her own vanity or for love of power itself. She seeks power for the betterment of her people, at least from her own perspective.

Remember back to Rebels, Bo-Katan was fully prepared to follow Sabine Wren. She, like Fenn Rau, all but pledged herself to Sabine's service. But Sabine didn't want to lead, and she had come to trust Bo-Katan, as had so many of the other Mandalorians at that time.

She's lost that trust now, which is why she feels like she needs the Darksaber. And why she needs to win it back the "correct" way this time, from an enemy that defeated her and thus challenges her authority to rule.

I think a lot of what's next for Bo-Katan is going to depend on whether or not she feels like the united Mandalore she dreams of, focused on the warrior traditions she honors, is being fought for. If you go all the way back to her time in Death Watch, I think we can see a pretty clear line of what's important to Bo-Katan. She loves a traditionalist warrior Mandalore, and she believes in the unity of her people against threats that would challenge them. Even when she opposed her sister, it wasn't about seizing power for herself, but restoring the traditional Mandalorian ideals that she clearly believes in. It's why she could never follow Maul, even if he hadn't killed Satine.

So, if someone, say for example Din Djarin, was clearly working towards restoring that Mandalore? I'm not sure she'd try to fight him for the throne. I think if you earn her respect, she'll go to the mat fighting for you and her cause. So I expect that she'll oscillate between ally and antagonist for a while until she sees what kind of Mandalorian Din Djarin is, and where he thinks he needs to be next in his life. I can definitely see them coming to blows, but I can also see her coming to truly believe in him, and fight for him. Provided that he puts his mind to Mandalore, and not to other pursuits.

[godisawesome]

Ok, so... Bo-Katan. I think she's a really misunderstood character, by and large. And I think it's important to note WHY she wants to unite and rule Mandalore: because nobody else will. She doesn't seek power for herself, either for her own vanity or for love of power itself. She seeks power for the betterment of her people, at least from her own perspective.

Remember back to Rebels, Bo-Katan was fully prepared to follow Sabine Wren. She, like Fenn Rau, all but pledged herself to Sabine's service. But Sabine didn't want to lead, and she had come to trust Bo-Katan, as had so many of the other Mandalorians at that time.

She's lost that trust now, which is why she feels like she needs the Darksaber. And why she needs to win it back the "correct" way this time, from an enemy that defeated her and thus challenges her authority to rule.

I think a lot of what's next for Bo-Katan is going to depend on whether or not she feels like the united Mandalore she dreams of, focused on the warrior traditions she honors, is being fought for. If you go all the way back to her time in Death Watch, I think we can see a pretty clear line of what's important to Bo-Katan. She loves a traditionalist warrior Mandalore, and she believes in the unity of her people against threats that would challenge them. Even when she opposed her sister, it wasn't about seizing power for herself, but restoring the traditional Mandalorian ideals that she clearly believes in. It's why she could never follow Maul, even if he hadn't killed Satine.

So, if someone, say for example Din Djarin, was clearly working towards restoring that Mandalore? I'm not sure she'd try to fight him for the throne. I think if you earn her respect, she'll go to the mat fighting for you and her cause. So I expect that she'll oscillate between ally and antagonist for a while until she sees what kind of Mandalorian Din Djarin is, and where he thinks he needs to be next in his life. I can definitely see them coming to blows, but I can also see her coming to truly believe in him, and fight for him. Provided that he puts his mind to Mandalore, and not to other pursuits.

Agreed in general.

..But because she was totally on board with Death Watch’s terrorist actions, including personally participating in massacring a village, I want her to end up coming to blows and losing to Din (or if not Din, at least Sabine) at some point, and be forced to face the inadequacies and inequities of her ideal Mandalorian way.

And when that happens, I wouldn’t mind if she is humbled and accepts that, refuses to accept it but dies with dignity, or refuses to accept it and has a breakdown.

I think Bo really should occupy a spot where, in some way or shape, she ends up having her POV disproved, and have it pointed out that her idea of being a “good Mandalorian” doesn’t mean being a good person.

