Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Mandalorian season 3.The Mandalorian seems to have forgotten just how important the Darksaber is in Mandalorian culture. When Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) won the Darksaber in combat from Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) at the end of The Mandalorian season 2, it was assumed that season 3 would take the time to teach Din to wield the blade properly and explore how he’d come to terms with the immense responsibility that it represents. In Mandalorian lore, those who win the Darksaber in combat can become the rightful ruler of Mandalore and all its people – otherwise known as the Mand’alor. While the Darksaber has played a minor role in the story so far, its historical significance has been all but neglected.
Given most surviving Mandalorians are currently scattered across the galaxy after the Great Purge, having someone to believe in and follow could bring them all back together. Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) previously tried and failed, but Din Djarin represented another opportunity, a new future for all Mandalorians and their homeworld. But, while the future of Mandalore does play a substantial role in the overarching narrative of The Mandalorian season 3, especially after episode 5, Din Djarin himself is not at the center of that story, and neither is the Darksaber.
Din Djarin Wields The Darksaber - But He's No Mandalorian Leader
Din Djarin may be the rightful wielder of the Darksaber, but it hasn’t made him a Mandalorian leader. Since The Mandalorian season 2’s finale and The Book of Boba Fett, nobody is all that bothered that Din is still the blade’s owner. Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher) challenged him for it, failed, and left it alone. Din’s new destiny was never truly explored further, and even now, he is still unable to wield it properly. In The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2, Din has trouble using it in a fight against a few Alamites, in stark contrast to Bo-Katan, who wields it like it is second nature when she flies down to Mandalore to save him.
Not only that, but the Children of the Watch still see the Armorer as their leader, not Din Djarin, despite what the Darksaber is supposed to represent to all Mandalorians. In The Mandalorian season 3, episode 5, Din still needs to plead with the covert to come with him to help save Nevarro – they don’t listen to him until Paz Vizsla agrees with Din’s reasoning. Din might have been redeemed in the eyes of the covert after bathing in the Living Waters, but other than that, his status hasn’t changed. He is simply one of the covert’s members, one who happens to carry a legendary weapon with him wherever he goes.
Bo-Katan Is Becoming Leader Of The Mandalorians Without The Darksaber
Instead of focusing on Din Djarin and his journey with the Darksaber, The Mandalorian season 3 has instead turned its attention to Bo-Katan Kryze and her continued arc toward becoming the Mand’alor. While this would be a fitting end for her character after her experiences in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, it does run the risk of side-lining Din Djarin in his own show. Since Bo-Katan is the only living Mandalorian to have seen the Mythosaur, and the Armorer now presumably believes Bo-Katan is the one destined to tame the beast and unite all Mandalorians, Din’s journey with the Darksaber has become somewhat obsolete.
While there is still a distinct possibility that Bo-Katan and Din will end up ruling side-by-side, Bo-Katan’s sighting of the Mythosaur surpasses the importance of the Darksaber in Mandalorian culture. The Darksaber’s influence lies in its history and those who have laid claim to it, but it is not a myth come to life, nor a prophecy that has come true. Now that the Armorer has sent Bo-Katan on a quest to unite any remaining Mandalorians so they may reclaim Mandalore in The Mandalorian, it’s hard to see how Din fits into that story so long as he is unable to prove that he is capable of wielding the Darksaber properly.
New episodes of The Mandalorian air Wednesdays on Disney+.