What Bo-Katan’s Return to ‘The Mandalorian’ Might Mean for Season 3

The Mandalorian season 3 is fast approaching, and viewers are particularly excited for the return of Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze. Her appearance in the show is really a necessity, given her rich history with the Mandalorians. Bo-Katan is a legendary leader of Mandalore; a fierce, militaristic warrior who rejects pacifism. Her appearance in The Mandalorian season 3 will be especially interesting as she may have to contend with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) for leadership of Mandalore.

Bo-Katan’s return to The Mandalorian season 3 was confirmed with the release of the season’s official trailer. She doesn’t appear heavily in the footage, but she is spotted at one point seated on a throne with a fierce and unhappy expression on her face. Her discontent is understandable, as her leadership over Mandalore was met with tragedy instead of glory. Meanwhile, her plans for vengeance and to prove herself worthy of leading her people were disrupted by Djarin’s arrival on the scene.

Djarin, with the Darksaber in hand, is returning to Mandalore in season 3, seeking forgiveness for his “transgressions.” Djarin was disowned by his Mandalorian clan, Children of the Watch, after breaking their code. The fact that he is now seeking to right these “transgressions” may prove threatening to Bo-Katan and further jeopardize her desire for leadership. Hence, while she has previously aligned herself with Djarin and even rescued him, it is difficult to tell how her story will pan out in season 3.

Who is Bo-Katan in The Mandalorian?

Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan first appeared in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, in which she serves as a lieutenant of the Death Watch under Pre Vizsla. During the Clone Wars, the Death Watch was a terrorist faction of Mandalorians that opposed the pacifist rule of Bo-Katan’s estranged sister, Duchess Satine Kryze (Anna Graves). Pre Vizsla (Jon Favreau), who wielded his ancestor’s Darksaber with the help of Darth Maul, rallied the Death Watch, and they succeeded in regaining power over Mandalore. However, this soon led to a power dispute between Vizsla and Maul, with Maul successfully winning the Darksaber and killing Vizsla in a duel.

Despite aligning herself with the Death Watch and embracing the militaristic history of the Mandalore, Bo-Katan resisted Maul’s rule. She then managed to transform the terrorist Death Watch into a resistance group against Maul. Bo-Katan also attempted to save her sister, but Satine was ultimately murdered by Maul. Over time, Bo-Katan enlisted the help of the Jedi and finally succeeded in liberating Mandalore from Maul, with rebel Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar) taking the Darksaber from him. However, as revealed in Star Wars Rebels, victory was short-lived as the Galactic Empire swooped in and wrestled control of Mandalore from Bo-Katan.

With the help of the Ghost Crew, Bo-Katan liberated Mandalore again and hesitantly accepted the Darksaber from Wren, who willingly relinquished it to her. Her hesitation was due to a legend stating that anyone who wielded the Darksaber without rightfully earning it in combat would be cursed. In The Mandalorian, it seems this curse came to fruition. Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan returned in The Mandalorian season 2, following Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito)’s and the Empire’s Great Purge of Mandalore, resulting in the genocide of the Mandalorians and the stripping of Bo-Katan of the Darksaber.

However, Bo-Katan survived, as did a scattered group of Mandalorians living in secrecy. Bo-Katan helps the Mandalorian on his mission with Grogu, in hopes of defeating Moff and winning the Darksaber back. As said above, though, Djarin ends up accidentally becoming the rightful owner of the Darksaber and, given the curse, Bo-Katan refuses to accept it when he offers it to her. Bo-Katan had also propositioned Djarin with helping her liberate Mandalore. It remains to be seen if she will accept Djarin as the leader of Mandalore if he can help her people or if she will still seek to re-establish her place as ruler of Mandalore.

(featured image: Disney+)