[Frontier]

I'm kind of interested to see how other Mandalorians might react to a Foundling with the Darksaber. I don't know if Bo's faction is any indication but it seems like there's mixed feelings towards Foundlings, or maybe it's just Din's "cult" that made them look down on him.

[godisawesome]

I'm kind of interested to see how other Mandalorians might react to a Foundling with the Darksaber. I don't know if Bo's faction is any indication but it seems like there's mixed feelings towards Foundlings, or maybe it's just Din's "cult" that made them look down on him.

There’s a strong nationalist flavor to Pre Viszla’s Death Watch, and the fact they have Houses and Clans with some distinct hierarchy means there’s ample room for snobs like Almec to practice some exclusionary bias - in fact, that’s my head-canon explanation for Almec declaring Jango to not be a Mandalorian; it isn’t just that he’s trying deniability, but that he also is prejudiced against foundlings and clanless Mandos.

And making The Children of the Watch more accepting would offset the likely more negative aspects they’ll have drawn out in comparison to Bo’s faction.

[godisawesome]

So, since I really LOVE speculating for shows/movies where I think they’ll actually deliver *something* rewarding (insert stereotypical burn on TLJ while extolling TM)...

What are the things you guys think are highly plausible in Season 3?

What are the things you desire to see in Season 3?

Plausible to me:
- Din fighting multiple duels to retain the darksaber, whether he wants it or not, as traditionalist Mandalorians seek it for the prestige.
- Din is part of Bo-Katan’s faction on some level, as he implicitly agreed to in exchange for her help in rescuing Grogu.
- An appearance by the planet Mandalore so we get clarity on what the Purge did to it that could leave The Armorer and Boba convinced it’s a lost cause (it was already a blasted wasteland).
- Gideon making at least one appearance to clarify the overall Thrawn arc (he could be an agent of Thrawn, or a rival Thrawn wishes to eliminate).
- Tension between Din and Bo as a rising subplot throughout the season.
- A lot of seemingly stand-alone episodes that still quietly build a season plot arc, because why fox what ain’t broken?

What I desire:
- Bo to try and use Din to unite all remaining Mandalorian factions: The Watch, the Great Houses, resurrected Protectors, New Mandalorian Refugees, Imperial Supercommando remnants, freelance mercenaries, the whole shebang... possibly on a faction-per-episode basis.
- Din’s official duty being to basically act as Bo’s Champion, ostensibly serving her “court” to untie the darksaber’s political prestige with her own faction and support without having to fight him... but also opening up the possibility of her potentially sending him on a “Uriah Gambit” mission, or sending him against good people as part of the nasty business of uniting a bunch of warlords... with Din getting disturbed at that.
- Kevin McKidd gets a live action opportunity to portray Fenn Rau in meeting Din for an episode, with a reveal that he no longer believes Bo-Kayan should be Mandalore, possibly resulting in a fight between him and Din, or some other kind of non-violent confrontation... one where perhaps Rau gives Din the lowdown on how Sabine has the other claim on the darksaber.
- Din and Sabine have an episode that acts as a spiritual sequel to Trials Of The Darksaber, and either through sparring or an actual duel, Din receives “therapy” similar to Sabine’s that helps him get personally actualized and motivated to ensure Mandalore has a righteous leader... even if it can’t be Bo-Katan.
- We discover Gideon has some kind of spy/traitor in Bo’s “court,” to both explain his awareness about the Mandalorians’ activities and give us a long term Mandalorian villain for the greater story arc.

Yes, I kind of want Game of Mandalorian Thrones.

[j9ac9k]

I'm not sure of the plot mechanics or story-arc to get to this place, but considering this show has been more western/samurai flicks than "Game of Thrones" I want to see Mando more like Yojimbo where he ultimately decides to step back from Bo and her ambition, kinda playing her and whatever other faction exists (the Watch?) against each other in a way, but for a higher purpose than money - I can't see Din acting out of profit. He'd have to be motivated by looking out for foundlings or some other cause that's more about innocents than who gets to rule Mandalore.

