‘The Mandalorian’: Is Bo-Katan Really a Hypocrite for Refusing to Take the Darksaber?
The Mandalorian Season 2 finale featured a lot of heart-stopping moments adding a lot to the overall Star Wars saga.
While the return of Luke Skywalker grabbed all the attention, there was another less talked about moment that nonetheless could significantly shape the series going forward. It had to do with Din Djarin gaining control of the dark saber, and how Bo-Katan Kryze reacts to it. Let’s take a closer look at this scene and why some fans are seeing Bo-Katan as a hypocrite.
What happened to the dark saber in the season finale?
Heading into the finale, Moff Gideon is in control of the dark saber. When Din leads a rescue mission to spring Grogu free, he eventually has a showdown with Gideon. After Gideon seemingly lets Din go, he double-crosses him and attempts to engage him in combat. Din gains the upper hand and in doing so, takes the dark saber into his possession.
When Din returns to the control room with Gideon in captivity, he offers to give the dark saber to Bo-Katan. She is troubled, however, as Gideon gleefully points out that Mandalorian tradition states that the dark saber must be won in combat.
The Mandalorians are a warrior race that places a premium on the ability to fight with honor. Bo-Katan sullenly acknowledged that Gideon was right. Din attempts to yield and give up the dark saber anyway, but it’s to no avail.
The scene ends after Luke and R2-D2 show up to take custody of Grogu. There is no resolution between Din and Bo-Katan regarding the dark saber – apparently, it will have to wait until season three.
An earlier scene contradicts Bo-Katan’s stance on the dark saber
While Bo-Katan seems to admit that Mandalorian culture dictates her needing to defeat Din for the dark saber, this flies in the face of her previously established position on adhering to Mandalorian rites. In the episode in which she debuts, she removes her mask in the company of Din.
He chides her for doing so, but she claims that he is part of a strict sect of Mandalorians. She adds that not every Mandalorian lives by the same code and that many others have their own rules to live by.
This raises an interesting question: is Bo-Katan a hypocrite? At least one fan seems to think so.
The evidence that Bo-Katan is a hypocrite for refusing to take the dark saber
A Star Wars fan took to Reddit to post a meme putting Bo-Katan’s hypocrisy on blast. One picture depicts Bo-Katan in her initial appearance with the caption: “You don’t need to follow the strict ancient codes.” The second picture shows her in the finale with the caption: “The dark saber must be won in combat.”
This raises a fair point. So how can one explain this apparent hypocrisy? Another poster explained it quite succinctly:
“To be fair though I think it has to do more with how others perceive the “rules” more than how she does. I mean she couldve taken the saber if she wanted to, but other mandos may not follow her if she didnt win it in combat.”
This makes sense. If Bo-Katan is eventually planning to lead the Mandalorians once again, she would need to win over more than people who share her belief system. She’d need to convince the entire group that she’s worthy of the weapon, and she won’t be able to do that if Din simply hands it over to her.
There’s also the idea that winning the dark saber is much more important to Mandalorian tradition than the idea of leaving one’s helmet on. Just because Bo-Katan happens to take her mask off doesn’t mean she disrespects all aspects of Mandalorian culture.
