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The Mandalorian was one of the favorite new shows this fall. Along with that, it was some of the best Star Wars content we’ve had in a long time. It took the universe everyone’s so familiar with, brought in brand new characters, and put them in the post-Empire, pre-First Order world. It also didn’t hurt that Baby Yoda stole every scene he was in. It also greatly expanded on the Mandalorians, a people that fans haven’t gotten a lot of experience with, in live-action form. 

With that said, the animated series The Clone Wars has an in-depth look at Mandalore, their culture, and the struggles they went through as a government. And a new theory suggests that Mando’s parents died because of a similar tactic Death Watch used on The Clone Wars. Spoilers for the Mandalorian ahead. 

A Mandalorian at the premiere for 'The Mandalorian' at the El Capitan Theatre.
A Mandalorian at the premiere for ‘The Mandalorian’ at the El Capitan Theatre | Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

Mandalore’s history is expansive and complicated

The Clone Wars taught fans about the planet and its place in the Galactic Civil War (aka the Clone Wars). Duchess Satine Kryze was in charge, along with Prime Minister Almec. They took him out of office on the grounds of corruption and black-market dealings. Senator Padmé Amidala visits Satine a couple of times, along with Ahsoka Tano. Satine also has a very close bond with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Although Kenobi never acted on his feelings towards the duchess, it was quite obvious something was there. 

A lot of the drama regarding Mandalore stemmed from the pacifist stance during the war. Once a planet of warriors, Duchess Satine’s government was more about diplomacy and chose to be neutral in the Clone Wars, choosing not to side with the Republic nor the Separatists. This stance made it difficult for the Jedi or Republic to step in and help if it was needed. Like when Death Watch took over. 

Death Watch was a terrorist group until after the Clone Wars (sort of)

The Clones Wars introduced Pre Vizla and Death Watch in Season 2, but it’s in Season 4 and 5 that viewers get a better look at their actual mission. Lux Bonteri takes Ahsoka with him as he asks Death Watch for help in killing Count Dooku. Lux suspected that Dooku killed his mother, and wanted revenge. Ahsoka calls Death Watch terrorists often, and most of Mandalore knows them as such because of their radical actions and desire to bring a warring state back to Mandalore. 

Pre Vizla was from a long line of Mandalorian leaders, owner of the Darksaber, and voiced by The Mandalorian showrunner, Jon Favreau. He got entangled with Maul and his brother Savage Opress in a plot to get Mandalore back. Death Watch gained control of the planet, but Maul killed Pre Vizla in the process, and part of the group disbanded because Maul was now in charge. They believed that a Mandalorian should control the Darksaber and Mandalore. 

At the end of the Clone Wars, the Siege of Mandalore happens, which is lead by Ahsoka, a group of Clone troopers and Bo Katan (Satine’s sister and right-hand partner to Pre Vizla before he died). They’re waging war against Maul’s rule, and after the Empire wins, Mandalorians go into hiding. After the two wars, when we meet Mando, he’s part of The Tribe. And as Paz Vizla tells him in “Chapter 3,” “Our strength was once in our numbers. Now we live in the shadows and only come above ground one at a time.” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrwubAsldnw

Death Watch were the ones to save Din Djarin as a child, but there’s a theory they were also the ones to stage the attack

As mapped out by ScreenRant, the theory is that a group of Death Watch members not affiliated with Maul, saved Mando. You can see the symbol for the group on the Mandalorian’s armor that saves Din Djarin as a child. However, the theory here is that another group — or possibly even the same group of Mandalorians — started the attack in the first place. 

The tactic used to gain Mandalore back from Duchess Satine into the hands of Death Watch consisted of staging an attack with a band of criminals, including Maul. Then Pre Vizla and the rest of the group “saved” the planet, gaining the favor of the people. The theory claims that Death Watch went a more violent route this time and killed Din Djarin’s people. ScreenRant even suggests that The Tribe knows this, which is why they took him in. Although, it seems like it’s within their Creed to take in Foundlings if a scenario like this happened. 

It will be a blow to Mando if he finds out the people he swore himself to were behind his family’s death. And would make for a juicy Season 2 twist. 

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