[BeastieRunner]

I really am starting to think at some point, perhaps not during the run of the show ... maybe years from now and set after the events of RoS ... Grogu is going to get the Darksaber. Perhaps because somebody kills Din.

I really think Grogu is going to leave the Jedi Academy before Kylo goes nuts on it. Initially, I thought Grogu was going to die sooner than later in order to "feed" Palpatine but I am starting to think he will abandon the Jedi and become a Mandalorian full stop.

I also think somebody is going to break that thing during the course of the series, allowing somebody to remake it looking different.

[Frontier]

I really am starting to think at some point, perhaps not during the run of the show ... maybe years from now and set after the events of RoS ... Grogu is going to get the Darksaber. Perhaps because somebody kills Din.

I really think Grogu is going to leave the Jedi Academy before Kylo goes nuts on it. Initially, I thought Grogu was going to die sooner than later in order to "feed" Palpatine but I am starting to think he will abandon the Jedi and become a Mandalorian full stop.

I also think somebody is going to break that thing during the course of the series, allowing somebody to remake it looking different.

I don't think he needs to abandon the Jedi to become a Mandalorian per se. Heck, the Darksaber was forged by a Mandalorian Jedi.

[BeastieRunner]

I don't think he needs to abandon the Jedi to become a Mandalorian per se. Heck, the Darksaber was forged by a Mandalorian Jedi.

I understand that. I just don't think they'll keep Grogu as a Jedi post-RoS if he's not written as dead at the Academy. It's an easy out unless they decided that continuity doesn't matter.

[Frontier]

I understand that. I just don't think they'll keep Grogu as a Jedi post-RoS if he's not written as dead at the Academy. It's an easy out unless they decided that continuity doesn't matter.

He wouldn't be the first Jedi to survive a purge yet be a no-show in the movies .

[BeastieRunner]

He wouldn't be the first Jedi to survive a purge yet be a no-show in the movies .

True ... I see your point.

[Tofali]

I'm not sure of the plot mechanics or story-arc to get to this place, but considering this show has been more western/samurai flicks than "Game of Thrones" I want to see Mando more like Yojimbo where he ultimately decides to step back from Bo and her ambition, kinda playing her and whatever other faction exists (the Watch?) against each other in a way, but for a higher purpose than money - I can't see Din acting out of profit. He'd have to be motivated by looking out for foundlings or some other cause that's more about innocents than who gets to rule Mandalore.

Mandalore is a warrior culture the fighting will continue regardless and having the Darksabre makes the prospect of being continuously challenged a given and now he has to honor his word to Bo about helping her with Mandalore

Survival was the children of the watch's motivation not profit. I don't want Din to be perpetually recreating the Hero's journey - I need Favreau to delve deeper now that Din seem to be experiencing an identity crisis.

[godisawesome]

I'm not sure of the plot mechanics or story-arc to get to this place, but considering this show has been more western/samurai flicks than "Game of Thrones" I want to see Mando more like Yojimbo where he ultimately decides to step back from Bo and her ambition, kinda playing her and whatever other faction exists (the Watch?) against each other in a way, but for a higher purpose than money - I can't see Din acting out of profit. He'd have to be motivated by looking out for foundlings or some other cause that's more about innocents than who gets to rule Mandalore.

The thing with Din is that he just got done with the first really personal and virtuous quest of his life; before Grogu, he was a simple, if very good, bounty hunter, and one who seriously thought about and almost did hand over a child. He’s a better man for his quest, and I think he’s already somewhat at Yojimbo’s style (especially in The Jedi) but I think the more interesting path forward is getting him motivated to be in the bigger picture.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want him starting the season that way; I just think starting with him as a somewhat non-pluses member of Bo-‘s group to repay his debt, then coming to realize why he should seize his autonomy again someway through the season.

AND I really want him interacting with someone on a more recurring basis to deal with the fallout of separating from Grogu.

[Frontier]

To be honest I wonder if the show would deviate from its formula of Din having a vague main quest that constantly gets interrupted by episodic side quests.